Aloha CKMS Families,

What a fantastic weekend! A huge mahalo to Sarah Tochiki and Jodi Owens for your dedication to nurturing our next generation of musicians and athletes. Between the Kauaʻi Youth Honor Band and KCC Wind Symphony Concert and the Mayor’s Track Meet, our students had incredible opportunities to celebrate their unique passions.

It is a privilege to see our students thrive in such a rich and diverse educational environment. As we head into the final stretch of the school year, we have a packed calendar of events to celebrate their hard work.

This week there will be a schedule change for May Day:

• Wednesday 5/6/26 students will be released at 2:00 pm.

• Friday 5/8/26 students will be released at 1:15 pm.

CKMS will celebrate our teachers and staff next week for Teacher Appreciation Week, May 11-15.  We are busy with May Day this week and want to have the time and energy to thank our amazing teachers and staff in the way that they so heartily deserve.  Please take the time to thank all of the teachers out there this week, during Teacher Appreciation week, and for our teachers, next week we will celebrate BIG!

Here are our other upcoming events:

• May Day (May 8): Join us for a beautiful celebration in the Playcourt.  Please do NOT park in the YMCA parking lot.  Our back lot will be open for parking.

• CKMS Art Show (May 8–16): Hosted by Leslie Frasier at the Kauai Society of Artists (KSA) space in Kukui Grove Mall. Come witness the incredible creativity of our student artists! The Opening Reception will be at 4:30 pm on Friday May 8, 2026.

• Spring Fling (May 15): Our "rain date" makeup from March! We are excited to finally bring this event to life.

• Yearbook Distribution (May 26): Yearbooks will be handed out during our "C Day" schedule.

• Hoʻākea: Waʻa Kaulua Pae Kula (May 26) We are excited for this immersive cultural experience.

• End of Year Celebration (grades 6-7) and 8th Grade Banquet (May 28) The students have worked hard and it is time to celebrate!

Thanks again for partnering with us, let’s have a week filled with Aloha!

Aloha CKMS Families,

As we move into another productive week at CKMS, our primary focus is on our final Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA). This week, students will be taking the Math CAT (Computer Adaptive Test).

The "CAT" portion of the math assessment is unique because it is adaptive. This means the test actually adjusts to your child’s skill level in real-time—if they answer correctly, the next question gets a little more challenging; if they struggle, the next one is slightly easier.

Our Goal: Show Growth! We are encouraging every student to give their best effort. This assessment isn't just about a final score; it’s a tool for us to see how much they’ve grown throughout the year. We want their results to reflect the hard work they’ve put into their math progress!

Our school counselors are especially busy with testing this week. Because of this, they will have very limited availability for individual meetings. We ask your ​​kōkua with the following:

• Be Patient: Please ask your child to be patient if they need to see their counselor.

• Reach Out: If your child needs immediate support or has a question, there are many trusted adults on campus, teachers, administrators, and support staff, who are ready and available to help them navigate their day.

Please be on the lookout for Progress Reports this week! These will be distributed to students during their Advisory Class on Wednesday. This is a great opportunity to sit down with your child, review their current standing, and celebrate their successes as we head toward the end of the quarter and year.

• Charge Up: Remind your child to plug in their Chromebook every night.

• Rest & Fuel: A good night's sleep and a solid breakfast make a huge difference in focus.

• Imua: Encourage them to keep moving forward, even through the tough problems!

Thank you for your continued support of our students and staff. Let’s have a strong week!

Imua!

This honor is a testament to our commitment to a school climate where every student feels included and a sense of Belonging. We would like to extend a special thank you to Amanda Fretto-Girard and Jay Gregory and their team for all of their hard work. Their dedication to supporting students with disabilities with respect and care, teaching all students the importance of inclusion and kindness, and reminding all of us of the importance of working together to ensure all students feel a sense of Belonging at CKMS is very appreciated!

Our ELA department has been working tirelessly this year. We are excited to welcome Deputy Superintendent Heidi Armstrong for a visit this Monday to see our progress firsthand.  A huge thank you to our ELA teachers and Literacy Coach Anna Parreno for their incredible work in advancing literacy. We are so proud of the growth our students have shown under their guidance.

Our students begin their ELA Performance Task SBA assessment this week. To ensure every student can perform their best, please help them with the following:

• Charged Laptops: Please ensure devices are plugged in and at 100% battery each morning. We really need help with this.

• Rest: A good night’s sleep is the best "brain fuel" for testing.
• Snacks: We encourage students to bring healthy snacks to stay energized.

Thank you for your continued support in making our school a place of excellence and inclusion!

To those in our community celebrating today, I wish you a very happy and peaceful Easter Sunday! I hope your day is filled with joy and time spent with loved ones.

As we head into the new week, I want to share a quick update regarding our state assessment schedule:

• This Week (Make-ups): Our team will be facilitating ELA Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) make-up sessions for any students who missed their testing window last week.
• Next Week (Performance Tasks): Please note that the next round of testing for all students, the SBA ELA Performance Task, is scheduled for next week.

As always, we appreciate your partnership in ensuring our students get a good night's rest and arrive at school on time and ready to do their best. Thank you for your continued support of our students and our school.

Aloha CKMS Families,

It has been an incredibly busy and productive start to our new quarter! We have so much to be grateful for as we move forward together.

Recent Highlights

• "Words Matter": Thank you to our staff for organizing a meaningful series of activities starting this past Monday. It has been inspiring to see our students engage with this important theme.

• Intramural Basketball: We were proud to host the Kauai Middle School Intramural Basketball Tournament on Tuesday. It was a wonderful success and a great display of sportsmanship.

• Leadership Summit: A huge mahalo to our Leadership students, who represented Kauai and CKMS with excellence at Thursday's Middle Level Leadership Summit!

Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) - ELA This week, our students will take the ELA Smarter Balanced Assessment. This annual assessment provides an objective look at how our students are meeting the Hawaii Common Core State Standards. By measuring progress toward these benchmarks, the SBA helps us ensure that every student is on track for college and career readiness. We encourage all students to approach these assessments with confidence and to do their absolute best to show how much they have learned and grown this year.

End-of-Year Celebrations & Agreements Last week, grade-level teams sent home an Agreement for our End-of-Year events (the 8th-grade Banquet and the 6th/7th-grade Celebrations). Our goal is to honor the hard work and dedication our students have shown throughout the 2025-2026 school year.  These events are also designed to motivate students to maintain strong academic standing and positive behavior as we navigate the challenges of the 4th quarter. Please note that a parent signature is required to participate. If you have not yet seen this form, please check in with your child. Signed agreements are due to Advisory Teachers this Monday, March 30.

Thank you for your ongoing partnership and for your support in keeping our campus a positive, inclusive environment for all.

Sincerely,

CKMS Administration

We hope you had a restful and rejuvenating Spring Break. As we prepare to kick off the final quarter of the school year on Monday, March 23rd, our focus is on ensuring every student feels safe, respected, and ready to learn. To set a positive tone for the weeks ahead, we will begin the day with grade-level assemblies focused on our "Choose Your Words" initiative. 

Please take a moment to read this important letter about our Words Matter Assembly/ response to an unfortunate uptick in Hate Speech:  Parent/ School Words Matter Partnership Letter

No school Thursday 3/26 in observance of Prince Kuhio Day

Bus Application For Quarter 4:

All bus riders must submit a new application each quarter during the designated registration window:  March 2 to March 27, 2026

Applications submitted after the deadline, unpaid applications, or applications not reviewed by the school will be automatically denied.  Students without a Quarter 4 bus pass will be denied a ride by the bus company.

For more information and to access the online registration portal, visit

https://go.hidoe.us/SchoolBusService.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact the bus office via email at [email protected].