Hālau Kū Māna Public Charter School
ALOHA AINA EDUCATION
All Hālau Kū Māna (HKM) students participate in place-based projects and curriculum to build their sense of identity and responsibility as native practitioners to care for the land. In the elementary school, foundational skills, values, and content are delivered to build the foundation for this work.
Kula Waena
Papa Ahupuaʻa
Grade 6
In 6th grade, students learn about the ahupuaʻa system of land management and how changes in that system over time have impacted the people and culture of Hawaiʻi. They begin to understand the relationship between the land, ocean, and people and what their responsibility is in this relationship. Finally, they practice values integral to aloha ʻāina, including the study of kilo, kuamoʻo, ʻoihana, and hōʻike - which continue throughout all grades at HKM.
Ko Kula Kai
Grade 7
For indigenous communities, and kanaka Hawai‘i in particular, building relationships with the natural world is essential. The 7th grade Ko Kula Kai project helps students develop an understanding of this indigenous relationship between humans and the sea. Over the year, students will spend time along Oʻahu coastlines to learn about seasonal cycles, ocean resources available within those seasons, and how to take care of and utilize ancestral wisdom to maintain those resources in perpetuity.
Ko Kula Uka
Grade 8
After building knowledge of ocean resources in the 7th grade, the 8th grade Ko Kula Uka project deepens learning within the ahupuaʻa system by developing understanding of the uplands. Through observation of seasonal cycles in relation to plants and places around Oʻahu, students learn how to practice sustainable living in order to protect, maintain, and generate upland resources and build food sovereignty in the community.
Kula Kiʻekiʻe
Papa Waʻa
Grade 9
The study of traditional and modern sailing and voyaging can impart valuable life lessons on and off the canoe. In 9th grade, students learn these lessons via the Hawaiian double-hull sailing canoe, Kānehūnāmoku. Through studying voyaging history and gaining skills to travel along our ocean pathways, foundational values are set within the students to understand their individual role in a larger community and how they can contribute in positive ways. These foundational values and behaviors set the tone for how people interact with each other as well as the environment and world around them.
Papa Hana Noʻeau
Grade 10
Following the building of their sense of self and community on the ocean in the 9th grade, 10th grade students continue to mālama the land and natural resources. The Hana Noʻeau project looks at sense of place and sustainability through the lens of conservation for the purpose of maintaining indigenous arts, craftsmanship, and cultural practices. These practices will be learned through loea master practitioners, which will perpetuate native ways of creating textiles, dyes, implements, and tools. Students will learn that there is an inherent need to maintain and protect the resources necessary to practice these arts while also adjusting practice to utilize invasive plants as part of the eradication and conservation process.
Papa Loʻi
Grade 11
This ʻāina-based experience combines knowledge of indigenous land-use practices with current political applications and the skills necessary to advocate for sovereignty and balance for place, people, and culture. Through their work at ʻAihualama Loʻi and huakaʻi to other sites, haumana build a sense of responsibility and continue the HKM program with the content, values, and skills necessary to become leaders in their homes, communities, and the world.
Papa Nowelo
Grade 12
Nowelo means "to delve and seek knowledge." In the 12th grade, students dive deep to discover who they are, explore their passions, and investigate their community and world. Students apply their learning experiences to lead efforts toward positive, systemic change and healing for themselves, their ‘ohana, the kaiāulu, the ‘āina, and for the lāhui. By working with experts students work toward solutions and gain valuable experience that can guide their nexts steps for their future. Our graduates will take the deep plunge into the world and our hope is they continue to build their individual skills, contribute in the communities, and thrive.