It is nearly Spring Break and the school year has been whizzing by! Our upper grade students have been busy this year. Right now, everyone is knee deep into research. Our 4th graders, newly returned from their Hawaiʻi Island huakaʻi, are finishing up their Hawaiian plant research project. Continuing where last year’s 4th graders left off, they are studying a variety of native and introduced plants to figure out what plants will grow well in our very own KES Hawaiian garden. Meanwhile. our 5th graders are immersed in everything Kapālama as they get ready for their 5th grade play. Here, the students focused on researching this very special place from ancient times to modern day. Finally, in the next building over, after numerous huaka’i to the Windward side of Oahu, our 6th graders are diving deep into their Aloha ‘Āina Projects as they look at the question of how they can address an important issue of their wahi.

In our era of fake news, here in the HMC, all students are working learning how to evaluate information sources to determine credibility, accuracy, bias and relevance. The current Coronavirus outbreak was the topic they were most interested in as they raced against each other to figure out fact from fiction and determine information authenticity. Along the way, they also learned some insider tricks to searching Google.

As we bring this month to a close, it is also Nene Award voting time! Yes, our students in grades 4-6 will be choosing their favorite books as they vote for the 2020 Nene Award. The Nene Award is the Hawaii state children’s book award. Open to students in grades 4-6 who have read at least one of the books on the recommended list, students vote online in early March. Votes are tabulated and submitted to the committee. The winner is announced in early May, usually during the annual Books and Music Festival. So, stay tuned to see if your favorite book has won!