April 16, 2012
Dear Friends and Family,
Our school year is almost over! We have had a wonderful year full of learning, laughter and memories. Every student has made quite a bit of progress, and we appreciate all your help in making that happen.
As you know, we have been teaching at Kahili for the past 12 years. God has blessed us with many incredible students, parents, and experiences. Both of us are so happy we had the opportunity to teach God’s children. We believe that God sent us here so that we could learn the things we needed to learn and meet the people He put in our path. Hopefully, we were able to carry out the ministry He had laid out for us to do.
We have been teaching our students that if you seek God with all your heart and give your life completely to Him, He truly will guide you down the path He has planned for you. We have asked God to let His will be known in our own lives. In the past few months, He has opened many doors, shown us many signs, and has impressed our hearts to start a new ministry for Him. So, as of June 30, 2012, we will both be resigning our positions as Principal/Teacher and Teacher/ Director of the Preschool. This was not an easy decision for us, but we know it is the right thing to do.
If you would like to learn more about our new ministry, please visit www.ken-yen.com.
We invite you to come and talk to us if you have any questions. We will answer all questions honestly and openly.
Thank you again and may God bless you and your family as you continue to serve Him.
Sincerely,
Kevin and Angela Kuzma
Kahili Adventist Schools Elementary is driven by three imperatives: "Kahili's students are strong writers, effective presenters, and outstanding thinkers." Kahili Adventist School is modeled in the understanding that a family-school-community partnership is vital for the academic success and well-being of children. Its thematic and integrated curriculum incorporates the arts across all content areas, and provides students with rich and rigorous areas of study. In addition, Kahili offers exemplary math and science programs.
Research has shown that small schools offer many advantages to students, teachers, parents, community members, partners and administrators. A national study by Bank Street College of Education, released in 2000, found that small schools in the Chicago Public Schools have higher attendance, fewer dropouts, fewer course failures, fewer incidents of discipline and violence and higher teacher, student and parent and community member satisfaction than large schools. (Wasley, P.A.; Fine, M.; King, S.P.; Powell, L.C.; Holland, N.E.; Gladden, R.M.; and Mosak, E. Small Schools: Great Strides. A Study of New Small Schools in Chicago. New York: The Bank Street College of Education, 2000.
Personalized Attention
Small schools offer students a personalized learning environment, where they are known well by a group of teachers. Students in large schools sometimes fall through the cracks because it is easier for them to go unnoticed. In a small school, a student is usually only one in 30 to 40 students, rather than maybe one in two hundred, and is known by all the members of the small school community. Teachers talk about how students are doing, and compare information across classes and over the years. All of the students know each other. If a student is having trouble, all the student's teachers can meet with the student and/or parents to talk about the problem and create a plan to help.
Personalized Attention
Small schools offer a more personalized environment for parents too. In addition to all the benefits small schools offer to the children, small schools are often places where parents are more comfortable and can work closely with their child's teachers.
Greater Parental Involvement
Small schools teacher teams reach out to parents, striving to involve them in making the school a more effective learning environment. Parents are able to get involved and be active participants in building a better school for their child.
Our Elementary is divided into two classes. Mrs. Kuzma teaches the Kindergarten to 2nd grade and Mr. Kuzma Teaches the 3rd-8th grade.
Mr. Kuzma’s Class
Value Instruction:
Wednesday is the most important day of our week. We dedicate an hour of our morning to come together with the whole school and Worship our Savior. In addition, we will have worship in our classroom every morning. Students will be asked to plan and participate in different aspects of our daily morning worship, which will involve singing, bible study, drama, and prayer. Students will also be involved in several community service activities throughout the year, as well as practicing for performances at churches, and in school programs.
Bible:
We will be using the SDA Bible curriculum Accepting His Plan, which is the study of God’s Plan to redeem this world. It begins with the problem that Lucifer created in heaven when he became jealous of God. This jealously leads to a rebellion in heaven and results in Satan’s temptation of Adam and Eve. For the older students we will be using Truth Unveiled: God’s Triumph is a comprehensive study of the great controversy between Christ and Satan.
Language Arts Program:
We will be using the Pathways literature series, centering our language arts program around Pathway’s 9 themes. Every month each student will be required to complete a book report on a book at their reading level. They will have different topics each month, and they can choose the format from a list of options. The subjects are biography, fiction, nonfiction, black history, world history, informational, religious, Christmas, student’s choice, and someone your age. We will be using the A Reason For Spelling, and A Reason For Handwriting. I will be supplementing the grammar in Pathways with the Houghton Mifflin English series. The students will also be writing in their journal every day. And creating literature of their own.
Mathematics:
Students will be completing math fact sheets every day, giving them the skills needed to complete their math assignments quickly. Students that are new to math facts will being using oral math to aid them in gaining the skills need to complete their math facts in a timely manner. We will be using the Harcourt Math series for 3rd-6th grade, and Passport Math series for junior high.
Social Studies:
We will be studying World History next year using a variety of different mediums. Students will be using grade appropriate text books, research on the internet, and study of books written about the period of history we are studying.
Science:
We will be using the A Reason for Science program. It is a hands-on science program, based on the premise that learning science is an active process. It's something students do, not something that is done to them. They will get messy, they will have to think, and they will learn how the study of science gives us a greater understanding of Gods creation.
Agriculture:
Our class will be working with our Director of Agriculture to learn horticulture. The director will be teaching them practical gardening skills. They will be producing the veggies to serve in our hot lunch and to be sold at the farmers market, using the money to support our school.
Physical Education:
We will be focusing on lifetime sports; physical activities that the students will be interested in participating in for the rest of their lives. The students will be participating in activities such as hiking, jogging, aerobics, tennis, and skateboarding. The student will also have the opportunity to spend time creating their own physical activities.
Technology:
We will be using the computers regularly. They will have the opportunity to use software that will improve their reading, mathematics, and thinking skills. They also will be learning to use Microsoft Office, the internet, and how to incorporate technology in the learning process for all of their subjects. Junior High students are encouraged to bring their own laptop to school. They will have the ability to complete many assignments on their computer, as well as learning to use technology as a tool for greater understanding.
Ace City:
Ace City is our simulated city. This is a classroom management system that is designed to accentuate other aspects of the curriculum. Students will be leaning about buying houses, planning vacations, banking, and budgeting. They will be learning writing skills, geography, computer skills, and social studies.