Pua Kaai

Mahalo to all the parents and friends, bus drivers and security officers, staff and teachers who helped to make our Torres Strait Islands visitors welcomed at our KMS assembly. We appreciate your patience as you waited in traffic, and hope your child took some time to share with you what they learned from the performance. Our Hawaiian values were definitely exemplified as we exchanged chant and dance, and learned from our sister culture across the Pacific. There were many things they shared I found linked with us: the generational deterioration of their native language (native to pidgin to creole evolution was not unlike our own in the plantation); the canoe building tradition; the use of sky-land-sea in their metaphor; the impact of global warming on island cultures; the symbol of the mat; and the mana’o shared about having our people, like them, navigate both the ways of the western world and that of their native culture. I am in awe at the range of thought shared–some related to 21st century issues, while others are deeply embedded in cultural values and issues we are familiar with.
If nothing else, have a short conversation about where in the world Torres Strait Islands are as a celebration of Geography Awareness Week.
Have a wonderful week!

Mr. Atabay and I receiving a makana from our visitors.

Mahalo to all the parents and students who participated in the MOYA activities last week! Beginning with the Fun Run and then ending with our MOYA celebration, a wonderful and wholesome time was had by all.

A goal for next year is 100% participation in the FUn Run by all faculty and students, and 100% participation by all students in the MOYA celebration on Friday.

Mahalo, especially, to our operations and support staff who built an awesome haunted neighborhood maze….The are the best!

Check out this awesome costume!