The School That Loves Us Back

THE SCHOOL THAT LOVES US BACK

by the Hanahau’oli community

In the wide, blue Pacific Ocean, nestled in the island chain of Hawai‘i, on the island of O‘ahu, in the green heart of Makiki …

...there is a school that sings with the breeze, smiles with the trees, and grows with the children who call it home.

This is a place where learning is an adventure, and every child is the hero of their own story.

Children love coming to this school.

Everywhere you look, children are working with joy in their hearts, ideas in their heads, tools in their hands, and dirt between their toes.

Some collect pebbles and geckos.

Some build rocket ships to space. .

Some mix sand and water to bake a birthday cake.

Inside the classrooms and outside under the trees, play is work and work is play.

Children explore within – they wonder,

reflect,

write,

and draw.

They reach beyond – they imagine, construct, deconstruct, and construct again – all with wide eyes and happy feet.

Sometimes, though, there are tears

and big feelings.

Sometimes, someone takes the last cookie.

Or knocks down a friend’s tower.

Or says, “You can’t play.”

At this school, problems are seen as opportunities to learn and moments to practice working things out – together.

Some of us take deep breaths.

Some of us take a break.

Some of us curl up with a good book.

And all of us talk things out and feel better.

Learning to be a person – a kind person – is just as important as learning how to count, or read, or build a rainbow house.

Within and beyond the mock orange hedge, teaching is learning – a‘o aku – and learning is teaching – a‘o mai.

There are all kinds of learners...

And all kinds of teachers.

Teachers are learners, too.

Some learners ask “How?” Some ask “Why?” Some leap before looking.

Some watch for a long, long time before trying something new.

But all of us learn by doing.

Because that’s how the best learning sticks – like mud, or peanut butter, or glitter.

With each Makahiki and May Day, this school stands strong, tall, and proud – built to last for generations of children to come.

With every learning trip and camp out, children change and grow – just like the world around them.

But there’s one thing that remains the same …

For over 100 years, each of us, and all of us, feel something special when we step, step, step across the stepping stones.

Some say it feels like:

Magic

‘Ohana

Freedom

Joy

Respect

Democracy

Utopia (“Wait, what’s utopia?”)

Harmony

Love

Joyous work!

However you describe it, the experience of joyous work helps us learn: How to learn

How to live,

How to be our unique selves,

And how to be part of a community that counts on us.

These learnings stay with us, and shape our: Next adventure,

Next question, Next big idea.

This school is Hanahau‘oli.

It’s a haven where we work with joy and play with purpose.

It’s an invitation to explore within and reach beyond.

It’s a spark where we imagine and create a better world.

It is all of this and more.

That’s why we love our school and that’s how our school loves us back.