On Wednesday, May 20th 2015, our Island Pacific Academy community came together to celebrate our Middle Years Program (MYP) students with the MYP Awards Night. We honored students in the 6th through 10th grades for their non-academic contributions to our Island Pacific Academy community.
We also presented the Sophomores with certificates of completion. All of the Sophomores successfully completed the capstone MYP event of the Personal Project as they exit the Middle Years Program on their way to the Diploma Program.
Generosity of Spirit Award
Each year, Island Pacific Academy seeks to honor students who have worked to embody the mission of the school by exhibiting what we describe as a “Generosity of Spirit”. The first part of Island Pacific Academy’s Mission Statement helps to clearly define our schools vision for our students:
Island Pacific Academy has grounded its educational program in a mission to provide an environment where students develop:
Strength of character, based upon such core values as respect for others, generosity of spirit and the power of human kindness, and become good citizens of their communities;
The students who were presented with the Generosity of Spirit award in each grade level (6-10) consistently exhibits:
- an attitude characterized by sensitivity to the needs of others
- a willingness to help whenever possible
- a genuine care for the welfare of his/her fellow Island Pacific Academy community members over the course of his/her time at Island Pacific Academy
6th Grade Award given to Kaitlyn Taaca
7th Grade Award given to Kate Wilhelm
8th Grade Award given to Rylyne Bravo
9th Grade Award given to Shania Bravo
10th Grade Award given to Nicholas Garcia
Sophomores (L-R) Kento Sugama, Sean Alamar, Justin Major, Bradley Sweet, McKenna Chun, Jake Arakawa, Mark York and Max Knight celebrate with their fellow classmates at the MYP Awards ceremony.
Hana Pono Award
“Pono” in Hawaiian means “right”, and describes a sense of “rightness” that comes from being one with everything. It is based on the ancient Hawaiian belief in the unconditional love and compassion for, and the connectedness between all things. “Hana” is the Hawaiian idea of perpetration, or a continuation. Therefore, the Island Pacific Academy Hana Pono Award is grounded in the idea of honoring students who, over the course of his/her time at Island Pacific Academy, has consistently demonstrated the perpetuation of this Hawaiian ideal through:
- Steadfast commitment to service to the school and others within the community
- A consistent willingness to serve
- To offer help without being asked
- Whose selfless efforts have enhanced our school community
The Hana Pono award is presented to students in 8th, 9th, and 10th.
8th Grade Award given to Brooke Wood
9th Grade Award given to Madison Yamamura
10th Grade Award given to Rachel Novak
Class Sponsor Stan Vincent embracing Sophomore Rachel Novak for her Hana Pono Award
Stargazer Award
This award, not necessarily dependent on GPA, honors a Sophomore who has consistently demonstrated a love of learning. This is the highest award in the Middle Years Program.
The stargazer is a lifelong learner who demonstrates:
- Steadfast commitment to quality work
- Genuine love of learning across disciplines
The Stargazer Award presented by Secondary Principal Kip Cummings to IPA student Devyn Munar
MYP Personal Project Certificate of Completion
The Middle Years Program Personal Project is a culminating event that showcases how much the students of the MYP have grown in their learning and exploration.
The personal project encourages students to practice and strengthen their learning skills, to consolidate prior and subject-specific learning, and to develop an area of personal interest.
The personal project provides an excellent opportunity for students to produce a truly personal and often creative product or outcome and to demonstrate a consolidation of their learning in the MYP.
The personal nature of the project is important; the project should revolve around a challenge that motivates and interests the individual student. Each student develops a personal project independently.
Our Sophomores jumped right into the Personal Project process way back in September. They came up with terrific and unique project ideas that was an indicator of how dynamic this group of students are.
Congratulations to the Sophomores on completing the Middle Years Program and for each of their outstanding Personal Projects.
