KAILUA — Students at Windward Adventist School have a regular regimen of exercise, start music lessons in second grade, score at or above grade level on standardized tests and they learn about God.

"We're not ashamed to talk about God," said Bruce Lane, school principal. "It's part of our program."

The school's curriculum is balanced, combining physical, mental and spiritual instruction to produce a well-rounded student, Lane said.

"We work really hard at trying to make sure the kids fulfill their potential in all of these areas," he said.

There are no soda machines on campus, and when food is provided by the school, it's vegetarian, he said.

With 66 students and four teachers, classes are small, somewhat individualized and allow teachers one-on-one time with each student, Lane said. Students are separated into four air-conditioned classrooms: grades K-1, 2-3, 4-6 and 7-8.

The campus, on the grounds of Kailua Seventh-day Adventist Church, is a block from the beach, where students run to get in shape for an annual jog-a-thon. The school opens to a large tarmac used as a playground and is beautifully landscaped, blending in with the surrounding community.

The students are often out in the community using it as an extended campus where they exercise, hold class at the tide pools on Lanikai Beach and entertain at malls, Lane said.

Not long ago the kindergarten class came across a dead shark while on a walk on Kailua Beach and had an impromptu lesson about sharks. During the holidays students perform Christmas concerts using choir bells, he said.

Although the school is church-supported, students do not have to belong to the church to attend the school, he said. Lane said he teaches a combined seventh- and eighth-grade class and only two of his 13 students are church members.

The school is small and he says he wants it to stay that way because it can do things larger schools can't.