Aloha mai kākou e ka ʻohana kula waena!
Kepakemapa (September) is almost over and so much has happened since the start of school! Iʻd like to send a huge HOʻOMAIKAʻI (congratulations) to our current Media Communications class on the publication of their first newsletter of the school year. This newsletter is student driven, student designed, and student produced (and can be found here). Enjoy!
I am pleased to welcome several new faces to our kula waena ʻohana. Joining our faculty and staff are Mrs. Crystal Nicolas, Dr. Liam Conway-Nesson and Mrs. Holly Lee. Mrs. Nicolas is our new administrative assistant in our front office and replaces Dancynne Kama who moved to Kona over the summer. Mrs. Nicolas came to us from our Outreach Department and has been with us since the end of July. Dr. Nesson is our new 8th grade English teacher and took over for Dr. Day who is now the kula waena instructional evaluator. Prior to KS, Dr. Nesson worked at the University of Hawaiʻi Hilo in the Kupa ʻĀina program, which helped to transition our local graduates into college. Taking on the kuleana as our kula waena literacy specialist, following Mrs. Makanui-Yoshidaʻs move to the high school, is Mrs. Lee. She comes to us from KS’s Literacy Instructional Support Division where she worked as a resource teacher in our local public schools. Both Dr. Nesson and Mrs. Lee joined our ʻohana at the start of this school year. We are very excited to have these three very talented, committed, and hard working individuals as part of our kula waena!
For the month of ʻAukake (August), we focused on the value of kuleana to ground ourselves in the responsibility and privilege we have as students, kumu and kōkua when starting a new school year. ʻO koʻu kuleana nō ia (it is MY responsibility), reminds us that the responsibility to do well, no matter your role, is our own. Our individual success contributes to the success of our entire lāhui. This month, we are emphasizing the value of aloha. The significance of this value as a school ʻohana can’t be minimized in any way. The ʻōlelo noʻeau, aloha kekahi i kekahi, to love one another, sets the foundation for a safe and welcoming learning environment for our entire ʻohana. Learning canʻt occur in an environment absent of aloha.
Our school year is off to a great start and we are already at the mid-point of the first trimester. Mid-term progress reports were mailed home on 16 Kepakemapa 2015. Everyone should use this time to check their progress and determine what actions need to be taken to maintain or improve their academic performance. Please reach out to your child’s teachers or counselor if you need kōkua.
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.
Me ke aloha pumehana,
Scott De Sa
Poʻo Kumu, Kula Waena