Elective classes

Seaview Community School offers a variety of enriching weekly electives for students. Through participation in elective classes, our students become an important part of a dynamic learning community. They work at skills which foster development of social awareness, collaboration, creativity, problem solving, connection and friendship.

Check out the options we had for the 2022-2023 school year:

• Lit Adventures - Students dive deep into literacy with a focus on comprehension, discussion, critical thinking, reading and writing strategies. Andrea hopes to ignite and inspire a joy and passion for reading & writing. We hope to empower kids to feel confident in exploring these developing skills. Andrea Sparks is a certified teacher who has been teaching reading and writing for many years who loves supporting readers and writers of all ages.

• Hawaiian Studies- Students will learn the culture and history of their Hawai’i home through a native Hawaiian perspective. This includes oli (chant), hula (dance), mele (song), hana no’eau (arts and traditions), ōlelo (language), mo'olelo (stories) & more. We also prepare to participate in HAAS school wide events such as ‘Aha Makahiki and Hō’ike. Kumu Hua is a certified teacher whose passion for culture and Hawai’i is infectious. She has been dedicated to our Seaview students for many years.

• Ukulele & More- Students Kawika Sause has taught with HAAS Seaview for many years and patiently instructs students in learning chords, strum patterns, movement and creativity. He’ll divide learners based on ability levels and expand beyond ukulele this year by bringing in additional instruments. Kawika plays multiple instruments and is incredibly committed to our Seaview students. He groups kids at each level of instruction.

• Gardening- Planting, harvesting, learning and practicing the principles of Permaculture will be the focus of class with Kawika. We’re building soil, composting and tending the garden beds. Kawika has worked with Seaview students for many years, and has been an avid gardener for much of his life. He loves sharing his knowledge and learning from our students. He’s got some cool STEAM projects planned for this year like building bee boxes!

• Art- Students experience mixed media, drawing, painting, building and a diverse exposure to art style and technique. Lisa Schwenneker is starting her 6th year of dedicated art instruction at Seaview. Her overarching goal is to inspire students with an art curriculum that explores a variety of media, elements of art, as well as connecting with art history. Seaview students can expect to explore many different artists and techniques together. We put on an annual art exhibit and sometimes enter community youth art exhibits.

• Circus Arts- A foundation in circus arts with skills in tumbling, juggling, magic, unicycling, performance arts, stilts, ariel and acro, clowning and character work. and unicycling. Circus class is a social and team building experience & one of our most popular electives. We offer this class 3 times per week, with two skilled instructors. Morgan Langham has been teaching circus arts for 15 years and is passionate about supporting our circus community. Joe Hoffman has been involved in circus arts since 1997, and in 2005 he became an instructor for HICCUP Circus.

• Fun with Film and Video -students will learn about the origins and progression of storytelling with images, film and media throughout history to present day, accompanied by individual and group activities to enhance understanding of pre-production, production, and post production of movie making. Learn the mechanics of cameras, audio recording, & video editing. Students will also dive into the world of animation! Plan to create several short films of different genres, and possibly a class video blog. Mika Kiburz, in her second year at HAAS, has a B.A. in Cinema, and over 10 years of experience in the field of documentary filmmaking.

• Music & Performing Arts Class-Julianne Ostrosky (Ms. O) has been a teacher in Lower Puna for over 25 years and recently returned from teaching abroad in Lebanon and Turkey.Ms. O’s curriculum encompasses lessons in Music, Dance and the Dramatic Arts. Sharıng and creatıng musıc, choreography and drama performances. She encourages student exploration, creativity, innovation and performance. We are thrilled to have Ms. O on board at HAAS!

• Science class-offered by grade levels. Our staff will be instructing students using our core science curriculum, Mystery Science and Amplify Science. Mystery Science capitalizes on the curiosity of kids and builds content based on the wow in the world around them. They craft explanations around real kid questions. Kids are viewed as active explorers who learn not by listening and consuming, but by discussing, by building and observing hands-on models, and by writing about what they learn. Amplify Science is a phenomenon based curriculum blending hands-on investigations, literacy-rich activities, and interactive digital tools to empower students to think, read, write, and argue like real scientists and engineers.

**Additional days scheduled for extra learning events, STEAM projects, performances and excursions within our HAAS Public Charter School & East Hawai'i community