Currents Sept 05 - Punahou School

FROM MIKE WALKER, PRINCIPAL OF THE JUNIOR SCHOOLA Gentle BeginningIn the midst of the anticipation,excitement, and preparation thatgoes into the opening of a schoolyear, and as the sequences of events,orientations, and rites that welcomein the new year are launched, a tone,a tenor, or character always emergesthat comes to define the year.Whereas each academic year is madeup of a carefully managed curriculumand a fairly predictable calendarof activities, each school year is asunique as the children that fill our classrooms.Based on my conversations with teachers, and through myinteractions with students in the hallways, on Barwick, or ontheir way to and from classes, I would have to say that I woulddescribe the beginning of this school year as ….gentle. Therehas been a calmness, a purposefulness, a joyfulness that hascharacterized the opening of the school year. This wasenhanced by the images and metaphors of water, and the messageof renewal that was the theme of the opening cycleChapels. The parent volunteers welcoming the new familiesand helping with the orientations contributed to this spirit aswell. The faculty most certainly returned rejuvenated; throughthem I sensed optimism about directions and possibilities. Theygenuinely looked forward to the arrival of the students.My feelings about this year are most certainly influenced by thefact that for the first time in several years we have had access toall of the school roadways and parking; I have discovered thatthere is a direct correlation between the number of parkingspaces on campus and the general disposition of parents whenthey interact with me. Even though we have gotten used to andfriendly with the various construction crews and project managerswho have been a part of campus life these past years, wedid not miss their presence during the opening days of school.Hall went through a rejuvenation over the course of the summer.In addition to the fresh paint, we put in new lighting, ceilings,floors, and furniture, resulting in bright, airy classrooms.We moved the fifth graders down to the second floor, and withthe sixth graders in Case, the building does not feel crowded orconfining. We relocated my office to Castle over the summer,and as pleasant as it is having the fifth graders upstairs, I amabsolutely enjoying the daylong parade of students from all ofthe grades on their way to their art and music classes.Over the course of the first three weeks of school, we rolled outover 1,000 laptop computers in the fourth through seventhgrades. This is clearly a major instructional initiative for us, andthe logistics are significant. That being said, I have been in theclassrooms as the students have been given their laptops andseen their comfort, competence, and enthusiasm for havingaccess to this level of learning tool. The teachers are preparedfor how the technology will be incorporated into the curriculum,and the technical support systems are all in place.So, the year is off and running. As I write this, I am lookingout my Castle office window, watching a group of studentsplaying on the beautiful green lawn above the Lily Pond,Chapel in the background, all of this framed by the majesty ofthe Manoa mountains. A group of first graders pass by on theirway to lunch, hand in hand, radiating nothing but the innocenceand promise that we see in each and every one of thesechildren – and that, ultimately, is a gentle reminder of whatschool is all about.Starting the school year with the entire Case campus up andrunning felt wonderful. From the very first day, I watched studentsgravitate to their new spaces; they immediately settledinto their team gathering areas, made use of the CLC’s, andclaimed the various nooks and crannies – although I have topoint out in a few isolated incidents that we encourage studentsgoing all the way around corners, as opposed to the more directroute which takes one directly through the shrubbery – but theyare Middle School students, and that is to be expected. Castle8 CURRENTS