Kama‘ehu Students Continue to Excel in School September 30, 2010

For the past two years, elementary school students throughout Hawai‘i have used a learning tool on the internet which helps them build their reading and comprehension skills. The program, known as Achieve 3000’s “KidBiz,” is provided by the State of Hawai‘i’s Department of Education to most, if not all, of the State’s elementary schools. It benefits the teachers because they have the ability to monitor each student’s progress as students log on and off each day, and the program tracks how many quizzes each student completes every time he or she logs on, even when he or she is not in school.

For students who reside at the Onelau‘ena Hope for a New Beginning Shelter in Kalaeloa, it is often difficult to find and use a computer to do homework or research, especially one which has internet access. But at Kama‘ehu, 6 desktop computers with internet access are available for all students enrolled in the program. Of course, those who are logging on for homework purposes or to access their personal KidBiz file are given priority.

With the assistance of teachers at Barbers Point Elementary School (B.P.E.S.), Kama‘ehu staff trainer Sheree Sakai has all her 4th and 5th graders keyed-in to the system and logging on every weekday after school. As a result, their recent activity on KidBiz has been so successful that several of her students have earned “Top Scorer” honors among all students enrolled at B.P.E.S. Those who have achieved this honor include 4th grader Karita L., 4th grader Parish L., 4th grader Enchy M., 5th grader Serena D., and 5th grader Patrick I. In addition to Patrick’s daily top scorer honor, he was also awarded a top scorer honor for an entire week. Congratulations scholars! Press on and don’t look back!