Ke Kula ʻo Piʻilani, Community Newsletter

Ka ʻĀhaʻilono ʻo Piʻilani

Aloha e Subscriber First Name

Aloha e nā hoa o Piʻilani.

Firstly, thank you for your continued support. Like all schools worldwide, Ke Kula ʻo Piʻilani is tackling the unexpected challenge of providing distance education for our students. As an educational institution, our priority is to continue to provide opportunities for knowledge and skills retention and advancement. It is more apparent than ever that accountability for a student’s academic success lies with the school, the student, and especially their families.

One of the many positive outcomes of distance learning is that it has allowed parents even more participation in their child’s academic program. Parents have a hands-on role, deeply involved and directly connected to our academics. I applaud all of you for your part in your child’s continued school experience - from logging into our various online platforms, monitoring their class behavior and participation, providing guidance and assistance through their lessons and activities, motivating and encouraging them to try their best, and keeping in open communication with your teachers - all demonstrating that education remains a priority in your family. We see the parents who are sitting beside their student just off camera redirecting and refocusing them. We hear you giving words of encouragement, clarification, support, and even cheering your child on. We see you, we hear you, and most especially, we appreciate you.

Thank you for your patience and support as we navigate these uncharted waters. Like the ʻōlelo noʻeau provided at the very top of each newsletter, e lauhoe mai i ka waʻa i ke kā, i ka hoe, e pae aku i ka āina lā, e pae maila i ka ʻāina ē! Seafaring together, we paddle, we bail, until we are ashore. If you have ever been in a canoe caught in rough seas, you know that no two paddlers have the same experience. The stroker is smashed repeatedly by waves while the steersman whips to and fro. But it’s the same canoe, the same storm, and the same crew. The key is that everyone needs to work together and strive to meet and/or exceed your kuleana. Whether you steer, bail, or paddle with all your might, step up to your task and when possible support others in their tasks. This way, we all make it to shore together.

Me ke aloha nui,

Kahu Kekai Robinson, Poʻokula Ke Kula ʻo Piʻilani

Hauʻoli Lā Lei i ka lā mua loa o Mei! Kumu Pōhai, pictured above, ready to provide a demonstration on Kui Lei Mēlia for Lā Lei. Both she and Kumu Kehani, along with Kahu Kekai, presented on 1 Mei 2020 on FB Live, Nā ʻOhana o Piʻilani. You are invited to tune-in, weekdays at 10:30 am, for ʻōlelo makuahine presentations on various interesting and educational topics. Past presentations are available online.

Aloha mai kākou, e nā haumāna, me ke aloha pumehana a me ka mahalo piha,

He wahi leo aloha iā ʻoukou pākahi āpau. ʻAneʻane kō kēia makahiki kula a ua hana ʻoukou me ka wiwoʻole i ia makahiki. Mai hāʻawipio i kēia manawa! Eia ka wā e holomua me ka maikaʻi. I ia wā, makemake māua e hoʻomana iā ʻoukou. I loko o kēia hulihia, hōʻike ʻoukou iā māua i kā ʻoukou ʻiʻini no ke aʻo ʻana, no kā ʻoukou aloha kekahi i kekahi, a me ko ʻoukou ʻaoʻao alakaʻi. Mahalo nui loa!

Our special aloha goes out to each and every one of you. Our school year is nearly complete and you all have worked diligently this year. Do not give up now! Here is the moment where you must push forward with your very best. During this time, we, Kumu Kehani and Kumu Pōhai, would like to uplift you all. Within this life altering moment, you all have showed your desire to keep learning, your aloha for each other, and your ability to be leaders. Thank you so much!

NĀ MEA WAIWAI | OUR CULTURAL VALUES

HŌʻIHI | Hiki nō ke mālama i kēia lawena i nā wahi like ʻole. Ma ke kula, kou hale hoʻi, hōʻihi i ka manawa a nā Kumu. Paʻahana lākou e kūkulu i nā haʻawina āpau no ʻoukou i hiki ke hoʻomau i ke aʻo ʻana i ia wā e noho paʻa ma ka hale. No laila, ke hoʻomaka i ka papa ma Zoom, hōʻihi lāua a hōʻihi i kou mau hoapapa kekahi. Hōʻihi i kou ʻohana kekahi. Noho paʻa ʻoukou ma ka wahi like no nā lā āpau. No laila, hiki ke hōʻike i kou hōʻihi no lākou me ke kōkua a mālama kekahi i kekahi. He mea nui ka manaʻo o hōʻihi.

You are able to care for this behavior in every space you inhabit. Just like in school, in your house right now please show respect to the time given by your teachers. They are extremely busy building new lessons for each of you to keep up with your learning during this time that we must all stay safe at home. When your class on Zoom begins, respect them and respect your classmates as well. Respect your family also. You are all staying within the home all day, every day! Therefore, please respect each other by helping out and taking care of each other. Respect is an important behavior.

KULEANA | He mau kuleana ko ʻoukou e ʻauamo ma ka hale, no ke kula, me nā ʻohana, no ka lāhui a pēlā wale aku. No laʻana o ʻoukou, maʻemaʻe ka hale, hānai hoʻi i nā meakanu, hoʻopaʻa haʻawina, komo i ka papa ma Zoom a mālama i kou ʻohana. Inā kō ʻia ka ʻauamo ʻana o nā kūleana āpau e ʻoe, e kūkulu i he kūleana hou a hiki ke mālama. Ō paʻahana iā ʻoe iho, mai hele a moloā, e hoʻomau a kūlia, e lilo i kanaka kuleana e ʻike ai iā kākou. Mālama i kou mau kuleana ā pau, he manaʻo Hawaiʻi kēia.

You have many responsibilities to uphold at home, for school, with the family, for the community, etc. For example, some of you may be cleaning house, feeding plants, studying, showing up to class on Zoom and/or taking care of the ʻohana. If you have completed the tasks of all your kuleana, find something else to do and take care of. Keep yourself busy so that you donʻt become lazy. Persevere and thrive to become the responsible person we all know you can be. Take care of all your responsibilities - this is a very Hawaiian thought process.

KŪPAʻA | I kēia wā hulihia, ʻaʻohe hana a kekahi mau kanaka, ʻaʻohe loaʻa mai a hiki ke mālama i ko lākou ʻohana ma ka hale. Akā naʻe, pono e holomua, no ka mea, he wā aloha kēia a hiki ke launa pū me nā ʻohana. ʻO nā mea nui ka wā ʻohana, aloha a mālama kekahi i kekahi. E mālama hoʻi i nā pahuhope i ia wā nei a me ka wā ma hope a kūpaʻa i kou koho. E kūpaʻa i kou mau pahuhopu a ulu, ke mōhala nei nā pua. Kū akula i nā kumu, kūpaʻa māua me ka manaʻolana, ke hānai nei māua iā ʻoukou i nā alakaʻi i ka wā ma hope. E kūpaʻa a kūlia!

During this pandemic, there are some people without a job and no income to provide for their family at home. However, we must move forward because this is a time of aloha where we can be with our families. The important things are the time we have together with our families, to love and appreciate one another. We are also able to take care of our short-term goals and long-term goals. Stand firm to what you believe in and grow…you are blossoming! We, teachers, stand in this predicament as well to do our best in raising you folks to be the leaders of the future. Stand firm and thrive!

Nui ko māua aloha ʻoiaʻiʻo,

na Kumu Kehani & Kumu Pōhai

Aloha kākou,

I hope this letter finds you all happy, healthy, and at home. The last few months have presented a wide array of new challenges. I am grateful to Kahu Kekai and the Kumu for meeting these challenges head on. Their fortitude is inspiring. Both of my parents had a high regard for learning and education. In fact, I consider reverence for learning, in all forms, a family value. Nonetheless, the journey of homeschooling has given me greater appreciation for the instructors at Ke Kula ʻo Piʻilani, as well as the teachers and mentors that have graced my life.

I wanted to share the concept of the work triangle. The other day, my son, Keala, was pulling weeds from the māla and moving them to the mulch pile. I watched him dancing and spinning between the rows of kalo, pulling weeds here and there, and walking back and forth to fill the weed bucket. Then I looked at Lani. She was sitting almost still on a stool. She pulled every weed within her reach, put them in the bucket, then moved the stool and the bucket forward to a new spot. Behind her was a swath of beautifully cleared māla. Keala eventually became tired and then frustrated that he had so many weeds left to pull. The contrast was stark.

The contrast reminded me of one of my greatest mentors, Dr. Jinichi Tokeshi. When I first started working with Dr. Tokeshi, I was in my third year of medical school and just beginning to see patients. After a few days of watching me, Dr. Tokeshi said, “Anna, you need to narrow your work triangle.” He explained that the work triangle is both literal and figurative. It is the area within which you move to accomplish any given task. Narrowing your work triangle increases efficiency and decreases wasted movement. In the example of the māla, Lani’s work triangle was about as narrow as it can be. On the other hand, Keala’s work triangle was fairly large. Understanding the concept of the work triangle has allowed Keala to shrink it.

As we continue to learn and take on new challenges, I wish you all a narrow work triangle as well as the opportunity to dance between the rows with abandon.

Aloha,

Dr. Anna L. Eckart-Dodd, Vice-President Hui Hoʻokahua ʻo Piʻilani