ʻIke Hawaiʻi
Table of Contents
About Our ʻIke Hawaiʻi Program
Nā Wai Ola Public Charter School is excited to have a newly added resource that provides an ʻIke Hawaiʻi curriculum called Ka Hale Hoaka, to further improve our ʻIke Hawaiʻi program this school year. Kumu Akalā Neves Chinchilla will be the instructor and advisor for this course, working closely with both our Administration and Mahiʻai (agriculture) program, to ensure that our mission and vision are what shape the academic curriculum and structure here at our school.
The goal of this course is to better understand, apply, and perpetuate the Hawaiian culture and language. When we all take a part in the perpetuation and revitalization of the Hawaiian culture and language, we instill traditional Hawaiian values as the guiding principles for both personal, familial, and community growth as well as academic success.
Our goal is to positively impact our communities through project-based learning, which integrates Science, ʻIke Hawaiʻi, and Mahiʻai. Hawaiʻi is a unique place where Aloha is a lifestyle and both students and staff will be learning together so that we all have a deep respect for the host culture here. Through this course, students will also be practicing the skills necessary to fulfill Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in all other academic fields such as: English Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Art (through Oli and Mele), Health, and Physical Education (through Hula). ʻIke Hawaiʻi is a graded course at our school under World Languages.
Our ʻIke Hawaiʻi Initiative
The explicit use of ʻIke Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, knowledge, practices, values, and culture) is used as the strategy to implement the guiding principle of our educational program. The intent and purpose of this is to actualize the vision and mission of Nā Wai Ola Public Charter School.
Piko Protocol
Piko Wehe (Morning Protocol)
The entire school community faculty, staff, and students will begin each day with Piko Wehe (morning protocol). This formal protocol begins at the sound of the pū or conch shell. Its planned sequence and orderly nature give one a feeling of pride and humility. Shared responsibility and expectation motivate mutual accountability and therefore prompt a natural sense of critical thinking indicative of quality in terms of cultural knowledge. The dynamics of participating in this morning protocol prompt a renewed understanding of an old way to be accountable for learning, a type of learning promoted in the traditional Hawaiian equivalent of a school, the hālau.
Following Piko Wehe, while students are settling down in their classrooms, the teaching staff presents the thought for the day to their classroom students using the mahina or Hawaiian moon phase of the day to share a message and present ways in which people can apply that thought to practical situations. The thought for the day focuses on cultural values and ideals and is presented in a way that facilitates an understanding of people as individuals and people as a community. The values are in and of themselves important as historical, cultural, and cognitive understandings.
The piko, as a moʻokiʻina (routine) is an educational context that unifies values, experience, and knowledge in the school community of Nā Wai Ola Public Charter School. Moʻokiʻina connotes a traditional ordered access or way of doing things and implies that the content being procured is genealogically connected. Meeting every morning ensures that this single experience plays a strong role in affecting the way children, young people, and adults understand culture as living knowledge with roots in the past. The frequency cultivates a Hawaiian worldview at an early age and fosters a better understanding of other moʻokiʻina.
Order of protocol at Piko Wehe:
- Hoʻokani ‘ia ka pū (Sounding of the conch)
- E Hōmai (Chant requesting knowledge)
- Mele Kāhea (Chant requesting entry)
- Mele Komo (Chant allowing entry)
- Oli Wānana (Chant calling for strength, resilience, and unity)
- Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī (Hawaiʻi Anthem)
- Mele (Song (varying) for identity, responsibility, and place)
- Hula (Dance for physical activity and cultural knowledge)
- Hoʻolaha (Announcements, i.e. special events)
- Pule Kahikolu (Prayer for protection and guidance)
Piko Panina (Afternoon Protocol)
The entire school community faculty, staff, and students will end each day with Piko Panina (afternoon protocol).
Order of protocol at Piko Panina:
- Hoʻokani ‘ia ka pū (Sounding of the conch)
- Oli Mahalo (Chant giving thanks)
- Hoʻolaha (Announcements (i.e. bus changes)
- ʻŌlelo Aʻoaʻo (Guiding thoughts for practical application)
Cultural Instructional Benchmarks
Our Cultural Educational Standards (CES) are embedded in our Instructional Benchmarks. Because Hawaiian culture is the guiding principle of our educational program, there is no arbitrary distinction made between ‘academics’ and ‘culture.’ The instructional benchmarks integrate expectations and strategies from Hawaiian culture and from other best practices in education.
They are focused on:
Curriculum and pedagogy grounded in Hawaiian culture
Research-proven best practices in education
Assessment as a tool for learning
On-going staff development
Community involvement
Benchmark 1
Benchmark 2
Benchmark 3
Benchmark 4
Benchmark 5
Place-based curriculum teaches students the connection between themselves and the natural environment. Mālama ‘āina (caring for the land) is central to the curriculum. The curriculum includes a blend of indigenous and non-indigenous methods of understanding, representing, and caring for the environment. Students learn good practices of stewardship, resource sustainability, and spirituality.
Benchmark 6
Benchmark 7
School-wide behavior expectations guide students’ interactions and staff conduct.
Benchmark 8
Instruction and assessment incorporates activities that activate multiple intelligences and allow for diverse demonstrations of mastery.
Benchmark 9
Project-based learning is used in the context of authentic inquiry.
Benchmark 10
Teachers work alongside students in joint productive activities or projects so students understand that learning is an on-going process.
Benchmark 11
Benchmark 12
Team-teaching is utilized to meet the needs of multi-age, multi-level classes.
Benchmark 13
Students are engaged in goal setting and self-evaluation at regular intervals. Rubrics further support student ability to identify and meet specific criteria for quality products.
Benchmark 14
Nā Wai Ola staff is consistently engaged in ongoing efforts for professional development.
Benchmark 15
Curriculum draws upon community resources and generates knowledge that will be shared with and useful to communities. Students and teachers engage in activities independently or collaboratively with community members as a means to sustain the well-being of the learning community.
Benchmark 16
Communication amongst the Nā Wai Ola ‘ohana (comprised of students, parents, staff and members of the broader community) is ongoing, and all stakeholders are actively involved in school activities, projects, and authentic demonstrations of knowledge.
