December 8, 2011

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

Hang Your Slippers on the Slipper TreeThe Slipper Tree in the Courtyard is blossoming slippers! It can use more. Please bring in a pair or two of new slippers to be distributed to needy families on Kaua‘i.

Middle School Dance Tomorrow, Dec. 9.Student Council members ask that students follow the dress code for a semi-formal dance and in the holiday spirit.

Robotics Sponsors Middle School Dance Jan 6Robotics will be hosting a dance for all Kaua‘i MS students on Friday, Jan. 6. The same people who travel to competitions on the Party Bus bring you the same high-energy fun and excitement. Permission forms are available from the front office or from Liz in the Student Activities office.

Yearbook 2011-2012 has a Facebook PageIt’s named, Island School Yearbook 2011-2012. Also, we have a new Jostens’ site for sharing and submitting photos for the yearbook. It is at www.replayit.com. Share this site with your friends. It’s easy to use and a good way to get your pictures into the yearbook! Go to www.replayit.com, select “Island School Lihu‘e” and create an account using your email and your own password. Then you’ll be able to post pictures and get them to the yearbook staff so we can use them in this year’s yearbook. Stay tuned for ordering info which will be coming up soon!

Christmas Choral ConcertOrders for DVDs for Tuesday’s concert are now being taken. Checks will be collected at the concert and should be made out to Bamboo Moon Video. Cost is $20 each.

SAT Prep Courses Jan/FebThese courses are recommended for juniors who plan to take the SAT this spring (March 10, May 5 and June 2) and also for sophomores as excellent preparation for the PSAT (administered to all Island School 10th and 11th graders in October). Enrollment in both classes is limited. Students can sign up for one or both classes with Joan Shaw, at joan@ischool.org or 246-0233, ext. 232. Checks should be made out to the individual instructors and registration is confirmed when payment is received. Independent practice work between class sessions will be required to receive full benefit from the course. Each Prep Course (Reading/Writing and Math) consists of four sessions over the course of four weeks and is 1 ½ hours in length. Math Prep Course taught by Susie MassaroThis course will cover test-taking strategies, including some review of Algebra I, Geometry and Algebra II. Students will receive two prep books: The Official SAT Study Guide and The New SAT Math Game Plan. Practice tests will be administered. Registration for the math course is limited to students who are enrolled in geometry or higher. Wednesdays,

Jan. 25 and Feb. 1, 8 & 15, 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. - Wiliwili Room$130 including materials Critical Reading/Writing Prep Course taught by Lindsay KammThis course will cover test-taking skills and strategies to help discern the meaning of a sentence and the purpose of a passage. Sections of the SAT will be administered, with significant focus on responding to timed-writing prompts effectively.Mondays, Jan. 23 & 30, and Feb. 6 & 13, 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. - Wiliwili Room.$120 including materials.

Toys For TotsHelp spread a little cheer this holiday season by donating new unwrapped toys to Island School Student Government to go to Toys for Tots. Monetary donations are also being accepted. Drop off your contribution at the Student Activities Office (Liz’s office) Monday through Friday next week. Contact Adie for more information: adie@ischool.org.

Class of ‘12 Lucky DrawingThe class of 2012 will kick off a “Lucky Drawing” Fund raiser on Dec. 16th. Tickets are available from all seniors (suggested donation $5). The Grand Prize is a one week condo stay in Hawai‘i, the Mainland or an international location, courtesy of Hawai‘i Time Share Exchange. Second Place is a one night stay at the Koa Kea Resort w/ Breakfast for Two. Many other prizes. Proceeds fund post-graduation festivities and the Senior Gift.

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MIDDLE SCHOOL – Over thirty middle school students participated in our first Holiday Knock-Out Tournament. Knock-out is a basketball game that students frequently play during lunch and break. Mary Castelanelli announced that 7th grader Dante Dikeman (pictured above) was the overall winner and Josh Spencer, also 7th grade, came in second. Dante will be receiving a t-shirt for his win that says “2012 Holiday Knock-Out Tournament Champion.”

SECRET SANTA – High School Student Government is organizing their Secret Santa gift exchange. Each student will play Secret Santa for another high school student whose name they have been given. Gifts can range from $5-$10, and are due next Tuesday, Dec.13th. Participation from everyone is expected. Gifts will be given out on Friday during the high school Christmas Party on Dec. 16. Middle School students have been asked to bring in a $5 gift suitable for either a boy or girl, to exchange at the end of the day on Friday. Elementary students have drawn names and are asked to buy a $5 Secret Santa gift. Elementary and MS gifts are also due to homeroom teachers on Tuesday.

ROBOTICS – Last weekend, the Middle and High School VEX robotics teams traveled to O‘ahu to compete in the Pan Pacific tournament, the largest VEX tournament in the world, with 104 teams, many of them very powerful. Our MS team, led by drivers Josh Miller and coaches Julia Massaro and Lexa Mink-Flacco, ‘11, placed 22nd in this field. The high school iBots, with driver Lansen Eto, ‘13, coaches Daniel Miller, ‘12 and

Cy Whitlock, ‘13, placed 29th. Both robots performed well. Our team also helped the Kaua‘i, Kapa‘a and Waimea High teams build robots and compete. All five robots were programmed by Quinn Hannah-White, ‘14. It was a very successful VEX season overall, with excellent designs, solid construction and programming, and very dedicated driving teams. Our robotics students will start designing next year’s VEX robots when the new game is announced in April, with the shop open during the summer. This will put us in an even stronger position for competing next year. Anyone in middle or high school who is interested in joining a team is welcome. In the meantime, plans and fund raising are underway for the FIRST robotics competition season, set to launch on January 7!

MS LIBRARY – Middle School Explorers (pic-tured at right) are processing books, orga-nizing them by genre, and designing bul-letin boards for the Middle School Library. It is a great opportunity to see students caring for the library.

SPANISH – Sra. Wong is taking a group to Spain for 12 days in June. Other high school Spanish students who wish to attend should contact Sra. Wong as soon as possible: lorena@ischool.org. Spanish IV students are creating Spanish commercials with three students per group and will be video taping for the next couple of weeks on campus and at the mall.

FIRST & FOURTH GRADES – The first graders and their 4th grade buddies went to the Hanchett Ranch in Moloa‘a yesterday to cut Christmas trees for their classrooms.

SPELLING BEE – Grades 6-8 will hold a spelling be on Wednesday,

Dec. 14, at 11:55. Representatives are as follows: 8th grade - Emily Threlkeld and Jordan Grainger; 7th grade - Maureen Valdez, Keoni Downer, Eli Smart, Salisa Pegeder, Allison Summerhays; 6th grade - Douglas Sears, Maya Rivera, Melia Schneck and Ryan Yavinsky.

BIOLOGY – Monday, the Honors Biology class extracted and preserved samples of their own DNA, using materials readily found around the home.

SENIOR UPDATE – Our seniors are beginning to receive acceptance letters from the colleges and universities to which they have applied. Jasmine Libert received the first acceptance letter of the Class of 2012. She was accepted at University of Portland in Portland, OR, and then at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA, and Pacific University in Forest Grove, OR; Michelle Poirson has been accepted at Hawai‘i Pacific University in Honolulu, where she received a President’s Scholarship - the highest award available; Ryan Perez has been accepted at Hawai‘i Pacific University in Honolulu; Ben Steuri has been accepted at University of Hawai‘i at Manoa; Nicole Malapit was accepted at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, CA, where she was awarded a Dean’s Scholarship. Congratulations to all of you.

KINDERGARTEN – Students are learning about their five senses and making an ornament for each sense.

PSAT/NMSQT– Score reports have been returned to sophomores and juniors, along with information about how to interpret them. Parents should ask their students to share their score reports.

I.S. Chronicles

Freshman, Allison Culliney, observes her

DNA sample.

Christmas Holiday Food Drive For Nana’s House

Dec. 12 - 16th

Pre-K Boxed Cereal

Kindergarten Canned Fruits

Grade 1 Boxed Pasta (mac/cheese)

Grade 2 Canned Ready Meals (Chef Boy-R-Dee)

Grade 3 Crackers/Cookies

Grade 4 Canned Ready Meals (chef Boy-R-Dee)

Grade 5 Pop Tarts/Breakfast Bars

Grade 6 Canned Vegetables Grade 7 Canned Soup/Cup O Noodles

Grade 8 Canned Meats (tuna,spam,corned beef)

Grade 9 Rice

Grade 10 Canned Meats (tuna,spam,corned beef)

Grade 11 Canned Meats (tuna,spam,corned beef)

Grade 12 Rice

Please drop off your contributions in your homeroom class starting Monday!

MOVING SALE: Saturday, Dec. 10th. 2881 Aukoi St., Ulu Mahi Subdivision off Nawiliwili Rd. in Lihu‘e. Everything must go! 8:00-noon, Call Che-rie for more information. 645-6741.

KPAC HIGH SCHOOL ORIGINAL PLAYS: Dec. 9 & 10 at 7pm, Dec. 11 at 4pm. Children of the Land (formerly Children’s Discovery Museum) in Waipouli Shopping Village. Four original plays by KPAC students. $5 admission.

AKC GOLDEN RETRIEVERS: Available for Dec. 20-pick up. Blonde to reds, both sexes. $1000 - Now accepting deposits. Call Pete at 652-8031.

FREE PLAY FOR KEIKI: The Purple Striped Honu Theatre for Kids presents, The

Sleeping Giant, a puppet play for keiki at Kapa‘a Neighborhood Center. 1:00 p.m., Saturday, December 10th.

KAUA‘I DANCE CENTER HOLIDAY SHOWCASE: Sat-urday, December 10, Kilauea Theater, 10:00-11:00am First Showcase - Keiki Dancing (ages 3-9), 2:00-3:30pm. Second Showcase - Upper Levels Students. Tickets at the door $5. Free for Children 5 and under.

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♥ ♥ ♥ Mary Lou Barela, Reouven & Laura Barzilai, Judy & Richard Byce, Sirena Castillo, Kathleen Dahill & Chris Sweitzer, Debra DeBusca, Eric Devlin, Ed Ea-ton & Jessica Silver, Peggy & Willy Ellenburg, James & Susie Massaro, Anne Moncrief, Dr. Craig Netzer, Brian & Gina Pearson, Victor & Mary Ann Punua, Roy & Lina Skinner, Andrew So (on behalf of Ryan So), Philip Steinbacher & Jason Blake and Stacey & Lorena Wong for supporting the Annual Giving Campaign!

♥ ♥ ♥ Monsanto Hawai‘i and Textron Systems Corpo-ration for gifts to the Kauaibots!

♥ ♥ ♥ Hawai‘i Pizza Hut for a contribution to the Alaka’i Chorus through the Pizza Night Program, and Jacquelyn Seaman for her donation toward the Alaka’i Chorus trip! Also to Donna King for donating 50 plastic hangers for them to use.

♥ ♥ ♥ Sharon McDonough for filming and making DVDs of the fall play, “It’s About Time,” for the cast and school archives.

♥ ♥ ♥ Robin Pratt and Kahana Heen for their donations to the LRC.

♥ ♥ ♥ Fred Atkins of Kilohana for donating railroad ties to replace the steps at the keiki playground slide.

♥ ♥ ♥ 8th graders, Sterling Bird, Kaycee Lu and Raina Silver who represented Island School well by volunteering at the Festival of Lights. Organizer Elizabeth Freeman said they, “… did a really fantastic job! They were enthusiastic, high spir-ited and did their job very well! And they all wore the cutest outfits and they even did a bit of caroling!”

♥ ♥ ♥ the Murphy, Eto and Keith Families for their much-appreciated holiday gifts.

♥ ♥ ♥ the following 5th grade parents for volunteering as a classroom helper for their play: Vera Errico, Juliana Grigorova, Monica King, Gaye Miller, Dana Roberts, Amy Sherrer, Alison Wendler and Bridget Wright.

ParentAssociation

Mahalo to ♥ ♥ ♥

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Island School3-1875 Kaumuali`i HwyLihu`e, Kaua`i, Hawai`i, 96766

December 8, 2011

Did you know that tuition and fees cover just 80% of the full cost of an Island School education? The Annual Giving Campaign was created to close this gap.

Annual Giving Dollars … … Reach every Island School Student; … Help to keep tuition costs as low as

possible; … Enhance the educational experience at

Island School!

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to Island School this holiday season. No gift is too small to make a difference in the lives of our students.

Visit our giving page at http://diamondmindinc.com/island.html, bring or mail your check to the front Office, or call 246-0233 for more information.

Your Gift will help us with: utility bills - art supplies for students - technology upgrades - locker and student lounge maintenance - office, health room and classroom supplies - wireless internet access - landscaping upgrades - school publications - field trips and excursions - whatever the school needs most!

Thank you for supporting Island School!

Thank You For Giving This Holiday Season

“Education is not preparation for life. Education is life itself.” -John Dewey, American psychologist, philosopher, educator and political activist.

Student Government’s annual Santa’s Workshop was a huge hit with the keiki.

Kindergartners and 2nd graders learn about laulima, or working together, from Kumu Steve, as they pass a rope around the circle.