The Heart of Hale'iwa

• Ulu Tree Preparation, Delivery, and Lessons
• Ulu Tree Ceremony
• Student Spotlight: Canefire Robotics
• Winterfest
• Grades 1 and 3: Loko Ea Fishpond
• Grades EOEL PreK and 2: Na Mea Kupono Lo'i
• Grades 3 and 6: Kokua Learning Farm
• Grateful to our Parents!
• Literacy Corner: Sora Spotlight - Magazines
• Backpack Donation- Mahalo Costco
• December Calendar of Events
• Aloha Kakou Newsletter: Holiday Stress(less)

As mentioned in our first newsletter of the school year, Ms. Yonekura, Ms. Mori, Mrs. Angelica, and Mrs. Lee are taking a professional development course called "All About Ulu". They have been sharing their new knowledge with the students. Each teacher received an ulu tree to plant on our campus. Mrs. Lee made a short video about preparing the area to plant our new ulu trees. (click the photo to see the video)

We received four beautiful ulu trees to plant on our campus. (click the photo to see the video)

The 1st graders worked with the 6th graders to observe and learn about ulu. (click on the photo to see a video)

Our school gathered together for a very special Ulu Tree Ceremony in which we were able to plant four baby Ulu trees in our school’s agroforest given to four Hale’iwa teachers for having completed an Ulu course over the summer. Each grade level partnered up together and participated in different lesson plans to become more familiar with the Ulu tree. It was a beautiful ceremony that began with an opening chant, a few words from the teachers, and then the fun part of getting to plant the trees! Each partnered grade level gathered around the trees and worked together in planting their intentions along with a special Oli when putting the tree into the ground. Students got to also shovel dirt onto the tree as part of understanding Laulima, or working together in the love and care that will be required for our Ulu trees to grow! We can’t wait to see what our Ulu trees will provide!

Aloha Everyone,

On Saturday November 4th, Haleiwa Robotics kicked off their season at Makakilo Elementary. A total of twenty teams showcased their communication, collaboration and innovation through robot design, teamwork challenges and judges interviews. I want to thank our students for their preparation and hard work these past five months and their parents for bringing and picking them up from practices. Their work showed on the field as both teams placed second in the Teamwork Challenge portion of the event. The sixth graders finished first and the fifth graders finished third in robot skills. The sixth graders ended the day by earning the prestigious Excellence Award which qualifies them for the 2024 State Championships on February 17th. It was a wonderful start to the 2023-2024 season.

Our next event is on December 2nd at Waianae Intermediate School. With a total of 43 teams ranging from elementary to middle school, this event will be the largest attended for the year. I would like to invite you to our events this year (see below) especially if your child is interested in robotics to see first hand what these events are all about. Hope to see you at our events.

Mahalo,

Mr. Haiola

2023-2024 Events (9:00 am - 4:00 pm)

December 2: Waianae Intermediate School (Cafeteria)

December 16: Ewa Makai Middle School (Cafeteria)

January 20: Aliamanu MIddle School (Cafeteria)

February 17: State Championships (Ewa Makai Middle School Cafeteria)

Even with the rainy day, we were able to have a successful Winter Fest! Thank you, families for coming to our family night. It was nice to hear laughter and see the joy in our students' faces as they participated in the various activities. Santa enjoyed meeting all the children who have been good this year as well. We appreciate all our staff members and student volunteers for helping us have a memorable evening.

• Loko Ea is 400 years old
• was built by Native Hawaiians of old

The students ...

• learned about what a loko ea is, the parts of the ahupuaʻa, and the place names
• got to take a tour of the loko ea and saw plants, native birds, fish, and ulu trees
• learned that participation at a local level, such as cleaning up weeds and invasive plants helps keep our community clean and thriving

Our EOEL Prek class got to visit our Kumu Ku'uipo's Lo'i called Na Mea Kupono. It was a very wet and rainy day, but mother nature gave us some dry pockets that allowed us to tour her farm as well as give back by helping maintain some grass that was growing into the water. We had fun getting wet and learning about the Kalo plant! We got to make Lepo (mud) handprints with our parents as well as try Pa'i'ai pounded by Uncle Steven who did a demonstration for us! We sang and danced to lots of songs, and all got to enjoy lunch together! It was such a great day filled with lots of memories!

The second graders learned about different native Hawaiian farming techniques. They saw how the native Hawaiian techniques are used in farming today and how some of the techniques changed slightly with new advances that came up over time ... such as using pvc piping to help the water travel through the different taro patches. The students also learned about different ways they can take what they learned and apply it to their gardens at home such as using natural sources instead of using dangerous insecticides and poisons around our plants.

The third graders learned how to use sustainable methods to grow veggies and fruits, and how to use natural resources to to take care of our 'aina.

The sixth grade students learned about roselle hibiscus, an agroforestry orchard, and the gardens of Kokua Learning Farm. They tried different methods of planting and took part in an Agroforestry orchard edible plant parts scavenger hunt. The students gained a deeper understanding about historic Waialua and the significance of its role in agricultural.

Thank you to our wonderful parent volunteers for providing the faculty and staff to a special treat after school! We are so very grateful!

Extra, extra! Read all about it! Check out a magazine today in the Sora app and explore a new topic or start a new hobby over fall break! #Sorareadingapp # Magazines. Magazines in Sora are a fun way to get students engaged and reading about different subjects and topics. Did you know that every magazine in Sora is always available? This means you can do a full class read or project all from the same magazine issue! There are hundreds of magazines in the collection and they’re available in topics relevant for elementary through high school students.

Sora is an award-winning digital reading app that empowers K-12 students to discover age-appropriate ebooks, audiobooks and more from their school library. Students may access Sora via their Clever account or at https://soraapp.com/library/hidoe (sign in with 10-digit student ID number).

Mahalo to Costco Iwilei for your generous donation of backpacks to our school and Ms. Gerika for donating pencils from her business.

Dates are subject to change.

Click on the December newsletter for more information.

Email: haleiwaschool@haleiwa.k12.hi.us
Website: https://www.haleiwaelementary.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haleiwa_elementary/

Location: 66-505 Haleiwa Road, Haleiwa, HI, USA
Phone: (808) 637-8237