Ah, it is the Christmas season, isn’t it? Hanalani’s
Elementary division had their annual Elementary Christmas Program this past
Friday, December 12, 2008. Pictures of the program are included below. Merry
Christmas!
Posted Monday, 15 December 2008
On December 12, 2008 K5 went Christmas caroling to
Wahiawa Nursing Home and Mililani Town Center. While at Wahiawa Nursing
Home, the students passed out Christmas tree cards (that they had made with
their families) to the residents who were in attendance.
Posted Friday, 12 December 2008
The Wahiawa Public Library received a generous donation of
126 books during the first part of December. The books were donated by
students at Hanalani Schools through a project the school called, “Coins
for Kids’ Books.”
Containers to collect spare change were placed in the
library on the Hanalani campus, and over a two week period, students deposited
extra change. Hanalani Schools then used the donated money to purchase books
from Scholastic Books, whom it had partnered with for a book fair this fall.
The coins tallied to over $1400. Bonnie Lee, Hanalani
Reading Specialist, was impressed with the students’ willingness to
give. Even though the students were just asked to give spare change,
“several $1 bills and even a $20 bill, which we didn’t ask for, was
given,” said Lee.
Headmaster Mark Sugimoto felt the coin drive was timely, as
the Library had recently received a large financial contribution by the Samuel
N. & Mary Castle Memorial Foundation. As the students have received in
plenty by generous donations to their library, so too they now donate to
others, following the philanthropic example set by the Castle Foundation,
Sugimoto said.
The “Coins for Kids’ Books” project was
co-organized by Lee and Jill Pawlin, Hanalani Librarian. The donation drive
was included as part of a book fair being conducted at Hanalani to promote
student reading.
On December 08, 2008, Lee and Pawlin accompanied twenty-two
students who brought the books, wrapped in ribbon, to the Wahiawa Public
Library. The students sang two songs for the library staff as part of the
presentation, and then personally handed the books to the grateful Wahiawa
librarians.
The literature donated was primarily children’s books,
aimed at increasing the availability of children’s literature in Wahiawa.
“Coins for Kids’ Books” is another program
which is being conducted under Hanalani’s mantra for students,
“Love God. Love Others. Challenge Yourself.” The philosophy was
chosen to teach children that thinking about others before themselves is an
important aspect of being a productive citizen.
Posted Wednesday, 10 December 2008
The Upper School Societies kept the rivalry going through the
Thanksgiving season by challenging head to head in a Best-of-Thanksgiving-Food
society competition. Students planned and worked hard at cooking up the best
dishes for their annual society Thanksgiving parties. Each society prepared a
plate of food for the judges, attempting to score thousands of points for the
year-long society points challenge.
The food entrees were judged by Dean of Students Charles
Hiers and Upper School Principal Winston Sakurai.
And the winners are….
Best Traditional Thanksgiving Meal – Paulele
Lambs
Best Ham – Maka’ala Monkeys
Best Casserole – Paulele Lambs
Best Pie – Paulele Lambs
Best Dessert (non-pie) – Kupono Turtles
If you want to know where the best food is, look no further
than the Lambs society!
Posted Monday, 08 December 2008
Elementary students were Upper School tag-alongs this
month. At Hanalani Schools’ annual Friendship Day, students in 4th
through 6th grade were paired up with a high school student, and
become their friend for the day. As friends, the Elementary students
accompanied the Upper School student to all their classes that day,
experiencing high school first hand.
Dr. White’s Physics class was one of the classes
Elementary students experienced. Newton’s first law of motion and
the Atwood machine were the day’s topics. Both Elementary and Upper
School students participated in experimentation, observation, and reporting.
White said he felt it was a positive impact on the classroom in that it
“made the older students explain the basic concepts of science to an
audience who may not have all of the pieces of understanding”, which,
after all, is a heartbeat of education. White also commented that it,
“added [the] excitement of learning … in the process of figuring
out the lab [project].”
Posted Tuesday, 02 December 2008
From all of the students, parents, grandparents, siblings,
teachers, staff, and administrators here at Hanalani Schools, Happy
Thanksgiving!
Posted Wednesday, 26 November 2008
A short program dedicating the Hanalani library was
conducted Monday morning to officially recognize the contributions of the
Samuel N. & Mary Castle Foundation and addition of the Zadoc
Brown Collection. The Castle Foundation, which contributed substantial
funds to the Hanalani library, is one of the United States’ oldest family
philanthropic foundations still in existence. The foundation’s
executive director, Dr. Al Castle, was a distinguished guest at the dedication,
along with Hanalani Schools’ Board of Directors Chair, Mr. Daniel Kokubun
and Board member, Mrs. Lily Sugimoto.
Attendees to the dedication were treated to songs by the
students and brief testimonies of why the library is important to
them. A presentation of the history of Hanalani’s
library was presented by Hanalani Reading Specialist and Library Committee
Chair Mrs. Bonnie Lee. Hanalani Librarian Ms. Jill Pawlin followed with
the vision for the future of the library.
Dr. Castle gave a short presentation on the history of the
foundation, as well as an honoring of a special collection within the library,
the Zadoc Brown Collection. The Brown
Collection is a large selection of history books that Mr. Brown’s widow
donated to the library in his memory. Ms. Julie Stoker, History
Department Head (Upper School), presented a few remarks about the valuable contribution
of this collection to the library.
The dedication ceremony ended with the unveiling of a
commemorative plaque recognizing the Castle Foundation for their charitable
contributions. Mr. Kokubun closed the occasion with a prayer of blessing
and dedication.
Hanalani’s library will now
be known as the Samuel N. & Mary Castle Memorial Library in honor of the
contributions made by the Foundation.
Posted Monday, 24 November 2008
Hanalani Schools’ “Book Fair Safari” came
to a close this Monday, November 17. The book fair, an annual event for
students, was coordinated by Hanalani reading specialist Bonnie Lee. The
fair has been setup in the library for the past week, allowing parents and
students to purchase, “specially priced books and educational
products” said Mrs. Lee. Titles available included children’s
bestsellers, new releases, award-winning titles, and children’s classics.
Clifford the Big Red Dog has been seen making appearances on
campus since the fair has opened, encouraging students about the importance of
reading.
A book donation drive was also held in conjunction this
year’s fair. Parents donated over 200 books to Hanalani to go into
the library and the classrooms.
Posted Monday, 17 November 2008
Hanalani’s Early Childhood went to Aloun Farms this
past Tuesday, October 28. While there, the students learned about the farm’s
agriculture including crops grown. An old-fashioned hayride got the
students feeling the atmosphere of the place, and picking pumpkins as a
hands-on activity made the farm all the more real.
Posted Wednesday, 29 October 2008
On October 11th, at the 2008 Hawaii Fall
Interscholastic Chess Tournament - Quick Competition (High School Division),
Ashbea Rose Oyadomari single handily took 2nd Place in the
individual competition and Hanalani won 3rd in the team.
At the 2008 Hawaii Fall Interscholastic Chess Tournament –
Team Blitz Competition (High School Division), Ashbea Rose and Jacob Prothero, 2nd
grade, also won 1st place (Yes, a Hanalani 2nd grader won
1st place in the High School competition).
In quick competitions, games are no longer than 10 minutes
and in blitz competitions games are no longer than 5 minutes. Each player
played 12 games each, 6 games from each side of the chess board (6 black and 6
white), as there a few strategic advantages to each position. Fast
thinking, planning and reflexes are a must.
Congratulations to Ashbea Rose and Jacob on all of their
accomplishments!
Posted Thursday, 23 October 2008