Nana I Ke Kumu! Papa Malaʻo

Nānā I Ke Kumu - Papa Malaʻo

I ka Mokuʻāina e hoʻolauleʻa ana o Pepeluali, he mahina ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (i kūkala ʻia e ka ʻAhaʻōlelo kau kānāwai i ka makahiki ʻiwakālua ʻumikūmālua), he mahalo kēia i nā koa i ʻaʻa i ke aʻo ʻana i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi no nā kamaliʻi o Hawaiʻi nei, e like me kā ka mōʻīkāne ʻo Kamehameha III hoʻokumu ʻana i ko ke Aupuni mōʻī polokalamu hoʻonaʻauao aupuni i ka makahiki ʻumikūmāwalukanahā. Ua ulu pono ma kahi o nā makahiki he kanaono ka polokalamu hoʻonaʻauao i hoʻokumu ʻia e ka Mōʻī ʻo Kamehameha III, a ma ka ʻoi loa o ia wā, he ʻelua haneli kula i aʻo ʻia ma ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, a ma ia wā ʻo Hawaiʻi ka ʻoi loa o ka lāhui ma ka honua me kanaiwa pākēneka poʻe i hiki ke heluhelu a me ke kākau. Ma hope o ka pāpā ʻia o ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ma ka makahiki ʻumikūmāwalukanaiwakūmāono, ʻaʻole lohe ʻia ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ma ka lumi papa ma kahi o hoʻokahi haneli makahiki. Eia nō naʻe, i kēia mau lā, ma muli o ko mākou mau kumu hiki iā kākou ke hoʻolauleʻa i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi i nā lā a pau ma ke kula, ka hale a me ma ke kaiāulu, ʻaʻole no hoʻokahi mahina wale nō.

While the state celebrates February as Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (as declared by the legislature in 2012), we want to mahalo those who have committed to providing an ōlelo Hawaiʻi education for the keiki of Hawaiʻi, as was intended by King Kamehameha III when he established the Kingdomʻs public education program in 1840.  The education program established by King Kamehameha III thrived for nearly 60 years.  At its peak it included more than 200 schools with instruction all in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, and Hawaiʻi was considered the most literate nation in the world with literacy rates exceeding 90%.  After the ban on ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi in 1896, we would not hear ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi in the classroom for nearly 100 years.  Today it is because of our kumu ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi that we are able to celebrate ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi not just this month but everyday in our schools, homes, and communities. 

I kēia mahina, hoʻolauna mākou i kekahi mau kumu, limahana a me kekahi mau haumāna o ke Kula Hoʻāmana ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi ʻo Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo ma Keaukaha. He mau haumāna a moho ko ka ʻOhana Sig Zane ma Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo. He kula ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi i aʻo ʻia ma Keaukaha no nā keiki mai ka pae makahiki ʻekolu a i ka papa ʻumikūmālua.

This month we feature the kumu, limahana, and haumāna of Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo Hawaiian Immersion School in Keaukaha.  Many of members of the Sig Zane ʻOhana attend or are alumni of Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo.  Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo offers students an ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and Keaukaha place based learning program, serving students from three years old to grade 12.  

Ua komo ʻo Kumu Hauʻolikeola iā Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo ma ke ʻano he kākoʻo kumu ma ka makahiki ʻelua kaukani ʻelua a lilo ʻo ia i kumu papa mālaaʻo i ka makahiki ʻelua kaukani ʻehā. Iā ia ma Ka ʻUmeke, ua aʻo ʻo ia ma ʻō aku he ʻekolu haneli ʻiwakāluakūmālima haumāna, a ʻo Haliko, ko mākou manakia pūnaewele, kekahi o kāna mau haumāna. Ma loko o kāna mau kalena aʻo haumāna, puni ʻo ia i ka paʻa o ka lawena Hawaiʻi, ka hīmeni ʻana a me ka hoʻokani ʻukulele. He kupa no Keaukaha, nanea ʻo ia i ka holo ʻana, ka hoʻoluʻu ʻana me nā mea kūlohelohe, a me ka ulana lauhala ʻana. Ma ka hopena o kēlā me kēia makahiki kula, makana aku ʻo Kumu Hauʻoli i kekahi peahi lauhala no kāna mau haumāna a pau.

Kumu Hauʻoli joined Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo as a kakoʻo kumu in 2002 and has been a Kindergarten kumu since 2004.  In the years he has been at Ka ʻUmeke he has taught over 325 students including our Web Manager Hāliko.  Amongst his many instructional talents are instilling lawena Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian values), and singing and playing ukulele.  A native of Keaukaha Kumu Hauʻoli enjoys running, experimenting with natural dyes, and weaving.  At the end of every school year he weaves and presents each of his students with a lauhala fan. 

He kumu papa mālaaʻo ʻo Kumu Noah ma Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo mai ka makahiki ʻiwakāluakūmāhā. Ma ia wā, ʻaʻole hala hoʻokahi lā hana iā Kumu Noah, he hōʻoia nō kēia i kona kūpaʻa i kona kuleana i kāna mau haumāna a me ka hoʻōla ʻana i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. He ʻiʻini kona e hoʻopaʻa i ka ʻōlelo ma o ka Hakalama. ʻO kāna mau hoihoi ka nohona “sustainable”, ka hana kamanā, mahi iʻa a me ka mahi ʻai. I kēlā me kēia makahiki, hoʻoulu ʻo ia i ka ipu no kāna papa e hoʻokupu aku no ka ʻaha Makahiki.

Kumu Noah joined Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo as a Kindergarten kumu in 2014.  In the time he has been at Ka ʻUmeke he has not missed a single day of work, a testament to his commitment to his students and ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi.  In the classroom he is especially passionate about language acquisition and mastery of Hakalama.  Kumu Noah has many interests that he shares with Ka ʻUmeke including sustainable living, carpentry, aquaculture, and farming.  Each year he grows an ʻipu for his class to offer during Ka ʻUmekeʻs annual Makahiki ceremony.