For the first few years that I taught, my stomach hurt constantly in the weeks before school started. The anxiety was a mixture of dread and excitement and anticipation. Every year, I mourned the end of summer, but I'd also get revved up, ready to start and get my hands messy with learning.

This is the third part of a three-part entry. Read part one.

As a professional-development incentive, teachers who participate in the eighty hours of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) institutes aligned to the Hawaii Content and Performance Standards will receive a letter of completion. To receive the letter, teachers will have to submit for review an e-portfolio with their STEM projects.

I love working with teachers. Part of it is the importance of the work they do and the sense of satisfaction, both professional and personal, I feel when I am able to make them more powerful and effective. But another reason is that teachers are people who feel compelled to share their best ideas.

The theme for this first year of our arts@newman program could best be expressed with the statement "We live storied lives." Throughout the year, we have been exploring how the arts can help us both understand our stories more deeply and express those stories to others.