Aloha mai kakou to the good people in the learning community of Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School, and we hope this message finds you all in good happiness and health as we begin the last week of school in the month of August.

Mahalo nui for your support of the smooth transition thus far into the 2023-2024 school year. We understand and respect that adjusting to new schedules, routines, and procedures can be difficult for young people and we appreciate your work with your ohana in these changes. In particular, getting up early to head to school can sometimes be challenging so we greatly appreciate your efforts as attendance thus far in the month of August has been extremely positive.

Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School will approach our school-wide project-based activity in 2023-2024 beginning with the end in mind. In the last two years, we have started the school year with a school-wide project-based learning activity but in 2023-2024 we will conclude with our annual Na Kupu Lau celebration in May. As you can see from the photo below, many of our classes have already commenced their first project-based learning activity. The Grade One class along with their “study buddies” from the Grade 4/5 class worked on revamping the garden area on campus last week. The Grade Two class started planting the loofah seeds at the beginning of last year. They plant, weed, and observe the loofahs. When the loofahs are dried on the vine, they harvest, peel, and “de-seed” them. They then cut the loofahs, create the soap, and pour it into molds that are later sold in our learning community. Amazing!!

Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School continues to expand our team to best meet the needs of our learners. We are pleased to share that our staff has now grown to more than 30 employees who all come from a variety of backgrounds, experiences, ages, and cultures.

• E komo mai e Ms. Jess (pictured below with the ever-helpful Makoa) who has joined our team as a full-time Educational Assistant in the Special Education department. Ms. Jess has years of experience in the human service industry which is a perfect fit in her role to support our learners.
• E komo mai e Ms. Jenny and Mr. Kahi who will support the Hawai’i Keiki Nurse Program. This is a pilot project across the state for the next two years. Ms. Jenny will be starting on campus in person in the coming weeks and will work in the office and look after the health needs of our keiki. Mr. Kahi is the supervisor of the Keiki Nurse Program here on Kaua’i and he will be on campus every several weeks to ensure that the program is meeting the needs of our learners.

Our first school-wide assembly is scheduled for 9 am this Friday, September 1st in the gym. All parents and community members are always warmly welcome to attend and celebrate the successes of our learners.