Academics
Grade 3
Philosophy
The third grade teachers put a lot of emphasis on creating self-directed learners in the classroom. Building a desire to be lifelong learners is also a priority for the third grade teachers. Mrs. Nakata hopes to develop good readers by creating a climate that engages students as a community of literacy learners by providing opportunities for children to read critically, examine and respond to texts and use writing as a tool for thinking, learning and communicating. Mr. Omine would like to try and make math meaningful and provide different strategies to solve problems. I want the students to be self-motivated and have the desire to be lifelong learners. Overall, the third grade teaching team would like to see all the students feel excited about their curriculum and to strive to reach their maximum potentials as students.
The Momilani Grade 3 class is a very unique class due to the open room layout and simultaneous teaching that occurs. Students at Momilani are used to having more than one teacher throughout the course of the day and become very good at “switching gears” between their curriculum subjects. Both teachers teach a separate group of students in the classroom although there is no separating wall or partition between the two homerooms. The students learn to adapt to this open room structure and are very good at learning how to focus their attention where needed.
In terms of the third grade curriculum, the Grade 3 teachers truly feel that the third grade is a critical year in their elementary school careers. It’s considered a transition school year considering that it’s the first year that the students go from a 20 to 1 student/teacher ratio to a 30+ to 1 student/teacher ratio. With a total grade roster of over 60 students, there are many new challenges, experiences, and expectations that students face during the third grade year. In addition to the increased class size, the third grade year is also the first year for the students to participate in the standardized Hawaii State Assessments. Clearly, the third grade year is an exciting and critical year for the students.
Meet the Team
Mrs. Nakata
Mrs. Nakata has been teaching with the DOE since 1995. She Graduated from the University of Hawaii with a B.A. in Asian Studies and a Professional Diploma in Elementary Education. She began her teaching career at Ewa Elementary as a classroom teacher in Grade 3. During her 13 years at Ewa Elementary, she also taught grade 2 and was a Literacy Resource teacher. In 2011, Mrs. Nakata had the opportunity to relocate to Japan where she was a Substitute teacher at Ikego Elementary School in Zushi, Japan. Upon her return back to Hawaii in 2014, she has been a Substitute Teacher, Part Time Teacher, Half-Time Teacher and 3rd Grade classroom teacher here at Momilani Elementary School. Mrs. Nakata’s goal is to educate the whole child by fostering emotional, social as well as academic growth and to instill the love of learning in her students so that they can become life-long learners.
In her free time, Mrs. Nakata loves to read and spend time with her family (Husband Grant, sons Brennan and Bryton) going camping, boogie boarding and swimming at the pool or at the waterpark. She also loves to spend time with her 2 rescue dogs, Cocoa and Lilo who are part of the family.
Mr. Omine
Mr. Omine started teaching at Momilani Elementary in 2005 before moving to Hawaii Island in 2008 where he taught at Mountain View Elementary. He has taught grades Kindergarten through 4th grade, as well as 7th and 8th grade at Highlands Intermediate. He received his Master’s of Education in Teaching from the University of Hawaii in 2005. Mr. Omine believes in not only the value of academics, but the value of being an all around good hearted person. He also feels that character education is equally important as academic education, and parental involvement is a key component for a child’s success in life. He hopes to inspire his students by pursuing their passions in life and achieving their goals.
In his spare time, Mr. Omine really enjoys going to the beach and spending time with his family. He enjoys camping, fishing, free diving, and longboarding. He is very frugal with his time and money and his lifelong dream is to retire when he is 40 years old. Alas, Mr. Omine is still trying to make his dream come true.