Message from the Principals 2/6/2026

Good morning Hope Community!

Over the last 6 years, Mr. Brian and I were working as co-Principals; sharing responsibilities across the school. Mr. Brian was focused more on the curriclum and teachers, while I supported the families and all the administrative work. This year, with the separation of our campuses we also separated our roles into Elementary Principal (Mr. Brandon) & Secondary Principal (Mr. Brian). This has changed our schedules and work load in very unique ways. Unfortunately, I do not have the same amount of time to write these blogs each week, as you may have noticed with the lack of weekly updates over the last few months. To ensure that the blogs are meaningful and that I have time to write them I will be making a change to my posting frequency.

From now, I will only be posting the blog once a month. Of course, we will continue to share our weekly updates with our families and other posts in the Parent Portal. Thank you for your understanding and support!

-Mr. Brandon

Today's Topics:

1: Important Reminders

2: House Points

3: Learning Highlights

1: Important Reminders

• Feb 16 - NO SCHOOL (Presidents' Day)

• Feb 23 - Open School!

• Mar 13 - Hope Family Day

2: House Points

Basilisk: 4385

Phoenix: 4228 (from 4th to 2nd place!)

Hydra: 4224

Dragon: 4206

4: Learning Highlights

Last post shared highlights from our Preschool to Grade 4. Today we will continue with G5 to HS!

Grade 5

Unit: Existing, Endangered, Extinct

For their Entry Point and Knowledge Harvest, students identified a whole list of vocabulary that they will use through the unit. They started off with a game to decide which animals are “Existing, Endangered or Extinct”. Each learner was tasked with selecting one or more endangered species of plants or animals, and create a poster advocating for its protection. They had to add information, location, causes of endangerment, and solution to its protections.

They moved into our knowledge harvest where each group was handed a group of letters where they had to write as many plants and animals as they can think of. They then brought the words together to spell “Biodiversity”. The learners were not familiar with the word. Ms. Angie gave them clues to figure out the meaning by connecting their previous activies. Each learner then had to draw the outline of any animal of their choice and inside, wrote what they think biodiversity is.

After revealed the learners made connections to its meaning with the word, “bio” and “diversity”.

Grade 6 - Action Ambassadors are building models of Wastewater Purification Plants aligned with SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), which they will present on February 10th. Over the past few months, they have worked diligently on their projects, developing a range of skills including designing, crafting, collaboration, and resilience. They are now nearing the end of the crafting phase and are moving on to preparing their presentations in the form of note cards or posters.

Grade 7 Science

The students had a challenging knowledge harvest for their unit "Tradition" with a focus on Chemistry!

For part of the lesson they did a group challenge where each learner had to try to recite as much of the Periodic Table song as possible without looking at the lyrics! They supported each other showing great collaboration and communication skills. Furthermore, after the challenge they all were able to explain what they had learned including that there are over 100 elements.

Grade 8: The students are working on their Exit point. Students started planning a "community project" and researched various opportunities. They decided to support a "Home for the aged" here in Okinawa. They visited the location and interviews many of the elderly there, asking what kind of food and what support they would like to have. Afterwards, the students began baking cookies to sell to the local community afterschool to earn money to for this project. They will use their income to buy things for the elderly and donate it to them. They will be making a video of this whole process and share it with the school soon!

Grade 9:

In the G9 IGCSE English class, learners have started a new writing practice focused on writing an internal monologue. Through a visual analysis station activity, learners closely examined images, developed precise vocabulary, and began shaping psychological voice and tone.

During the station activities, learners actively engaged with their peers by sharing and adding different vocabulary choices on the station papers. This collaborative process allowed them to expand their word choices, consider multiple perspectives, and refine their understanding of how vocabulary influences meaning and mood.

Grade 10:

As part of the career exploration and university planning activity in the G10 Clonlara Careers class, learners began exploring post–high school pathways. Starting this process in Grade 10 allows learners time to shape their academic choices, build relevant skills, and make informed decisions before graduation. Learners identified five possible careers and researched suitable universities for each, analyzing why each was a good fit, weighing the pros and cons, and reflecting on the preparation needed in high school.

Most of the reflections offered clear, honest insights into what learners truly want to pursue after high school. Examining each career in depth helped them move beyond general interests and make more realistic decisions by understanding the requirements, expectations, and potential challenges. In Part 2, learners will present their findings, sharing their careers and universities, which may also spark new ideas for their peers.

G11-12: Our HS athletes have shown some great collaboration, resilience and risk taking as they explored a series of new games to begin Semester 2!

They practiced International Mindedness by practicing Tatanka Tatanka, a game inspired by Native American indigenous games and practices focused on Buffalo herding. This was followed by a game called Freedom ball, where teams worked to try to escape capture and free their teammates should they get caught before time was up!

There were lots of laughs, team spirit and exhaustion but most of all they were able to see how our respiratory system which we learned about in class provided and limits our athletic performances. Well done everyone!

Thank you and have a great day!

For those of you that have read this far, I have a small update. On Feb 14th I will get my cast removed and get an aparatus that will allow me to "walk" until my ankle fully heals. So I should be back at school from Feb 16th! I'm very excited to see everyone again. Thank you to everyone that sent me kind messages! -Mr. Brandon