This We Believe
Culture and Community
- The school environment is inviting, safe, inclusive, and supportive of all.
- Every student’s academic and personal development is guided by an adult advocate.
- Comprehensive guidance and support services meet the needs of young adolescents.
- Health and wellness are supported in curricula, school-wide programs, and related policies.
- The school actively involves families in the education of their children.
KMS Advisory Vision Statement: KMS recognizes the uniqueness of its Hawaiian adolescent haumana (students). The advisory program provides an opportunity for haumana and school staff members to develop meaningful relationships in a safe environment through the Tribes “process”, “a way to establish a positive culture for learning and human development throughout a school community.” (Gibbs, p. 11, 2001) The program is geared to assist haumana with their overall development in order to meet the challenges of the world in which they live.
Advisory Objectives:
1. Provide an environment and activities that will foster bonding within an advisory group so that students will feel accepted and valued by teacher and peers.
2. Help students cope with academic concerns and set goals which will faciliate positive school experiences.
3. Give students avenues through which to discover their uniqueness so that they might come to appreciate the many differences among people.
4. Help students develop positive relationships through experiences that utilize group dynamics.
5. Promote critical thinking skills through discussion and problem solving activities so that students can learn to make responsible choices.
6. Develop listening skills and an understanding of the roadblocks which hinder effective communication.
7. Build self-esteem in students so that they might become confident, capable young people who accept responsibility for their own actions.
8. Heighten student awareness of good citizenship through providing opportunities for meaningful contributions to their school and community.
9. Provide opportunities for extensive student involvement through shared decision making.
10. Improve home/school communication and relationships.
Watch the short video – This Thing Called Advisory – to gain a better understanding of what an advisory is and the benefits of an advisory.