Parent Connection: May 3, 2012

Parent

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May Day Tomorrow Program Begins at 9:30 Students Report at Usual Time (7:50 or 8:00)

May 3, 2012

Connection

Breaking News

National Honor Society Applications Available Now

Students in high school who are interested in applying for membership to the 2012-2013 National Honor Society have been advised that applications are available from Mr. Bray. They should be turned in to Mr. Bray no later than Wednesday, May 9. Criteria for membership include demonstrated excellence in scholarship, leadership, conduct, and service.

Congratulations to our MS & Elementary Athletes

Last weekend, our MS and Elementary Track Teams participated in the Mayor’s County Track Meet held at Vidinha Stadium. Thirty I.S. elementary students participated

2nd grade track members pose with Ms. Jackie in their flourescent track T-shirts

on Saturday and 25 middle school students on Sunday. Jackie Mierta and Jen Pomroy prepared the athletes during weekly after-school practices as well as during their PE classes.

Our athletes placed in many events, competing against students from all over the island. As soon as we receive the medals special presentations will be made at Morning Circle and Morning Meeting. Congratulations to Waileia Edwards, grade 4, who

placed first in most of her events and was recognized as Overall Elementary Female. For the second year in a row, our Middle School team received the Second Place Trophy for its combined score. Go Voyagers!

Help Us Reach 100%

We all know that tuition and fees cover about 80% of the true cost of an Island School education - but what, exactly, does this mean?

80% of one school day = instruction from 8:00 am - 1:20 pm, a difference of 80 minutes (or one full high school class period) per day.

80% of the school year = 35 fewer instructional days (seven weeks of class time!) per year.

80% of the student population = 290 students, a difference of 72 fewer keiki reached per year.

Donations to our Annual Giving campaign provide direct support to every Island School student by helping us close this gap and reach 100% of our full potential. Every gift makes a difference, and no gift is too small.

Please visit our online donation page today at http://diamondmindinc.com/ island.html or call us at 246-0233 to give. If you have already made your contribution to Annual Giving, your generosity is greatly appreciated. If you are not sure if you have donated, please send an email to Daryl Edwards at daryl@ischool.org and she will check on your current status.

Elizabeth Pitcairn to Visit Island School

Celebrated violin virtuoso Elizabeth Pitcairn has earned a stunning reputation as one of America’s most beloved soloists. This internationally

Click on the Calendar tab on our website. acclaimed artist performs in partnership with one of the world’s most legendary instruments, the “Red Mendelssohn” Stradivarius of 1720, said to have inspired the Academy award winning film, The Red Violin. A group of musically inclined students from all grades have been selected by Mr. Steinbacher and Ms. Alfiler to participate in a multiage interactive music workshop with Ms. Pitcairn when she visits Island School on Wednesday, May 9. She will also perform at Morning Circle and Morning Meeting in the Main Hall.

Parents are welcome.

Get Your May Day Lei From the Booster Club

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Look for their booth in front of the Wilcox Gymnasium on Friday morning.

Summer Skills Workbooks

Summer Skills books are four different series of review books (math, language arts, foreign language and study skills) for students in PreK through high school. Each grade level book helps students maintain their academic skills over the summer months.

For more information go to www. summerskills.com. Books are not available in stores. Order forms are available in the Office on RenWeb under “Resource Documents.”

Completed order forms and payments should be submitted by May 23, to Alice in the Office. Samples are available in the Office. Books will be distributed to your student before the summer break.

To contact the publisher of Island School’s Parent Connection, email peggy@ischool.org

I.S. Chronicles SENIOR UPDATE – Ben Steuri has been accepted to University of British Columbia, Ikanagan Campus, in British Columbia, Canada.

Autumn Warnock, ‘15, examines the skin of a chicken in honors biology.

BIOLOGY – Ms. Mink’s Honors Biology students started their study of the human body with a lab on skin, including fat, fur and feathers.

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT – Congratulations to Steele Bird, ‘13, who recently completed the yearlong Leadership Kaua‘i program. He and his fellow graduates completed three community service projects this year and participated in numerous other events and activities that have benefited our Kaua‘i community in BIG ways.

Fifth grader, Soleil Errico won first place

in the Irons Brothers Pine Trees Classic last weekend.

Fellow classmate, Honey Chandler, came in third.

Mikayla Savoie, grade 6, and Andres Elzaurdia, grade 7, also competed.

Congratulations!

TECHNOLOGY – Kindergarten and 1st Third graders pose at the Living Art Marine Center in graders are learning to the T-shirts they made for their O‘ahu trip. type! They are learning and practicing proper posture year to complete. The students will and finger usage when they incorporate what they have learned type with the animals on Dance about writing this year into their Mat Typing, an internet web site for chapters and add mixed media beginning typists. They have also illustrations. learned how to log on to a computer, navigate a little on the Internet, log SECOND GRADE – A second grade out, and the 1st graders have learned class from Katonah, New York, sent to shut down their computers. They our class Flat Stanley for a Hawaiian have also been practicing reading, vacation. While here, F.S. learned to math, science, art & color, and play the ukulele, practiced the second music on the website ABCMouse. grade May Day dance, tried Spam com. By working puzzles and games, for the first time (he likes it better they earn tickets to buy things for than egg salad sandwiches), played at their personal avatars. Some of the recess with the class. Mr. Steinbacher students are practicing at home on is making a photo album of all F.S.’s this website, also. They will soon be activities and will send him back exploring My Make Believe Castle, with a lei for his teacher and some a software program with Nicky the Hawaiian gifts.

Dragon and his friends.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT – On Wednesday, May 9, the following students will be taking the Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus exam: Joy Claypoole, ‘13, Lasie Eto, ‘12, Jasmine Libert, ‘12, Jayke Manzano, ‘12, Michelle Poirson, ‘12, and Daniel Wu, ‘16. Passing this exam gives students the opportunity to earn college credit for the calculus course they took this year at Island School.

THIRD GRADE – The class and the many chaperones had a wonderful trip to O‘ahu last week. This week, they have been writing about their experience and making books. Their book projects are quite elaborate and will take until the end of the

JUMP AND HOOPS FOR HEART – Collection packets may be turned in to Ms. Sue or Ms. Jackie. All packets are due May 9th! Mahalo for supporting the American Heart Association.

2nd graders enjoy recess with Flat Stanley

Parent Page Mahalo to Parent Association

♥♥♥

♥ ♥ ♥ Bryna Storch at Pua Kalo Farm for donating a 26-pound squash to our Healthy Lunch program. Mr. Dean will add it to a soup. (It took four students to carry it!)

The Parent Association would like to thank the Island School Faculty, Administration and Staff for recognizing us at this morning’s PA Meeting with flowers and refreshments.

♥ ♥ ♥ Kaua‘i County Correctional Center for donating a bunch of May Day flowers. ♥ ♥ ♥ Mr. Ipo Yoshioka for repairing the oven in the

Main Hall kitchen.

♥ ♥ ♥ Melissa Riopta for sewing all the 7th grade girls’

May Day costumes.

♥ ♥ ♥ our Fabulous Parent Association for work-

Next Tuesday, May 8th

Teacher Appreciation Lunch Make sure you’ve contacted your Room Parent for details about what to bring.

ing hard all year long to make this a great school year.

Many thanks to Co-Chairs Donna King and Charlene Steuri for leading the pack in this, their final year as I.S. parents!

♥ ♥ ♥ members of Iglesia Ni Cristo Church for re-

pairing corners of the recessed ceiling in the Main Hall, changing all the light bulbs and cleaning the fans.

♥ ♥ ♥ all the parents who supported the Track Team

Classified Ads

last weekend, and to Julia Massaro, grade 6, and Waileia Edwards, grade 4, for assisting with the Keiki Track Team on Saturday and to Mabel Kha, grade 7, for assisting on Sunday.

♥ ♥ ♥ all the folks who donated flowers and foliage for

PONO PLAYERS PRODUCTION: Pono Players, the educational outreach arm of Hawai’i Children’s Theatre, will hold a public performance of “Bully Survivor” on Tuesday, May 22, at 6pm at Island School. Admission is free. The target audience is students in grades 4 to 6, though it is appropriate for all ages. The cast members range in age from 6th grade to young adult, with the majority being middle school students. The cast includes Island School middle school students: Raina Silver, Sydney Agudong, Sterling Bird, Kaycee Lu, Makenna Olson, and Emily Threlkeld. Our fifth graders will get to see the show during school that day.

CHORALE CONCERT: Kaua‘i Chorale, KCC Concert Band, and Chiefess MS Chorus will perform ‘Carmina Burana’ on Saturday, May 5, at 7 pm and Sunday, May 6, at 4 pm at the KCC Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. This concert promises to be a beautiful and powerful performance. Our 3rd grade teaching assistant, Tawna Soltysik, sings a solo in this concert. Advanced tickets are available from Judy Byce (also a singer). judyb@ischool.org.

FOR SALE: Yamaha Clavinova Digital Piano, model CVP105. Used by IS music department for 15+ years. Functional except for sustain pedal.

No longer suitable for teaching or performing, but excellent student/beginner piano. $200 OBO; proceeds to be used toward new digital keyboard for music room. Contact philip@ischool.org.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND JR. AT KALAHEO SCHOOL: Don’t miss this Disney classic, performed by Kalaheo School Drama Club, directed by Marly Madayag. Last weekend: May 4 & 5, at 7pm at Kalaheo Elementary School. Tickets $5/adult, $1/ children. Children free with canned food donation for KIFB.

our May Day celebration.

Standardized Testing For PK-5 Beginning next week, new standardized tests will be administered to students in PK-5 during their regular class time. Those in PK-2 will take the Children’s Progress Academic Assessment (CPAA), and 3rd - 5th graders will take the Comprehensive Testing Program (CTP).

These tests have been developed by the Educational Records Bureau (ERB). Founded in 1927, ERB’s mission is, according to its founder, Charles K. Taylor, “to create testing and learning solutions that would help schools develop improved curriculum based on results, thus helping students gain a better education.” ERB is headquartered in New York City and has over 2000 independent and public school members globally.

For the next two weeks, we will be administering two tests: • the Children’s Progress Academic Assessment (CPAA), and • the Comprehensive Testing Program (CTP) for grades 3-5.

Both of these tests are taken online via computer.

Results are quickly produced, and analyzed information is shown in several different and useful configurations. Group scores as well as individual scores are generated and will be used to identify strengths and weaknesses of individual students as well as the curriculum.

The CPAA focuses on the PreK-2nd grade years and evaluates student proficiency in language arts/ literacy and mathematics. The tests are based on years of expert research in the areas of cognitive psychology, early childhood education and child development.

Standardized testing is just one of four ways we assess the progress of our elementary students.

1. Individual quizzes and tests are part of regular instruction.

2. Portfolio assessments are prepared by students and reviewed with parents by the student after each trimester.

3. Report cards are prepared by teachers at the end of each trimester.

The CTP is a rigorous assesment of student achievement in reading, listening, vocabulary, writing, mathematics, verbal and quantitative reasoning. It provides data that compare Island School students with similar groups of students across the nation.

Testing for grades 3-5, begins Monday and will continue for two weeks. As this is an achievement test, it will only be given once a year. PreK - 2nd grade students will only have one short testing session. The CPAA can be given as often as teachers deem useful.

Island School 3-1875 Kaumuali`i Hwy Lihu`e, Kaua`i, Hawai`i, 96766

May 3, 2012 A weekly publication We’re on the web at www.ischool.org