A longstanding tradition at Arts & Communication Magnet Academy, “Ohana” is an opportunity for students to gather together for community building, activities, and building a school culture that aspires to the Hawaiian word for family. More than just a homeroom, Ohana means family.
Students stay with the same group of peers from year to year in Ohana, usually with the same teacher, who gets to know them when they are young and traditionally reads their names at graduation. This shows as Period 10 (Advisory) on your class schedule.
Upcoming UPDATE for Semester 2:
Ohana has long been a part of our ACMA school community and this opportunity for students to be in a single group with a consistent teacher for up to seven years, the only time all students are in grade alike groups at the same time, is something that we value as a part of the ACMA experience. That said, in the second semester of 2024-2025 we will shift from two 35 minute long Ohanas each week to a single 63 minute long Ohana each week.
Our current model of two shorter Ohanas has brought with it some frustration, both over the shortness of the period and the interruptions to the day that happen twice each week. As we have more activities that we are directed to include in Ohana, such as lessons on Adi’s Act, Erin’s Law, Social Emotional Learning; several screeners in reading and math; and we have ACMA specific activities such as forecasting and our Senior Showcase, we believe that we can create a better experience for students and staff by moving to this single Ohana model.
Ohana will still be scheduled either Wednesday or Thursday, keeping one A and one B day over the course of each two weeks. Twice we need two Ohanas in a week, the first time for the Senior Showcase (which isn’t really Ohana, but is an event that we use a modified extended Ohana schedule for) and again 4/30-5/1 when the STARS and SAEBRS screener window dictates that we need both days in one week).
You can see the Ohana dates for the second semester here:
Jan 29, Feb 5,12,19,26, Mar 5,12,19,20, Apr 3,10,16,23,30, May 1,8,15,22,29, Jun 5
These dates will also be listed on the ACMA website calendar HERE. This will begin on Jan 29th and marked as "Ohana Schedule".
It is our hope that this adjustment will be positive for everyone and allow us to use Ohana to both build the meaningful connections that help strengthen our school community.
