Aloha, HIDOE Community – 

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Ho‘oha‘aheo Newsletter.

Recovering from Hurricane Lala
This week our school communities across the state have been working to recover from the impacts of Hurricane Lala. While nearly all of our schools have reopened and resumed operations, we know that recovery is far from over for some of our students, families and employees.

I’ve had the opportunity to visit affected schools and communities on Hawaiʻi Island and see some of the impacts firsthand. In areas affected by extended power and communication outages, damaged roads and other storm impacts, families and communities have faced significant challenges. I was also encouraged to see the tremendous response underway, from school teams preparing campuses to reopen to county and state crews clearing roads and restoring essential services.

Across our school system, the storm generated more than 600 facilities work orders, including reports of downed trees, damaged roofs, water intrusion, electrical issues and other impacts. Our facilities teams, school leaders and staff have worked throughout the response to assess campuses, address health and safety concerns and safely resume school operations.

Kaʻū High & Pāhala Elementary School and Nāʻālehu Elementary School remain closed as we continue assessing what will be needed to safely resume learning for those school communities. In some of our hardest-hit areas, recovery will take time, and we are looking at both immediate needs and longer-term options to support students while campuses and surrounding communities recover.

Other communities, including Kohala, continue to experience prolonged power and connectivity outages even as schools are able to welcome students back. We will continue working with school leaders and our partners to support students and families as needs evolve.

I am deeply grateful to our employees who stepped up throughout this response, including those who assessed campuses, prepared schools for students’ return, supported families and kept essential operations moving. Mahalo as well to our first responders, utility and facilities crews, and state and county partners for their leadership and collaboration.

As our schools return to their regular routines, please continue to extend patience and care to colleagues, students and families who may still be recovering. Reopening our schools is an important milestone, but we know recovery continues beyond our campuses.

HIDOE’s Kaʻū–Keaʻau–Pāhoa Complex Area team is collecting essential goods and supplies for families and communities affected by the storm. See this flyer for drop-off information and what items are needed most.

Kahului Elementary School: I gotta good feeling about our cafeteria helpers! Now serving…food and smiles! Fun food fact, did you know that students have more options to choose from? Like local produce such as kabocha and Molokai sweet potato. Even local products like Big Island honey are incorporated into the meals. Wow! Eating local is definitely mo’ bettah!

Moanalua Elementary School: Our gratitude goes out to our Office team, Custodians, and Administrators who came out today to clean up from Tropical Storm Lala so campus would be ready to safely welcome our haumana back to school. A huge shout out to our CAS and @hawaiipublicschools Facilities team for being on campus bright and early to ensure the fallen tree was properly taken care of.

Highlands Intermediate Student Council: What a way to kick off the school year! Our "Gotta Catch ‘Em All!" Welcome Back Assembly set the bar insanely high. Our Colts showed up with unmatched energy, massive school spirit, and fierce determination for the first official Highlands Spirit Competition of the year! 🐴🔥 From high-stakes trivia in Pokémon Kahoot! to chaotic speed in the Pokémon Relays, Pokéball Knockout!, and Gotta Clear ‘Em All!, every single grade level brought their A-game. Huge shoutout to all our brave student and staff participants who stepped up to represent their teams and claim those crucial first spirit points! 🏆

If Wai‘anae Elementary School students achieve 90% or higher daily attendance during the first quarter, Principal Sheldon Konno has promised to color his hair blue! He along with Family-School Concierge Jeannine Ho joined HI Now Daily to share strategies for keeping students motivated to attend school and highlight how the Seahorse Community Hub helps families overcome barriers to attendance.

Ten high school and college students on Kaua‘i received hands-on experience in conservation work during the Summer Institute Pāpala Lele Early College Internship, a five-week paid program hosted by Kaua‘i Community College to combine field experiences with college credits while introducing participants to careers in natural resource management, food security and environmental stewardship.

Kealakehe High School’s Career and Technical Education director Justin Brown joined HI Now Daily to share about how the Teach for America Hawai‘i program helped him to find his calling as an educator and how he helps to expand educational opportunities for the youth in the community.

Parent Engagement Program

Welcome to a new school year! As we all try to navigate new environments and people, we here at Parents for Public Schools of Hawai‘i (PPSHI) would like to offer some help. 

Free online workshops in August for your families!

In partnership with the Hawai‘i Family Engagement Center, PPSHI is conducting a series of free workshops that help families boost student happiness and success, gain confidence with school processes, reduce conflict and stress, and share successes and concerns.

In the month of August, we are offering the following free, online workshops:

• Finding Community Resources - Monday, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m.
• Transition to High School: Make it Amazing Together - Tuesday, Aug. 25 at 7 p.m.
• Transition to Middle School: Untangling Adolescence - Wednesday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m.
• Transition to Kindergarten: Ready, Set, Go! - Thursday, Aug. 27 at 6 p.m.
• Digital Learning & Living Part 1: Communications & Learning Systems - Saturday, Aug. 29 (time to be determined)
• Digital Learning & Living Part 2: Social Media, Mental Health, & Safety - Sunday, Aug. 30 (time to be determined)
• Digital Learning & Living Part 3: Navigating AI & Digital Innovations - Monday, Aug. 31 (time to be determined)

Online workshops run approximately 60 minutes.

Mari Wills

Occupation: Chef/Dietitian
College: Kapiʻolani Community College, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, University of Rhode Island
What school you grad? Kalāheo High ‘07
Location: Kāneʻohe, HI

Mari Wills is a chef, registered dietitian and recipe developer born and raised in Kāneʻohe. She founded Bite Logic, a culinary nutrition consulting business specializing in recipe development and nutrition analysis, after recognizing the opportunity to bridge culinary craft with evidence-based nutrition.

She also serves as a chef consultant with the Culinary Institute of America, where she is working alongside Chef Roy Yamaguchi and Kapiʻolani Community College’s Culinary Institute of the Pacific and the HIDOE’s School Food Services Branch to redevelop school menu items to feature more locally inspired dishes that incorporate Hawaiʻi-grown ingredients.

She taught culinary arts at Henry J. Kaiser High School in the 2024-25 school year and was also voted Fan Favorite on Season 1 of Hawai‘i News Now’s cooking competition show “Kitchen Scraps.” She’s also part of the Hele Rolls team from Hawaiʻi competing on Season 19 of Food Network’s “The Great Food Truck Race,” which premiered on July 26.

After attending Hongwanji Mission School, ʻAikahi Elementary, St. Andrew’s Priory and Kalāheo High Schools, Wills went on to study culinary arts at Kapiʻolani Community College. She later earned her bachelor’s degree in dietetics from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and her master's degree in dietetics from the University of Rhode Island. 

Q: Why did you choose this career path and what do you enjoy most about it?
A: Culinary arts was surprisingly not on my radar. I originally wanted to become a fashion photographer. During my senior year of high school, food competition shows were all the rage and I was genuinely intrigued by the creative aspect of cooking. After moving to Los Angeles and trying new cuisines plus fine dining for the first time, I wanted to give cooking a shot. When I finally attended KCC for culinary arts, for the first time in my life I felt like I was in the right place. I bounced around schools as a kid, but the culinary classes felt so complete. I bonded with so many classmates and got to share my new passion for cooking and learning new techniques with all my new culinary school friends. Culinary school was truly an unforgettable experience!

Q: What was your favorite school lunch or breakfast?
A: My favorite school lunch was kalua pig and cabbage! 

Q: What advice do you have for students?
A: If I could give any advice to the students, it would be to follow a career that you enjoy! Sometimes your career might not start off in the traditional sense. Find a mentor in the field you’re interested in while you’re still in high school. The knowledge they can pass on to you will be invaluable for the rest of your life and can truly set your future up for success!