Karyl Ah Hee

One final post for the 5B FISH! Class of 2020… You may be too young to remember the saying “Shock and Awe” but this saying is so fitting and relevant in this case! The school year began with my announcement of a team goal in reading. We will be challenging ourselves to read ONE MILLION WORDS each! Mouths hung open in disbelief, fixed mindsets were banging on a stone wall, & no, meta was NOT bettah…YET! Students and Ohana were in “shock!”

The year continued…as students learned about different genres (more than fiction & non-fiction), adopted new favorites genres and books, shared their reading with teammates, learned new grade-appropriate words, learned about metacognitive awareness, began thinking about their thinking…and “boom”-huge mindset evolution! Students were determined, exhibited grit, & hoʻomauʻd (persevered). As the year progressed, ”teamwork” gained momentum! Itʻs always better with a friend(s)…students discussed, summarized, predicted, inferred, compared, & critiqued books! Iʻd hear book discussions happening, see sharing of books from class & home, and notice the newly discovered vocabulary being spoken (and written)!

Here comes the “Awe!” 21 out of 24 students met the ONE MILLION WORD reading goal for this year!! I totally believe if we were together, it would have been a historical year (in a positive way) as all 24 would have met the team goal! A few were thisclose! With the “swim strong with me, hiki no mindset”…Collectively as a team, the 5B FISH! read a total of 826 books = 29, 500,000 words TOGETHER! I am so proud of all of our 24 students who “swam strong,”…Together, we displayed that we CAN challenge ourselves, we CAN jump out of our comfort zones w/a positive mindset, we CAN climb out of the box to inspire others, and we DID amaze ourselves! Kīpaipai… you are an inspiration! I am in ʻAWE!” Continue the “swim” with a growth mindset, being meta, and always sharing your aloha! A hui hou kaʻu iʻa! Happy Summer to you all!

Decided to create one last video of our F2F meetings & more for you! From our last week together…sending you all a fond a hui hou! As this year, 2020, will forever be embedded in our minds and history…you will forever be embedded on my heart! Have a wonderful summer! Go out and make great Ohana memories, be pono, be safe, and share your aloha! I’ll miss you all! Remember…Continue the Swim! Let Summer Officially Begin!

Time sure flies when you’re having fun! Our mantra this year…”Work Hard to Play Hard! That we did! Here’s a glimpse of our short time together this year! From team building, to getting meta, to learning fractions of all kinds, addressing our essential question-What is our Kuleana, to becoming alaka’i lawelawe, & most importantly, sharing aloha…we did it, TOGETHER!

Wishing you all a fabulous new journey as you swim “upstream” to Kula Waena. I’ll surely miss your smiles, your energy, your enthusiam for learning, and most of all your kind hearts! Come visit when school commences, hugs are free! Here’s our journey through the year, videos that capture our your learning in hopes that it brings great memories to mind… smile, cheer, and enjoy…have a wonderful summer! Bidding you a fond a hui hou ka’u i’a! Much Love to you all!

Always remember, swim strong to finish strong!

Apr. 28, 2020

Throughout the year, students & I have focused our learning around the essential question of ʻWhat is OUR kuleana?’ What is our responsibility as 5th graders, as students of Kamehameha Schools, as Hawaiians, and as Global citizens?

We were “on 3rd base(3rd trimester), ready to race for home plate when…March rolls around and…Here comes the “biggest curve ball” we will see in our lifetime! All things “normal” gets thrown out and our new normal became the stay at home order.

The students & I quickly shift our “game plan”, how we approach the target, while still keeping an eye on the ball. Distance learning class begins, we asked ourselves, “What Can 5th graders do during this time while we stay at home to beat down that COVID curve?” “Can we do anything?” “How do we stay in the game” from home? We read & saw so much of this scary disease and the devastation it was causing in our world, BUT we also saw the many examples of people extending kindness and aloha too. We decided that it is our time to “step up to the plate” and put our learning into action! ‘O kēia manawa…Now is the time! Project Kahiau 2.0. becomes part of our new playbook! Kahaiau – The Hawaiian value to give of yourself without any expectation of return.

The students brainstormed in numerous Zoom sessions how they could make a difference in the world and answer that question of what is our kuleana? They came up with the idea to MAHALO our essential workers-THE HEROES on the front line. They had “team meetings” to collaborate & strategize, create, generate, and “deliver” speeches. They revised, figured out what is important to include…now it was time for us to get “in the fight!” I mana leo…Let your voice be heard!

We want the Warriors on the front line to know that our Kamehameha Hawaiʻi Warriors, stand in solidarity with you and send our sincerest mahalo for all that you do!

Hear our message of thanks, and share it with an essential worker to let them know that the we mahalo their strength resilience, and sacrifice in this critical moment in our one world. We watch in awe as they tirelessly share Shaka aloha! Keep “swinging for the fence” as we do our part at home by “cheering you on!”

“Fifth graders can make a difference, one heart at a time! Fifth graders can do something to lift up the Warriors on the front lines.” This project allowed us to take a “big swing” into understanding that our collective voices can impact our world and may encourage others to do the same in a positive way during these trying times. Mahalo Heroes! “We’re Staying in the Fight”…Until “this Fight is Finished!” Share a Shaka with aloha….

“The students and I couldn’t have executed this “game plan” vision without the fantastic tech talents of Uncle Jason who worked tirelessly compiling the final product.” Teamwork at its finest! Go Team 5B Go! E Hana pūalu kākou!! TOGETHER, WE CAN!

Here we go! Getting ready to launch our distance learning program at Kula Ha’aha’a! I am so excited to see all the creation and preparation go into the ho’o mode! Action mode! Can’t wait to welcome you back to class…our new VIRTUAL class 🙂

Just a friendly reminder to Team 5B that we are having our 1st meeting tomorrow! Please check your email for the time and details! :). It is also posted on SeeSaw for your convenience. Don’t forget your earphones :). See ya all tomorrow ka’u i’a! Stay happy, Stay safe, and Stay healthy!

The students have all worked so hard to select a topic that was a passion, do research, write & revise, and practice sharing the persuasive writing to teammates! Congrats to the above 5 semi-finalists who represented 5B with guest judges and Papa ʻElima peers. Out of the 5 semi-finalists from each class…only 2 advance :). Hoʻomaikaʻi to Makoa and Kamaka for taking their persuasive topics to the great stage at Lunalilo Hale! Finals tomorrow! (Wed., Feb. 26 @8:00am) Looking forward to cheering on teammate Iopa who will be an MC at this kulawide event 🙂

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday weekend making priceless ohana memories together! Sending out a friendly reminder that Project Kahiau is due on Wed., Feb. 19th. Many students have already completed this self-selected passion project with the partnership of ohana beginning in December. Haumāna were instructed to document this alakaʻi lawelawe project with photos and/or video from beginning to end (implementation). Photos and/or videos are due in class 2/19/20.

Mahalo for all the ohana support as students worked to prepare, plan, and implement these projects that make a difference in our world by sharing the ALOHA! The students will be continuing the “swim” by finalizing their projects to share with all of you in class. 5th graders CAN CHANGE THE WORLD, ONE HEART AT A TIME!

Yes! More FISH! Swim into the Genre Gold club! As you see, membership is growing on a daily basis! As I type, 96% of the students are on target to make the 9 genre goal by this Friday! 4% can attain the target by striving and continuing over the weekend! We work together as ONE TEAM! Weʻre shooting for 100% meeting target for Trimester #2. #OTOD! We uplift each other.

Hoʻomaikaʻi for a job well done! Another one of our team continued to hoʻomau to hit the target of reading 9 different genres for the trimester! Love it that haumāna are continuing to push and stretch and believe that they can do it if they put their minds to it! Atta way to continue the swim!! Friendly reminder to ohana, genre deadline is Mon., Feb. 10 which includes completion of presentations. Reminder to the 5B FISH!…donʻt wait until the last minute as we present one at a time on the last day as we discussed in class on numerous occassion.