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At Ala Wai Elementary we want all of our students to believe that they are leaders and have a voice that needs to be heard.  Lori Kwee a fourth grade teacher and I collaborated on a year long student driven anti bullying project.  We learned so much from the students as they spread their messages of kindness and peace.  Here is their story...
Jennifer Moku
Ala Wai Elementary School

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HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - The most inspirational of undertakings at Hawaii's schools don't just impact an educational experience ― they change an entire culture.

Students at Ala Wai Elementary School have committed to do just that.

"Today I pledge to not bully and be kind to others, no matter what. I pledge to be compassionate and help others in need."

The pledge was written by one of their classmates as a class project.

"Going back to the beginning of the school year, I asked the kids 2 questions," explains teacher Lori Kwee. "What are they curious about, and what are they most interested in learning."

Mia Mauricio remembers it well.

"I was shocked, because no one's like that brave to do that. Cause like, it's like having all these rocks on your shoulders and like having all the rain wash it off," she said. "So I was kinda proud of him to do that."

"The victims then were unsure," Mrs. Kwee added. "They were upset. They wanted revenge, retaliation, and together they discussed wow, they realized they could become bullies too. But they have the choice."

The topic of bullying became the inspiration for different projects. They wrote books about bullying, and read books about bullying.

"In science, the students participated in the Honolulu engineering fair and created a survey: How does anger affect the mind? How does anger affect the body?" Mrs. Kwee said. "So you're looking at physical reactions, how the body deals with that. They did surveys, got results, and they shared it out at the district fair, earning grade scores and recognition for their product."

First they used it to help themselves and their classmates.

"I take 10 deep breaths when I get angry," says Russell Kinere, as he fills his lungs with air and lets out a big sigh. "So I tell myself to calm down. Then I say count to 10 and then I (sighs) and it all works my body, more better."

Then they took it a step further.

For her efforts, Mrs. Kwee has been named one of 5 national finalists for the LifeChanger of the Year award ― out of more than 830 nominees.

But she credits her students with being the real voices of change.

Copyright 2019 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

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Education Inspiration: Ala Wai Elementary's pledge to end bullying

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HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - The most inspirational of undertakings at Hawaii's schools don't just impact an educational experience ― they change an entire culture. Students at Ala Wai Elementary School have committed to do just that. "Today I pledge to not bully and be kind to others, no matter what.

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This is me teaching in the EVERYBODY SECTION where you can find a book for everyone

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BOOKS TO EAT at Pōmaikaʻi Elementary School with Mrs. Smith

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Webling Elementary Library is the place to be!

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Webling Elementary Library is the place to be!

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We love to get new things for the library. We pretty much do not have a budget but thanks to Scholastic Book Fairs, this new school year we have been able to get new books, new wobble chairs, Lego wall, a talking globe, and more. Other things we've gotten from Scholastic's catalog were Bloxels, IO Blocks, iPad charging stations, exercise balls, new earphones, and more! Everyone can update their library by having Scholastic Book Fairs! We also have a makerspace to spark the creative mind.

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Central Middle finds rare photos, historical artifacts packed away in storage

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Central Middle finds rare photos, historical artifacts packed away in storage

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HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - From yearbooks to documents to old black and white photographs, Central Middle School has discovered a treasure trove of historical artifacts that were hidden away for decades.

"We've been finding these all just in file cabinets, just locked away, waiting to be found," Principal Anne Marie Murphy said.

The school library now proudly displays sports trophies that date back to the early 1900s and dozens of pictures of students and staff.

"We just kind of became detectives. We realized that there was this amazing history that was just waiting to be told," she said.

School Librarian Holly Gates uncovered most of the goods boxed up in storage rooms.

"The kids never could see any of this stuff," Murphy said. "Now we've really brought it out so that the kids can see this beautiful history of this school, and especially the history of Princess Ruth Keelikolani."

Her palace was bigger than Iolani Palace and even had electricity installed first. It was torn down because of termites.

The school was built on the same grounds.

"It's just been fun, so much fun, to just keep finding things," she said.

"I think that the most impressive thing that we found was the signed picture from Helen Keller, which we did look at on eBay and found out that it's actually an amazing artifact to have," Murphy said.

Now the old artifacts have found new life and will help to tell Central Middle School's rich story.

Copyright 2019 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

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Central Middle finds rare photos, historical artifacts packed away in storage

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HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - From yearbooks to documents to old black and white photographs, Central Middle School has discovered a treasure trove of historical artifacts that were hidden away for decades. "We've been finding these all just in file cabinets, just locked away, waiting to be found," Principal Anne Marie Murphy said.

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Promoting the library as more of a learning commons

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Promoting the library as more of a learning commons

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In an effort to get our students more involved in their own learning and see the library as a welcoming, comfortable, inclusive space where all kinds of learning takes place, I wrote for a scholarship/grant to fund afternoon activities and movie nights. I also started to build a small makerspace to encourage students to become self motivated, hands on learners and independent thinkers.

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I want our school library to be an interactive and collaborative space where students play, explore, build, learn, and yes, read. This past year I have been working to manifest that vision. Students now have a jigsaw puzzle table, a collaborative art table, a word-play center with crosswords and such, "board" games including a HUGE connect-4, and a variety of maker kits. The maker kits include everything from drawing to legos to yarn leis, and we recently added a cardboard construction area and VHS case building blocks. Most of the materials and activities are low tech. In part because students already attend a STEM class and a tech class. But this year I am looking to add more high tech materials. I just bought two Dash coding robots and I think they're going to love them! 

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I want our school library to be an interactive and collaborative space where students play, explore, build, learn, and yes, read. This past year I have been working to manifest that vision. Students now have a jigsaw puzzle table, a collaborative art table, a word-play center with crosswords and such, "board" games including a HUGE connect-4, and a variety of maker kits. The maker kits include everything from drawing to legos to yarn leis, and we recently added a cardboard construction area and VHS case building blocks. Most of the materials and activities are low tech. In part because students already attend a STEM class and a tech class. But this year I am looking to add more high tech materials. I just bought two Dash coding robots and I think they're going to love them! 

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Our school implements the Choose Love Social Emotional Learning Curriculum and outside our library door our art teacher has painted a mural of a huge heart, made up of the hand prints of the staff.  Inside the heart, staff and students can write words of affirmation on post-its to fill it in. The library is literally at the heart of our school and the mural reminds us of this and serves as a positive visual reminder for our school community.

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This summer I visited Brighton beach public library and was happy to see people from many beliefs and economic status having a multi-cultural lunch "pot luck." There was lively Russian music and dances along with ordinary internet and book borrowing patrons. A librarian was teaching a guitar class too! This proved to me the essence of various forms of expression that create a new world together, from steven Chichi at Ilima Inter.