Currents Sept 05 - Punahou School

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DON’T DELAY….JOIN THE PFA TODAY!The Punahou School Parent Faculty Association (PFA) is anon-profit volunteer organization whose mission is to fostercommunication and cooperation in order to empowerall members of the Punahou community, students and parents,faculty and staff, trustees and alumni, to becomevaluable resources and partners in the education and developmentof every child at Punahou School.If you are not already a member, please consider joiningthe PFA by completing and mailing the blue PFA membershipcard that was sent to you this summer.We work to:• initiate activities and events which enrich student life• support school programs and activities• promote an understanding ofour purpose and functionWe welcome and encourage yoursupport.The PFA office is located on thelower level of the SullivanAdministration Building onChamberlain Drive. Office hoursWendy Bazemoreare Monday – Friday, 7:30 a.m. –PFA Coordinator4:00 p.m. Call 944–5752 ore-mail PFA Coordinator WendyBazemore at wbazemore@punahou.edu if you have anyquestions or need another membership card.• increase communication, promote understanding, andfoster mutual trust and respect among the members of thePunahou communityMike Walker addresses the K–5 Homeroom parents.K–5 Homeroom parents get an early start on the year with a PFA-sponsoredwelcome coffee at the President’s Pavilion on September 7 th .Volunteer Opportunities LuncheonFriday, September 30, 200511:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.In the PFA OfficePlease come and join us for acasual get-together to learn about the variousopportunities for involvement with the school.All Parents WelcomeCall 944–5752 for informationLissa Lau, PFA 3–5 Chair, and Joyce Wong,PFA K–2 Chair.6 CURRENTS
Brain PointersThis summer, two Junior School teachers attended the MichaelGurian Institute for a workshop entitled “Boys and Girls LearnDifferently!” with fifty other teachers from around the nation andabroad. For four days, they focused on studies of the brain as itrelates to teaching and learning. Returning to campus, they summarizedthese pointers to share with colleagues. We thought parentsmight be interested, too!From teachers Mark Eliashof (6 th grade) and Max Nu’uhiwa(3 rd grade):The following list of facts about the human brain comes fromwhat Mike Gurian calls “nature-based theory” about learning.According to Gurian, we need to pay attention to the biologyof brain development and acknowledge human nature whensetting up a learning environment.1. A typical toast and cereal breakfast, loaded with carbs, canmake a child’s brain groggy and make it difficult to focus. Ahigher protein, lower carb diet promotes learning.2. When a student is under stress, the level of cortisol, a stresshormone, increases in the brain. Cortisol interferes with learning.For example, if children fight with their parents beforeschool, causing stress, cortisol may interfere with that student’slearning at school. How do girls typically deal with this stress?Being more verbal, girls tend to use their words by talking withfriends. How about boys? They typically need physical activityto reduce cortisol levels.3. During middle school years, when boys are lower in thesocial pecking order, stress hormones go up and learning goesdown. As teachers and parents, we need to identify such childrento help them reduce their stress levels and improve theirlearning.4. Is too much TV bad? According to research, for every hourof TV a child between the ages of 1 and 3 watches daily, therisk of an attention disorder by age 7 increases 10%. This is notbecause of the content, but because of the unrealistically fastpace of the visual images on TV which may alter brain development.5. During elementary school, boys are more interested inobjects and things, girls in people and relationships. Boys tendto build high towers and then knock them down, girls build lowand expansive. What about their stories? For boys, they involveexcitement and action, with little concern for victims. For girls,they involve human dynamics and concern for victims.6. The average attention span of a person under the best conditionsis seven minutes! Attention is regulated by the hippocampusof the brain, which acts like an executive secretary, sortingand filing information.7. The hippocampus gets overwhelmed easily, so there is theneed to focus/break/focus/break, so the hippocampus can rejuvenate.8. To help children pay attention to the things we want themto learn, we need to provide their brains with “brain breaks.”These can be short activities, providing novelty, that allow thebrain to shift gears and refocus on learning when the break isover.A seminar for parents and friends of PunahouOffered by Jerry Devlin, Academy teacher.• Experience what it is like to engage in an Academy class• Become familiar with the enduring and perennial questions of importanceaddressed in The RepublicPlato:The RepublicFocus: The central challenge of Plato's 300-page dialog demands its active readers to develop a "constitutionwithin" that serves as a model of excellence. Plato's demand is made through the inquiry of Socrates, his teacher.(Tough, this challenge.)Details: Based on the feedback of the last two seminars, this class will meet once a cycle (week), 7:45 a.m. – 9:45a.m., for a dozen weeks beginning in early October. If there’s enough interest, this seminar may also be offeredduring the second semester.Interested? Contact Ping Collis at pingcollis@gmail.com or Cathy Griffith's scrapbook5@juno.com.September 2005 7
Page 1: A PFA publication for the Punahou S
Page 5: FINANCIAL AID INFORMATIONFOR 2006-2
Page 9 and 10: Two Major Enhancements toCampus Saf
Page 11 and 12: New Attire in the Academykokua line
Page 13 and 14: FROM DR. KEVIN CONWAY, ACADEMY PRIN
Page 15 and 16: PFA thanks and recognizes:Margie an
Page 17 and 18: MathCharles DeckB.A., Chinese Langu
Page 19 and 20: Aloha United Way Drive Helps Kick o

Currents Sept 05 - Punahou School

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