Aloha nui kākou e nā ʻohana Nā Wai Ola Public Charter School!
Welcome to the 2023–2024 school year! This school year brings many new and exciting changes for our school campus and learning community. We are excited to welcome all of our haumāna (students) and ʻohana (families) both returning and new to Nā Wai Ola.
As you know, this school year we will be serving grades K through 5, and have made some necessary changes to our school campus that will provide our haumāna with greater learning resources and spaces. Our faculty and staff have prepared well to create learning opportunities that will support and encourage experiential learning for all haumāna. “Ma ka hana ka ʻike – In doing one learns.”
As you know, Nā Wai Ola Public Charter School is a Hawaiian-focused project-based agri-science school, providing an educational program, with the Hawaiian culture as its guiding principle. In an effort to actualize and align to our school’s vision and mission, we continue to support our faculty and staff by providing professional development, training, and opportunities to collaborate with other educators and cultural practitioners in order to develop, plan, and implement a solid project-based learning program. Our project-based learning approach allows our haumāna to build and strengthen their knowledge and skills in both Western academia and Hawaiian cultural traditions and practices that prepares them to live aloha ʻāina (loving the land), in order to create and live a life of sustainability for their ʻohana and communities.
Our ʻIke Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian Knowledge) initiatives and program provides guidance in how we utilize Hawaiian culture as the guiding principle of our school’s educational program through knowledge and practice. ʻIke Hawaiʻi provides learning opportunities for our entire learning community through values, traditions, practices, language, Hula, and world histories. The Mahiʻai (Agriculture) program has been expanded and improved to grow knowledge and interest in a more sustainable, healthy, and rewarding future. We will implement a multi-disciplinary approach of permaculture principles, nutrition, science, math, and cultural culinary understanding through experiential learning opportunities.
We have also continued to improve and develop programs and practices to further support the academic, social, emotional, and physical needs of our haumāna and learning community. These programs and practices are a part of our school-wide initiative that include but are not limited to our Naʻau Pono Values for Social-Emotional and Behavioral Management, Response to Interventions (RtI) Program, Project-Based Inquiry (PBI), and Wellness Program.
It is my priority to ensure that our students are safe and learning, and that our entire school community continues to do our part in preventing the spread of illness. As such, we have prepared for the return of our students following the COVID-19 safety guidelines provided by the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health. We ask for your full support and assistance in following these guidelines. The rule of thumb is if anyone in your household is ill, please stay home.
Health Prescreening of all students will be done upon arrival at school before being allowed to exit their vehicles. Drop-off and Pick-up will be restricted to the Mountain View Gym driveway/parking lot, there are no exceptions to this rule. We will restrict any visitors from our school campus to limit the exposure or potential spread of illness. If you need to conduct business in our school’s main office, you must call (808) 968-2318 or email office@nawaiolapcs.org to schedule an appointment to do so. We mahalo (thank) you in advance for your compliance.
ʻOhana (families), kumu (teachers), limahana (support staff), community members, and administration all play a part in helping our students develop academically, socially, and emotionally. Together, we can make a positive difference. A strong partnership between home and school fosters greater success for our children. We encourage mākua (parents) to communicate with our kumu and limahana to foster a successful partnership.
We are excited for the opportunity to work with you and your keiki (child/children) to provide a safe and productive learning environment. I encourage you to call or email me at (808) 968-2318 or office@nawaiolapcs.org to share ideas, concerns, or questions. I wish your ʻOhana, and especially our Haumāna, great success this school year. Mahalo a nui iā ʻoukou pākahi a pau!
Naʻu me ka mahalo,
Kapua Francisco
Poʻokumu (Director/Principal)
I maikaʻi ke kalo i ka ʻohā.
“The goodness of the taro is judged by the young plant it produces.” – Mary Kawena Pūkuʻi, ʻŌlelo Noʻeau
Traditionally, Hawaiians believed that you could tell what kind of upbringing existed in a home by the way a child acted in public. This could have also been used as a warning for new parents to be sure to raise their children properly lest the bring disgrace upon their family.
This ʻŌlelo Noʻeau is also a reminder to us, as we grow older in life to always think of our Kūpuna and how they would react to the things that we do or say. It is often said that “first impressions” are everything, so you wouldnʻt want someone to get the wrong impression of you.
(Mary Kawena Pūkuʻi. ʻŌlelo Noʻeau: Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings. Honolulu: Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum Press. 1983)
