Twenty Moanalua High School students are earning extra credit and gaining teaching experience as they help a group of first-graders at Moanalua Elementary School learn scientific concepts. Emily Marty supervised a group of children as they worked on a project.
Scientific method
A physics class discovers
the lessons learned from
teaching younger students
Juniors and seniors in Mrs. Jeanine Nakakura's physics classes were reminded of what it's like to be a first-grader.
Under Nakakura's supervision, high school students were given the opportunity to interact with children a decade younger than themselves -- and teach them something in the process.
Moanalua High SchoolNewspaperNa Hoku O Moanalua Editor in chief Joshua Masayoshi Huff Faculty adviser Liane Voss Address 2825 Ala Ilima St., Honolulu 96818 Phone number 837-8455 Web site MoHS.k12.hi.us Principal Darrel Galera Mascot Menehune Colors Royal blue and white |
Nakakura said elementary school students are not being exposed to enough science material.
Because her son Dakota is a first-grader at Moanalua Elementary School, Nakakura arranged to have her students work with his A-Plus after-school care group.
"The elementary school visit was a great way for high school students to teach science at the elementary level. Any form of science exposed to younger children is better than nothing at all," Nakakura said.
The first science session had the students playing around with a mixture of cornstarch and water, the sticky substance that came to be known as "oobleck," based on the Dr. Seuss story "Bartholomew and the Oobleck." Within minutes, something that was at first foreign to them became appealing.
Told first to squeeze the sticky substance, they found that the "oobleck" became a dry, solid mass. When they were told to release the substance, they found that the solid form became liquid again. This simple lesson on molecule properties stuck with them.
The first-graders were also taught simple quantifying techniques, units of measurement and how to distinguish between various instruments in a science lab.
Students were able to gauge their understanding of science concepts in various ways.
One first-grader, Joshua Miyashiro, was amazed by how a thermometer works. When told that the mercury in the thermometer rises as the temperature of the bulb is raised, he immediately began to blow warm air on the thermometer.
"It's going up!" he exclaimed.
Other first-graders found interest in their acquired skill of measuring and weighing.
"It was interesting to see how they used skills that they had just learned; they began comparing their heights and weights soon after they had measured each other," said senior Liane Fukumoto. "We must have really fixed their interest."
The high school students, who initially were interested in the opportunity because of the extra credit offered, soon found that the intrinsic rewards of teaching and helping were greater than the credit.
Seniors Emily King and Emily Marty said they would help even without the extra credit. On the flip side, senior Ben Crocker said his last group of boys was "pretty wild," and he would have to think twice before going again.
But the proof the partnership works is seeing the first-graders take the lessons outside the school courtyard. They could be found running around the courtyard, their hands and faces resembling that of a "goo monster." They were so intrigued by the substance that many of them had plans to make their own at home.
Nakakura's son Dakota particularly enjoyed spending time with high school students. "It was really fun. I really like when the older kids come down to play with us," he said.
Though the end result yielded kids and floors covered with the sticky "oobleck," the overall goal of the educational visit had been realized: First-graders now had a new-found interest in science, an interest that may follow them to high school and beyond.
Award-winners head to
top JROTC drill contest
"Hours and hours of sweat and work" have propelled Moanalua High School's Air Force Junior ROTC Honor Guard to first-class status, according to Master Sgt. Ken Schubert, one of the program's two instructors.
At the end of April, 24 cadets from Moanalua's Honor Guard will attend the National High School Drill Team Championships in Daytona, Fla.
The students will participate in two divisions -- five students in Demilitarized Exhibition (Armed), the rest in Unarmed Exhibition. Both groups focus on precision and consistency, practicing twice a week for two to three hours a day in preparation for the national competition.
Participants in the armed division perform rigorous drills that require a cadet to spin, toss and catch a 9-pound rifle while marching and moving. Unarmed competitors rely solely on their bodies to execute an original sequence consisting of "trick maneuvers and various rhythms and beats," said senior Jordan Aguilar, leader of the unarmed group.
"We have to compete to compete," program instructor Col. Victor Bonfiglio said.
Twenty-four cadets from Moanalua's Air Force Junior ROTC Honor Guard will be participating in the National High School Drill Team Championships in Florida in April.
In the Hawaii Multiple Schools Unit drill team competition, held Jan. 29 at Kaimuki High School, Moanalua captured the West Point Cup trophy. Not only is Moanalua a two-time winner of the trophy, it is the only Air Force unit to win.
The Honor Guard also seized three first-place trophies for Demilitarized Exhibition, Unarmed Exhibition and Unarmed Regulation, as well as a third-place trophy for Demilitarized Regulation.
"It's totally cadet-run," said Schubert, who claims to have no knowledge about spinning a rifle.
Schubert, who has been with Moanalua for the past nine years, witnessed the Honor Guard take flight.
In 2000, brothers William and Christopher Boyd established the core of the armed team, sharing their love for rifles with other cadets. Fellow cadet Derrick Arnold launched the unarmed team.
Though Arnold and the Boyd brothers have all graduated from Moanalua, current cadets honor their legacy by continuing to excel in drill competitions.
"It's a lot of time, pain and effort, but it's our passion," said senior Darryl de Lima, who will be competing in an armed solo exhibition in Daytona.
As last year's state champions in both the armed and unarmed divisions, the Moanalua Honor Guard looks forward to defending its titles in March.
"We train hard, we win competitions and we're a strong family," Aguilar said.
You asked...
What is your "dream vacation?"
Dan Hale
MeneMac teacher
"Be able to sleep in and have free room service along with some extra time to surf. "Tiare Lafradez
Freshman
"Anywhere with my friends and family."Daniel Bumanglag
Senior
"My vacation is spending time with someone very special and not having a care in the world."Ban Ishii
Grade unknown
"A huge king size bed all to myself with all the room service I can get! Plus cable ... hehe."Nalei Mendenca
Sophomore
"Anywhere with a beach, sun and palm trees. Along with my family and friends."
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