HISTORY

1955

Hawaii is still a territory of the United States and public schools are under the purview of the City and County of Honolulu. Plans are initiated to build Niu Valley Intermediate School on farm lands. Due to construction delays, the first grade 7 class of students attends classes at Aina Haina Elementary and Koko Head Elementary Schools.

1956

May: Initial campus construction is completed.

1956

September: Grade 7 students attend classes on campus.

1958

February 16: Dedication ceremonies are held. Niu Valley Intermediate School begins serving students in grades 7-9.

1959

August 21: Hawaii becomes the 50^th State.

1960

Public school education becomes a State of Hawaii responsibility.

1974

Kaiser High School opens to include grade 9. Niu Valley Intermediate serves grades 7-8.

1989

An optional grade 6 is offered. Middle School philosophy and concepts are explored. Niu Valley Intermediate becomes the second school in Hawaii (after Stevenson Intermediate) to operate as a middle school. Niu Valley is granted a six-year WASC Accreditation.

1992

September: School Community Based Management (SCBM) begins. The vision and mission are adopted to reflect a change in thinking and beliefs from “intermediate” to “middle” school.

1994

Hawaii Content and Performance Standards (nicknamed “Blue Book”) debuts.

1995

Niu Valley Intermediate is reaccredited for six years by WASC.

1997

December: The DOE Honolulu District converts all of its Intermediate Schools to Middle Schools.

2001

Niu Valley Middle School is reaccredited for six years by the WASC.

2005

Niu Valley Middle School celebrates its 50th Anniversary.

All grade 6 students in the Kaiser Complex feeder elementary schools begin attending Niu Valley Middle School.

Niu Valley Middle School begins its quest to become an International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme World School.

Local artist and Niu Valley Middle School Art Teacher Nicholas Black designs a new school logo

2006

July: The inaugural grades 6-8 configuration is offered with full implementation of the Middle School Philosophy (National Middle School Association).

Teachers and staff prepare to offer the IB curriculum by attending IB Certification workshops, planning curriculum, and pilot-testing units.

Niu Valley Middle School begins offering non-mother tongue language classes — Japanese and Chinese Mandarin — to fulfill IB program requirements. Additionally, all students enroll in Physical Education and in one of the Arts (music, performing, or visual).

2007

Niu Valley Middle School becomes a Prospective IB School and earns a 3-year WASC Accreditation.

Made possible by the Friends of Niu Valley Middle School, a deluxe “Weather Bug” weather station is installed. Data from the weather station is used locally as a School Net broadcast on TV station KFVE. Weather data is accessible world-wide.

2008

Niu Valley Middle School becomes an IB Candidate school. All students are enrolled in the MYP.

April: The school’s vision and mission statements are revised to reflect a global perspective, that support the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme, the Department of Education Beliefs and Values, and the National Middle Years Philosophy.

2010

February: Niu Valley Middle School becomes the first public middle school in Hawaii to be an IB World School.

Grade 6: The first Global Village Market Day is held as a culminating activity to a year-long interdisciplinary unit that required students to conduct an inquiry, identify issues, develop a campaign for causes; craft and sell handmade artifacts; and donate proceeds to a local nonprofit.

2013

Niu Valley Middle School issues an IB Report Card along with the standard Department of Education Report Card.  IB Scores are converted into the American A-F grade marks.

Niu Valley Middle School is reaccredited for six years by the WASC.

2017

The Niu Valley Middle School Concert Band performs at Carnegie Hall in the New York Wind Band Festival.

The Language Arts, Performing Arts, and Visual Arts departments hold the first annual Arts Faire.

The Math Department holds its first Young Pythagoras Night.