`Aikahi Elementary School

Our Mission
`Aikahi is dedicated to educating, inspiring, and empowering the whole child for lifelong success.

Our Vision
`Aikahi's `Ohana provides an engaging, collaborative community where respect and purposeful learning flourish.

Message from our Principal
Aloha,

Welcome to `Aikahi Elementary. I am extremely pleased to be the principal of this school. As the principal of `Aikahi Elementary School, I'm looking forward for the opportunity to work with you and your child to provide an outstanding educational experience. We are fortunate that we have a strong teaching staff that are well experienced and yet are open to new and innovative ideas. We are also fortunate to have supportive parents who play an important role in their child’s education.

This year our goals will be to continue the use assessments in determining the needs of our children; to provide direct writing instruction in helping our children become effective communicators; to provide engaging and differentiated instructional strategies; to incorporate technology in teaching and in children’s learning; and to offer many paths by which children can be successful.

To this end, we are very excited about two new programs that will be implemented at our school. The first is our new comprehensive reading program Story Town. This program will support our teachers in reaching the learning needs of all students through the use of leveled readers and small group instruction.

The second program we are excited about is ACHIEVE 3000. This is a computer based program for students in grades 2-6. Each day the program provides a high interest topic for the entire class, scientifically matched to each student's individual Lexile™ reading level. The goal is to be able to allow all children to have access to today’s news by presenting it at their individual Lexile reading level. You can learn more about it at their website: www.achieve3000.com.

I would also like you to know that we will be continuing with programs that have proven to be very successful at our school: The first program is our after school Enrichment Wednesdays. Your child will have the opportunity to register for classes such as Robotics and the Media Club. We also will continue with our once a month “Catch a Wave” assemblies to celebrate students who have demonstrated the 5 R’s: Respect, Responsibility, Resiliency, Resourcefulness, and Relationships. We implemented this program last school year and were so pleased with the results; we unanimously felt it worthwhile to continue. Two years ago we implemented a “Healthy Choices” day that allowed students to choose from a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. With the help of our PTSA we will continue to offer this each Thursday.

In this short letter I cannot begin to tell you about all of the wonderful activities that our school has to offer. I invite you to peruse our website to learn more about the many facets of our school. Then, come to our school for a visit so that you can see for yourself the genuine care that our teachers and staff have for each and every student. Finally, I would like you to know that my door is always open and I welcome your suggestions. Together we make a difference in the lives of our children.

Sincerely,

Gay Kong
Principal