Mochitsuki at Hanahau'oli!

 
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Mochitsuki Traditions, History, and Songs

By: Lyric ’20

Our Assembly this week was based on a very special tradition, Mochitsuki! We had some birthday books shared, a thank you and goodbye song to Mrs. Molly an ASC teacher who is moving to Oregon, and Nahina shared her dress she made in the Collaborative Studio.

Then the Kukunaokalā kids shared the process of making the rice. First, you put water into the large pot. The pot is put over the fire. Then the rice is washed and cooked. When the rice is done, it goes into the usu and is pounded by the kine. Each class makes 5 pounds of mochi. We then say positive things to make the mochi taste better.

Then Mrs. Inouye talked about how our tradition was started. The Goto family introduced mochitsuki to our school in 1980. That was the first year we started the tradition. That year, Mrs. Mito came to mochi pounding with her kimono. She sang the song, Potan Potan and danced. Mrs. Mito came as much as she could.

The Kukunaokalā kids sang Potan Potan and then we all sang!

After that we all left to get ready for mochi pounding!

Winter Band Concert

Band Concert

by Cary ’20


This Friday was our band concert. Three bands: Beginning ensemble who have played for less than a year, Intermediate ensemble who has played for 1 year, and Advanced ensemble who has played for two to three years. They performed songs and short tunes for the school. One of my favorite tunes was The Lion Sleeps Tonight which the advanced band performed. It was upbeat and fun to listen to. To close out the assembly, the advanced band played jingle bells then all of the ensembles played together. All of the bands sounded nice and I am excited to hear the band play once more in the spring.

Winter Orchestra Concert

Our Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced Orchestra Concert

by Kaleo ’20

This week, the assembly was the orchestra concert directed by Mrs. Abbe. The first group that played was Beginning Orchestra. Thomas, Alina, Summit, Lotus, Dominic, Lilyana, Gabby, Vivian, Avelene, Leia, Penelope, and Leif are all the Beginning Orchestra players. They played Dreidel, Up the D Scale, Natalie’s Rose, Caribbean Island, Song For Christine, The D Major Scale, A Mozart Melody, Matthew’s March, Seminole Chant, Donkey Donkey / Bunny Hop, and Jingle Bells. Most of the songs were plucked but one or two were with bows. They played well but they could have been a bit louder. The second group that played was Intermediate Orchestra. Stephanie, Kailee, Kate, Drew, Ada, Cappy, Cooper, Ryder, Ella, Kalena, Zane, and Amaru are all the Intermediate Orchestra players. Intermediate Orchestra played First Scale March, Tribal Lament, Pepperoni Pizza, Frѐre Jacques, D Major Scale Up, Buckeye Salute, Grandparent’s Day, Ode to Joy, For Pete’s Sake, Michael Row the Boat Ashore, and A French Folk Song. Most of their songs were with bows and they also plucked some songs. They played well and they were loud enough. The last group to play was Advanced Orchestra. Lyric, Alyssa, Reyn, Winston, Calder, Paige, Ashlyn, Christopher, Phoebe, Naia, Neve, Julia, Pōmai, Meridian, Arabella, and Alethia. They played Nocturne, Fantasia on an Original Theme, Tangerine Rag, and Classic Christmas Medley. They mostly used bows except for Arabella because she is the harp. They played good and loud and well.

Po‘e Ka‘ahele's Kapa Making Assembly

Kapa Assembly Blog

By Ashlyn ’20

Today we had assembly! Our walk in song was taught to us by Mrs. Abbe, and it was called I Am Thankful For. After that, we sang Aia i ka poli o makiki, while Cary, Riley, Noah and Aiden played the ipu. Next was announcements. Ms. Gabby shared a lot of birthday books. Happy birthday to the Kulā‘iwi teacher, Mrs. Lee! For thought of the day, we said, “Makahana ka ike. In working one sees.” 

Then, we turned the assembly over to the entering Po’e Ka’ahele  students. They taught us all about their kapa experience. Did you know that in the olden days, the Hawaiians carved their ohe kapalas in bamboo? That was something I learned. The Po’e students had the privilege to make kapa with the wauke plant! Mrs. Varney taught the kids how to scrape off the bark and pound the wauke into a cloth-like fabric. Then, once it dries, it will be kapa! After they told us about that, each student talked a bit about their own process. The kapa print represents something about nature or navigation, like mountains or oceans. Some people put handprints of their peer’s on their cloth. It was inspiring to see everybody’s work because I saw many different ideas in each kapa. It was a very eye-opening experience and I can’t wait until Makahiki to see everyone wearing theirs!

Students Sharing Science!

Collaborative Studio and Science Project Sharing

by: Davan ’20

During today's assembly, we sang the song “Make New Friends” and “Hawaii Pono`i”. We had some really cool projects from the collaborative studio, like homemade zip bags and laser-cut wood designs. Then we got to see all of the Po‘e Ka‘ahele’s science projects. It was so hard to decide which one was my favorite because they were all very cool. I really liked the one about the “twister” because it is very mesmerizing to watch the bubbles go around and around. A few more of the projects were: Salt melting ice cubes and how the different amounts of salt affects how fast the ice cubes melted, and how different kinds of eggs react to white vinegar. We also learned the scientific method which is Idea, Hypothesis, Gather materials, Test, Results, and Conclusion.