Ka Leka Makua ‘o Kepakemapa
September Parent Newsletter
‘O ka lā 30 o 'Aukake, 2013
August 30, 2013
OLI ALOHA
'Akahai, Lōkahi, 'Olu'olu, Ha‘aha‘a, Ahonui . . . ALOHA Ē
OLI KA PUNAHOU
Eia ka Punahou, ‘Āina o Kāne, o Ka‘ahumanu ē
‘Āina o ka Punahou, ‘Āina o ka Punahou,
ALOHA ē, ALOHA ē, ALOHA ē . . .
ALOHA e Nā Mākua o Winne G-1, ALOHA Parents of Winne G-1,
ALOHA . . . This is everything in one word. We begin our days with ALOHA and end our days
with ALOHA. Be sure to ask your kukui to explain the essence of HĀ (breath, and how we say "Aloha ā
hui hou" at the end of our day. Our bulletin board on our front door displays the OLI ALOHA , as well as
this quote from a leading anthropologist: “The meaning of a word is the action it produces.”
BIRTHDAYS . . . We will celebrate our 'AUKAKE (August) and KEPAKEMAPA
(September) birthday babies: Alexander, Stone (un-birthday), Isaiah (un-birthday),
Harley (un-birthday), and Monroe . Hau‘oli lā hānau e nā kukui!
BUFF ‘N BLUE . . . and PEP RALLIES . . . It’s that time again and we love it! Fall
brings the proud wearing of school colors on Fridays and spirited Pep Rallies. We will try
to have members of our various athletic teams come and join us when they can. WEAR
BUFF ‘N BLUE ON FRIDAYS!
CALENDAR . . .
Please be sure to post it where you can refer to it daily. Included
in the monthly calendar are: birthdays, field trips, special events, chapel days, specials, and reminders.
CURRICULUM . . .
A. HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE . . . We’re off and running in the language of our ‘āina. Did you
know that Hawai‘i has 2 official languages? English and Hawaiian. From the “get go,” I
began speaking to your children in ʻŌlelo Hawai‘i. Children learn so quickly! We do our
Oli ALOHA, greetings, calendar, morning message, and end of the day in ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i.
I also use as many “everyday” phrases naturally throughout the day. For instance, “E kīloi
kou ‘opala.” (Throw away your rubbish). We are indeed fortunate to have a “language
special” and it’s ʻŌLELO HAWAIʻI - YAY! We will relish our time with my good friend and
colleague, Kumu Keōmailani Fergerstrom, every “E “day. Keōmailani also teaches
ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi in the middle school and academy.
B. HAWAIIAN STUDIES . . . Our first study unit will focus at the beginning - the formation
of our volcanic island home. We are so very fortunate to have Kumu Marion Leong
from KA PAPAHANA KUAOLA “Lelekamanu Program" partner with us as we learn as
much as we can about our island home. Kumu Leong’s first classoom visit to our
th
class on Tuesday, September 10 , will focus on GEOLOGY. Think VOLCANOES COOL - or should we say, HOT! Our first field trip will be with KUMU LEONG on
th
Thursday, September 26 , as we journey on a GEOLOGY BUS TOUR. This is learning
at its finest! More details later . . .
‘ao‘ao ‘elua - page 2
C. CHAPEL . . . Much of our character education building lessons take place in our chapel
services. Each class is involved in valuable learning experiences as we prepare and lead
a chapel service. Being a part of the chapel services of other classes/grades is extremely
th
rewarding and valuable. We will lead and fellowship on Friday, February 28 , 8:15 to
9:00 am. Fellowship to follow in Kukuiville.
D. HOMEWORK . . . As previously mentioned, homework will go home daily, usually 1 page in
our math student journals (workbooks), handwriting practice, spelling, Wordly Wise
(vocabulary building) and reading for 15-20 minutes and recording this in their reading
logs. We also have a "home journal" that goes home on most Fridays. then due back in
Kukuiville on Wednesdays.
E. MATH . . . Nā Kukui will love their EVERYDAY MATH program. It is intensive, and yes, we
will “do” math everyday. I always say: "It's all math!" Everything is Math – how we
breathe, even how we brush our teeth! There is an SRB (student reference book) that we
will use from time to time as well as 2 student journals (workbooks).
F. READING WORKSHOP . . . I will be assessing your child’s reading ability, both reading
comprehension and fluency in these early weeks. ALL Nā Kukui LOVE reading, as is
evident from the first day when they visited our classroom library to find books they
wanted to read, pulled books out from their backpacks that they brought to school, and
also enjoyed their first trip to Ing Learning Center as a third grader. They also LOVE
being read to! They are eager, attentive, active listeners. Hands go up to comment and/or
ask questions. I love it! I wish I could capture every learning moment for you and every
discussion. It’s awesome!
I have been reading LEGENDS,especially Hawaiian Legends. Don’t be surprised if some
of these turn up on your doorstep as supplementary reading. Our first “class reads” kumu (teacher) choice will be Stories of Old Hawai’i, Hawaiian Legends of Tricksters and
Riddlers, and STONE FOX. These books focus on cool legends.
G. S.U.R.F. . . . Not with a board on a wave, but with a book, especially right after lunch, or
when we finish our classroom work. S.U.R.F. is the acronym :
Silent Uninterrupted Reading for Fun.
H. WRITING WORKSHOP . . . We begin our writing workshop curriculum with composing
“acrostics.” We use this acrostic poetry form to compose original acrostics
using our names. Nā Kukui also compose an acrostic for me and for the class. You will
see these original pieces at Open House. I’m so proud of them.
I. SCIENCE . . . We will focus our study on the Geology and Geograhy of the Hawaiian Islands.
The haumāna (students) LOVE it, and this kumu loves teaching it! How can you not love
the magic of PELE and our active (and dormant) Hawaiian volcanoes? We will also
frequent our GATES SCIENCE WORKSHOP in the academy to supplement our learning.
Our first lesson there is on CRAYON ROCKS, which focuses on igneous, sedimentary,
and metamorphic rocks. Did you get all of that?
J. VALUES . . . ‘ŌLELO NO‘EAU . . . SEPTEMBER focuses on KŪPONO or HONESTY and
INTEGRITY.This “Waiwai” or value goes hand in hand with ALOHA. One ‘ŌLELO
NO‘EAU or WISE SAYING for this month expresses the importance of our words. The old
“sticks and stones...words will never hurt me” does not apply in Hawaiian thought. The
‘ōlelo no‘eau says:
‘ao‘ao ‘ekolu - page 3
“I ka ‘ōlelo no ke ola, i ka ‘ōlelo no ka make.”
Life is in speech; death is in speech. Words can heal; words can destroy.
We will endeavor to practice ‘ŌLELO PONO - proper language each and every day.
E-MAIL . . . Mahalo for sending in your e-mail addresses so promptly! I will be using this means
of communication quite frequently. We’re off and running . . .
HOME LUNCH . . . We are completely sustainable in G-1 for water and home lunches. MAHALO
for sending home lunches in reusable bags (see me if you need one) and water in refillable
bottles. The 'ĀINA thanks you! :)
ON TIME FOR SCHOOL . . . I want to say MAHALO for getting your kukui to school on time. We
OLI (chant our greeting/welcome) at 8:00 am and begin right away. Wouldn’t want your kukui to
miss anything (especially a field trip bus)! Getting your child to school by 7:45 am daily is
best! MAHALO NUI LOA!
PARENT NIGHT . . . BACK TO SCHOOL FOR YOU . . . It’s “back to school” night for you at our
rd
Parent Night on Tuesday, September 3 . A “sneak preview” for the night: my “rubber band”
philosophy, my ROOTS & WINGS presentation, and more. You don’t want to miss this! So, mark
those calendars and learn more about what makes me and the Nā Kukui “tick!”
PLANNERS . . . We love love love our planners! We begin using these at Punahou in third grade.
Your kukui is learning right away to TRAC their learning: THINK, RECORD, ACT, AND CHECK.
Please refer to your kukuiʻs planner daily to keep up with homework, due dates, etc.
TELEPHONE . . . KELEPONA . . . “ALOHA, ‘O G-1 keia. ‘O ______________ keia! I bet you
figured out that this means: “ALOHA, This is G-1. This is ______.” They get to practice their
phone etiquette as well as their ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i!
TIME FOR NEW BEGINNINGS . . . We have the signs that our wonderful school year has begun:
the "‘awapuhi keʻokeʻo" (white ginger) and "‘ōlena" (tumeric) are in bloom in the garden (come
see), the kalo (taro) are about 2 feet tall (right outside our door!), along with our campus-wide
"pānini o ka Punahou" (night-blooming cereus). The kōlea (golden plover) have arrived from
Alaska, the band and football team are on the field, the water polo teams are in the pool, AND the
voices of our keiki fill the halls once more.
All is well . . . in Kukuiville and with our “kukui nuts!”
UA PAU . . . Finished for now. Will communicate via other notes and e-mail throughout September.
Mahalo nui loa once again, for a wonderful beginning with your kukui. We are “nested” comfortably at our
“punana” (what we call our "nests" of desks) – PŪNANA UKA, PŪNANA KULA AND PŪNANA KAI. We
are poised for a year of unprecedented learning fun!
As we say everyday when leaving Kukuiville . . .
ALOHA Ā HUI HOU, E MĀLAMA PONO, (ALOHA until we meet again; Take good care)
Max Nu‘uhiwa, Ke Kumu o Ka Papa ʻEkolu
Winne G-1: Ka Home o Nā Kukui
Ke Kula ʻo Ka Punahou
1601 Punahou Street, Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96822
Kelepona: 808-945-1317 Leka uila: mnuuhiwa@punahou.edu
Ka Leka Makua ‘o Kepakemapa
September Parent Newsletter
________
‘O ka lā 30 o 'Aukake, 2013
August 30, 2013
‘AE, I/We have read the September Parent Newsletter.
Comments/He mau nīnau (questions):
______________________________
KA INOA o kou kukui
(Your Kukui’s name)
Ka Leka Makua ‘o Kepakemapa
September Parent Newsletter
________
____________________________________
KĀKAU INOA o ka makua
(Parent’s Signature)
‘O ka lā 30 o 'Aukake, 2013
August 30, 2013
‘AE, I/We have read the September Parent Newsletter.
Comments/He mau nīnau (questions):
______________________________
KA INOA o kou kukui
(Your Kukui’s name)
____________________________________
KĀKAU INOA o ka makua
(Parent’s Signature)