Student Life

Mr. Nishihara's Page

Ripples of Kindness

"Purposeful Acts" is now called, "Ripples of Kindness"

Aloha Parents and Students,

As the 2020 school year flies right by, we have been encouraging students to continue their journey to live a life full of “Purposeful Acts.” We began our new program last school year, with classmates recognizing classmates for their outstanding behaviors around campus and lives were touched amongst our students. The “Formative Five” Character traits were embraced with more effort (Empathy, Integrity, Self-Control, Embracing Diversity, Grit, plus our newest addition Aloha) and the “Purposeful Acts” program made a difference in recognizing students for their special efforts with a simple “I Noticed” slip of paper.

Teachers have been very creative, embracing the concept of the “Formative Five.” From literary readings and writings, to post it note formative five walls and graphs! Students have been taking to heart our “Formative Five” character traits and displaying Momilani’s behavioral expectations in and out of the classroom. Also, “Purposeful Acts” were embraced with more doing...for each other.

We encourage all students to live with purpose and to share kind gestures, good deeds, encouraging words, and other simple acts of kindness. This year, we would like to step it up a bit by initiating a more specific “Purposeful Acts” program and rename it…”Ripples of Kindness.”

Keep your face always towards the sunshine...

April 7, 2020

Aloha Parents and Students,

During these unsure times, it might be hard to smile with what’s happening and for sure the “information overload” is overwhelming. Please find time to think about our unique Aloha Spirit, be thankful for the natural beauty surrounding us, reflect on the diverse people that connect to our “family,” be grateful for the many things we have, and continue to have hopes and dreams. “Keep your face always towards the Sunshine…”

We must not forget to say, “Thank You” to all the hard working First Responders, Essential Workers, and all other Heroes out there who are busy and tirelessly keeping our communities safe and well provided. While the greater community is at home...working, studying, or doing their part in fighting community spread, we are thankful to everyone. Thank you!

For sure there’s lots of worry and uncertainty, but those are emotional “normals” that everyone experiences...including parents. A quote from Walt Whitman: “Keep Your Face Always Toward The Sunshine And The Shadows Will Fall Behind You.”

To view the full document of Mr. Nishihara's "assignment," click the box in the corner to open the Google Doc in a new window. (Must be logged into a Momilani Account.)

“Keep your face always towards the sunshine…”

Recipe for Kindness

April 18, 2020

Create your own "original" recipe which has all the ingredients you think are important for "Kindness." Please try your best not to research kindness recipes as there are many.

After you have created and submitted your special "Recipe for Kindness," think of your most favorite homemade dish and submit a "real" recipe to share. Your food recipe is optional but I would like to compile a bunch of your favorites and dedicate it to our Health Care Professionals, First Responders, Community members, and all those who keep us safe and provide services so we may carry on with our day to day living during this season of uncertainty.

Also we cannot forget about all of you who are doing your part by staying home during this crisis. The recipes are for everyone! Thank you for your participation. Be creative in your recipe submissions!

And please don't forget to give credit to the author of the recipe. If you need permission to share your favorite dish...please do so before submitting!

Thank you for participating!

To view the full document of Mr. Nishihara's "assignment," click the box in the corner to open the Google Slides in a new window. (Must be logged into a Momilani Account.)

Recipes of Kindness

Be Kind to Yourself

How have you been? I mean really! We sometimes forget to take care of ourselves and do the things we love to do, enjoy doing, or simply just have fun doing. During this season of uncertainty, we are faced with new normals that some may find easy and some may find challenging. But still, we need to adapt and make the new normal work...which might mean changing up how we take care of ourselves and how we recharge or re-energize ourselves. Due to our stay at home circumstances, our “charging” stations may not fit anymore, so we should create new ones for ourselves. “New chargers” could look like different ways to exercise, new hobbies, playing with our old games/toys, spending more family time, or just re-reading an old book. Whatever it may be, taking care of ourselves may turn into something new and exciting! Hint: A great resource is asking your parents or grandparents what they did back in the day for exercise, entertainment, or fun! Believe me...I’m sure some of the things they did were cool stuff! Maybe bringing back what they did might be a great “recharger” for you!

So...here’s a quote from Maya Angelou: “Nothing Works Unless You Do.”

Think about that quote and hopefully you’ll see things differently when you really want to “Be Kind To Yourself.”

Nothing Works Unless You Do

Student Work

Click on the small box in the corner of each student's work to open up the file in a new window.

Lesson 1: "Keep your face always towards the sunshine..."

“Keep your face always towards the sunshine…”

Lesson 2: "Recipe for Kindness"

Recipes of Kindness

Lesson 3: "Be Kind to Yourself"

Be Kind to Yourself

Resources & Helpful Articles