Papa Wauke

Today you had an opportunity to experience the wonderful storytelling of Karen Hackler. She shared the stories of Maui and The Flying Taro with you.  Then you worked in teams to dramatize the forming of an island. What did you think was the most interesting part of the experience? What did you think was the most difficult part? What would you do differently next time?

Today we talked about how important it is to WONDER and be curious about the world around us.  Last week when we read about the record-breaking pumpkin that Christy Harp grew, we started to wonder about a lot of things.  We’re working on trying to answer our questions about Mrs. Harp’s pumpkin, but now I’m wondering, what else do you wonder about?  Why?  Share some of your “wonderings” here!

Last week we talked about IDENTITY.  What did you learn from our discussion that you think is important to remember?  Why do you think identity matters?

Today we toured the villages of Samoa, Aotearoa and Fiji at the Polynesian Cultural Center. We also learned about the voyaging canoe Iosepa in the village of Hawai’i. What did you learn? What do you wonder about? Why do you think it was important for us to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center?

We’ve just started reading Kate DiCamillo’s intriguing new tale. The story began with Peter Augustus Duchene using his only florit on the answer to ONE question he asked a fortuneteller. If you could ask a fortuneteller only one question, what would it be? Any other thoughts on the story so far?

What have you been doing since we saw each other last? Did you cheer our team on during Spirit Night? Are you going to the beach? Playing at the park? Going to the movies? Keep in touch and let us know whatcha been doin’!

We have lots of time to sink into some great books during our Fall Break.  What are you reading?  Would you recommend it to anyone else?  Tell us all about it…

When we read Fox by Margaret Wild we had a lot of interesting responses to the story. Some of the big ideas we identified are GREED, ENVY, LOYALTY, FEAR, TRUST, and RESPECT. What is your response to this powerful story?

We’ve been discussing the book, Ron’s Big Mission, by Rose Blue and Corinne J. Naden.  Some of the words that came up in our discussions are POWER (who has it?  how do they get it?), MONEY, FAIR  (is this the same as “equal?”) and CHANGE.  Ron felt so strongly about his mission that he stood up to adults, including police officers, to complete it. Is there any “mission” (real or imagined) you feel that strongly about? Please explain.  You may also comment on our class discussions about this topic.

At our first ‘Ohana service this school year, Kahu Cathy talked about this year’s theme, which was presented at Convocation. DIG DEEP. REACH HIGH. What does it mean to you?

Today we talked about the tragic events of 9/11/2001.  We talked about HISTORY and its importance.  What are some things that you remember from your past that you think are important to look back upon. Why?  What did you learn from these experiences?

Today we explored the Polynesian Hall and the newly renovated Hawaiian Hall at the Bishop Museum. What did you learn? What artifacts surprised you? Which ones were most interesting to you? Do you have any questions about what you saw? Why do you think this was an important field trip for us?

How about this one? Fill in the blanks, create your own problem, then solve it. Here it is: If Hoku gave Kama __ dimes, he would still have 5 more dimes than Kama. If Hoku started with __ dimes, how many dimes did Kama start with?

In his Education speech today Barack Obama asked you, “What’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make?” If you could answer him in person, what would you say? What other thoughts do you have about his speech?

Today Janell Cannon visited our school. How lucky were we! After reading Pinduli and Verdi and hearing her speak, what comments and questions do you have?