Middle schoolers visit campus to learn about electives
Sophia Rose (11) points out some of the projects the world language students do.
January 10, 2023
Your eyes were not deceiving you during exam week. There actually were more than 300 middle schoolers on campus Dec. 16 walking into rooms and wandering into the cafeteria.
It was all part of the annual Elective Exploration Day, where the eighth graders from Moanalua Middle School were able to meet with students and teachers to learn about the different elective programs at the high school.
In the past, elective teachers from the high school would go to the middle school before registration to describe their programs to the students. Now, the students come here to see the campus in person.
“It’s a lot better to come here,” Moanalua Middle School Registrar Kristina Lee said. “The students get to sit in the classrooms and see the teacher in action.”
Moanalua Middle School Tech Coordinator David Arakaki said about 320 students participated in the short field trip, where they watched the ROTC cadets demonstrate their drill team skills, heard from Career and Technical Education teachers, participated in a mock business plan activity, and toured the world with the world language students.
“It’s such a big campus compared to ours,” Arakaki said. “The students stand up straight and pay attention because they don’t want to get lost later.”
Lee said because of its size, the middle school just cannot offer as many elective courses at their school.
“We have so few courses for them to take, so it really helps to have them see what’s available for themselves,” she said.
Students began their day in the Performing Arts Center for a general assembly to learn what it means to be in high school, and then they rotated to different rooms on campus to meet the elective teachers and their student helpers.
