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Sept. 18
Editorial Mission: As the Department's primary publication, we aim to live up to the meaning of ha‘aheo – to cherish with pride – by bolstering and sustaining pride in public education and touting the successes happening across our system.
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Aloha, HIDOE Community –
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Ho‘oha‘aheo Newsletter.
Grants for world language learning We received two grants from the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) partnership that will fund initiatives to enhance world language learning at schools in the ʻAiea-Moanalua-Radford and Kailua-Kalāheo Complex Areas. Since 2008 DoDEA has invested approximately $32.5 million in grant-funded initiatives to expand opportunities at Hawaiʻi public schools with significant populations of military-dependent students whose parents serve in the various branches of the U.S. military.
The ʻAiea-Moanalua-Radford Complex Area received a $2 million grant over five years to create a K-12 world language pathway that establishes world language offerings at the elementary and middle levels and promotes high school students to enroll in higher level language courses. The grant will serve Āliamanu Elementary, Āliamanu Middle, ʻAiea Intermediate and Radford High.
The Kailua-Kalāheo Complex Area received a $1.25 million grant to provide more K-6 military-connected students access to world language instruction in Spanish and Japanese and provide students in the K-12 world language pipeline access to world language programs through out-of-school-time learning experiences. The grant will serve ʻAikahi, Kainalu, Keolu, Maunawili and Mōkapu elementaries. For more information on DoDEA and its work supporting military dependent students around the world, visit www.dodea.edu.
Community input sought Approximately 30 people attended a meeting held on Monday to gather public input on the master plan for Hōlualoa Elementary in North Kona. The Office of Facilities and Operations presented three design options under a long-term master plan that calls for phasing out temporary wooden portables on the historic campus and replacing them with new facilities as well as addressing safety concerns around an access road that runs through part of the campus. Once a base design is selected, it could take approximately three years to complete the design and seek the needed permits. From there, the Department would seek legislative funding to put the project out for bid.
A recording of the presentation portion of the meeting can be viewed here and the presentation slides can be viewed here. Feedback is being collected through the end of October.
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Attend Today, Achieve Tomorrow!
Despite starting this school year with suspended bus service due to the ongoing bus driver shortage, Mountain View Elementary, in East Hawai‘i, has been seeing an approximately 90% average daily attendance rate. That’s due to a team effort from families, teachers, administration and counselors, according to Principal Adria Medeiros. The school’s attendance team developed their own attendance awareness and promotion activities last school year, which have carried on into this year.
One of their initiatives was creating a weekly video series using puppets, Kimo and Leilani, who talk about the importance of regular attendance. The videos are aired during the school’s Wednesday broadcast.
 Counselors also visit each classroom that achieves five or 10 days of 90% or higher attendance with a spinning prize wheel called the Attendance Wheel. The prizes on the wheel can vary by class, and teachers can submit requests for incentives (e.g., extra recess, TV time, dance party, karaoke, bubble fun, icy treats, chalk art, etc.) Classes earn letters for each day the class reaches the attendance goal. Once a class earns enough letters to spell out “H-A-W-K-S” (five days) or “W-E-A-R-E-H-A-W-K-S,” (10 days), the homeroom teacher submits a referral to the counselors and students get to spin the Attendance Wheel the following Monday, with rewards redeemed that Wednesday.
The school also has an Attendance Bulletin Board displayed prominently on campus that highlights the school's overall attendance rate. Students earn two blue tokens for daily attendance – one for being present and one for being on time – which can be redeemed at the school store for notebooks, stuffed animals, erasers and other items.
Teachers also provide students and families with a Quarterly Attendance Tracker to share the importance of tracking attendance using a calendar, along with an incentive for submitting it. Students with perfect attendance or improved attendance receive a quarterly certificate and “brag tags” that can be redeemed for popcorn.
With the added obstacle of not having school bus service at the start of the school year, MVES staff adjusted the pick-up and drop-off locations to accommodate the increased number of vehicles on campus. Staff postponed the start of the Attendance Tracker incentive by one month. A larger team of support staff personally reached out to the families of students who were absent during the first few days of school to understand the reasons for their absences (e.g., issues related to the bus, moving, etc.). Staff said the most effective method for attendance outreach has been making personal phone calls to families.
Congratulations to Mountain View Elementary School for being a leader in attendance!
“Attend Today, Achieve Tomorrow!” is the slogan for the Department’s multi-year campaign aimed at boosting student attendance at schools. With September being Attendance Awareness Month, we will be sharing stories of attendance successes.
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Ho‘oha‘aheo Photo of the Week
 Kealakehe Elementary Warriors wore their grade level colors on School Spirit Day to show their sense of belonging and pilina (connection/relationship) with their classmates on Aug. 30, 2024.
Credit: Malaea Spencer / Kealakehe Elementary School
Submit your public school-related image from this school year for a chance to be featured as next week’s Ho‘oha‘aheo Photo of the Week!
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Student Voice: Homecoming 'ignites flame' of school, community pride
 Mililani High School’s Class of 2025 performs a cheer during last year’s homecoming celebrations. Credit: Mililani High School
By Lotus Yasuda
September marks the beginning of one of Hawaiʻi’s most anticipated and cherished high school traditions. Homecoming! Behind the scenes, student leaders across the islands work tirelessly to prepare their schools for a week full of cheering, competition and community. Once the adrenaline of homecoming kicks in, it transforms the entire school’s atmosphere. Walking through each school, you can feel the change from students studying quietly in their classrooms to being decked out in their school colors and yelling their class cheers at the top of their lungs. Students develop a stronger sense of belonging in their school, forming bonds with their classmates through discussions about upcoming activities and competitions. Homecoming plants a fiery seed of school spirit within their hearts, and it grows as the days lead up to the big event.
Every school has its unique way of celebrating the homecoming season. It may be through fun dress-up days, a dance, lip sync battle, parade, fair, cheer competition, bonfire, or even a powderpuff assembly, where girls compete in flag football with the football players cheering for them.
At Waipahu High School, we celebrate our homecoming as a week filled with competitive activities hosted by Student Government to build momentum toward our famous annual cheer competition, Arthur Awards. Our class councils spend their entire summers secretly planning their class cheers. From there, they teach the cheer to their entire grade level during advisory periods while working to boost the spirit of and strengthen the connections with their peers. Finally, they lead their classes through the various competitions of Homecoming Week. This year, our senior Mystic Knights, junior Immortal Lions, sophomore Moonlight Soldiers, and freshmen Valiant Vipers will face off in Marauder Wonderland through friendly competitions of tug-of-war, singing our alma mater, cheering our school’s colors and, finally, showcasing class pride during Arthur Awards all in hopes of being deemed the winners of the week during the homecoming football game.
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Lotus Yasuda is a junior at Waipahu High School and serves as the 2024-25 Hawaiʻi State Student Council (HSSC) Chairperson. She is a dual-enrolled Olympian working toward earning her liberal arts degree from Leeward Community College through Waipahu High School's Early College program. She is a part of the Student Government and Phi Theta Kappa Collegiate Honor Society. Her goal is to help others realize the best versions of themselves while creating equitable opportunities for students throughout the state to succeed. |
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#HIPublicSchoolsProud
Social media highlights of the most engaging posts of the week. Use the #HIPublicSchoolsProud hashtag for a chance to be featured!
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 Hilo High School
» Shoutout to everyone who rocked their beachwear and showed up with that Viking spirit tonight! 🌴🏈 . Thanks for bringing the beach vibes and boosting our team’s pride! #VikingPride #BeachwearNight #HiloHighStrong #hilohighfootball
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 Olomana School
» Thank you, Hawaiian Airlines! Olomana students went on a field trip where they got to fly in the simulator and learn about different jobs.
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 Waiāhole Elementary
» One of our favorite traditions at Waiāhole! “Gonna plant our corn seeds down in the garden.” Mahalo to the Reppun ‘ohana and Uncle Kanaloa for helping us today. #waiaholees #smallschoolbigheart #Mauka2Makai #corn
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HIDOE Headlines
A roundup of announcements, resources and shoutouts.
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Family Focus
“Venmo Mom” or “Volunteer Mom” (or Dad or other family student supporter)
Have you heard of the term “Venmo mom?” It’s a moniker a Tennessee mother of four recently coined as she declared on TikTok that she doesn’t volunteer at her kids’ events and would rather donate money. Some echoed her sentiments saying they simply don’t have the time or that gatherings give them anxiety. Others asked how things are supposed to get done without volunteers.
While volunteering sometimes isn’t possible for some parents, research shows that the more a student’s family is involved in the school, the more comfortable the student feels, and student progress increases.
Parents whose children have completed their public K-12 education often report that they have met their best friends for life by bringing refreshments, driving for field trips or preparing for classroom/school events.
We hope you will check out these ways to be involved with your child’s schooling.
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Consider joining a School Community Council. They help craft the school’s Academic Plan and Financial Plan, which establish the goals and programs for the school, and the available resources. Contact a school directly or contact the HIDOE Community Engagement Branch at (808) 305-0691.
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Become a member of your school’s PTSA. It’s a great way to learn more about the school and meet other parents, teachers and administrators while helping the school. Ask your school for details.
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Visit your school and meet your teachers! Take the time to attend school orientations or open houses. Give your child opportunities to share about teacher interactions and discover each teacher’s expectations and opportunities to volunteer.
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Join Us! Parents for Public Schools Hawai‘i is free! Tell us your school joys, hopes and concerns, and we will work with you to celebrate, share and solve. Email us to join our meetings and events in person or by Zoom. Click here to join.
But if you cannot volunteer, or even if you DO volunteer, we hope you will also consider supporting your child’s school with donations!
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September is the Month to Give Aloha through Foodland’s Annual Community Matching Gifts Program. Maika‘i members are invited to make donations up to $249 to their favorite participating Hawai‘i nonprofit organization at checkout. Donations to each organization are tracked, and Foodland’s matching gift is divided proportionately among all participating organizations based on customer donations to the organizations. Find out if your child’s school is participating and give what you can.
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Shop and Score at Times Supermarket between Sept. 4 and Oct. 15 to help Hawai‘i’s high school student-athletes. Buy participating Shop and Score products at Times, then tell your cashier which high school you’d like to support. The designated high school receives the points. At the end of the program, each school will receive a percentage of the $250,000 Shop and Score athletic funds based on their equivalent percentage of total points earned.
Family Focus is a monthly column coordinated by Parents for Public Schools Hawai‘i, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization of parents, educators, community leaders, policy makers, and other stakeholders in Hawai‘i public education.
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Important Dates & Upcoming Events
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 Hale Pa‘i was Hawai‘i’s first printing press and where students and teachers published the first Hawaiian-language newspaper, Ka Lama Hawai‘i, on Feb. 14, 1834. Hale Pa‘i, which now serves as a printing museum and archive center, is housed on which public school campus?
- McKinley High School
- Lahainaluna High School
- Kahuku High & Intermediate School
- Honokaʻa High and Intermediate School
Find the answer at the end of this newsletter.
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Public School Pop Quiz! Answer: 2. Lahainaluna High School |
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HAWAI‘I STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Keith Hayashi
Superintendent
Heidi Armstrong
Deputy Superintendent
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Randolph Moore
Deputy Superintendent
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Tammi Oyadomari-Chun
Deputy Superintendent
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ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENTS
Sean Bacon
Talent Management
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Brian Hallett
Fiscal Services
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Audrey Hidano
Facilities and Operations
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Elizabeth Higashi
Strategy, Innovation and Performance
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Annie Kalama
Student Support Services
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Michael Otsuji
Information Technology Services
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Teri Ushijima
Curriculum and Instructional Design
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Ho‘oha‘aheo
PUBLIC SCHOOL PROUD
Nanea Ching
Executive Editor
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Kimberly Yuen
Managing Editor
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Contributors
Chanel Honda
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Derek Inoshita
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Sara Miyazono
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Kimi Takazawa
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Krislyn Yano
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1390 Miller St. Honolulu, HI 96813 | Phone: (808) 784-6200 | Fax: (808) 586-3234
Share your story ideas and feedback to newsletter@k12.hi.us
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