Aloha Notes: My career as a School Psychologist in Hawaii

What do Honolulu School District school psychologists do over summer when classrooms are mostly empty and  students are enjoying their time at the beach?   May 2013 The last week of school at any school is always chaotic and for Kaiser High School, it was no different--seniors were getting ready to graduate, teachers were busy preparing and grading exams, and counselors and administrators were frantically wrapping up the school year. In the middle of the end of the year madness, the counselors and I got word that we all had to pack and move our offices....  (((Ah! Really?!)))  You really don't realize how much stuff you have in an office until you have to pack it all up and move. It really wasn't so bad though considering i was moving one building over. By mid June, I had packed my office and unpacked my files into their new home. Being a 12-month employee, I don't get summers off like my fellow school psychologists in California (iusd). Summers a...

COMMUNITY IN A WORKPLACE.... Last week, while I was prepping for an IEP meeting with Koko Head School staff, my attention was shifted toward a class picture that was posted on the SSC's wall. " I wanna be in the yearbook next year " I proclaimed...and in return, laughter erupted in the room. I was smiling but far from joking Why was I asking to be in the yearbook? Am I that self-centered, do I really need to see my face in colored ink on semi gloss photo paper to feel fulfilled? Why was I asking this? At the beginning of the year, I asked the administration at Kaiser High School for an office. Why? Was it because I wanted my own phone line? an air-conditioned room? Why would I be so demanding? Was my "team office" not good enough for me? In reflection, I recognized m y desire for  community, meaning, dignity, and purpose and in order to gain these things--I needed to be IN the school .   I didn't want to come in as an outsider.  I knew that the exp...

Hi there!! So, February has been one interesting month so far. Between the food fight at Kaiser High School (which by the way, was reported on the local and national news! see below) and the helicopter landing at Koko Head , my complex has kept me on my toes.------------------------- Planned food fight sends spaghetti flying at Kaiser High - Hawaii News Now 2/8/11: At Kaiser, a planned food fight left the cafeteria a mess and administrators on a mission to find out who was behind the chaos. The high school students may not even realize or appreciate that they have one of the only air conditioned cafeterias in the state.  The 1,100 students had to eat lunch outside for the rest of the week. Principal John Sosa sent the following letter home to parents informing them of the incident and pledging to track down who was involved: February 8, 2011 Kaiser High School Students, Parents, Staff  ------------------------- This letter is to inform everyone that there was ...

I had no idea what a complex school psychologist meant or how it would be different than my training in California...but it's really not as "complex" as you may think.   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- District:  The statewide school system is divided into seven administrative districts, including Oahu’s Honolulu, Central, Leeward and Windward districts; the Big Island’s Hawaii district; Maui District has Maui, Molokai and Lanai; and the Kauai district. Within each district, smaller areas are divided into 'complex' areas, based on the high schools and all the feeder schools .  Honolulu School District:  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Complex:  The complex I work in is called Kaiser Complex and is in the East side of Oahu. There are four elemen...