At weeklong camp, life lesson's a beach
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer
KUALOA — Thirty-eight Hau'ula fourth-graders spent this week at Kualoa Regional Park immersed in Hawaiian culture 24 hours a day, with the ocean, the shoreline, the fishpond and the mountain as their classroom.
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From Tuesday morning to yesterday noon, they were with their teachers, who wove reading, writing and arithmetic into classes about the stars, land conservation, canoe handling and food preparation.
Hau'ula Elementary School fourth-graders display model canoes that they crafted during their weeklong learning camp at Kualoa Regional Park. From left, Viliami Aloua, Kauhiwai Vierra, Punga Vea, Kuola Walk, Imaikalani Keama and Zachary Matthews.
Students learned the history of Kualoa, the names of the stars, how to recognize cloud formations and how to predict weather.
Their schooling included campfires and ghost stories, the writing of journals and construction of a volcano model, working and playing as a team.
The food was the best, a student said: eggs, rice, ham, peaches and waffles for breakfast.
"We were doing work but it doesn't seem like work," said Tiara Ulii, one of two fourth-grade teachers at the campout.
The only other school personnel at the camp was an adult supervisor, who was also one of four parents who, along with Ulii's husband, Chuck, helped with the cooking and supervision.
The weeklong camp has been a tradition at the school for at least 25 years, started by Ulii's teachers Elly Tepper and Saline Plunkett.
Other schools have day excursions or maybe an overnighter, but Hau'ula is probably the only public school that continues the weeklong practice, Ulii said.
Bringing the children to the beach helps them make the connection with the culture. It's not just pictures in a book, said Makala West, the Hawaiian language immersion teacher with Kula Kaiapuni O Hau'ula.
The beach environment is conducive to learning and because the children are having fun, they're more likely to retain what they learn, West said. They'll use what they learned at camp as a foundation for future lessons and knowing themselves, she said.
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"I truly believe that if we give them a better foundation of who they are, then they'll have a much easier way (in life)," West said.
Hau'ula teacher Tiara Ulii helps Mykah Enos, 9, with a language arts assignment at the camp, which has been a school tradition for at least 25 years. Ulii's husband, Chuck, also assists with the camp program.
Thursday afternoon, the students walked to Kualoa Ranch, where they were taken on a free trolley ride through the valley.
Back at the campsite, journals were spread out on a table waiting for students to return and write. Hawaiian game implements lay on the ground.
Tents were squeezed together under a large gray tarp, extra protection from the rain. On two picnic tables, dozens of model canoes were on display.
The students, including 14 from the school's Hawaiian immersion program, had built their own model canoes.
Thursday evening, student Kuola Walk proudly showed his double-hull canoe to the other youngsters, explaining how he used a grinder, chain saw and hammer to make the model from wood left over from construction of the Iosepa, the 57-foot double-hull canoe built last year by the La'ie community.
Students could use only natural materials, so many of them collected driftwood and coconut fiber to make their models, said Junior Manu, who has been to four camps with his children.
The students raced their single-hull and double-hull canoe models and also learned how to paddle a real canoe.
Many of the children agreed that paddling the canoe was the highlight of their outing, having never been in one before. But it wasn't easy to control the craft, said Alexis Akina, 8. The kids were paddling and the canoe didn't go anywhere.
"We had to count to work together," Alexis said.
That offered a practical lesson in another of the camp's goals, which is to get students to work together, to bond as a group. They receive classes in that, too.
Moms and dads appreciate that because it establishes good relationships among the children and helps them to be more independent, said Sylvia Kapu, one of the parents who attended Thursday night's dinner prepared by the students with some assistance from adults. They made laulau and a fish dish and gathered limu for the meal.
The learning style is especially suitable for the children, said Elena Vierra, another parent.
"What I know about Hawaiian children is they learn better hands-on," Vierra said. "Reading is good but doing is the greatest."
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.
