The Gemini Observatory and 'Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai'i invite K-12 teachers to participate in a StarLab Portable Planetarium training workshop from 3:30 to 5:45 p.m. Wednesday on the University of Hawai'i's Hilo campus.

Participants will receive a copy of the curriculum, and following the workshop they will be eligible to borrow the StarLab Portable Planetarium to conduct programs at their school.

The workshop will include 'Imiloa's signature planetarium show, "Mauna Kea: Between Earth and Sky," as well as a "Sky Tonight" presentation by Gemini public outreach manager Peter Michaud.

Teachers should contact Andolie Marten at amarten@ gemini.edu or 974-2531. Or contact Janice Harvey at jharvey @gemini.edu or 974-2603. The workshop is limited to 25 participants. The $20 registration fee will be covered by Gemini Observatory.

KAPOLEI SCHOOL RECEIVES GRANTS

The James Schuler Family Foundation/D.R. Horton Schuler Homes has committed $75,000 to Island Pacific Academy's scholarship fund. The grant will be distributed in annual increments of $15,000 over the next five years, beginning this school year.

Other tuition aid grants for the academy's students include $30,000 in three grants from Frear Trust, $20,000 in three grants from McInerney Foundation, $10,500 in three grants from G.N. Wilcox Trust and $50,000 in two grants from The James and Abigail Campbell Family Foundation.

Kapolei-based Island Pacific Academy, which opened in the 2004 school year, has an enrollment this year of 550 students up to ninth grade. It will graduate its first high school class in 2010.

MCKINLEY MEETING ON WEDNESDAY

McKinley High School's School Community Council community meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the school auditorium.

The meeting will include a short introduction of SCC members and a presentation of McKinley High School's Hawai'i State Assessment data.

Call 594-0400 or visit www .mckinley.k12.hi.us for more information.

HPU EXPECTS 2% RISE IN ENROLLMENT

Hawai'i Pacific University is projecting an 8 percent increase in its graduate enrollment and a 2 percent increase in its overall enrollment.

HPU's fall semester begins Tuesday at all three of its major campuses — Downtown, Windward Hawai'i Loa and the Oceanic Institute.

The university's final fall enrollment figures will be available in October.

Officials attribute the growth of the HPU student body primarily to the retention of the university's continuing students, according to a news release.