[ HAWAII'S SCHOOLS ]

COURTESY OF PUNAHOU SCHOOL Students make their way to class in Punahou's new Case Middle School. Sixth-graders were the first to move in last September, with seventh- and eighth-graders joining them this month. The school serving about 1,000 students was 10 years in the making.

Punahou’s redesigned
school seen as a success

Case Middle School was designed
around a unique curriculum

After months of watching dreams and plans take shape, the students of Case Middle School are now happily settled into their new surroundings. Beyond its nine buildings, Punahou's new middle school looks to change the way sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders learn.

The process of redesigning the middle school started nearly 10 years ago, when teachers gathered on Friday afternoons and chatted about changing the system. In 1999, Punahou began examining the needs of the middle school within its existing campus master plan. The people involved not only focused on new buildings, but on revamping the middle school educational system.

Punahou School Each week, Hawaii's teenage reporters and photographers tell us about their high school. Address: 1601 Punahou St., Honolulu 96822 Phone number: 944-5711 President: Dr. James K. Scott Colors: Buff and blue Nickname: Buffanblu Enrollment: 3,750 (grades K-12) Faculty and staff: 623 About the school's newspaper: Name: Ka Punahou Faculty adviser: Dan Mindich Managing editors: Laura Bridgewater and Kelsey Han

Junior School Principal Michael Walker said Punahou tried to find "how we can best educate middle school children, what their needs are and what educational structure best meets those needs."

The Case Middle School has a very specialized curriculum. Its central theme is to "create smaller communities around learning." Previously the middle school was a mini high school.

The new plan, according to Walker, consists of Punahou "taking a grade of 368 students and organizing them into four teams of 92 students. The teachers now share the same children and are able to design a curriculum aware of the other disciplines."

The actual building process started when Steve Case, a Punahou alumnus and founder and former CEO of America Online, found the perfect opportunity to give back to his alma mater. His "lead gift" of millions of dollars formally started planning in February 2000.

Case is deeply involved in the process and, Walker said, is "very interested and supportive of what (Punahou is) doing educationally."

With 1,000 students, Case Middle School will be large but still provide the attentiveness found in smaller schools. Walker stated that the idea is to provide "a breadth of curriculum on a scale that all students can access."

Both teachers and students have glowing assessments. Ann Kennedy, a sixth-grade math and science teacher, said: "I can't think of a better place to be. This is beyond my wildest dreams. In my 36 years of teaching, I have never had a classroom quite this nice. The teachers feel professional, and the children feel very special to be here."

Sixth-grader Elise Minkin remarked: "It is really nice and big. When I first walked in, my first impression was that it was very colorful. Lockers are very huge. In between all the classrooms, it is very easy to get through."

Not only is Punahou catering to its students, it is also extending itself to the public. Punahou President Dr. James Scott often describes the goal as "a private school with a public purpose."

One special attribute of Case Middle School will be the Pueo Program, an extension of the Luke Center for Public Service. Walker said: "We are going out to public schools and bringing in middle school-aged students, and expose them to (Punahou's) kind of teaching ... (and) provide them with some of the fundamental academic skills that are going to make them more likely to go through high school and on to college."

The Summer Bridge Program will commence in June 2005. Walker stated, "One thing we aspire to do here is to not only create a special middle school experience but be a resource center and a model for other educators."

The new school is comprised of nine buildings. Two buildings have been used by sixth-graders since September, and seventh- and eighth-graders moved into their new buildings on Jan. 4.

The Creative Learning Centers will be ready for action in the next few months, delayed by recent bad weather and last year's cement strike.

After five years of direct planning, the vision of Case Middle School has transformed into a tangible reality.

DAVID FRANZEN / PUNAHOU SCHOOL Students Clint Okayama, Lacey Chu and Heather Horn perform the final scene of "A Streetcar Named Desire."

Music, theater
students literally judged
on performance

At the end of last year, Punahou Theater presented two of Tennessee Williams' most well-known plays: "The Glass Menagerie" and "A Streetcar Named Desire."

While Punahou Theater may seem like a schoolwide organization, the title is a bit deceptive, for both plays were produced by students enrolled in the Academy Theater Performance class.

These plays featured students Nick Sutton, Dena Cassella, Quinn Franzen, Marina Hitosugi-Levesque, Lacey Chu, Jeremy Pollack and other class members; both were directed by drama teacher Paul Palmore.

Theater Performance is one of many performance arts classes that are offered at Punahou School; others include most of the music classes, such as the Chorale, Wind Ensemble and the Symphony Orchestra. Unlike most Academy classes, the grade for these classes usually is based on some sort of culminating performance at the end of each semester, such as theater productions or a concert.

"For most classes," says senior Symphony violinist Lawrence Tran, "we usually just turn in regularly assigned homework and get grades for them. But for performance arts classes, all of our work usually leads up to the crucial performances, which take place near the end of the semester."

"I think it's really great," says Leoni Lanzas, who portrayed Eunice Hubbell in the school production of "A Streetcar Named Desire." "Theater Performance is really the class where you take everything you learned in the Fundamentals of Acting and Character Portrayal classes and put it to good use."

Some might find the situation stressful, but Lanzas replied that was not the case for her. "For me," she said, "it is all love. This is just what I do. It's like breathing."

Fellow actor Clint Okayama said, "It causes a lot of problems concerning time management, but it ultimately allows me to forget about school for those few hours."

"It keeps things in perspective, I think," said Wind Ensemble trombonist Ryder Onopa. "As opposed to always focusing on the workload 'right now', you focus on working towards the concert."

Principal percussionist Jade Zhu agrees, saying, "It's very satisfying to us because there's a chance to show off what we've been working on all semester."

"I love playing music. It's great knowing that you're a vital part of an ensemble, even if the end product isn't always what you'd hoped it to be," says Matt Love, principal bassist of the Punahou Symphony Orchestra.

These performance arts classes serve as crucial elements in the students' lives. Students feel that they are integral parts of a large whole, which acts as a sort of rewarding catharsis at the end of every semester. Furthermore, these classes give them a profound sense of purpose amidst the turmoil and chaos of everyday life.

You asked

Shannon Mickelwait: "Recently, in my American studies class, we did a nature-write on top of Rocky Hill. Sitting in a quiet area with nothing but a pen, paper and my curious mind was a great way for me to create ideas which lead to fulfilling discussions."

Jaclyn Fujimoto: "After taking a field trip with my biology class to the UH morgue, I faced my fear of cadavers and was actually intrigued more than disgusted by them. The field trip fascinated me and sparked an interest for me in medical science."

Reese Morikubo: "I was motivated by my eighth-grade science teacher to work really hard on a huge project. After a few simple words of encouragement, I was determined to make my project perfect."

Keali'i Frank: "Using Hawaiian vocabulary in autobiographical projects and conversing in Hawaiian during class help solidify the vocabulary and ideas in my mind."

Rosie Friedheim: "(Punahou's outdoor) camp set a welcoming atmosphere for me to branch out of my stressful life at Punahou. I felt free to be myself, accepting myself and others."