Have you seen the Assets hallways lately?  They are filled to overflowing with student art from our recent Spring Arts Show. Organized by professional artist, Birgitta (left) who has worked at Assets since 2002 and Class of 2000 Assets High School graduate Christin (right) who has been teaching here since 2004, this showcasing event was enjoyed by all and provided the opportunity for students to display and share their work.      

Birgitta:  What do you value most about Assets School? 

What I think is important about Assets School is that it values art as fundamental to the creative and intellectual development of our students. Art stimulates the imagination, it encourages community development through student interaction and teamwork, it builds confidence and enhances self esteem and can enhance the classroom curriculum.  For example, this year the Assets 7th and 8th graders integrated art into their geography and social studies curriculum. They discovered how climate and geographical location influenced the art of the cultures they were studying.    

 

Christin:  What do you value most about Assets School? What I value most about Assets is that it is a place where the strengths and passions of our students are celebrated. As an Assets Alumni, I experienced this first hand. Like so many of our students, I arrived at Assets feeling crushed and frustrated due to the struggles I had experienced at other schools and with my own differences in the way I learn. For me, Assets embodied a safe environment where I was able to shed layers of hopelessness and allow my unique differences to shine through. Assets enabled me to take the focus off subject areas where I struggled and allow my creative abilities in art to flourish. Now as an art teacher at Assets, one of my favorite aspects of my job is being able to empathize with the students and help them discover their own areas of strength. Assets is a magical place where the arts are still valued and incorporated in the daily practice of education. I am so blessed to have the opportunity to be able to give back to the same school that was so life changing for me. 

Sophomore Paulina Lim was accepted to Bard College at Simon's Rock to study this fall.  Yes, you read that correctly, as a sophomore in high school, Paulina was accepted into college!   Last week, Paulina was interviewed on Hawaii News Now. To the see interview, click here.  

  

Remember our sharing news of our students Arwen Uyeoka and Halley Jackson speaking at the Tedx Talks at Punahou School?  To view their YouTube video, click here. 

  

The Spring Book Fair is Coming!  

This year's luau-themed fair is from May 8-11. To kick off the fair on Tuesday, May 8, we will have "Tacky Tourist" dress-up day.  Each day, there will be games and book giveaways and for the first time ever, 6th-8th graders will serve as Junior Crew Volunteers to assist the younger shoppers, take photographs, run games and help restock shelves. 

 

The online fair will run from May 1- May 11 with FREE SHIPPING! Books will be delivered to the child's classroom. Friends and family on the mainland or those who cannot attend the school fair are encouraged to order books online. Teachers also have classroom wish lists online. For details on the online fair, click here.