Learning Together

In terms of our learning day with Dr. Evans and Dr. Thompson, teachers shared how impressed they were with the engagement Dr. Thompson had during both the middle school and high school assemblies. After sharing that he didn’t plan to “talk at them” but planned to ask as many questions as possible, middle school tallied that he asked 177 questions during his time with them, as together they discussed the power of friendship and how to manage when issues arise amongst even our closest friends. And with the high school, seniors stayed behind to talk more about what it is like for them in a world of more pressure than we as parents ever experienced as high school students. And I’ll close this section with sharing the strong, positive response the parents who attend the parent community event that evening. A few folks asked as follow-up to re-share articles and resources Michael/Dr. Thompson mentioned as he discussed challenges in parenting in this digital age. I’ll share them again here for all to have access to: The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. This is the leading source on critical research regarding how phones and smart-personal devices are impacting our children. If you know yourself and you don’t have time to read the book anytime soon, check out either this video (50 min or so) or this article from The Atlantic that preceded the publication of the full book. (Please note the article has some supporting links that require a subscription to The Atlantic. There is a free-trial option or you can just ignore those links.) Dr. Thompson also mentioned this source - The Mediatrician's Guide -- A Joyful Approach to Raising a Health, Smart, Kind Kids in a Screen-saturated World by Michael Rich.

As discussed that night, phones are a great example of the critical partnership between school and home. So, I hope as we go forward into 2025, we will spend time thinking about how we partner through issues like phones and how we support our students, your children at school, at home, with friends, with family – all while they are developing essential social and emotional skills. 

Before I go on, one of the things I love about our school is that our youngest students get to learn alongside and from our oldest students. We saw this in two big ways this week. As part of 4th Grade learning about the world around them, they got the chance to experience what it is like to paddle in a traditional Hawaiian outrigger canoe. Seasoned paddlers themselves and 4th Grade parents Jed Gushman (also an Island School Board member and HS paddling coach) and Kanānāikahaku Kuhaulua (also an Island School teacher, administrator, and track and cross country coach) led the day along with high school student paddlers who guided the 4th Grade in their canoe experience. I enjoyed getting out there and seeing this interaction at play…with younger students, admiration in their eyes, thanking the older students for their time and hearing later that they too want to learn to paddle, just like the big kids. Big thanks to teachers Ms. R and Ms. Kat as well as Kaiola Canoe Club who made this learning experience possible. 

 

Finally, please check out the pics and shout-out below for Island School’s showing at the island-wide Makahiki Games. Big gratitude to Kumu Kalanakilaokalāhui, Ms. Jen, and Kumu Kanānāikahaku for organizing our students and coordinating with community leaders for a successful event!  

Best wishes to each of you for a wonderful, long weekend that gives you and yours a chance to enjoy some time together outside of the regular routine of school. Professional Development days are a critical part of what allows our teaching team to shift from the daily schedule to focus on planning and reflection to enhance the work we do with our students. I’m glad we could tie it together with the Presidents’ Day holiday on Monday for a special long weekend. 

We hope you have a fun Valentine’s Day, and as always, thank you for the privilege to work with your children during these important years of their lives.

Together,

Nancy Nagramada P’29 

Head of School

n.nagramada@ischool.org