To view pictures and film clips please go to:
hlcpicsandvids.blogspot.com

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Only Two Weeks left of Christmas Break!!!

Aloha Haumana,

Its been quite a while since we've all been in school. This is just a friendly reminder to all of you to invest at least two hours a day in studying your project work and other subjects such as math. Remember that Hakipu'u Learning Center really places the responsibility on every student to be in charge of how you learn. You directly impact whether or not you will be successful or not.

I can help you, along with your parents and guardians, and the rest of our HLC 'Ohana.

Don't forget LLE's, logging hours, journaling, organizing binders and so forth. You need to set yourself up for success!

You each can do this and have great potential.

To end my epistle, I would like to leave this story with each of you.

Once there was a fisherman who caught a large fish. Bringing out his ruler, the man measured his catch: twenty inches.
The man threw the fish back. Soon after, his rod wiggled again. This fish measured only five inches and the fisherman dropped it into his bucket. And so it went. The fisherman kept every fish under twelve inches and threw back every fish of greater size. Finally, a nearby fisherman could no longer hide his disbelief. "You keep throwing back the fish larger than twelve inches," he said. "Why the heck are you doing that?" "It's real simple," the man answered. "My wife only has a twelve-inch frying pan."


follow this link to hear more explanation

Aloha,
Kumu Feki

Monday, December 22, 2008

LLE INSTRUCTIONS

Directions: All HLC students must complete 10 Lifelong Learning Experiences (LLE) per year. Each is worth a maximum of .1 credit. In order to receive credit for a LLE you must address each item and follow the guidelines listed below when writing about your experience(s). Your paper must be typed in no larger than 12 point font size, double spaced, and must be spell-checked.

Item 1. Describe what you did for your LLE
 What did you do?
 Where did it take place?
 Who was involved?
 Why did you participate?

Item 2. Multiple Intelligences
 Name the Multiple Intelligences you engaged in for this LLE
 Describe how you used the Multiple Intelligence
 Did you enjoy learning in this way? Tell why or why not?

Item 3. Assessment
 What was the most important thing you learned by participating in this experience?
 What was the best part of the experience?
 Did this experience happen the way you expected?
 What was the most challenging part of this experience/ How did you work through or overcome this challenge?

Item 4. Lifelong Learning
 How did this experience help you to understand yourself better?
 How did this experience help you to understand something or someone differently?
 How will this experience change the way you do things?
 How did this experience affect or help your community, the environment, or the world around you?

Item 5. Conclusion
 Would you participate in this activity again? Explain why or why not.
 Would you recommend this activity to others? Explain why or why not.

Item 6. Documentation
 Bring any pictures, brochures, agendas, handouts, and/or certificates related to this activity.

Item 7. Formatting
 Your paper will have at least 5 paragraphs. It must be typed using proper sentences and grammar.
 Paragraph 1
o Follow Item 1.
 Paragraph 2
o Follow Item 2.
 Paragraph 3
o Follow Item 3.
 Paragraph 4
o Follow Item 4.
 Paragraph 5
o Follow Item 5.

Options

Aloha Kakou,

I hope the holidays are a great celebration time for all of you. Please do not forget to keep your learning OPTIONS open. The OPTIONS we have as students of Hakipu'u Learning Center are the following:

1. Work a few minutes to an hour or more a day on project work.
2. Work a few minutes to an hour on online math work.
3. Be creative with your tasks to make your project successful.
4. Do a reading project (email kumu feki for more info if needed)
5. Do an LLE (Life long learning paper)
6. Go to the library everyday.
7. Email fellow students if you have questions.
8. Email kumu feki (feki54@gmail.com) when you need assistance.

There are many options, some of which are not listed here, that you can employ.

Mahalo,
Kumu Feki

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Important Memo to Parents Regarding HLC Activities on Dec. 19th 2008

Aloha Parents,

This memo is in regards to the letter sent home with students on December 9, 2008 stating that the last day of school would be at the Ko’olau Theaters in Kaneohe. Due to a lack of permission forms and monies being turned in on time, we will be unable to reserve the theaters. We do not have a sufficient number of participants to support the early morning viewing.

Instead, students who have turned in permission forms, money, or both will be treated to a movie at Hakipu’u Learning Center on Friday, December 19th. The money students turn in will be put towards renting the movie and providing food such as pizza, snacks and drinks.

Those students, who did not turn in a permission form or money by the December 12th deadline, are still required to report to school on December 19th. They will do project work until all students are released at 11:30 am.

As a reminder school attendance is mandatory; all students are required to be present on Thursday, December 18th and Friday December 19th. There is a concern that students are planning on staying home because they don’t want to participate in the clean-up or the planned activity for Friday. Parents are asked to be supportive of the school in having students participate in the activities that are planned. Absences need to be validated by a phone call or note from a parent or guardian, otherwise the student will be considered as an unexcused absence.

If there are any questions or concerns please contact Kelly Vuikadavu at 235-9155 or 235-9161.

Mahalo Nui Loa!

~Administrative Team~

Friday, December 12, 2008

Survey

All Students in Hale o Na Koa:

Please take this survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=8Rr_2fJFRNfWhxUBZJAXn5JA_3d_3d

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Rock Movers

Mahalo to our Papa (class) for your work ethic. I learned a lot from building the dam up and making a safer crossing to our lo'i kalo. I heard someone say that what we are doing in our mauka lab is useless and not applicable for us in becoming adults.

I would like to point out that that line of thinking is not only disrespectful and shortsighted, but actually mocking what Hakipu'u Learning Center is all about. The lessons to be learned can only be observed and gained by students who are willing to learn no matter the medium. The responsibility to learn is of both the teacher and student who must both work diligently to process and communicate whatever information is important.

Even if we are putting bells on a piece of stick, this should not be taken lightly as just a menial task, but should be seen as an opportunity to learn obedience to directions, patience to focus on no matter what the task is. Those habits of obedience and patience alone help to make an individual more marketable and likely to receive jobs, promotions and other positive signs of maturity.

Please be diligent in your studies...
Kumu Feki

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Library Visit and Pre/Post Evals

Aloha,

Today was a good experience having Tama and Josh post-eval their projects. Congrats on reaching this stage. They will participate in Ho'ike next week Tuesday.

The majority of our class is making good progress in their projects. Please keep up the good work.

Tomorrow marks the end of Semester 1.

Kumu Feki

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

No Get Jam Up...

Below I have some reflections on what we did today. I advise all of you students to write a journal in your planner everyday as well as log your hours in your planner as well.

We should have ha'aha'a. We should be proud about our work to raise kalo, but we should never brag about it. In Uncle Cal's words, if we brag about our kalo "goin jam us up." And he also said that we should never brag about anything in life otherwise we face the same fate: "going get jam up"

Please prepare to go to the library tomorrow morning to do research. I expect to see your plan to research in order for you to go to the library. Feel free to go to library even after school.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Basic Steps of doing Projects

Aloha,

Hope you all had a great Turkey Day. I am truly thankful for my family and friends and the opportunity to advise each of you in your progression to becoming strong members of our society.

The following are basic steps to project work at Hakipu'u Learning Center. Please make comments to further enhance our learning process.

1. Get an idea / Look at Standards, then pick 2 to 3 from different areas that you like

2. Draft Essential Question and Driving Question. *Essential Question is one over-arching question and there are many Driving Questions or sub-questions that help to move the project along. If needed, initial research can be done to formulate correct ideas of the proposed project.

--- Can you add more ideas to finish our process???? Please add them in the comments section.

Kumu Feki

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

What I have learned...

Aloha Kakou,
I have been learning so much while being here at HLC. While having 4 post evals, 3 of which for our 'ohana, I have learned the following:

-Each of our students is capable of great work
-Saying " Oh its on the computer," during a pre or post evaluation meeting is not a good thing.
-Not having a complete and accurate time log is lethal.
-We need to have more evidence of work shown and placed in binders.
-Everyone needs to take notes and keep it in their binders.
-Losing project binders is not good.
-Reflections should be done before the post-eval.
-Journaling works as evidence of learning and should be in project binders.
-Students should always come to class, pre/post evals and other mtgs with a pen, a highlighter, a notebook or paper, plans to apply what is learned.
-Just saying "phase 3" for a 2 hour block time does not fly. We need to be more specific.
-We must be aware of the differences between an .odt, .docx, and .doc file types.
-Often we overlook details.
-We always need to look back at our webs and other documents and commitments.
-When doing our credit hours we need to show proof or evidence of learning.
-Project based learning helps students compete against themselves, instead of against each other.
-PBL also gives the student the mindsets of "How can I help?" and "What can I learn?"

These are a few things I learned...What are some things that you have learned? Please share your HLC or PBL thoughts by making a comment.

Aloha,
Kumu Feki

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Items of Interest

Aloha Kakou,

A few items of interest:

  1. There is an 'ohana night coming up tomorrow evening, November 2oth, and all our parents should have received a purple flier with more information.
  2. We also have the monies for our Thanksgiving imu fundraising tickets due this Friday.
  3. Next week Thursday and Friday are holidays in observance of Thanksgiving. Please remember this to plan accordingly to accomplish work for your projects, math and other assignments.
We are striving to do better in completing our projects. We should be finishing our projects this week and moving forward in our project progression.

If any of you would like a copy of the standards email me.

Aloha,
Kumu Feki

Friday, November 14, 2008

A Wonderful Day!

We learned a lot today in our Basic Skills Workshops. I hope all you students take some time to share with your parents and guardians what you learned.

We talked a lot in our reading time about the Ali'i system and the Feudal system. We made a Venn diagram and made comparisons between the two systems. We never quite made a comparison of the similarities, but rather just the differences. We shall cover that later, perhaps on Tuesday.

We also learned about konohiki, ali'i 'ai moku, 'auhau and kia'i. We also learned about interdependence and how it relates to dependence and independence.

Each of you individually knows what to work on this weekend for homework.

With our two new class members, Kaili and Shae Ann we will have a new seating arrangement.

Aloha and have a safe weekend,
Kumu Feki

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Learning Standards

Aloha Parents and Students,

I recently requested a copy of our learning standards from Aunty Susan. She emailed me a copy and I use it to become continually aware of the requirements our students need to meet to graduate.

If you would like a copy of this draft, please email me at feki54@gmail.com, and I will send it to you.

I have found it helpful in my approach to prepare our students for success as they approach these learning standards. I hope it is useful to all of you.

Kumu Feki

A great Makahiki festival...









Aloha,
Today was historic as we hosted Halau Ku Mana and Halau Lokahi in our Makahiki games at Kualoa-Hakipu'u.

Great job to all our haumana! Good job Kyle for coming in second place for 13-and-under kane in the run around the pond. I also recall seeing Mahina and Josh running from our class.

Please continue to invest time into your projects and other assignments!

Expand your Conscience!
Kumu Feki

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Makahiki Tomorrow!

Assignments
- Please come prepared tomorrow to participate in our makahiki games at Kualoa. As I mentioned earlier today, we will leave right after Kupo'ai tomorrow morning.

Mahalo to those who worked hard in lab today in Waiahole and down at Kualoa (which was everyone). I notice a great improvement in work ethic and hope that we can continue to differentiate the times to work and the times to play!

Aloha!
Kumu Feki
feki54@gmail.com

Friday, November 7, 2008

UH Open House

Join Us for the Manoa Experience

High school students and their parents are invited to a campus-wide open house at the University of Hawai`i at Manoa. At the Manoa Experience you will:

* Meet with faculty and learn about academic and research activities taking place in the colleges & schools
* Take a student-led campus tour
* Tour a residence hall
* Attend admission and financial aid information sessions
* Visit the student services and activities fair

When:

Saturday, November 15, 2008
8:00 a.m.–2:30 p.m.
Where:

Stan Sheriff Center
1337 Lower Campus Road
University of Hawai`i at Manoa
Honolulu, HI
For More Information and to Register:

http://hawaii.edu/admrec/rsvp_manoa_experience.html

We hope to see you there!

Chancellor's Office · University of Hawai`i at Manoa · 2500 Campus Road · Honolulu, HI 96822

This email is sent on behalf of Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Aloha Kakou!

Announcements:

1. Tonight is our Ho'ike for November. It will be from 5pm to 7:30pm with the presentations at 6pm. We have Ka'ainoa and Isaac, Ciara and Kyle presenting tonight in Akoakoa. If you can attend, please come!

2. On Friday is the showing of the Mau documentary at Kamehameha schools auditorium. For more info, please email me.

3. Tomorrow will begin the third rotation of Basic Skills Workshops, please be prepared. The intent of these Friday Basic Skills Workshops is to focus on basic skills that can help you in your project work.

4. Our Imu fundraiser will be on the 26th of November from 4 to 6pm here at our school. For every item it will be $15. Each student is asked to sell two tickets which have been given to them today.

Homework:

Our usual assignments prevail as we have begun the 4th Block of Project Work:

1. Math
2. Project Work

Also, we will be doing a book project on Aloha Betrayed in the coming days.

Mahalo,
Kumu Feki

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Aloha Kakou!

Please continue to work on your projects and develop your ideas.

If you have any questions, please email me!

Aloha,
Kumu Feki

Monday, November 3, 2008

Aloha

Please do not forget to work on your projects this weekend and other assignments such as math. Our 'ohana has mauka lab on Wednesday so please don't forget your necessary items.

There is no school today and tomorrow and I encourage each of you haumana to follow what your parents do in terms of voting and carrying out civil responsibilities. Soon, each of you will be eligible to vote in elections.

Malama Pono,
Kumu Feki

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Aloha Kakou,

Please continue with your math and project work. As our school is a project-based school, not only do students have an opportunity to choose projects, but each student has the responsibility to organize what they need to do to be successful. In short:

Please use your planners wisely!


Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Mahalo for a great day at Mauka Lab!

Today everyone did a great job working hard moving rocks to build up the dam, tilling the ground for more kalo, carrying shovels o'o bars and rocks to the van (after cleaning them in the river), digging in and around the imu at school, practicing Ka nani o ke ao nei, and cleaning up when it was all over. I am grateful for all of your service and development to becoming good citizens who know what it means to be Kanaka Maoli.

I believe the words to our mele go as follows:

I LUNA LA I LUNA
NA MANU O KA LEWA

I LALO LA I LALO
NA PUA O KA HONUA

I UKA LA I UKA
NA KUMU LA'AU

I KE KAI LA I KE KAI
NA I'A KA MOANA

HA'INA MAI KA PUANA
O KA NANI KE AO NEI

Every pauku or verse is sung twice or as is led by Uncle Cal.

Please do your best in your homework to set yourselves up for success.

Aloha no,
Kumu Feki

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

This Week!

Aloha Kakou,

HOMEWORK
Project Based learning really gives students an opportunity to show leadership and dedication by accomplishing tasks towards their projects.

In other words it is interesting that our haumana choose what their homework is to be in terms of project work. As for math it is pretty straightforward as to what is important.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Tomorrow is Mauka lab at Waipao. Please bring your lunch, towel, extra change of clothes and tabi's! Also HSA testing will be completed tomorrow!

On Thursday, October 30, there will be a Halloween Festival at the school from 5:30 to 8:00pm. All students and their 'ohana are encouraged to attend!

We will be having a Ho'ike Night on Nov. 6 at 5:00 - ask your child if they will be in it, we are still preparing for possibilities, so if they aren't ready, ask them if you can help them get ready!

Aloha,
Kumu Feki

Friday, October 24, 2008

A homework reminder...

Aloha Kakou,

For our Makua (Parents) I will be calling next week to talk story about how your child is doing and how I can be of better service to you and your child. Next week Friday is the end of the project block and signals a benchmark of projects being completed and started.

For our Haumana, please focus on your math as that is our school's weakest HSA test score total and which also helps each of you continue to develop views of both sides of the pancake!
As always we have our project work and I have met with each of you today to review what you are doing for your project. Please be proactive or take the initiative to do things that will set you up for success and make life more enjoyable. As we discussed, I will be seeking evidence of your studies over the weekend. Please come prepared to show me what you have done over this weekend.
I am learning along with each of you and expect great things.

Also, I have added most of your names to be authors on our blog. Please feel free to share your mana'o, we want to hear what you have to say. I have invited those who do not yet have a gmail account to sign up for one if your Makua is agreeable to you having this privilege. Please continue to expand your consciousness in all you do.

And finally, I would like each of you to write 5 sentences about how the Kumulipo, the hawaiian creation chant and Albert Einstein's theory of relativity are connected. You can email this to me by Monday morning or bring a printed copy to me at the same time.

Aloha Nui,
Kumu Feki

Friday, October 17, 2008

Mahalo for a Great 'Ulumua Camp!

Mahalo to everyone who participated in our camp.

Let us all 'Ulumua together and do the best we can. It was my first time on the wa'a 'Ulumua and I was grateful for the experience.

Please do your best to do some studies for project work and math as well as learning all you can to make a good difference!

I look forward to learning with all of you on Monday!

Aloha!
Kumu Feki

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Welcome Back!

Aloha To Everyone,

Today was a great "Day Camp," helping us to prepare for the next few days. I hope you all learned a lot from those Kumu who shared their mana'o.

Please be prepared tomorrow to wear your hakipu'u t-shirts and shorts as we go to the Polynesian Cultural Center and to be in Hakipu'u and with 'Ulumua and each other.

If you have need to contact me, please email me at feki54@gmail.com

Mahalo Nui,
Kumu Feki

Monday, October 13, 2008

Transcript of Nainoa Thompson's Mana'o shared at 'Ulumua Mahalo Pa'ina

Mahalo to Aunty Kaipo for Transcribing this critical instruction for our HLC 'Ohana


9/24/08 @ Hakipu'u / Kualoa

Aloha mai kakou,
It is a special day. You know it has been a couple of years getting us here. Where ‘Ulumua is ready for the sea. Much of the design you see took a lot of work.
‘Ulumua’s design is different from all the others. ‘Ulumua took a lot of thought. ‘Ulumua is different from all the other canoes.
Look at her lines. Look at how deep she is. Look at the keel how she carries so long. There are reasons for that. I will speak to that later. But in the process it began with a conversation one day with Mitch Doliet from Castle saying he wants to do something for the children of the Windward Side. He said: “Why don’t you build a sailing canoe.” My thoughts was well we will get those two canoes out of the mold over there and put a sail on top of it. It is the cheap thing to do. He said no “I want something unique. I want it distinctive. I want it different. And so we came up with this particular design. And it took my guess the people at the Marine Education Center 2,000 man hours to construct this. Not a simple thing to do. They built a mold so they could pull out these first two hulls. If this works, If this strategy works if the canoe is relevant and meaningful to children we should make more so that it can spread throughout the whole state, maybe the Pacific. We don’t know. Today is the day that we find out because if it is not relevant to you, the design wasn’t correct. But they worked hard at METC. The question was o.k. when the canoe is pau where does it go. The question was who takes kuleana for the canoe. Who is it for?
There were many ideas and thoughts were it ought to go. Mokoli’i, Coconut Island, canoe clubs, YMCA. It was thoughtful debate. But it landed here on this land on this special place, the land of Kaha’i, the great navigator mahalo for thanking us. No need to thank us. When Hokule’a came here to be born. The Hokule’a is supposed to be here. The Polynesian Voyaging Society was the privileged one to have been allowed to be in these waters and the land of Kaha’i. Do you know that even Kamehameha the Great lowered his sails when he crossed this bay at respect for its mana? To have us guys who don’t know anything to come over hereto have Hokule’a come here and launch it for the first time it touches the sea. It’s our privilege. We give no one privilege. We received it all and now to do the same thing with 'Ulumua. It is of the same privilege. You want to know my mana’o? I will speak from my heart opposed to my head. Let me try to do that. I am kua’aina from the land of Maunalua Bay. You guys been to Hawaii Kai and to ‘Aina Haina. What do you see over there today? Chuck and Cheeses. You see houses over there? Where are the houses over there? All over. Where? From the valleys to the ocean. Everywhere. Do they fill our valleys? Do they fill our ridges? When I grew up the road that we called Lunalilo that filled out the shopping center called Hawaii Kai. Hawaii Kai is a new name it is not an old Hawaiian name. That was dirt road. That place we call Hawaii Kai Marina is an old Hawaiian fish pond was Hawaii Kai’s biggest fishpond. The most productive fish pond in the state. Have you been to Wailupe Circle? Have you been to Niuiki Circle? Those are filled in fish ponds so you could get more beach front properties. Because it is changing the value of a fish pond to residential and residential means money. Why do you think we made those choices? Are we not educated? Are we not intelligent? What happened forty years ago? Today, we are struggling to save two of the last tiny little fish ponds that are left. We have a meeting at 2 ‘o clock today. If the University doesn’t take the land, we lose it to an auction the last two of all of Maunalua Bay. In my humble opinion in negative poor choices in investment development changes everything. Some people came primarily from the outside to build and construct, they had a vision. That vision had nothing to do with out values. We had no part of it. It crushed us. Today, what we have is congestion, high cost of living, lots of land you cannot afford. In order to meet the demand we widen the roads, we displace kama’aina. We pollute the streams. We destroy our rain forests. When I drive through the Wilson tunnel. Even though I am from the island of O‘ahu. I come from a very different place coming down this side. This side has chance. This side has hope, this side has strength. This side has the story of the other side a place we didn’t stand up we didn’t know how. Maunalua Bay compared to what it was when I knew it has all changed because of values, because of how certain people felt about of the value of the land because of the bottom line of money. Nothing to do with culture, ecology, nothing to do with community, nothing to do with history; ran us over. ‘Ulumua needed to come to a place of vision because that place had no vision. ‘Ulumua needed to come to a place of vision that is sacred. ‘Ulumua needed to come to the home of Kaha’i. ‘Ulumua needed to come to a place where to those who received the canoe clearly didn’t say we own the canoe, but we have deep responsibility for it in those values of responsibility and kuleana. In the debate of who it should go to Polynesian Voyaging Society, Marine Education Training Center, Castle Foundation.
‘Ulumua, it is lucky it has the Hakipu’u ‘Ohana. It is lucky it has a powerful family like the Hoes parents of that family like Charlene and Calvin and powerful children that would make this more than we imagined. I was here when the Hokule’a was launched. It had the badminton courts and the volleyball courts. But they have changed all that. Now over here is a place when you step on the land, you step with respect and you step with care. The reason we designed ‘Ulumua with a very sharp hulls. It is very difficult to turn this canoe. But this canoe sails awesome to upwind like you(r) ancestors. The difference is that it will move with the wind and it will move with your paddle. When you go to upwind it removes the need to tow the canoe. It removes the need to put an artificial engine on it. When it moves to upwind it is hard. Sailing (to) upwind is hard. ‘Ulumua is designed for (in) the hard times when you are challenged the most, when you are taken down to your core which is your values, when you are taken down to the bone of your physical endurance. It is in there when you grow. You don’t grow when it is easy. You grow when it is hard. We made this canoe hard to sail. You will sail in the old way when it is hard to paddle. Hawaiians are extraordinary. Two great things that are very identifiable is the fact that Hawaiians is that they were the greatest explorers on the earth. Hawaii is the most isolated place on the planet and therefore for many reasons the most special place on the planet. But they were the very first persons to find it 1400 years before Columbus was born and yet we don’t celebrate that globally. How come? There greatest explorers. When Captain Cook arrived the guess the median [of population] was guess 800,000 Hawaiians were here. They were strong. He wrote in his journals take some research. Read his journals about all the places he had been on earth Hawaiians were the greatest stewards of water. They had the best practice tenure of the land. And to me when you start talking about that back then there were 800,000 and nothing was brought in. They learned to live from the land and live from the sea. All three needed to be healthy for mankind to be healthy. Today, just a note that 95% of what we consume in Hawaii is brought in. You have four days of food. How come we are in this situation? My guess is how we educate ourselves. That the national agenda of education is to industrialize fundamentally we have done a great job at that but we have damaged the planet. So many ways, so my ‘olelo is confused but I am not confused in my thoughts. Ulumua is about leadership and education that canoe needs to bridge you to the land and to the sea. We need to resurrect new education. We need to redefine what is the educated child in the 21 Century. What does it mean to be intelligent if we cannot find a healthy, safe and secure future for children. Children then I don’t think we are. This canoe being here with this family and this ‘ohana and this sacred land because there isn’t. Can you tell me where there would be a better place. There isn’t. So us guys on the South side of Oahu failed to stand up so we honor you for you guys standing up when we did not. If you just think about friends defining your future. If that’s going to be important on this side it is over. I don’t think it will because you are too educated to intelligent, you have too much strength. The whole redefinition of education needs to be about values. The difference of the national agenda of education of Hawaii does take into account that Hawaii is special that it is different. It is not like Montana, Wyoming, or Pennsylvania. It’s Hawaii. Education you learn here is about taking care and protecting defining what is special. What happens when it is all gone? Want to know? Come to Hawaii Kai. That fishpond that served so many that maintained sustainability is now a private marina for the few who can buy land there. Is that right? ‘Ulumua is designed to be hard. ‘Ulumua is designed to challenge you. My belief in the challenges you grow and in the challenges you grow strong. And so that, my great dream is that ‘Ulumua becomes a tool and a platform to carry you into places that would connect you to new education to new values that protect Hawaii. In other words, ‘Ulumua in my great dream is a platform nurture new leadership where we weren’t there. Does that make sense? I cannot think of a better school. I cannot think of better teachers than here. I am just extraordinarily happy that we got here. It took a lot of time to get here. But it is a new day a new beginning. Ultimately It is getting to what Mitch wanted it to be where children on the Windward side. And having said that . . .

Monday, October 6, 2008

Hope you're enjoying the break!!!

Aloha Kakou,

I hope everyone is enjoying their break while also making time for school work.

Please be safe and remember math, project and overdue work.

Kumu Feki

PS: Please email me if you have any questions or concerns. I will also be at HLC on Wednesday 10/8 for some meetings.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Ha'awina

Aloha Kakou,

I hope you all enjoyed meeting my dad. He will be around to help out and to inspire each of you to the best you can do.

Our homework includes:

1. Math
2. Project Work
3. All overdue writing assignments
4. Camp Forms and Money for it.

Please don't forget to take care of business!!!

Aloha,
Kumu Feki

A student's mana'o

Recently there was an assignment to write on what Nainoa Thompson said to our HLC 'ohana at the mahalo celebration for 'Ulumua. He said something to the effect that we don't grow when its easy, we grow when its hard. And he also talked about our values making our core. The following is what one of our students wrote. I still await a majority of the classe's thoughts. Enjoy!

The question is, What did he mean by saying you don't grow when it's easy? What was the point that Nainoa Thompson was trying to get across when he made this statement?

My first thought when I read this was, Is this supposed to make sense? After repeating it to myself a few times and thinking about this quote. I thought about growing up, and how hard its said to be. The challenges. The many different paths people take. This made me think a lot about how people actually do learn, the process. This doesn't certainly have to mean growing physical wise, but more mental. Expanding your view and understanding certain things.

Growing. Another thing that it made me think about when I read this, Is about school. There could be things that seem to be easy credit at first, but its only until you actually start to work and apply yourself that you notice all the work that has to be done. Don't underestimate. Very little do things come easy. There's always some way that you have to work for what ever it is your going for. This quote could mean many things, it all depends how you look at it. You don't learn when things are handed to you.

Values are an essential to life, you use them daily even though you may not notice. I could easily define my values of being something like, striving for the highest, taking care of my responsibilities, and helping one another. Then again I cant promise that I actually use those values daily. I don't have certain values for myself. I usually just try to do what is common sense and not fall behind. Its hard to define what values actually are, in my opinion.

Its easier to value something, then to define values for me. For myself, its easier to view something that has great value to yourself, such as family & friends. I value a lot of things. I value my family, people that support & help me, my school, things I am given, possibilities that are available to myself. I also do value my life. I value the life I was given and the options that I am given. This isn't everything I value, but a brief part. I value a lot of people and things, Overall I think that everyone has much things to be thankful for and that they value.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Ha'awina

Aloha Kakou,

Mahalo for a great day at lab. Some of us did get scolding for playing too much in the van on the way down to Kualoa. Please remember that we are invited to create a Pu'uhonua wherever we at.


A definition for Pu'uhonua is: a place of refuge, sanctuary, asylum, place of peace and safety. We should always strive to create this atmosphere.

Our homework is to work on our Math, our project Work, and the writing assignment from Friday. And the new assignment is to write a three paragraph reflection on our lab today. Some questions to help you might be: What did you learn today? How did helping clean up the burial site make you feel today? What did you learn from the ants? Did they teach you something important?

Again, if you have any questions, let me know and the posts are there for you to read.

Aloha,
Kumu Feki

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Homework for the last day of September 2008

Aloha,

Good work was done today with not as many reminders to stay on task. Mahalo everyone!

Homework is as follows:
- Work on old and new project (as applicable)
- Finish math lecture, activity or homework. If you are under the impression that you have no math homework, please re-think your approach. There is always something you can do that is math related or mathematical in nature.
- For most of the class I still have not yet received the 4 paragraph writing piece which was assigned last Friday (please see Friday's post)
- Bring all needed items for Lab tomorrow (we may be going to Kualoa to help Uncle Cal).

Congrats to Caitlyn whose birthday it was today and who is the first member of our class to have a post-eval this school year! Ka'ainoa is next and we look forward to the rest of our class showing off their work.

Please don't forget how to start a project (See posts about that), and also continue to learn how to write proper essays and papers. We will learn more about that.

Also, don't forget PHOTOSYNTHESIS...

Aloha,
Kumu Feki

Monday, September 29, 2008

Homework and Other Information

Malo e lelei,

Today's homework involves:

1. Working on math for at least one hour
2. Finishing the essay on what Uncle Nainoa Thompson spoke to us about (see previous posts)

3. Working on our projects (old or new)
Each student should know how to start a project and also how to finish one. Please refer to the previous posts to find out more.

Malo 'aupito,
Kumu Feki

Friday, September 26, 2008

Aloha,

-Math
-Project Work
-Nainoa Thompson mentioned the following to us, "You don't grow when it is easy." He also made mention that our values are very important to our character. What did he mean by saying you don't grow when it's easy? What are your values, or rather what do you value?

Please write two paragraphs for each question. You can email me your final response or turn it in on Monday morning.

Mahalo,
Kumu Feki

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Homework moved to tomorrow...

Aloha,

I did tell the haumana that there would be more homework than usual today, but I will move it to Friday.

In addition to math and project work, it will incorporate analyzing our reading in the Book entitled Aloha Betrayed by Noenoe Silva.

Also Basic Skills workshops begin anew tomorrow.

Mahalo to all our Na Koa for holding on to our class member this morning. Malama kekahi i kekahi...Let us continue to take care of each other.

Kumu Feki

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Homework, 'Ulumua Mahalo Celebration and Project Work Process...

Aloha Kakou,

I hope everyone enjoyed themselves today. I felt honored to be present at such a historic event. I know that the gathering was for our entire Hakipu'u 'Ohana, but especially for you of the coming generations. Much hope and trust is placed upon you to care not only for 'Ulumua, but for yourselves and each other. We must strive to give all we can to the benefit our community. Nainoa Thompson said that 'Ulumua must serve as an avenue for each haumana to develop leadership and kuleana.



Please continue to work on your math and project work.

And also remember when we do projects, we need to start with looking at our standards first, especially those we have not done previously and then look at the benchmarks (details) which interest us. Sometimes we may not find an interesting benchmark, but its better to take care of it now rather than later. I recommend you do the standard and benchmark you don't really care for, because by the time you are a Senior, you will find that the standard you are required to do is the standard you WANT to do.

Second in project work is to think about your project idea and come up with a couple options. Then, draft essential and driving questions based on the standards that you have chosen and that which your Kumu has said is okay for you to attempt. Some light research should be done at this time to get a good idea of what the student wants to learn. When this is completed, the student may move on to the third step.

Third is to work out the rest of Phase one including Project Idea, EQ and DQ (Essential and Driving Questions), Scope, Maoli connection, Calendars, Rubrics, and so on...This is done in the packet which Aunty Tammy made.

Then the next step is to get ready for pre-evaluation by starting your your ppf (project proposal form) under the Kumu's direction and going over the pre-evaluation checklist with your Kumu.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

For Homework

Aloha,

Our major focus for homework is math and our project work.

Math work consists of either online lectures or activities and traditional homework questions.

Project work should include the following:
-Completion of Block 2 project.
-Initiation of Block 3 project. The first step in this regard is to look at the standards which are needed for the student, then draft essential and driving questions alongside some initial research and then working through the phase one handouts.

Please email me if you have any questions.

Mahalo,
Kumu Feki

Monday, September 22, 2008

Homework and Other Info....

Aloha Kakou,

Welcome to the first day of Block 3 !!!!

The homework for Hale o Na Koa is:

- 1 hour of math study (homework/on-line lessons)
- 1 hour of project work (look at the standards you want to reach and work on your project idea, etc.)
- Get proper signatures for the Kamehameha Schools consent waiver and turn it in by Wednesday morning.

If you have not received the consent waiver then please get one from me tomorrow in class. Also be prepared to finish our block two projects and to get a good start on our block three projects.


Today in class we talked about the three basic steps of starting a project:

1. Look at what standards you need.

2. Think about an applicable project idea.

3. Complete the elements of Phase 1, which should take no longer than two days.

Parents, please ask your students to tell you about these three steps in more detail and hopefully from memory.

Aloha,
Kumu Feki

Thursday, September 18, 2008

For This Weekend

Aloha,

The most important elements for homework is:

- Work and complete math assignments
- Fill out worksheets for block 3 project

Homework for Today

Aloha,

We have our typical homework being:

- At least one hour of math work (either printed homework or online assignments)
- At least one hour of project work (i.e. preparing ppf's,

Today and tomorrow marks the end of our second project block. Projects need to be nearly completed otherwise students should be under my direct supervision.

I believe most students are not up to date with their math progress and can utilize the assistance of your 'ohana.

Also Mahalo Josh for starting us in Kako'o Ko'olau today at the closing Kū Pō‘ai

Kumu Feki

Haumāna Goals

Aloha,

Some of our Haumāna have shared one thing they will work on this year. Here is a sample of some of the goals:

-I will do all I can to pass math!
-I will get the credits I need to make it to the grade level I was supposed to last year.
-I will do project work at home!

Parents, please ask your student what their one goal is to work on this year! Our kalo is growing and we attributed it to all of our CO2 that we have shared, amongst other important factors.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Today's Mauka lab was great! We constructed stairs where there was once a treacherous slope and pulled out four tree stumps and were treated to a nice and refreshing suprise.

In talking with Uncle Cal and other members of our HLC 'ohana I am reminded that leaders lead by example. I also remember learning that if we want to change a situation we find ourselves in, we only need change ourselves to affect the situation.

And lastly, sometimes we don't always see the other side of the pancake. Sometimes we don't even remember that there is always two sides to the pancake.

Aloha

Kumu Feki

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Homework and Project Update

Aloha Kakou,

For yesterday and today, the main focus is getting as far as possible in our projects. We also have need to work on our math. Ka'ainoa and Isaac have moved forward in their math by finishing their first unit. Mahalo for setting a good example.

Our parents can help in project work by looking over our project proposals and making sure there are no typos or grammatically incorrect sentences. Each sentence should tie into the essential and driving questions. Other elements of the project proposal form (PPF) should be clearly communicated by our students.

Parents can ask students to tell them details about their projects.

Any questions, please email me at feki54@gmail.com

Mahalo,
Kumu Feki

Friday, September 12, 2008

Aloha Friday

Aloha,

As we come to the close of week four in our second block, it is exciting to me to see all of your progression. Even if there have been certain struggles, each of you has demonstrated and shown great enthusiasm coupled with intelligence.

Our homework will remain the same in terms of math and project work, but I am hopeful that those of you who have not yet turned in your 9/11 writing assignment will do so by Monday. The question for this assignment is: "In your opinion, why did the attacks on September 11th, 2001 occur?"

Enjoy the weekend!
Kumu Feki

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Homework

Aloha Kakou,

Today's homework is as follows:

1. At least one hour of math
2. At least one hour of project work
3. Revise the writing assignment on 9/11 with no spelling or grammar errors and 2 paragraphs long. This can be hand written or typed.


Kumu Feki
feki54@gmail.com

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Homework and Where we are at...

Aloha Kakou,

Our homework is as follows:

-At least one hour project work
-At least one hour math homework, lectures, or studying
-Bring tabis, home lunch, a towel, and a change of clothes for tomorrow's lab Mauka.

We are in week four of five for block two. Keep working smart and hard to accomplish the task of completing a project this week.

Mahalo,
Kumu Feki

Friday, September 5, 2008

Aloha Friday Homework

Aloha Kakou,

This weekend's homework focuses on project work and math:

-At least 1 hour of math study
-At least 1 hour of project work

Please finish/begin your Project Proposal Form (PPF) on project foundry by Monday September 8th, 2008. Many of our students can prepare for pre-evaluation by making sure they have no grammar errors. They can also make sure that every element of their project is well thought out. Please reference the flow chart for project work found in your Handbook and the PPF in Project Foundry.

Please email me (feki54@gmail.com) if you have any concerns or need any clarification.

Aloha,
Kumu Feki

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Welcome Back from a long Weekend

Aloha,

The homework is as follows:

At least one hour studying math.

At least one hour working on your project.

We had another pre-evaluation which was very insightful and successful. I hope that more students can be better prepared for progressing in your project work.

Mahalo,
Kumu Feki

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Reminders

PROJECT WORK: Many students need to finish entering all of their "hard copy" planning into project foundry. http://hlc.projectfoundry.org/student If they have submitted their proposal, I will periodically check throughout the weekend and make comments for correction. Our goal is that their proposal be "flagged for acceptance." If possible, use the days off to conduct research and experiments.

REMINDER: The block ends on September 19th. That means projects should be complete on that day with their post-evaluations also being complete.

Most of our students are in on-line math classes which they can also work on over the weekend. Students please share your progress in math, your project work and other assignments you may have. Parents, please feel free to encourage your students in their pursuit of excellence.

Aloha,
Kumu Feki

Friday, August 29, 2008

Homework and Our Progress

Aloha Kakou,

Our Homework today is as follows:
-At least 3 hours of project work a day
-At least 1 hour of math work a day
-Finish any outstanding homework (i.e. reading assignment with vocabulary, 200 word reflection on why we go to mauka and makai labs, etc.)

Progress Report:
Today was interesting with our first day of Basic Skills Workshops. This occurred from 8:30am to 11:15am, with students being engaged in various workshops that can help them in their projects and marketability.

Today was also the day we wanted to have as many of our haumana to be completed with most of phase one of project work in block 2. However, some of us were unable to reach this goal. We did have two students participate successfully in a pre-evaluation of their project. Yet, several students were easily distracted and found it difficult to focus on their projects. Several reminders were needed to invite them to focus on their projects.

Aunty Tammy and I, along with the rest of our Staff at Hakipu'u Learning Center hope that every student will seriously take time over this long weekend break to invest time into their projects. Most students still need to finish polishing their ideas on paper in their project binders. They also may need to refer to the Project-based Learning Handbook. Further, entry onto Project Foundry is critical with some pre-evaluations occurring as soon as school resumes on the 4th of September.

Also, as an announcement Camp is soon coming up on October 15, 16, and 17 at Kualoa. The calendars state that it will be on October 1, 2, and 3, but that has been changed. The prerequisite (or requirements) for students are: 1. Have demonstrated good behavior in various ways and have made pono any incident reports and 2. Have successfully participated in a pre-evaluation meeting for his/her project in block 2. and 3. That these aforementioned rules shall be met by September 19th (when block 2 ends).

If you have any questions, again please email me at feki54@gmail.com

Aloha,
Kumu Feki

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Ha'awina ame Ho'ike

Aloha Na Koa,

Here is our Homework:

-1 hr. of math
-1 hr. of project work
-200 word essay on why you think we go to Labs
-Completion of Reading Assignment

Any questions email me!

Aloha,
Kumu Feki

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Today's Ha'awina and Report...

Aloha Kakou,

Today's ha'awina is as follows:

- At least 1 hour math (homework, on-line lectures, quizzes, math.com, wherever you are at...)
- At least 1 hour of project work (remember we need to be done with phase one by the end of this week.)
- Talk or email Uncle Kala about who Noenoe Silva is.
- Write (by hand or type) a minimum 200 word reflection on the following question: What do you think is the purpose of going to Mauka and Makai labs? I want a word count visible on the top left corner of your first page (and of course your name and date on the right side) and this assignment is due by the end of school on Friday, August 29th, 2008.

About Today:

Today was a good learning experience for our 'ohana who went to ka lo'i kalo o Waipao. There was good work done and Uncle Cal really taught us about why we use raised beds for kalo to grow. As he hypothesized (and probably knows), kalo grown that way tends to grow quicker than kalo submerged in water. It was interesting to learn that Uncle Cal learned this method from our 'ohana in Cook Islands.

Our 'ohana needs to remember what Uncle Cal said that we need learn: how to focus and work hard. Some of us were not as industrious as we could have been because of the desire to talk story with our friends.

We should always be grateful for the instruction we receive from Uncle Cal and others whose intention is to help our growth to be well.

I also learned about how warm water is not good for kalo and causes it to rot rapidly.

Please remember time is flying in this block as it ends on September 19th. Phase one should be finished by Friday and you should be ready for your pre-evaluation.

Aloha to Everyone,
Kumu Feki

Link for RUBISTAR

Aloha Kakou,

Here is a link for the Rubistar website: http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Homework and Class Notes

Aloha Hale o Na Koa

The Ha'awina is as follows:

- 1 hour of project time
- 1 hour of math time
- Read introduction of Aloha Betrayed
- Ask Uncle Kala who Noenoe Silva is

Haumana, please remember that these are minimum suggestions for you to study and prepare at home. You can do more work than we have set as a class, and this will be to your advantage and benefit.

Today in class we talked about how our schedule for the rest of this block, which ends on September 19th. Please also note that on September 1st, 2nd, and 3rd there will be no school. Haumana please share with your parents the calendar that we worked on today.

Please also share what you have learned from what we have discussed in class and what we read.

And a Big Mahalo to all you Haumana for cleaning our campus very well...keep it up!!!

And last, but not least, please come prepared tomorrow for our Mauka Lab!!!! Bring your lo'i kalo clothes, tabis, home lunch, and anything else you need. Our lab days are Wednesdays from now on and I believe we will be switching back and forth between Mauka and Makai with Hina Puko'a, our sibling 'ohana.

Aloha!
Kumu Feki

Monday, August 25, 2008

Homework and a Report on what We did Today

Aloha,

Today's homework is as follows:

-email me your progress on your project work. I do hope you all took your binders home to work on your projects. Please also don't forget your binders in class.

-spend one hour on math

-spend one hour on your project

That's all for today.

Please remember that we only have a few days in class to work on project work. For example, today we started PE and that takes up all the time after lunch. We also have mauka/makai labs on Wednesday for Hale o Na Koa (our 'ohana).

What we all need to be doing is looking at our calendar and planning out how the next four weeks will look like. We need to include when we want to do our pre-evaluation with full-time staff members and proper preparation for that.

Please email me (feki54@gmail.com) if you have any questions or concerns.

Mahalo Nui Loa,
Kumu Feki

Friday, August 22, 2008

Homework and Report on Today

Aloha Kakou,

Today's Homework is as follows:

-Bring 1 thing you will commit to working on this school year.
-Take project binder home to work on project.
-If needed, take Project-based learning handbook home for reference.
-Email me on Saturday or Sunday about where you are at in your project.

Remeber that we talked about:

PARADIGM SHIFTS
and
SELF-MASTERY

Enjoy your weekend!

Kumu Feki

Mahina's Word of the Day...

INTERROGATE

To ask many questions, most often in a harsh way.

My friends interrogate me.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

This week so far...

Aloha Kakou,

I would like to thank Aunty Tammy for all her kokua in not only purchasing materials for haumana to have access to, but also for bringing other tools such as the five week calendar and week schedule for haumana to use to write down exactly what they are going to do.

I would also like to say that it has been wonderful to see our haumana and Makua agree on what goals our haumana have and how we will support them.

There is great habits being formed. For example today all the students brought their project binders! This was a great move forward in becoming independent thinkers and Hakipu'u students. Please keep up the good work.!

Mahalo to everyone for your support.

Homework and other notes August 21, 2008

Aloha Kakou,

Tonight's homework is as follows:

-At least one hour of math work.
-Have your binder for project work and please have time to get through phase one.
-Visit the blog and email me if you have not already with your status update.

Mahalo to Tama for the word of the day and all the other haumana for your 'aina that you brought to class.

We will look forward to a great day tomorrow, Aloha Friday...

Kumu Feki

Isaac's Word of the Day

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
sur·rep·ti·tious Audio Help /ˌsɜrəpˈtɪʃəs/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[sur-uhp-tish-uhs] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective
1. obtained, done, made, etc., by stealth; secret or unauthorized; clandestine: a surreptitious glance.
2. acting in a stealthy way.
3. obtained by subreption; subreptitious.
[Origin: 1400–50; late ME < L surreptīcius stolen, clandestine, equiv. to surrept(us), ptp. of surripere to steal, (sur- sur-2 + rep-, comb. form of rapere to snatch, rape1 + -tus ptp. suffix) + -īcius -itious]

—Related forms
sur·rep·ti·tious·ly, adverb
sur·rep·ti·tious·ness, noun

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Homework and other notes for August 20th, 2008

Aloha Na Koa,

These are the homework assignments:

-for two students (you know who you are) please bring your ziplock of dirt tomorrow.
-also bring your project binder to class
-please work for one hour 1 on math
-please email me your project status and your greatest challenge you are facing now in your project development.
-also select your pe elective and turn in the form to me or Kumu Kala

Aunty Tammy and I would like all of the haumana to remember your kuleana (responsibilities). We hope that you all bring your project binders with you tomorrow.

We thank you for the efforts you have put forth to work on your projects. We seem to be hitting a rough spot, but that is why they call the first phase a brain-storm.

Aloha

E Ala E

This is a traditional chant to action as adapted from Fornander for WIPCE 1999

E ala e Kahiki e
Arise Tahiti

E ala e Kahiki e
Arise Tahiti

E hume ka malo a 'ai ka 'ai
Gird your malo and eat your food

E hopu ka lima i ka hoe a hoe a!
Bring your hand to the paddle and paddle!

'Oli Kahea

Ua panopano ke ao 'akea
Lalauahi a hiki Moku Lo'e
Pa lauwili ka makani Ulumano
Wili 'ia i ka pali a'o Lanihuli
A Huli au a 'ike i ke ahi a Kahoe
He hale aloha no ia ma ka noe
Eia ka pu'unui o waho nei
He anu e 'ae

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Accipiter

A hawk of the genus Accipiter, characterized by a long tail and short wings.

Anubis

A jackal- headed Egyptian god who conducted the dead to judgment.

Chimera

A fire breathing she-monster usu. depicated as a composite of a lion, a goat, and a serpent. 2. A foolish fancy. 3. An organism, a plant, with tissues from at least two genetically distinct parents.

Pithecanthropus

A member of a genus formerly designated Pith-e-can-thro-pus , based on bone fragments found in Java and thought to indicate the exsitence of a primate between humans and apes but now reclassified in the extinct species Homo erectus.

Homework August 19th 2008

Aloha Hale o Na Koa!

Ha'awina:
-bring the ziplock of dirt if you have not already done so.
-bring binder for phase 1 of current project
-1 hour of math at home.
-email me (feki54@gmail.com) your plans for the next 10 years

We need to be engaged in phase 1 of planning.

Mahalo to Jaysen for the word antimony.

Isaac is tomorrow and Tama the day after.

my email is feki54@gmail.com

Homework and other Notes August 18th 2008

Great Days!!!

Mahalo Hale o na koa

Please dont forget your ha'awina:
-bring a ziplock of dirt from your home
-composition book for math
-we all committ to one hour of math at home
-write your plans for the next 10 years.

We also talked about expanding our consciousness and looked at the word CONSCIENCE.

Parent Teacher Conferences are being held this week.

please email me at feki54@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Aloha!




Keahiakahoe


E 'Ulumua Kakou!
Let us find our way forward together!


 
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