14 ʻAukake 2014
Aloha mai kākou e ka ʻohana o Kamehameha Kula Waena!
Gone are the days of sleeping in for our ʻōpio, or staying up late playing video games, watching TV or hanging with friends. Lazy days at home or at the beach are now a distant memory. Summer is and should be a time for our ʻōpio to “decompress” and recuperate from a very busy year of studying. I hope everyone had a relaxing summer vacation filled with laughter, laziness and lounging around!
Welcome to a brand new school year at Kamehameha Schools Hawaiʻi Kula Waena. After a slight delay as a result of TS Iselle, the school year has officially started. We welcomed 64 new students and three faculty members to our kula waena ʻohana on the first day of school. We had an exciting opening assembly which included important manaʻo (thoughts) about the year ahead and the faculty and staff welcomed back the students with our own rendition of the evolution of dance. It was definitely a highlight of the first day of school and allowed our students to see that we know how to have fun too!
A new school year comes with new goals. We will continue to focus heavily on student achievement and student support. Included in both of these areas is our focus on integrating technology, reading, math and culture across all content areas and support systems. Over the last two years, we have engaged ourselves in a reflective process called Huliau Hou, which means a new turning point. Our kula has been in existence since 2001 and we feel it’s time to reexamine who we are as a kula waena and what we provide for our ʻōpio.
We are very fortunate to have three new faces on our faculty and staff. Kumu Kealohamakua Wengler is our new 6th and 7th grade counselor and comes to us from Ke Kula Kaiapuni `O Ānuenue on Oʻahu. Kumu Kealohamakua took over for Mrs. Moran who retired at the end of last school year. Also joining our team is Kumu Pāhana Mandoe as our 8th grade social studies teacher. Kumu Pāhana worked at Kua O Ka Lā New Century Public Charter School for many years before accepting the position here at Kamehameha. We also welcomed Mr. Alan Tamayose, our new Instructional Resource Teacher who will work alongside Ellen Cordeiro to ensure our kumu have the best support in technology instruction. Mr. Tamayose is not new to Kamehameha, but is new to our kula waena. Mr. Tamayose spends part of the week at KS Kapālama and the other half of the week here with us. All three of these kumu have made educating and caring for our ʻōpio their life’s work and we are very grateful that they have chosen to join our KSH Kula Waena ʻohana.
We have an exciting school year ahead of us and we are happy to finally be on our way. Mahalo for your continued support and aloha! As always, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 982-0407 or [email protected] should you have any questions, comments or thoughts you’d like to share.
Please know that we are here to support you along the way!
Me ke aloha pumehana,
Scott De Sa
Poʻo Kumu, Kula Waena