COURTESY OF MID-PACIFIC INSTITUTE
Wilcox Hall on the Mid-Pacific Institute campus was recently torn down to make way for a new elementary school being formed by a merger with Epiphany School.
New era begins
at Mid-PacImprovements are expected now
that Epiphany School has joined
the MPI family
With growth comes change. It is a popular adage that has grown to encompass more than just a familiar saying -- it has become the genuine article that sufficiently describes the expansion that Mid-Pacific Institute has undergone recently.
Traditionally recognized for its rich history steeped in the performing arts, the sciences and a boarding program that solidified its international credibility, MPI will maintain its connection to the arts and sciences while fostering a plan that could dramatically increase its international appeal as well.
The Mid-Pacific Institute International School of Science and the Arts has merged with Epiphany School, which is currently located in Kaimuki. With the combination of both schools, MPI will serve the community with a more diverse K-12 curriculum beginning with the 2004-05 school year.
Epiphany School will close its doors and officially become part of the Mid-Pacific Institute family at the end of this school year, though the school will remain in its current Kaimuki location for one year. The program will then move to Mid-Pacific's Manoa campus before the 2005-06 school year.
According to Mid-Pacific Institute president Joe Rice, planning for the new Manoa elementary school is under way. It will probably be located on the site of the former Wilcox Hall.
"The joining of our two schools' leadership, expertise, talent, traditions and resources will create a consistent, continuous program of first-rate kindergarten-through-12th-grade education," Rice said. "We're confident that the transformation of Mid-Pacific Institute and Epiphany School into a single educational community will offer a distinctive educational presence in Hawaii."
Edna Hussey, head of Epiphany School, said: "We are honored to have been invited by Joe Rice and the Mid-Pacific Institute Board to become the new MPI Elementary School. This unique opportunity provides both schools ... a stronger future together as one educational community serving Hawaii's children and their families. We look forward to 2004 when we transform MPI into a K-12 learning experience."
Epiphany's program provides an integrated, developmental approach that aims to educate the whole child and inspire a lifelong joy in learning. The school seeks to provide students with multiple opportunities to experience learning as many processes in different contexts.
Through inquiry strategies and in collaboration with their peers and teachers, students are taught how to ask questions, find answers, consult resources and reflect on their learning. This child-centered approach guides curriculum and instruction in all facets of the school. Learning is hands-on, interactive, meaningful, fun and challenging.
The curriculum will weave together the best educational theories and practices related to literacy, language learning, mathematical reasoning, social concept building and explorations in science.
Literacy in all content areas manifests itself in sustained reading, writing, problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Small class sizes and a low student-teacher ratio will enable learning to broaden and deepen.
In addition to same-age classrooms, Epiphany offers multiage learning as an educational strategy to promote the development of a fuller range of a child's cognitive and social skills.
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New buildings feature
latest technologyStudents have access to a wide range
of equipment and tools to help
with learning
The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Technology Plaza and the Mike and Sandy Hartley Math and Science Technology Complex are impressive structures, but they also hold key links to the rapidly advancing world of technology.
The buildings themselves represent masterful designing in architecture and contribute greatly to the picturesque environment in Manoa Valley.
But we here at Mid-Pacific Institute are equally as impressed with the internal features shared by these newest additions to our campus.
The Mike and Sandy Hartley Math and Science Complex mainly houses the classrooms for courses in math and the sciences. What makes these classrooms so unique are the "smart boards" that allow for a more personalized method of instruction, with technology as the major tool.
Smart boards provide interaction between the instructor and his or her computer terminal, with a board that is the same size as a traditional chalkboard serving as the monitor. Instructors can refer to various Web sites without going back and forth from a computer to the board, because the smart boards are touch-sensitive.
Students appreciate this because it provides a more "hands-on" style of interaction while saving the amount of time it would take to share vital information through the use of photocopies.
The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Technology Plaza is divided into four zones that serve the entire MPI student body and community: video broadcast, videoconferencing, multimedia and technology.
The video broadcast zone is where the school's daily bulletin is recorded. Announcements are televised schoolwide over a network. With the aid of adviser Kevin Tokuda, the morning announcements are entirely student-produced. All grade levels participate in every phase of producing this program, which includes editing and hosting.
Videoconferencing is the newest means by which a group or a member of a group can visually contact another party regardless of the physical location. The sixth-grade classes at Mid-Pacific Institute have utilized this technology to contact students in Japan and to converse with a survivor of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor through a program sponsored by the U.S. Navy. Other features include real-time, two-way exchanges.
The multimedia zone is now the new home of Mid-Pacific Institute's yearbook and school newspaper, Na Pueo. Both the yearbook and newspaper staffs are entirely responsible for the layout for each of the disciplines, which means that they are entirely student-run, with supervision from the advisers.
The technology included in the multimedia zone are Macintosh G4 flat screens, jet scanners, Wacom (a program specifically designed for art and drawing), negative and slide scanners, and Adobe InDesign and Photoshop software. The final production phase for both the yearbook and the newspaper are now totally digital, which means that files are sent to outside sources online.
The technology zone includes a technology lab with more than 100 learning units. It is consistently used in conjunction with the creative learning systems curriculum. The technology zone caters to project-based class assignments because the environment is highly versatile.
The responsibility of assignment completion is the student's, and it also fosters a collaborative environment with regard to deadlines.
The technology zone simulates a working environment, which allows students to create their own objectives.
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About ‘Hawaii’s Schools’
Each week, Hawaii's teenage reporters and photographers tell us about their high school. This week's school is Mid-Pacific Institute.
Newspaper: Na Pueo Adviser: John Chance Next week: Sacred Hearts Academy
Owl facts
Address: 2445 Kaala St., Honolulu 96822 Phone: 973-500 Fax: 973-5099 Web site: midpac.edu President: Joe C. Rice High school principal: Richard Schaffer Middle school principal: Tracy Reimer Students: 392 (middle school), 729 (high school) Mascot: The owl (pueo) Colors: Green and white
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