Manoa Mountains News for February 28, 2008
The Manoa Mountains did a great job on their book report presentations. Their speeches were detailed, and the visual aids were very creative. The majority received four or five stars for their evaluations. We had some outstanding posters, a game, some dioramas, and a mobile. Everyone did a confident presentation.
We are gearing up for the art contest, open to all of our students, related to the opera "Kahalaopuna." It is an opportunity to be creative and submit a piece of art work in any medium which could be incorporated into the final program for the opera. We will be performing the opera in May; this art contest is to raise interest in it.
We will also have a t-shirt design contest for our Manoa Day on April 11. We will be spending the entire day visiting historical sites in Manoa Valley and learning about the history of the valley. Our guest speaker will be Mr. John Clark (Sachi's dad), who is writing a book about Manoa Valley. We will also tour Waikiki because it is part of the Manoa ahupua'a and part of our studies. We will end with a family dinner of Hawaiian food in the dining hall around 5:30 PM. Information and sign-ups will be sent home tomorrow.
Our regular work continues to challenge us, and we are doing a good job on the Literature Circle legends. Reading and discussing the stories in groups, answering the comprehension questions, drawing a plot picture chart, and writing a report of the story have given everyone many opportunities for success in articulating their understanding of what they have read. Our vocabulary work has helped us to learn the meanings of new words in the legends.
Our creative writing is producing some nice published stories for the authors to share. We hope to have everyone publish a story before we go on spring break. With only six computers on the classroom, we patiently wait our turn as others complete their stories.
Our math has been fun with the math multiplication games that the third graders have been playing. They will be creating practice flash cards to help them learn the more difficult facts. We hope to have everyone learn all the multiplication facts this year.
Our inquiry research about Manoa Valley has everyone working in groups to discuss their impressions of how the valley looked 100 years ago. The groups are creating posters to share their ideas. The concept of the ahupua'a and how the Hawaiians shared their natural resources has been interesting to learn since the Manoa ahupua'a extends from the valley to Waikiki.
The annual Ho'olaule'a will be held on March 14. Our class will need at least six volunteer parents to take our students around the Ho'olaule'a. Each student will purchase lunch, play games, and have a fun time. To make it safe, we need the parents to take small groups around the high school campus for all the festivities. We will begin at 11:00 AM and end at 1:30 PM. If you are able to come and help us supervise our students, please send me a note next week. In today's Thursday packet, you will receive information about Ho'olaule'a and an order form for purchasing scrip and t-shirts. I hope many of you can join us.
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