Punahou Summer School featured more than 150 enriching courses for students K – 12. Here’s a round-up of some summer school action that happened on and off campus.
Swimming and Water Polo
Summer school went swimmingly for students spending their days in the Waterhouse Pool, with a focus on health, fitness, water safety and fun. Students in the swimming class learned beginning techniques with the use of props, such as kickboards. Meanwhile, in the beginners level water polo class, students grades 2 – 5 got to know the sport for the first time, practicing treading water, throwing and team building.
Up, Up and Away
The sky’s the limit in this class. Students in grades 4 – 5 learned all about aeronautics and the principles of flight in Up, Up and Away by crafting their own planes, kites and rockets. A thrilling flight simulation gave them a hands-on understanding of what it takes to get a plane airborne. For the finale of class, students launched their own rockets.
Mixed Plate
Case Middle School students took a historical and culinary journey to discover the origins of local cuisine. With a focus on a different culture each week, students engaged in hands-on cooking and tastings, even recently sampling 10 different types of Spam. They also learned about the immigration and trade networks of the Hawaiians, Chinese, Koreans and others who brought our local favorites to Hawai‘i.
Introduction to Social Studies
Academy freshmen helped prepare over 1,000 native tree seedlings at the University of Hawai‘i’s greenhouse. The project is in support of geography and environment professor Dr. Camilo Mora’s vision to make Hawai‘i carbon neutral by planting a million native trees. This activity was part of the course’s focus on Island issues, including environmental remediation practices, such as using microorganisms to help clean Punahou’s own Lily Pond.
Photos by Starr Johnson ’98, Academy faculty
Let’s Jam! Special Gypsy Jazz Edition
Led by Music School faculty Duane Padilla, students from grades 6 – 9 learned and performed the classic tune, “All of Me,” in just three days. This special jam class focused on tricks and techniques used by legendary jazz pioneers to create improvisational, string-based swing music. The video features students’ first attempts at improvising solos in the swing jazz genre. Video by Music School faculty Duane Padilla.
ARTISTS: Drawing and Fabrication
To practice drawing from observation, these budding artists were out early to capture the remaining beauty of the night-blooming cereus around campus. The students in grades 6 – 8 continued their creative endeavors by exploring painting, block prints and sculptures using traditional art media, such as watercolor pencils, clay, glazes and wood, as well as computer-aided design, laser cutters and 3D printers.
Photo by Hugh Moser, Junior School faculty 
