MCKENNA DRAMMEH
STAFF WRITER
The phrase “Aloha Kakou”, otherwise known as leadership in Hawaiian, is a class here at Moanalua High School where currently enrolled students can help welcome new students to the school.
“Aloha Kakou” in Hawaiian means: welcome to all of you, from all of us. Students in this class will help plan events for new students, welcome them when they first arrive, and show them to their classes. Their goal is to make every student feel like they are apart of the Moanalua school community.
Lachelle Sablan, Aloha Kakou teacher says, “Every student should feel like their community cares about their overall development: academically, socially, and emotionally.”
Last year the Aloha Kakou class applied for the Takai Transition Center grant. The Takai Transition Center Grant is a grant from the Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE) and the Military Affairs Council (MAC) in honor of late Congressman K. Mark Takai. This grant is a chunk from the 250,000 dollars that HIDOE and MAC will be giving annually for four years. This money is given in efforts to improve Transition centers, technology, and furnishing, as well as to help accommodate and re-acclimate new students (particularly military students) in schools.
Moanalua’s Aloha Kakou class received this grant in April 2018, which was not soon enough to carry out their plans that school year. However, last school year was the first year Aloha Kakou was a class available for students to take.
“Last year our students did a great job in setting the foundation for this school year,” Sablan said.
Aloha Kakou just received their laptops in November of 2018. So far with the grant money and the new laptops they have put on social mixers, led informational sessions, and even created a new website. This school year they have already put on multiple events and have many more planned. Last week they held an informational and interactive meeting session. All of the new students from the beginning of this school year up until now gathered in the College and Career Center. Four students from Aloha Kakou led the session by introducing themselves, leading a few icebreakers, then telling some important information about the school.
Princess Leota, a junior who was been taking this class since the beginning of the year, says, “ It is a great class to help our school come together.”
“[We are able to help] new students make friends on their first day and bond with one another,” Leota said.
Junior, Kamalani Agcoili also stresses the importance of this class by saying, “This class is definitely important, we are a group of people who are not afraid to talk to new students.”
“Essentially we are their first first friend on campus, so we try to make them feel included,” Agcoili said.
For more information about the Aloha Kakou class, visit mohsalohakakou.weebly.com