[ HAWAII’S SCHOOLS ]
COURTESY OF MID-PACIFIC INSTITUTE
Construction of Mid-Pacific Institute's Math/Science/Technology Complex is expected to be completed by June.
Last year's Honolulu Star-Bulletin feature of Mid-Pacific Institute covered the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Math/Science/Technology Complex. Technologies meet
at Mid-PacificA new complex will have students
You asked
using state-of-the-art computer facilities
About this pageMid-Pacific Institute
Slightly more than a year later, we are happy to report that our school is ready to propel students into a new age of technology and global communications.
In 1997, Mid-Pacific Institute's faculty and staff began the process of drawing up plans for the complex.
From 1997 to 2001, a group of Mid-Pacific teachers attended seminars and workshops, not only to better educate themselves, but to also participate in research on possible designs for the new technology complex. With the guidance of faculty and staff, every detail of the complex received careful consideration.
What has evolved is an innovative environment for the Mid-Pacific community. With the guidance of Technology Coordinator Mark Hines, the plans came together for a center that will integrate math, science and technology across the curriculum.
With generous donations from Michael and Sandra Hartley, the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, the Atherton Family Foundation and others, the complex has become a reality. Construction should be completed by June.
Teachers will be able to begin setting up their classrooms in early June with classrooms ready for use at the beginning of the 2003-2004 school year in mid-August.
This complex will allow the students to work with advanced educational equipment from Creative Learning Systems, and will also create opportunities for them to explore broadcast-quality video, audio production, DVD production, Web-based applications, distance learning, engineering, animation, publishing, mathematics, material science, aerospace technology, biotechnology and aquaculture.
The second floor of the Technology Center will consist of a new yearbook and media room, a seminar presentation room and other classrooms and offices.
The new yearbook and media room will be furnished with state-of-the-art Macintosh computers, scanners and printers to provide students with professional communications tools. A seminar room will be large enough to host community meetings.
A unique aspect of the second floor is an atrium in the middle of the space. The open and bright environment will allow students and faculty to have a great view of the diverse experiments being performed.
The center will offer the enticing prospect of distance learning, which will provide a way for Mid-Pacific faculty to teach courses over the Internet to anyone in the world. The courses will be placed directly online and offered especially to those who are home-schooled, those who live on the neighbor islands or even those individuals who are international students.
It's all about the students.
Mid-Pacific continues to maintain Wilcox Dormitory for students from Bali, China, France, Guam, Italy, Japan, as well as the mainland and neighbor islands. These students contribute to the multicultural nature of the Mid-Pacific environment. Mid-Pacific Institute has a fine reputation as a performing arts institution. Students can experience visual art, dance, music and theater. Through all of these programs, students can earn certificates of completion, and for those who wish to excel in their chosen discipline, there are more advanced levels, including the International Baccalaureate Diploma program.
The new complex is ultimately student-inspired. Mid-Pacific hopes that with the use of this new complex, students will be able to adapt to the ever-growing needs of the modern world.
"It's fabulous because it will allow our students to experience state-of-the-art technology and further enhance their technology skills so they will compete effectively in the job market," Rene Ochiai, 11th-grade dean, said.
BACK TO TOP |
You asked
How do you feel about the opening of the new technology building?
Blake Tsutsui
sixth grade"The new tech building has been a big project that Mid-Pacific has been working on for a couple of years. It's probably going to take one more year."
Toshi Nakasone
sixth grade"I feel that the new tech building is a really cool thing. Technology and math are my two favorite subjects, and science is my second favorite."
Taylor Nagata
sixth grade"I think that the new technology building is going to help because it will have bigger space and it will have more high-tech equipment."
Miya Quinn
eighth grade"It's a great opportunity to learn new things with higher technology."
Sean Santoki
eighth grade"I think the new technology center will better our education."
BACK TO TOP |
About this page
Each week, Hawaii's teenage reporters and photographers tell us about their school. This week: Mid-Pacific Institute.
Newspaper: Na Pueo
Senior Editor: Jayme Obata
President: Joe Rice
Advisers: John Chance and Ed Tompkins
Principals: Richard Schaffer (high school), Tracy Reimer (middle school)
Mascot: Owl
Colors: Green and White
Faculty: 94
Enrollment: 603 boys, 495 girls
Historic Mid-Pac facts
>> The tuition at Kawaiahao Seminary for Girls was only $50 in 1873>> The Mills Institute for Boys housed and enrolled 46 boys ranging in age from 8 to 24
>> Francis Damon and Paula Paulding merged Kawaiahao Seminary for Girls and Mills Institute for Boys in 1905. They decided to call it Mid-Pacific Institute.
Click for online
calendars and events.
