LJA Annual Report

Adventures at

2017 ANNUAL REPORT

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O nce, upon a time, there was a family who adored their home
and way of living on Maui. They enjoyed the beach and their
community of friends. Little Amelia, the family’s youngest,
loved it most of all. Her school was just minutes from home
where her friends were always playing and doing all the
delightful things 9-year-olds do.

Then one day her dad was offered a great new job on Oahu. Mom and
Dad promised to find a school for Amelia and Alex, who was in the 10th
grade, a school that would be just the right fit.

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Mom and Dad did an extensive search for the just-right school
for Amelia and Alex. They wanted a school with proven academic
excellence, and also one that would empower their children to be
inquisitive thinkers, globally minded, and contributors in their
community. They flew to Oahu and were very impressed by the
schools they visited, but one school stood out and had everything
they were looking for: Le Jardin Academy. The warmth and sense of
community they felt as they walked the campus made choosing LJA
for Amelia and Alex an easy decision.

What Amelia and Alex didn’t know then, but would later realize, is that
their parents’ decision would lead to many, many adventurous days
from that day forward.

A melia’s first day of school was nothing like she expected.
She thought being the new kid would be uncomfortable and
scary, but the kids were so welcoming. She felt like a part
of the LJA family from the start. She was invited to lunch

with Principal Johansson the very next week, where she met Jasper in

Grade 2. He told her that he and his family just moved to Hawaii from

Tanzania, and his parents were now both teaching at the school!

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At recess, Amelia’s friend Mandy introduced her to the school’s
pet goats Billy, Ginger, and Sally. Mandy told her that their new
playground was built thanks to generous donations made to the
Annual Fund. Amelia wasn’t sure what an Annual Fund was and
decided to ask her dad that evening.

During dinner, Amelia told her parents about lunch with the principal
and another new friend, Jacie, who invited her to join a running club
called Girls on the Run. Her brother Alex said that his new friend
asked him to join the High School cross-country team.

With all of the excitement of the day, Amelia nearly forgot to ask her
dad the question from the playground, but suddenly remembered
while clearing the table.

“Dad, what’s an Annual Fund?”

“Well, Amelia, let’s look at a copy of the school’s Report on Giving
that I picked up on the school tour. Inside there are graphs showing
where the money comes from and how it’s being used. At independent
schools, tuition isn’t enough to cover costs, so schools raise money
to enhance and fund day-to-day operations, and those funds are
commonly called the Annual Fund.”

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G oing to Friday’s all-school assembly, Amelia wasn’t sure
what to expect. She marched up to the gym with her class
and was in awe of the amazing facility. It was so big, and
she loved the championship flags hanging along the walls.
She was greeted with hugs from some of the high school
students—everyone was so caring. After everyone arrived, faculty,
staff and students did a fun welcome, saying ‘hello’ in languages
from around the world. Head of School D.J. Condon shared that as an
International Baccalaureate World School, LJA embraces international
mindedness and therefore seeks to promote multilingualism,
intercultural competence, and global engagement.

Later Mr. Condon announced that the girls’ varsity volleyball team
had just won the Division II State Championship! Everyone cheered
when the volleyball team was introduced and Amelia was filled
with pride.

Amelia’s first day at Girls on the Run was fantastic, and she made
even more friends. One named Miya told her all about the bees she’s
working to save. Amelia also loves bees, and Miya invited Amelia to
help with the bee-saving effort.

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On the playground the next day, Amelia met up with Miya to learn
more and ask how she could help. As they enjoyed time on the swings,
Miya told Amelia about what she and her two friends were doing to
ensure bees were safe. She explained the importance of bees and that
they needed to spread the word and find solutions to make sure that the
bees on campus would stay safe.

The students met with the administration and got approval to place
donation boxes around campus to support their effort. With the monies
raised, they would purchase seeds and flowers to plant a garden that
would attract the bees away from where children play. Amelia was so
impressed and couldn’t wait to help her friends start planting.

M eanwhile, Amelia’s brother Alex was busy training for the state
cross country meet. It was just a week away and Amelia was
counting down the days because she was traveling with her
mom and dad to the Big Island to cheer on Alex.

Until then, Amelia had lots to keep her busy. Amelia’s mom had signed
her up for the Le Jardin Soccer Academy. She really liked the emphasis
on sportsmanship, and the convenience of practice being held on campus
was an added benefit. Amelia just liked that it was fun.

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A nd learning Mandarin was fun too! Amelia loved learning
new words but additional languages weren’t offered at her
previous school. As she practiced Mandarin at home, her
mom told her that this was one of the reasons they chose

LJA; Mandarin and French are offered from Kindergarten. And what

was even more surprising is that French is taught at the Junior School.

Before she knew it, Amelia and her mom and dad were boarding the
plane to go to the Big Island for Alex’s cross country meet.

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T he race was about to start so Amelia and her mom found
a shady place to catch the excitement near the finish line.
Amelia had no way of knowing that she was about to witness
the greatest act of sportsmanship in her very long nine years.

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O ne of Alex’s classmates, Ricky, was expected to be a top
finisher, but as a handful of runners passed, he was nowhere
to be seen. The chatter was broken up by screams of
encouragement from Amelia’s mom as Alex passed.
Then what seemed like quite some time later, Ricky was seen in the
distance jogging side-by-side with a runner from another school.
Ricky had seen the runner struggling midway and stayed to help him
finish—giving up his chance to be a top finisher to help a stranger,
who was also his competitor.

Amelia’s mom and other parents were brought to tears. Alex later
shared with Amelia that Ricky’s brother, John, had volunteered to
guide a seeing-impaired runner from another school through the race.
Their parents must be so proud; Amelia was, and she couldn’t wait to
go back to school to share this story with her friends.

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M onday morning drop-off was really busy. The tennis
court was filled with kids carrying big duffel bags. They
looked like they were going on a trip, and they were. The
Grade 7 students were on their way to spend three days
at camp. Amelia couldn’t wait for her turn to go to camp.
After waving goodbye to her friends, she practiced her newly learned
Mandarin with Lower School Vice Principal Ms. Shigehara as she
greeted kids at the Lower School Loop.

“Nĭ Hăo” said Amelia. “Why are you wearing an LJA t-shirt today?”

Ms. Shigehara explained that she was heading to the Junior School
to help with the ever-popular Sensory Fair, which kicks off the
Who We Are Makes Sense unit. It’s a super fun event with over
15 centers exploring different textures, tastes, smells, sights, and
sounds.

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S peaking of senses, Amelia was thrilled to be a new member
of Wild Kids, a club that provides students with a common
appreciation for the preservation of wilderness an opportunity
to unplug in the outdoors. Today, Amelia and the Wild Kids
hiked to the Red Plateau.

That evening, Amelia attended the Middle School Slam Poetry contest
with her family. She was impressed with the poems her friends shared
and thought about the poem she would write when she got to Middle
School. But for now, her thoughts quickly shifted to how wonderful it
was to be a third grader. And so, her adventure continues.

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WE ARE LE JARDIN

W ith over 800 students from preschool to grade 12,
Le Jardin Academy is a place for learning that has a strong
sense of community, where everyone is treated like family,
and opportunities stretch as far as a student’s imagination.

Tucked away on a lush 24-acre parcel in Kailua overlooking Windward
Oahu, LJA’s location sets the tone for active, healthy learning.
Students are encouraged to be curious and to lead balanced lives.
They are empowered to explore, to appreciate the arts, and to care for
the environment.  

This balanced approach to learning is cultivated from the school’s
accreditation as an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School.
The IB framework of learning encourages students to embrace and
understand the connections between traditional subjects and the
real world, as well as to become critical and reflective thinkers.  The
academic curriculum is designed to prepare students for the rigor of
universities and colleges, as well as for the opportunities and demands
of life in an increasingly globalized 21st century.

Le Jardin Academy is proud to be an internationally minded just-right
school that empowers students to be upstanding global citizens.

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Dear members of Le Jardin Academy ohana,

I hope you have enjoyed this storybook. To get the word out about the many wonderful
things going on within our learning community, we wanted a format that would
engage the creative talents of our students and staff as well as express our identity as a
school, and thus the idea of a storybook was born. As far as I know, this presentation of
our Annual Report is unique and I, for one, couldn’t be happier with the result.

I want to express special thanks, therefore, to two people who spent many hours to
create this book. First, I would like to thank Melissa Leina‘ala (Ala) Moniz for her good
work writing the script and overseeing the entire process. Without her dedication, this
storybook never would have materialized.

I also want to thank high school student Kaya for her wonderful illustrations. As
everyone can see, Kaya has considerable talent. Moreover, she is a great collaborator
and team player who accepted the challenge to create something fresh and new for the
sake of her school. Always dependable, she was a delight to work with.

Just as Amelia’s adventures continue, so too will the learning adventures of our
students. With a new full seven year accreditation term from the Western Association
of Schools and Colleges (WASC), a new full five year reauthorization from the
International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), and a new Board-approved six year
Strategic Plan, Le Jardin Academy is poised to ascend to what we call the Next Level
of Excellence. We look forward to sharing that adventure with all of you!

Sincerely,

D.J. Condon
Head of School

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ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR

K aya W. ’18 is currently taking Diploma
Programme (DP) art. In addition to
making art, she likes to spend time
with her cats and enjoys swimming and
calculus. Her favorite art mediums are glue and
paper towels.

OUR MISSION
Globally oriented with a strong sense of community,
Le Jardin Academy equips students to achieve individual excellence,
develop sound character, and positively impact the world.

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917 Kalanianaole Highway
Kailua, HI 96734
lejardinacademy.org