School Begins Again!

Today is the return of the new school term! After a much needed break from Summer camp, it's now time for the HKE teachers to set up their classrooms and prepare their lessons for a classroom full of students. The students are very excited to be around their favorite teachers and classmates again. The excitement not only lies in the return of the school term, but also this month is the ten year anniversary of Hardknock Elementary. HKE is the only school in second life who has a track record of that long. Ms. Mindy Metaluna Bayn will have run the school successfully for six years in December. The staff of HKE are very proud of how much the school has grown since Ms. Mindy has taken it over. We will be celebrating this month so be sure to stay tuned and watch notices for the big celebration of the 10 year anniversary of HKE!

HKE's Fundraising for Reopening!

HKE extended its summer break in 2013 after camp panther took place, and the students have waited patiently for the reopening of their beloved school. However, the principal Ms. Mindy has had some RL events that have prevented her finances from going to the school's reopening. The school's reopening has been postponed now for another month, but the students have stepped up and want to help Ms. Mindy raise the funds to get the school open sooner rather then later. What a great way to step up students! That shows the student's true love and commitment to their school. The first Event that the students have put together is the Campfire Reading & Open Mic. On Saturday, Februrary 15 at 11:00am and 5:00pm, the students gathered around the campfire and sang songs, shared poems, told stories and Ms Mindy even did some fun Q & A on the HKE teachers that joined the campfire circle and let students share embarrassing moments that they remember of their regular teachers. It was an afternoon and evening of fun, unity and laughter. The student government put this event together to help raise money to go toward the school, so of course students were encouraged but not required to donate to the donation box that was set out at the campfire. So far we have raised around 25K in lindens and this is only the first fundraising event! All in all, an event that was put together to raise money turned out to be a successful day of reunion of all the HKE alumni and friends; seeing everyone together has definitely made everyone look forward to having HKE opened again so they can come together in the place they call their home, the home of Hardknock Elementary School.

Below are some photographs of the featured event. Enjoy and feel free to comment :D

(Photos by Amyiah Jade Cooljoke Bayn (Amyiah Seerose)

HKE's Camp Panther!

This summer of 2013 HKE held their first camp ever! The anticipation of the schools very own camp had many years to grow and the students thought it was well worth the wait! Ms. Mindy and counselors put a lot of time, planning and dedication into preparing the camp for HKE students. The camp was open to HKE students first, then open to the kid community and any one could take remaining spots. The camp was well organized, fun filled and entertaining to all its campers. Ms Mindy ran the camp using her RL camp counseling experience, making it very fun and realistic. The camp's staff was composed of four directors and 16 counselors and there was a counselor on duty 24/7 with the hard work of each and every one of them alternating shifts. The hard work payed off and the campers had a great summer with wonderful memories from camp. The best way to get a higher chance of getting into camp panther next year if you didn't make it this year is registering for HKE! Become part of the HKE family and join us at camp panther next year!

Enjoy the Camp Panther Video!

(Video recorded by Amyiah Jade Cooljoke Bayn (Amyiah.Seerose)

Happy Paws Dance Team Presents "Dance in Disney!"

And dance they did! The HKE Dance team danced their hearts out all across the stage with our favorite classic Disney movie tunes. The crowd had so much fun singing along and swaying to the music as they watched the dance team put on a spectacular performance. Dance Captain Faith Grafta put together such a wonderful event with the support of her co-captain Amyiah Seerose, and the dance team putting their time and effort into their solos made it the performance it was. So many wonderful sets were presented successfully giving it the atmosphere of the song to create the mood of their favorite disney tune. So much creativity and love was put into this performance, it was definitely a joy for all who came to see the show. Both nights received standing ovations for the Happy Paws Dance Team! Keep up the good work kids. Check Videos Page for parts 1 - 8 showing each dance performance.

(Video recorded by Amyiah Jade Cooljoke Bayn (Amyiah.Seerose)

Drama Club Presents - Charlie Brown!

On Friday, March 15th the drama club surprised us with a fun filled classic story of "You're a good man Charlie Brown", taken and put into an elementary play. The HKE drama club once again had wowed the crowd. The colorful sets, the great actors and the witty classical lines of charlie brown, made for a great night of entertainment for the HKE student body. It was the talk of the week! The drama club sure left an impression. We can't wait to see what they come up with next!

Remember if you want to be involved in any extra curricular activity at HKE, just make sure you are a registered student and read notices on how to participate. Some have tryouts, some have introduction meetings, some you just show up to practices, so get involved and be apart of the amazing things we're doing here at HKE! Way to go HKE Drama club keep up the great work!

Miss the play, here's some highlights from the drama club's presentation, video by Amyiah Jade Cooljoke Bayn (Amyiah Seerose)

Valentine's Garden Party!

This past valentine's day lit the halls and spirits of the students as they met with their friends in class. Not even the teachers could contain the excitement of the young panthers as they anticipated the big Valentine's Party. And there was much to anticipate! The HKE Student Government really outdid themselves; they were hard at work with the leadership of the HKE student president Pinkie Denimore Benelli (Pinkie.Denimore). Ready to kick into spring, the student government decided on the name "Valentine's Garden Party" for the dance and wasted no time in decorating, preparing and creating a beautiful, lively garden scene to celebrate valentine's day in. Student Government was successful in making the HKE dance the most spectacular experience for those who call HKE home. Many showed up with friends and family as their guests, letting them see how awesome our school was as they partied in the evening or morning. February 15th at 6:30pm and February 16th at 11:30am, many amazing memories were made as they celebrated valentines at HKE. Both days were filled with awesome music from DJ Bacon (dodge.junkers) and fun dancing. There was much to explore as well, with a beautiful goose that swam in a cute little pond, a horse that trotted along the garden, spring scenery for memorable pictures with friends and gifts and food. It was a successful dance that has left us wanting more! What next will the Student Government put on for the student body! Below is a video of the Valentine's Party if you missed it; feel free to leave comments if you loved it!


(Video done by Amyiah Jade Cooljoke Bayn (Amyiah.Seerose))

New School Build!

HKE is the best school in Second Life! We all know this, but during the summer break HKE was being remodeled and there was much anticipation about the new look of our loved school.

Would it still feel like home?

Would it be the same as before?

Well it's our very same home of HKE only bigger and better! No doubt about it, we now have the best staff, best students and best build! The number of students has not dwindled since the rebuild but increased in numbers! We've never had a problem bringing in students, but this past term students were lined up at registration, waiting, eager to sign up! Classes have been twice the size they used to be, sports and extra curricular activities have been packed. Kids are just intrigued with this new look!

But those of us who have always been there, know that even though we have a new amazing build, our home of HKE and great loving teachers who work hard to give the sl kids the best experience of their school life, hasn't changed and they will continue to do so no matter what the school looks like. We welcome all our new students to be apart of the family and legacy of HKE and hope they enjoy their experience at HKE.

As for our returning students, enjoy the new build and continue to be apart of something great! Here's a video Amyiah Jade Cooljoke Bayn(Amyiah.Seerose) put together in honor of the hard work that went into our amazing new school build, including Silver Bayn's (silver.seetan) scripting skills. Enjoy!