Class of 2030 enjoys new adventures on the Valley Isle
Our spring semester of neighbor island trips continued this week for the Class of 2030. Eighteen students, joined by Mr. Kanakanui, Mr. Ganiron, and Mrs. Hsia, enjoyed the past five days on Maui. The group stayed at the Made in Hope Center in Wailuku, a Christian retreat center dedicated to educating youth about their work with human trafficking survivors. During the week, students visited the Maui Nisei Veterans' Memorial Center and the popular Maui Ocean Center.
Service was an important component of the trip, and as students participated in service projects across the island, they could see the different community needs. The group shared songs and interacted with the kupuna of Maui Adult Day Care Center and the keiki of Kansha Preschool. Later that day, they spent a meaningful afternoon at Waiola Church in Lahaina, cleaning the cemetery grounds and witnessing the rebuilding process after the devastating wildfires in 2023. After catching a passenger ferry, the group served at the Lana'i Cat Sanctuary, helping to feed cats, paint cat houses, and scan microchips. Their last project took students to the Olowalu Valley to work on restoring the lo'i.
With a strong emphasis on teamwork and serving others during this trip, these 8th graders are well-prepared for their upcoming high school years. We look forward to them taking advantage of more travel opportunities and sharing God's love beyond our state!
Impressive performance sends MathCounts team to States
After a 10th-place finish last year and placing 2nd in two fall competitions, this year's middle school MathCounts team had high expectations going into the Honolulu Chapter Competition, held at Kamehameha Schools Kapalama on Saturday, February 7. The team rose to the challenge, resulting in a historic accomplishment for KCS. The team placed 5th and will advance to the State Competition on March 7, joining Washington Middle School, Kulia Academy, Iolani, and Punahou as the top five schools from Saturday's competition.
In the individual (target & sprint) rounds, Danae Hsia '30 placed 10th; she returns to States after competing as an individual last year. This year, she will be joined by teammates William Hart '30, Avery Nakamura '30, and Mingyu Shin '31. They have continued their lunch period practices, working hard with the same collaborative and competitive spirit to prepare for the state competition. Way to go, KCS mathletes and Coach Dr. Kwong!
New adventures for middle school students
KCS continues to provide memorable trip experiences for 7th and 8th graders! From November 17-21, 32 students and 12 parent & staff chaperones spent five days on the Garden Isle. The group stayed at the picturesque accommodations of Makanalani Kids Camp on the North Shore of Kauai, surrounded by open fields, gardens, orchards, and farm animals. During the week, students enjoyed several of the island's best cultural, historic, and adventure activities, including a train excursion at the Grove Farm Museum, learning coconut leaf weaving at the Kauai Museum, and ziplining at Outfitters Kauai. The trip also incorporated a service component. Students worked the lo'i at the Waipa Foundation and served joyfully at the Kauai Humane Society, completing a variety of tasks, from folding laundry to unloading pallets and washing crates.
This is the third neighbor island trip for our middle school department in recent years, allowing students to take advantage of our beautiful island home. In the spring of 2023, the Class of 2028 explored the island of Maui, while they were joined that fall by the Class of 2029 on Molokai. KCS hopes these trips strengthen friendships and bonds between students, helping them to look forward to more opportunities to travel to the mainland and overseas destinations in high school.
KCS tuition rates remain the same for 2021-22
KCS is pleased to announce that its Board of Elders approved that there will be no tuition increase for the 2021-22 school year. Tuition rates will remain the same as this school year.
Recognizing that this has been a difficult year for many in the KCS 'ohana, school leadership proposed a 0% tuition increase due to possible financial hardships encountered by KCS families. Principal Mrs. Ahn states, "We empathize with the difficult circumstances that our families are facing. We desire to keep KCS affordable so that families who value a Christian education in an intimate, smaller school setting would be able to have the opportunity to attend."
Mrs. Ahn also expresses her appreciation to families who continued to invest in a KCS education and supported the school through the many factors of uncertainty this year has presented.
Reenrollment for current students starts in February. For families interested in applying for the Kyle-Lenn-Joey Scholarship program, our financial aid application will be available through FACTS Grant & Aid, beginning in mid-January.
MathCounts team places 10th at regional competition
Middle school MathCounts team members participated in the regional competition, held this past Saturday at Kamehameha Schools Kapalama. Building on their 12th place finish last year, this year's team earned an impressive top 10 recognition. They worked together to earn points through three rounds of problems that tested their mathematical speed, accuracy, reasoning, and collaboration skills. On the individual level, Nathanael Shuai and Caleb Yoshioka placed 47th and 50th, respectively, landing them in the top 25% of all competitors. Mr. Kwong notes that the team's participation in the HBA Middle School math competition in the fall gave these students valuable competition experience. Great job, mathletes!
STEM: Seventh graders learn coding
Why computer science? According to Code.org, the answer is a matter of foundation, as the nonprofit organization believes that "every 21st century child should have a chance to learn about algorithms, how to make an app, or how the internet works." Mrs. Takahashi, middle school science teacher, has embraced that vision, integrating the innovative curriculum produced by Code.org into her 7th grade science classes. She is part of the year-long Code.org Teacher Professional Learning Program, which included two weeks of classes last summer and quarterly workshops during the school year.
Seventh graders are working through the Computer Science Discoveries curriculum on Code.org. Earlier in the year, students were introduced to the topic of computer science and HTML. Currently, they are learning the programming language, JavaScript, as they work toward programming animations, interactive art, and games. For the unit final project, students will design their own game related to the earth science concepts they are studying. At the end of next month, students will tackle another coding language, Python.
As the units have progressed, students are learning to write code from scratch, building their excitement over the new skills they are acquiring. Students have also begun to think of potential careers, expressing interest in various jobs in computer science fields. With an increasing demand for computer/technology jobs, Mrs. Takahashi understands the importance of equipping students with these foundational skills. She also believes that "learning computer science is a fun way for students to increase problem solving and critical thinking skills."