Posted on: Friday, May 27, 2005
Alumni remember their 'little school' in Ka'a'awa
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer
KA'A'AWA — The 100th anniversary of Ka'a'awa Elementary School culminates with a public lu'au and May Day program today and the release of a commemorative book about the campus's history.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser "By putting this whole thing together we have brought back a lot of old friendships, old bonds so it's going to be like a mini-reunion for the alumni," Pouvave said.
Located between the ocean and the mountains just past Kualoa, Ka'a'awa school opened in a one-room "principal's cottage" on 3.75 acres of land in 1904. The land was donated by the Swanzy family, owners of Kualoa Ranch. It was the fourth school to open in Windward O'ahu after Waiahole (1883), Kahuku (1897) and Hau'ula (1900).
Much of the history about the school, the surrounding areas and the people who contributed to the development there are included in the commemorative book "Ka'a'awa Elementary School Centennial 2005." The book has old photographs and interviews from past students, said Pouvave, who conducted the interviews.
While glancing through a rough draft of the book, student-body president Taliah Terrack said the celebration will foster pride in the school as people reminisce about the past and their good times together. The memories will flow, "and it makes you happy to know you had all these experiences and you met all these people because of one little school," Terrack said.
What: Ka'a'awa Centennial Lu'au
When: Today 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Where: Ka'a'awa Elementary School Cost: $10 The experiences of each generation were different yet the same, Pouvave said. People talked about the loss of the simple life to a life of video games and technology, she said, adding that the midmorning snack at school has been one of the consistents, though the fare has varied over the years.
The earliest snacks mentioned were guava juice and graham crackers, Pouvave said, and an 85-year old man remembers cereal — the hard kind. Then there was cinnamon toast and hot cocoa, and buns.
In times past all fifth- and sixth-graders had a garden plot, she said, adding that local farmers donated the seed and the students would plant and cultivate vegetables. Some took the vegetables home to eat while others sold them, Pouvave said. The practice doesn't continue today, she lamented.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser When transportation was scarce students walked for an hour and a half to get to and from school from Kahana Valley, she said. They would walk on the shoreline and when they reached the Crouching Lion they would scramble up and down the bank, using the grassy slope as a slide.
Some kids would bring dried fish for lunch and others brought rice balls with ume and they would swap food. "They would bring extra and share," she said.
Today 152 students of all economic levels and racial backgrounds attend the kindergarten to sixth-grade school. There is only one class per grade.
Micha Pouvave, student-body vice president, said because the school is small everyone knows everyone and students are close to one another. As she prepares to graduate from the school, memories have accumulated including field trips to Camp Timberline, water day and the teachers' strike that closed the school in 2001.
"It's a good community," Micha said. "It's a safe community."
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.
The book and the program have brought the community together and rekindled old relationships, said Michele Pouvave, event organizer. Following the program, alumni will gather in a classroom to share photographs and films of the past.
Students take a break from their studies at Ka'a'awa Elementary School on O'ahu's Windward side. The school has grown quite a bit since its opening in 1904 in a one-room "principal's cottage."
Some 30 fourth-graders ran through their program numbers Tuesday beating on an ipu, then chanting and clapping their hands and finally singing a song while they danced about Ka'a'awa, a land "so quiet and sweet."
At a glance
And for generations the kids from the Nozawa family, who have been farmers in the valley for decades, would have the best plots, Pouvave said, adding that everyone joked how the bugs never ate the Nozawa vegetables.
Student-body president Taliah Terrack, left, and vice president Micha Pouvave, both 12, scan the program for their school's 100th anniversary celebration. Strumming the 'ukulele is Kupaa Akau, 7.
