Message from the Principals 5/9/2025

School Account
May 9
3 min read

Today's Topics:

1: Important Reminders

2: Curriculum Focus: IMYC Overarching Reflection

3: House Points

4: Learning Highlights!

1: Important Reminders

Today: High School Fundraising - session 3 (1:45-3:45)
Tomorrow (May 10) - Secondary School Dance
May 23 - Celebration of Learning: Action Ambassadors
2024-25 Yearbook is available for pre-order now!
Summer School registration is Open and spots are filling up: https://www.hopeoki.org/summer-school

2: Curriculum Focus: IMYC Overarching Reflection

During the last Curriculum Focus in the Blog, we shared further information on the final part of the Subject Task cycle - reflection. Reflection as part of the Research, Record, Reflect cycle focuses on the learner making connections, performing self-assessment and setting goals for their future learning at an individual subject level.

In the IMYC (Grades 6, 7, & 8), the students are not only asked to reflect on learning at a subject task level, they are also asked to connect and reflect all of their subject learning together and make links to the Big Idea statement they have been exploring. This is called “Overarching Reflection” in the IMYC Process to Facilitate Learning.

It has been identified that to help support the adolescent brain, students should be provided with opportunities to interlink their learning and make personal meaning. Overarching reflection gives time for the students to consider how their subject tasks may connect together and how these tasks may relate to real life or personal life. Through this time of making links and identifying personal meaning, students at Hope will generate ideas for their Exit Point projects, which will contain different elements of this important part of the process.

An example from our Grade 8 Class:

For a recent Overarching Reflection in 8th grade, the class began to look back at the big idea and see how learning occurs in different subjects, including Math, ELA, PLG, and International. Each learner writes their name in the center, and the outer circle represents the Big Idea. The class reflected on six different levels: Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, and Extend. This is a perfect activity before heading into the exit point, as it promotes students' understanding of how learning and activities in each subject connect to the Big Idea and the unit.

3: House Points

Dragon - 4948

Hydra - 4602

Phoenix - 4481

Basilisk - 4439

4: Learning Highlights!

There are many activities in preparation for our upcoming Action Ambassadors Event.

Prep class painted shells they found on the beach to use in their SDG project.

In ART, Grade 1 students used crayons and watercolor to explore the batik technique. They learned how wax and water don’t mix, creating beautiful patterns in their artwork!

Then as "History Detectives" they learned about the history of Mother's Day and why we celebrate it. They are currently making their own Mother's Day cards for their moms.

In their unit "The Magic Toymaker" Grade 2 students are researching types of toys and using that information to develop their own toys or improve upon existing toys using paper cups. Building on this, they began to design an original puzzle using scrap paper - integrating the SGDs and their new skills!

Yesterday, G3 used much of the day preparing for their Exit Point. They are getting ready to do their presentations during their parents' special brunch-fundraiser. The students will be cooking an original menu for their Exit Point.

This week, the grade 4 students welcomed and watched a presentation by Mrs. Michiyo Ishiwata, who visited Hope to share about her beekeeping business and how it contributes towards SDG 15: Life on land. Below are examples of what students shared after the session with Mrs. Ishiwata, regarding what they learned from her presentation:

I learned that honeybees help produce 33% of the world’s food supplies.
We can help bees by growing flowers or plants with no chemicals, keep nature clean, and learn and tell others about how to help them.
I learned that honeybees need clean water to live; we have to think about life below water, too, if we are to think about protecting life on land. The SDGs are all connected.

This week Grade 6 discussed a quote by Gandhi during their morning meeting. They were aware of how hard it is to change habits and bad manners, but understood that changing yourself can lead to change others/society and maybe the world. The learners shared what they would like to change in the world, such as to stop Global Warming, racism or littering. We ended by looking into PLGs connecting to this quote, as being resilient or a thinker.

In English Literature, Grade 9 students created collages to interpret the phrase “preserver of the nation” from Jonathan Swift’s satirical essay A Modest Proposal. They explained all the symbolism behind each element in their collages and the overall connection of it to the message that Swift was trying to convey.