Ke Kula ʻo Piʻilani, Community Newsletter

Ka ʻĀhaʻilono ʻo Piʻilani

Welina e Subscriber Name, aloha kāua!

Welina me ke aloha iā kākou!

It with much aloha that I write to you all this evening in hopes that this newsletter finds you and your family in good health and high spirits. It has been a productive week for staff and students and I look forward to ever-more growth as we progress to the end of our school year.

Please join me in wishing Kumu Māhie Atay a fond farewell and much success in all her future endeavors as she moves on from her teaching role here at Ke Kula ʻo Piʻilani. Kumu Māhie has worked with our students for a full year, starting at the tail end of SY18-19, spearheading our school Hoʻopoaiapuni Recycle-Upcycle Zero-Waste Program, and has nurtured the students of Papa Mālaaʻo & Papa ʻEkahi for SY19-20. E ʻoluʻolu, in lieu of hugs and honis, let us please send good thoughts and prayers to Kumu Māhie and her ʻohana for their continued health, happiness, and success in all things. Mahalo ā nui, e Kumu Māhie.

Our Ke Kula ʻo Piʻilani instructors, practitioners, and staff continue to work diligently to ensure that our students receive an excellent, hopefully temporary, distance learning plan for the remainder of our school year. Our instructors continue to provide daily FB Live enrichment workshops, Monday through Friday, at 10:30 am on our private Nā ʻOhana o Piʻilani page. Our teachers continue to provide academic core education for our students twice a week through Zoom and daily through Seesaw. Our practitioners continue to engage with students in Papa Pāheona, Papa Mahi ʻAi, Papa Hula, and Papa Mauliola. Providing educational opportunities without being overly burdensome during this time of crisis is a fine balance that we hope to achieve and I am so grateful to the teachers, practitioners, and our special guest instructors for all they do.

Iʻd also like to gratefully acknowledge all those that work behind the scenes for the benefit of our organization out of genuine aloha for what we stand for and with sincere faith in what we hope to accomplish in the future. Generosity from our partners who assist with community grants, foundation grants, advocacy, licensing and accreditation, strategic planning, program development, networking, fundraising and donations, emergency planning…really, there is an amazing amount of work that goes into building capacity and stability for our organization. So hug a board member…with your mask on…and tell them how much you love and appreciate them for all their hard work. And never forget, e ko Ke Kula ʻo Piʻilani, to be humbly grateful for such blessings and success!

Me ke aloha palena ʻole, na Kahu Kekai Robinson

Aloha kākou,

I want to thank you for allowing me to be a part of this unique program that we have all built up together. It has been an amazing learning experience for me and I will cherish the time I have spent with everyone. It saddens me to step away from Ke Kula ʻo Piʻilani during this worldwide crisis but it is the choice I have made, keeping in mind what is best for our students as well as my own ʻohana.

I wish you all well and I pray that everyone stays safe and healthy during this crisis. A hui hou kākou, until we all see each other again…

Mālama pono, na Kumu Māhie

Aloha e nā ʻohana makamae o Ke Kula ʻo Piʻilani,

My wish is to simply reach out to you all and share my aloha for each of you. We are all living different lives in our current situation and I understand that with that comes new trials and tribulations. Please know that I think of you all often and that we are all in this waʻa together! While my focus will always be the academic well being of the keiki, their emotional well being is just as important! I have been able to meet with them a couple times already and it has been a joy to see their smiling faces again. While they are not excited about being locked up at home, I can see that they are happy and healthy, and that brings my heart great joy.

Maintaining the academic level of each keiki during this time has been a roller coaster, but I am committed to giving these keiki some form of education to keep their minds active and stimulated. Educational stimulation through this time physically apart will keep the keiki focused on our school goals and keep their little minds growing daily. While I understand that there are circumstances within the home that make it difficult to focus, please make every effort to instill educational values into their daily lives so that both Kumu and haumāna are enriched. In the future, this will help their academic journeys ten fold! Mahalo to each of you for making the effort for the sake of your childʻs education to be present for our live classes, as well as assignments on Seesaw. We will do our very best to reach out and teach, I ask that you be patient and kind and if ever there is any help needed to please communicate with us.

Be safe, be healthy, and above all, ALOHA I KEKAHI I KEKAHI.

Me ke aloha nui, na Kumu Kehani Guerrero

Aloha e nā mamo o Hāloa,

Back in August of last year, we began a journey together to realize the presence of kalo in our diets and to strengthen our relationship with Hāloa in our families and community. With the protection of pule, clarity of intention, and diligence in effort, we were successful in transforming wood and stone into implements that will feed, hānai ʻai, us now and into the future.

The pride I saw in the eyes of our students as they harvested their kalo from the māla last week was uplifting to watch and revisit through the videos and photos of your ʻohana; students and families becoming maʻa, familiar, to utilizing papa kuʻi ʻai and pōhaku kuʻi ʻai to feed your families with the kalo that the keiki planted with that specific intention eight months ago. In this current state of the world, we are faced with the fact that so much is uncertain and impermanent. And yet, we are blessed with things that are enduring like ʻāina, aloha, and ʻike kupuna.

At this point in our journey, I invite you folks to make some space and time to kapa inoa for your papa kuʻi ʻai and your pōhaku kuʻi ʻai. While I encourage you to keep in your hearts and minds what you would expect and want to be manifested in an enduring way for your ʻohana for generations to come through the inoa you choose. Be very mindful of the kaona, associated hidden or unintentional meanings, and mana i ka leo, the power of words.

For our ʻohana, Keala and Keoho are blessed to have a relationship with a pōhaku kuʻi ʻai that has made its way into our lives from their great-great grandparents. In your contemplation, discussion, meditation, and pule during this process of finding a name, take some time to address the kuleana that your keiki have to their great-great grandchildren. When they are kupuna, what will their legacy be?

Below are some examples of naming practices. This is a resource for you, but by all means, if you have kūpuna and ʻohana sources and traditions in naming practices, ʻauamo kuleana (carry on that tradition).

I would like to provide an opportunity at the end of May, through Zoom and this newsletter, to share the inoa and moʻolelo of our papa kuʻi ʻai and pōhaku kuʻi ʻai and to wrap up this project with pule. A virtual hōʻike, if you will. Iʻll work on organizing that and make sure we all have some kalo to kuʻi on that occasion while you folks do the spiritual work of naming.

Me ke aloha, na Kumu Lani

Aloha e nā ʻohana,

Here are 10 things I have found to keep me grounded and functional through this time.  Most are a gentle reminder, common sense, but easy to overlook.  Use what will benefit you, and if you have ideas to share, email them, we can make this an on-going list!

1 – E inu i ka wai! Stay hydrated.  Getting caught up with work, kids, school, and home can leave us forgetting the simple things.  Coffee isn't enough, drink water. 

2 - E ʻai i ka mea ʻai pono! Eat nutritious food.  "Stress eating" is easier now than ever since we're home all day.  Try to eat as many fruits and veggies before giving in to the lure of junk foods.  Not only will your waistline thank you, but you'll be fuller and not binge as hard.  

3 – E hiamoe pono! Get enough sleep, whatever that means for you. For some it's 5-6 hours a night, for others 9-10 hours and an afternoon nap.  If you're extra tired one day,  rest.  We are going through a traumatizing time, listen to your body.

4 – E aʻa i ka hula! Get up and move.  Exercising for 20-30 minutes a day is all you need to relieve some stress, boost energy, and feel good.  Gyms are closed so get creative.  There are great accounts on youtube and instagram for HIIT training, yoga, and dance.  A walk around the neighborhood is just as good  to get your blood flowing.

5 –Hā, hā, hā! Get fresh air.  How lucky are we, to live in a place with such beautiful weather.  Take breaks throughout the day to get some sunshine, put your feet in the grass, and breathe deep. 

6 - E mahalo i ka mea loaʻa! Gratitude.  Find three things you are grateful for everyday.  Write them down, say them outloud, and share them with your loved ones.  There are so many blessings through this storm, acknowledge yours.

7 – E ʻakaʻaka kākou! Look for humor everywhere.  Laughter feeds the soul, and helps us all connect and relate to each other.  Luckily memes haven't gone out of style and are on every form of social media. When you find a good one, share it!

8 – E heluhelu kākou! Read whatever makes you feel better. Now is not the time for serious toned, self help books.  You don't need to emerge from this a butterfly.  Let reading relax your mind and heart, and take you on an adventure outside of your four walls.

9 – E nānā i nā mea leʻaleʻa! Watch whatever makes you feel better.  If you must watch the news, do so in small doses.  Same goes for online videos.  What you feed your mind is important.  Keep it light. 

10 – E mālama pono! Be kind to yourself and definitely don't compare yourself to others.  There's no handbook for being a parent, let alone a human, during a pandemic. So your kids are getting more screen time than usual, eating chicken nuggets for lunch three days in a row, and haven't turned in all their online assignments yet.  It's all OK, and you are doing a great job! They are home, healthy, safe and loved.  At the end of this lockdown, that is all they'll remember.  

Aloha, na Misha Lococo, Limahana Keʻena