Message from the Principals 10/2/2026
Today's Topics:
1: Important Reminders
2: House Points
3: Learning Highlights
1: Important Reminders
October 12-16 - NO SCHOOL (Autumn Break)
2: House Points
Dragon: 1227
Basilisk: 1202
Hydra: 1147
Phoenix: 1125
3: Learning Highlights!
Our learners have continued settling into their new units, with plenty of opportunities to explore ideas through hands-on activities, discussion, experimentation, and time outside the classroom. They've also started preparing for their Exit Points!
Preschool
Preschool has been making the most of the summer weather with plenty of water play. They also enjoyed playing Suikawari, the traditional watermelon-splitting game. While having fun, the children practiced listening carefully, staying focused, and working together with their friends. Afterwards, they enjoyed sharing the watermelon they had helped to split.
Prep
Prep has been continuing their “Who Am I?” unit while also beginning to look more closely at the world around them. They compared their likes and dislikes with their classmates using Venn diagrams and thought about things people need, such as shelter, clothing, and care.
Their geography learning has taken them from the world map and globe to places much closer to home. They have been exploring maps of Okinawa, Japan, and the local area around Miyagi and Sunabe, including the location of the school and Baba Park. The learners even created their own maps of Okinawa, bringing plenty of creativity to the activity.
Grade 1 Blue
Grade 1 Blue has been taking their Buildings unit in several directions. In Geography, learners made their own globes, placing the continents and oceans before adding a picture, their home-country flag, and a famous building from that country. The finished globes gave the classroom a chance to celebrate the many places and cultures represented in the class.
They have also been looking at how houses have changed over time. After researching different types of houses, learners placed them in chronological order and created timelines using “long time ago,” “some time ago,” and “now.” This gave them a chance to see how buildings have changed and reflect on what they discovered.
Grade 1 Maroon
Grade 1 Maroon has also been exploring how buildings and building materials have changed over time. Learners created their own models using clay and LEGO, including a cave representing long ago, a mud house representing some time ago, and a shop representing the present. As they built, they considered how the materials people use for buildings have changed over time.
Grade 2 Blue
Grade 2 Blue has been investigating light and reflection. They began by finding the darkest room in the school and experimenting with flashlights and mirrors. They discovered how mirrors can bounce light from one surface to another and even experimented with using two mirrors. Along the way, they created shadow figures and used a light meter to compare how much light different surfaces reflected.
Grade 2 Maroon
Grade 2 Maroon has been making a regular part of their week a time to stop and reflect on their Personal Learning Goals. At the beginning of each week, learners choose goals related to their learning, behaviour, or relationships with others, then return to them during morning meetings to consider what went well and what they might change.
Their Art learning has also taken them back in time. After learning about Pointillism and the work of Georges Seurat, they experimented with colour wheels and discovered how primary colours can be combined to create secondary colours. They also explored how early humans made colours from natural materials by crushing leaves, flowers, and other resources. The class then created paintings showing something from their own lives that they would want people 100 years in the future to see.
Grade 3
Grade 3 has been putting their map-reading skills to work. After learning about titles, symbols, keys, and compasses, they took part in a “Room Hunt,” searching the classroom and MPR for hidden maps and using them to answer questions. They enjoyed the challenge enough to ask to do it again, so the next activity involved ten different maps of Okinawa and questions about how each map could be used.
Grade 4
Grade 4 has continued their “Mission to Mars” unit by looking more closely at the forces that shape Earth. After learning about the layers of Earth and tectonic plate movement, they built simple earthquake simulations using books, elastic bands, and marbles. They then designed structures using LEGO, Magna-Tiles, and magnetic blocks and predicted how well their structures would withstand the simulated earthquake.
The class has also been investigating solar energy. Working in teams, learners built solar ovens using materials such as black paper, clear plastic, and aluminum foil. Even when clouds covered the Sun, they were able to test their predictions and were surprised to find that their ovens still had enough heat to melt the chocolate and marshmallows in their solar s’mores.
Grade 5
Grade 5 started the school year with a quick engineering challenge: designing and building a paper ball run that would keep a ball moving for as long as possible. The challenge gave learners a chance to revisit the engineering design process while working on collaboration and adaptability.
The class has also continued putting their Action Ambassador learning into practice. After the recent typhoon, they visited Baba Park and the beach to collect rubbish, making a visible contribution to their local environment.
Grade 6
Grade 6 has been developing their understanding of scale and distance through map work. Learners have been measuring distances on maps and comparing them with real-world distances, imagining what it would be like to travel between cities in different parts of the world.
In Design, the class has taken a familiar project and changed it. Rather than making another traditional wooden picture frame, learners are adapting their plans to create illuminated shadow boxes. Each will contain an image representing a discovery with both positive and negative consequences.
Science has given them a chance to look much closer to home. Learners prepared slides using cells collected from the inside of their own cheeks and examined them under a microscope, comparing their animal cells with plant cells from onion skin.
The class also visited the Valley of Gangala, where they explored connections between geography, archaeology, history, and science.
Grade 7
Grade 7 has been looking at scale on a much larger level, exploring the size and structure of the universe and considering just how small Earth is in comparison.
In ELA, learners have continued reading Coraline, following Coraline as she encounters the Other Mother and increasingly difficult situations. Along the way, they have been considering the role of curiosity and whether Coraline’s desire to find out more is helping her or putting her in greater danger.
Their curiosity has also carried into Design, where learners are building wooden boxes inspired by human exploration and aspiration. They have begun measuring, cutting, and assembling their designs, with plenty of opportunities to make decisions, solve problems, and adapt their plans as they work.
Grade 8
Grade 8 History learners have been researching how identity differs across countries, looking at daily life, social norms, traditions, gender roles, government, and other influences. They presented their findings to the class and responded to questions from their peers.
In English, the class welcomed Mrs. Denise Surís for a discussion about immigration. She shared her experiences working with immigrant communities and introduced learners to the history of immigration, different categories of migrants, and the role of the United Nations. The conversation connected closely with the themes of identity and belonging in The House on Mango Street and gave learners an opportunity to ask their own questions.
Grades 9–12
Grade 9 Global Perspectives learners took on a slightly different role as they became the “GPPD,” or Global Perspectives Police Department. Using their RAVEN detective badges, they investigated the credibility of different sources while examining the question of whether Torii Beach should be developed into a luxury hotel and spa or protected as a nesting area for turtles. Learners considered multiple perspectives and evaluated the trustworthiness of the evidence they were given.
In Art and Design, students have been developing their understanding of line, perspective, light, and shadow through still-life and charcoal work. After working with pencil and graphite, they moved into subtractive charcoal drawing and then took their work outside to the seawall to draw the seascape. Without colour to rely on, they had to pay close attention to the different shades of light and dark across the water.
Our secondary learners have also been putting their learning into action. For World Cleanup Day on September 18, they collected rubbish from local beaches and the surrounding neighbourhood, taking their learning beyond the classroom and into the community.
It has been another busy few weeks at Hope, with learners continuing to ask questions, test ideas, work with one another, and find new ways to connect what they are learning with the world around them.
-Mr. Brandon
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