OUR SCHOOLS • HAHA'IONE ELEMENTARY
Haha'ione students take class to mall, bowling alley

By Shayna Coleon
Advertiser Staff writer

Despite all the laughter and the blaring of the song "Drop Baby Drop" over the sound system at the University Bowl-O-Drome, 10-year-old Cassidy Dunsmore had a look of concentration on his face as he hunched over his team's bowling score sheet, mechanical pencil in hand.

Haha'ione Elementary School students Aaron Lin, 10, Cassidy Dunsmore, 10, and Makana Wright, 9, keep score at University Bowl-O-Drome during a class outing designed to sharpen their math skills. Haha'ione teachers say having class at places like malls and bowling alleys keep students excited about learning. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

"Math is my favorite subject," Dunsmore said. "But when you're doing something active, it's more challenging because strikes and spares are hard to add."

While Dunsmore finished adding up his score, 9-year-old Ian Diaz looked down at the paper and screamed, "I'm winning! This is cool!"

Haha'ione teachers said they have incorporated excursions to Kahala Mall and the bowling alley with their math and English classes this summer as a welcome change from being in class all day.

During their Kahala Mall trip, the fourth- and fifth-grade students practiced their estimating skills, calculating the number of footsteps it took to walk the length of the Gap's store window.

Then, as part of their English class, the students had to observe a Macy's window display and write a descriptive essay about it when they returned to school, said Diane Takemoto, a fourth-grade English teacher.

"A student came up to me and told me he couldn't sleep last night because he was so excited about coming to school," Takemoto said. "It's those positive remarks that make you feel good because the kids are actually looking forward to school."

• What we need: Newer computer equipment, software and money to finish hard-wiring two buildings on campus, said Haha'ione's technical coordinator, Miki St. Laurent.

• Our biggest challenge: Raising money for the completion of the computer hard-wiring for two buildings. The school's computer lab is only temporarily hooked up to the network, and they want to add computer access to the school's cafeteria.

• Projects: Haha'ione offers a video production class that lets students use computers to create and edit their own multimedia videos.

"We're headed in that direction in means of technology," St. Laurent said. "It gives the kids a chance to express themselves in different ways."

• Special events: The school holds an annual Science and Technology Exploring Possibilities by Students' Fair In March. All Haha'ione students participate by displaying a science project that they have worked on individually, in small groups or as a class.

To have your school profiled, call education editor Dan Woods at 525-5441 or e-mail him at dwoods@honoluluadvertiser.com.