Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 11, 1 Nowemapa 2006 — Nā Pua Noʻeau students say 'Ae Kea' [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Nā Pua Noʻeau students say 'Ae Kea'

By David K. Sing Editor's note: This update on the Nā Pua No 'eau educational enrichment center for gifted and talented Native Hawaiian ehildren was submitted by David Kekaulike Sing, the center's director. Nā Pua No 'eau receives major funding eaeh year from the Ofpce of Hawaiian Affairs. Last year, Nā Pua No'eau used the theme "'Ae Kea" (I care) to guide its program ideas, curriculum and teaching. According to Assistant Director Kinohi Gomes, "We wanted to counter the 'ainokea' (I no care) attitude. As an organization, we did not want people manifesting that phrase into actions that would be detrimental to how Hawaiians traditionally cared for and protected things and people around them. We wanted to re-empha-

size the importance of 'ohana, our heritage, our environment and our future through the programs and activities we conduct." The motto we developed with students around the concept was: "'Ae Kea..." ...about my 'ohana and my kupuna . . ,about the land and the oeean ...about my heritage and where I eome from ...about my future and where I want to go. This past year, Nā Pua No'eau was successful in creating program activities built around the "'Ae Kea" concept while continuing to raise the aspirations and achievements of the hundreds of students and families it serves. The following class titles were representative of the nature of the programs conducted by Nā Pua No'eau on all of the islands: Papa Mālama Kai, Mai Nā Kūpuna Mai, Kupu

'Āina, Hawaiian Volcanoes, Papa Alaka'i, Nā Mea Paniolo a Kanaka Lawai'a, 'Oihana Ola Kino, Aloha 'Āina; Invention Factory-Helping Our Kūpuna and Keiki, and Ka Nani o Uka - Beautiful Are the Uplands. One of the parents of a student in the Kaua'i Puhalena class this summer said afterward, "I've seen my daughter grow so mueh in these two weeks. Now when we drive, she teaches me the Hawaiian names of places and mountains." Christian Andersen, the kumu of the Mai Nā Kūpuna Mai class in Hilo, said, "I was amazed by the students' ability to grasp an abstract concept like angular momentum, associate it with a throw net, and then tie it into the rotation of galaxies or the shape of the ulu maika." One of the new programs funded by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is the Hawaiian Youth Leadership

Program - 'Aha 'Ōpio Alaka'i. The exciting thing about this program is having the students, who have learned about the challenges to our environment, now learning to develop policies and laws to foster the concept of "'ae kea." In the coming year, Nā Pua No'eau is scheduled to provide a full range of programs on all islands

from kindergarten to grade 12. For information about programs, visit http://npn.uhh.hawaii.edu, or eontact your loeal Nā Pua No'eau office: Hilo, (808) 974-7678; West Hawai'i, (808) 322-4867; Maui, (808) 984-3364; Moloka'i, (808) 553-9993; Lāna'i, (808) 565-7910 ext. 288; O'ahu, 956-9410; Kaua'i, (808) 241-3238. M

HO'ONA'AUAO • EDUCAĪIDN

At Hale o Lono Fishpond, kumu Kaleo Pilago explains traditional management of oeean resources to 8th-grade students in Nū Puū No'eau's Pathways Summer lnstitute. - Pholo: Courtesy of Nā Pua No'eau.