Ho‘oha‘aheo Newsletter, March 6

Hawai'i State Department of Education sent this bulletin at 03/06/2024 11:00 AM HST

March 6

Editorial Mission: As the Department's primary publication, we aim to live up to the meaning of ha‘aheo – to cherish with pride – by bolstering and sustaining pride in public education and touting the successes happening across our system.

In the Loop with SuperIntendant Keith T. Hayashi

Aloha, HIDOE Community –

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Ho‘oha‘aheo Newsletter.

Explore our summer learning options

Our public schools have designed a comprehensive menu of engaging summer programming to support student learning and growth over the summer break. Offerings span all grade levels and are personalized to student needs. Opportunities range from our official summer school program and school-based learning hubs to the successful Summer Start Kindergarten Transition program for our youngest learner and HIDOE-sponsored summer internships for high school juniors and seniors.

Thanks to federal pandemic relief funds, summer programming has been subsidized for families for the past few years, including this summer. For more information, please visit bit.ly/HIDOEsummerlearning or check with your child’s school for specific details.

Middle Level Student Leadership Summit

March is Middle Level Education Month and more than 500 middle school students from 46 schools statewide gathered at the Hilton Hawaiian Village on March 1 for the inaugural student-led Middle Level Student Leadership Summit, a daylong conference dedicated solely for middle school students. The theme #LeadLikeDuke was inspired by the film “Waterman,” which was made available to all HIDOE seventh graders earlier this school year.

The students were energetic, well-spoken and I was impressed with the breakout sessions led by students from various schools with topics ranging from public speaking, building a school esports program, preparing for high school and more. Watch a highlight video and hear from one of our student presenters. Mahalo to the student presenters for sharing their knowledge, the student attendees for their enthusiasm and all the staff who made this fantastic event possible!

#HIPublicSchoolsProud

Social media highlights of the most engaging posts of the week.
Use the #HIPublicSchoolsProud hashtag for a chance to be featured!

Kalākaua Middle

» Our student leaders attended the MLSL Summit's student-led sessions and are eager and excited to bring some of those ideas to KMS. Mahalo to all the student presenters, Superintendent Hayashi and Dr. Cameli. #HIPublicSchoolsProud

Kealakehe Intermediate

» Lead Like Duke Award bestowed upon our alaka‘i haumāna at today’s Middle Level Student Leadership Summit in recognition of leadership traits modeled after the life, legacy, and leadership of Duke Kahanamoku. Ha‘aheo! #KealakeheThatsWhy

S. W. King Intermediate

» A few of our 7th and 8th graders attended the 2024 Middle School Leadership Summit. It was an inspirational day filled with fun, excitement, and also networking time with other Windward District Schools! Mahalo to all the student presenters! Fabulous job!

West Maui Updates

We will be providing relevant information on Lahaina schools in this space,
including updates on health and safety, construction and more.

Wipe tests

The Department continues to conduct bi-weekly wipe sampling in Lahaina classrooms to test for any particles settling on surfaces. The last wipe test on Feb 20. found no actionable levels of lead or arsenic, similar to previous samplings. Past results can be found here.

Air monitoring and sampling

The state Department of Health is conducting air sampling at stations around Lahaina, including at Lahaina Intermediate. The sampling is being conducted to ensure that the USACE debris removal activities do not significantly impact air quality in surrounding communities and will continue throughout the debris removal work. While Hawai‘i soil contains nominal amounts of natural metals, the detection of metals has been low. Results are posted weekly on their website.

Important Dates

Middle Level Education Month
National Nutrition Month
National Reading Month
Women’s History Month
March 7 - Board of Education: Special Meeting, Finance and Infrastructure Committee, Student Achievement Committee

Community Query

Do you know the answer to this LifeSmarts health and safety question? 73% of participants on Instagram answered correctly.

HIDOE Headlines

A roundup of announcements, resources and shoutouts.

» Moanalua Middle social studies teacher Kimberly Kim was honored with the 2024 state Teacher of Promise award. The award is granted annually by the Milken Educators of Hawai‘i to a classroom teacher for demonstrating outstanding commitment and potential during their first three years with the Hawai‘i State Department of Education.

» Seventh grader Sebastian Bejar from Kapa‘a Middle takes home the 2024 Hawai‘i State Spelling Bee trophy. He took the crown with the word “breviloquence," which means to speak in a concise style. Bejar will now prepare for the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Maryland this summer.

» In the most recent episode of HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i, students – who recently took home national storytelling awards – share stories and profiles from their perspective. Also featured in this episode is the newest segment of HIKI NŌ called, “Did You Know?