Elementary News
Charging straight ahead at full speed, knocking things over, pushing things around, robots are causing lots of excitement in third grade. Thank goodness it’s all on a small scale!
Photos from the LEGO website show different configurations possible from the same kit.
Elementary technology teacher Lori McGregor is introducing programming skills to third grade students using LEGO Mindstorm NXT2.0. With color, touch and ultrasonic sensors, as well as adaptable bodies, the robots...
Using Skype video exchange technology, the students in Donja Morton's Junior Kindergarten (JK) class have made new friends in Pennsylvania, and Leah Gionet’s class is making friends with students in California. Both teachers are integrating these experiences with units of study in the classroom, and everyone is enjoying getting to know people who live in a different part of the country.
Using a learning exchange made possible by ePals, Morton’s class has contacted the...
There’s a new instructional model that has teachers flipping! It’s called the “Flipped Classroom,” and it is one more great teaching strategy in a teacher’s repertoire that facilitates student learning. It flips around the traditional model of a classroom (where a teacher lectures in front of a room) and creates meaningful, 21st century learning experiences for students.
So what is this new model and what does it mean for students?
The flipped classroom...
On April 18 The Junior Kindergarten students at Island Pacific Academy took part in a Trike-a-Thon to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. At 9:45 that morning the parking lot at IPA became a restricted “Tyke Trike Track,” with the children making their laps for a good cause. Having gathered pledges for the event, the students pedalled energetically to fulfill their end of the bargain. Proud parents were on hand to cheer them on and take photos....
The Girl Scouts Daisy Troop 409 met on campus one recent Saturday morning to do some gardening. The girls, whose troop meets at IPA, had taken on a project to improve the looks of a wall along the JK side of the campus which had never been landscaped.
Daisy girls get ready to plant along the side of the Elementary building.
For the girls, the morning’s activity was part of earning their Golden Honey Bee Award. To complete requirements for that award Daisies must do something...
Fabulous art was on display in Grade One classrooms recently as the culmination of a recent unit called “How We Express Ourselves: We Are All Artists!” After collecting a portfolio of their art work the students decided how to arrange a display showcasing their work, and invited parents to come to their show.
Proud students stand by their individual art displays.
The students were excited to have parents view their work and that of their classmates, and eagerly talked...
Second grade IPA students recently used the chapter about Harriet Tubman in A Value Tales Treasury, by Spencer Johnson, M.D., to consider the value of helping. They learned that the value of helping means the importance of helping, why it is important, and how it makes us feel to help someone else.
The teachers read the story about Tubman as the children followed in their copies of the book and looked at the pictures. Students had many questions about the time period in which she lived,...
This fall when it came time for the Upper School Student Government to conduct its annual food drive for the Hawaii Food Bank, they decided to issue a challenge to other Oahu independent schools to join them in a friendly competition to see which school could collect the most food.
Students help load the IPA bus with donated food for delivery to the Food Bank.
With a total of 8,952 pounds delivered to the Food Bank, IPA was 2,633 pounds ahead of its nearest rival, Punahou. IPA’...
Encouraging the love of reading (and learning) is the ultimate aim of holding the annual Book Fairs here at IPA. There’s always a fun theme with contests, games and creative decorations making the book fair area very popular with students. But besides the convenience to staff, parents, and students being able to select books for purchase right on campus, there is of course, a financial benefit to the school. Through the teacher wish board where each teacher can list desired books,...
Richard Snell has joined the faculty to serve as the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP) curriculum coordinator. “I'm so excited to have someone joining our team with so much experience and passion for curriculum and teaching,” said Elementary Principal Sue Miller.
Snell’s 35 years experience in education includes teaching across the elementary grades and administrative positions. Coming to IPA from Catlin Gable School in Oregon, he also...