Message from the Principals 10/6/2021

Good afternoon Hope Families!

Welcome to our new weekly Principals' Blog! Mr. Brandon and Mr. Brian will use this space to connect with our community and provide updates about the school, programs, activities, classes, and more!

It has been a very busy time for us. We had a busy summer school program, moved into a new campus, and jumped right into the new 2021-22 school year! Things have finally settled down and the students are all engaged in their learning and activities.

For those of you who don't know, we have an active facebook page where we post photos and updates of school life. (1) Hope International Academy Okinawa | Facebook Please feel free to LIKE the page to get updates.

This year we have begun a new House System! There are 4 houses in the school: Dragon, Hydra, Basilisk, and Phoenix. Each house is comprised of students from every grade. They complete activities and challenges throughout the week to earn points for their house. Points can also be rewarded to students who exemplify any of the Personal Learning Goals, display exceptional behavior, or achievements.

Last week's running total: Hydra - 368

Dragon - 430

Basilisk - 540

Phoenix - 609

Please join us in encouraging the students to do their best and collaborate with their house! We will update the house totals each month for you to stay engaged.

Let's take a moment to discuss the Hope climate change project. The students are researching climate change, ways to help, and taking action in the community. Please enjoy the video made by the Grade 8 students during the school beach clean up.

Finally, we would like thank the many Guest speakers we have had in the last few weeks!!

Dr. Loretta White, a clinical psychologist from OIST joined our Grade 4 and 5 Classes for our brainwave unit. She came to talk about where emotions are located in the brain and taught us about what happens when we are distressed. She then guided us through a Spiderman meditation to help us tune into our senses and learn about mindfulness.

Austin Hartz, a pilot in the Marine Corps briefly discussed what he had to do to become a pilot, and explained the 4 forces that act on an aircraft. He drew diagrams and explained them to show how the forces impact flight. Finally, the class made paper planes of different sizes and weights to see the effects of the forces. You can view a video here.

Lina Koronfel - PhD candidate at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (Optical Neuroscience Unit). She discussed the different parts of the brain and their function. She had them make model brains for our Grades 2 and 3 during their BrainWave unit. You can watch short videos here and here.

We also had Mr. Yasuhisa Taniguchi give the school a lecture on Climate change and what we can do to help. He gives lectures all over the world!

Thank you all and have a great day!

-Mr. Brandon & Mr. Brian