Kindergarten Self-Portraits

I had the opportunity to support the kindergartners of K-Leahi today on wooden self-portraits. Mrs. Hirata started the lesson with having students discuss and share what facial features they think should be included in their self-portrait. After listing the features on the board, students chose a piece of wood they wanted to use as their face and went to work choosing the right pieces to create their facial features. Some students designed fancy eyelashes, while others strategically chose specific shapes to create their eyes and hair. This was such a creative activity for students to express their inner artist and I am so grateful to have been part of it.

6th Grade Math & Minecraft Education

I had the opportunity to work on a 6th grade math lesson using Minecraft Edu alongside Mr. Yanagihara, a knowledgeable and talented educator who has various roles in the Upper School. Since the 6th graders have been learning about surface area and perimeter, the math teachers wanted to implement an extension activity utilizing the popular Minecraft gaming platform. Students designed a zoo enclosure with specific dimensions that they needed to recreate digitally in the Minecraft world. Mr. Y explained the basic tools and features and before we knew it the students were off carefully creating their enclosures. It was incredible to witness their 2D drawings come to life in a 3D digital world.

4th Graders Explore littleBits

Today the fourth graders explored the magic and discovered endless possibilities with littleBits! littleBits are electronic building blocks that snap together magnetically. We watched this video to get an idea of what littleBits are, how they work, and what they can do then quickly got started in our exploration. They were so excited to start playing and it was fun to see them arrange the blocks in various combinations.

Grade 6 Medieval Faire

Sixth graders have been working tirelessly as they learned about their role during the medieval times era. Many students visited the lab over the last 6 weeks to design and create props for their role. Projects ranged from signage for the herbalists to game board pieces for the game players. One student used Keynote to design a spinning wheel that was used for the actors' performance of Rumplestiltskin. I loved being able to see all the pieces come together at this year's Medieval Faire. The students were very articulate and energetic as they eagerly shared all that they learned about their role. I particularly enjoyed how patient and enthusiastic they were as they interacted with the younger students and guests. Marvelous work 6th graders & all who were involved with making this event such a huge success!

Grade 2 Families Are Forever

Second graders learned about their heritage and families through research and interviews. The decision was made to enhance the Families Are Forever program this year by incorporating and showcasing multiple pieces of student work. I had the opportunity to work with students on their green screen videos and stamp-making projects. Students chose a background image that represented a part of their country research that they later inserted themselves into using the Doink Green Screen app on their iPads. I enjoyed watching their inner performer come alive as they creatively posed themselves in front of the screen. In addition to their movie-making skills, each country group also needed to design a stamp that would be used for the passport portion of the program. As families toured the galleries (being escorted by their knowledgeable 2nd grade docent), they could stamp their passport to indicate they have "visited" and learned about that country. Students drew a design that represented their country on a 1.5" circle which was later scanned and imported to Inkscape. We used the "exclusion" feature to raster the negative space on thick foam, resulting in a one-of-a-kind hand-made stamp. To complete the finished product, I found a stamp handle template online that I modified to fit the stamps students had created. This program was a huge success and I'm so incredibly proud of the entire production team and the amazing talented second graders.

These are some examples of the passport stamps that were strategically placed around the country displays.

Second graders had the opportunity to guide their fourth grade buddy around the displays during the dress rehearsal.

The families of the class of 2029 experienced the newly improved Families are Forever program.