Message from the Principals 10/24/2025

Today's Topics:

1: Important Reminders

2: Sports Day Information!

3: House Points

4: Learning Highlights

1: Important Reminders

• Nov 10 - NO SCHOOL (Veterans' Day)

• Nov 21 - NO SCHOOL (Teachers' work Day to prepare report cards)

• Nov 26 - Sports Day

• Nov 27-28 - NO SCHOOL (Thanksgiving)

• Dec 1-5 Student MAP testing

2: Sports Day Information

🏅 Hope Sports Day 2025 — Wednesday, November 26

Get ready for one of the most exciting events of the year: Hope Sports Day!

📍 Location: Union Desukara Dome : 4-2-1 Mashiki, Ginowan

🕘 Time: 9:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

📋 Form: Please complete the Sports Day form by Thursday, November 6➡️ Submit Here

👨‍👩‍👧 Family Participation

Families are highly encouraged to attend and join in events like:

• 50m dash

• Tug-of-war

• Relay race

🏠 Teams & Attire

Students will compete in their House teams:

• Basilisk (Yellow)

• Dragon (Blue)

• Hydra (Green)

• Phoenix (Red)

All students should wear a t-shirt in their House color. Families joining events are also encouraged to wear matching colors.

👕 House shirts can be ordered here. Order by Friday, November 14 to receive shirts before Sports Day.

🎒 What to Bring

• Clean sports shoes (no studs/spikes; bring a bag for outside shoes)

• Water bottle + extra water

• Change of clothes

• Gloves for tug-of-war

• Healthy snack (recommended)

Please note: there are no trash bins inside the dome — take all trash home.

🍱 Lunch & Aftercare

• No school lunch will be provided on Sports Day.

• Families are encouraged to take children home after the event.

• For students requiring supervision support:

  • 13:40 – Depart for Hope

  • 14:00 – Lunch (bring your own)

  • 14:30 – Recess only (no academic classes)

  • 15:00 – Dismissal / Pick-up

  • 16:00 – Buses depart Hope

3: House Points

Basilisk: 2336

Hydra: 2105

Phoenix: 1975

Dragon: 1967

4: Learning Highlights

Grade 1 kicked off their new unit, It’s Shocking!, with exciting, hands-on activities all about electricity.

To launch the unit, Grade 1 Maroon joined an Electricity Game Carnival, where every game ran on electric power! Students had a blast playing the buzzer wire challenge, the Makey Makey bouncy ball game (using an orange as a joystick!), and the Sphero mini robot race. As they played, learners explored how each game worked and asked lots of curious questions about electricity and how these devices operated.

Meanwhile, Grade 1 Blue began their learning adventure with an electrifying mission called “Save Ms. H – The Power Hunt!” When the mischievous Shadow Bandits trapped Miss H and hid the key inside one of five electric-powered objects, our brave Little Scientist Agents had to search the darkened room to find the hidden key and restore power. Working together under suspenseful music and dim lights, they showed great teamwork, focus, and problem-solving skills to “save” Ms. H and bring back the power!

It was an electrifying start to the unit, sparking excitement and curiosity across both Grade 1 classes as they began exploring the fascinating world of electricity!

This week, both Grade 4 and Grade 5 have been diving deeper into the concept of metacognition - thinking about how we think!

In Grade 4, students explored how being aware of their thought processes can help them become more strategic and reflective learners. They discussed the difference between genetic traits (like eye color or height) and character traits (such as kindness or perseverance), as well as skills developed over time (like reading fluency, problem-solving, or even soccer, cooking, and gaming). Through these conversations, learners discovered that while some traits are inherited, many of the skills that help us succeed, especially in the classroom, can be practiced and improved.

An example in action that displays how the curriculum is virtually aligned: Grade 5 took time to reflect back on their Brainwaves unit, identifying the metacognitive strategies they’ve been using so far. In one activity, students were presented with various scenarios and asked to note which strategies they would use to approach each one. They then compared their answers with classmates, gaining valuable insight into how everyone learns differently and how finding the methods that work best for each of us leads to more effective learning.

Both grades are building strong foundations for self-awareness, reflection, and growth, important skills that will support their learning journeys throughout their life!

Grade 7 Scientists put their collaboration and thinker skills to great use as they discussed, planned and designed their own unique sports that require persistence over time to achieve success in. This accompanied their previous knowledge on what athletes require from their bodies to achieve success in sport.

For the G9 English Language class, learners build multiple skills from an Explicit vs. Implicit Pictionary activity. They strengthen their critical thinking and inference skills by training themselves to distinguish between explicit and implicit communication. As they draw and guess words, they learn to analyze clues, make connections, and interpret meaning beyond what is directly shown. The activity also enhances their creativity, vocabulary development, and collaboration as they work with teammates to communicate ideas visually and verbally. This process develops their ability to understand context and subtext, an essential skill in reading comprehension and effective communication.