students must apply science, engineering, and math concepts toward an innovation solution. Janet guides her students through the designing, building, and programming process. The project is presented to a panel of judges through a prepared skit or video, and that presentation is part of the team scoring for the State competition. Three schools typically advance to the State competition, and traditionally Island School students are among the winning teams. Throughout the last five years, Janet’s role with FIRST Lego League has evolved. As a coach, she led her students to victory as District Champions, and helped them earn a 2nd place Inspiration Award at State competition. She assumed the role of Head Referee for the District Tournament in 2017-2018 and has since been promoted to District Tournament Coordinator. Janet is in charge of selecting the judges each year and ensuring all coaches are registered appropriately through FIRST. Island School is the venue for the Kaua‘i District Tournament, but Janet travels to O‘ahu to get the necessary supplies. She loves serving as Referee and Coordinator because she gets to impact students on teams from all over Kaua‘i. Student Television Network (STN) For the first time in 2019, Janet introduced her students to Student Television Network (STN). STN is an organization that connects students and teachers with television resources. Students who love to tell a story can explore several outlets including video production, broadcast journalism, filmmaking, media, writing, and digital yearbook. Contests, feedback from professionals, and access to the STN Online Academy and STN Video
Vault are available to members. STN Challenges are offered every fall and spring, and students participate by submitting video content prepared for specific contest categories. The annual convention is held in the spring and this year Janet took a group of students for the first time. Her students participated in two workshops and won 2nd place in their contest category: Spot Feature!
“
The STN experience in Seattle was surreal. I was able to compete and broaden my understanding of visual storytelling.”-Bradley Pratt ‘23
Career Connected Learning Janet is always looking for opportunities to connect classroom initiatives with real world applications. The number of STEM careers in Hawai‘i is growing and students need to be proficient in industry standard technology in order to be successful in post-secondary endeavors. She partners annually with Island School’s Development Department to seek out grants and fundraising opportunities to acquire the necessary classroom equipment. Over the past few years, Janet has successfully obtained funding for eight new Canon cameras, shotgun mics, wireless mics, and tripods, and in 2018 she received a grant for 16 new iMac computers for the Island School Koa Lab. Janet strives year after year to elevate technology in the classroom and inspires her students to be capable, life-long learners. www.ischool.org 13