Ho`ala School is committed to improving the social well being of its community by being an active member within it. This small, nonsectarian school views the larger community as its true classroom. As such, in 2003, Ho`ala received a grant from the Hawaii Community Foundation to support the development of a service learning program throughout the school, grades K-12.

Last year's service-learning projects included:

* TUTU'S DANCE was a seven-part project in which students in grades 3-4 interviewed elders in their community, turned their notes into poetry, set the poems to song, professionally recorded the song on a CD, and then choreographed a dance to match. Academically the class explored history through biographical interviewing, writing, speaking and performing skills. The students performed their song "Seniors Give Us Great Advice" in several different venues, including Aged to Perfection, a local senior day program.

* PUPPY DOG TALES was a five-week project designed to promote literacy while improving the reading skills of our students in grades 5-6 by incorporating the use of service dogs as active "listeners." Students worked with Read to Me International to discuss literacy and then practiced the art of reading aloud. Students then met for several weeks with volunteers from the Hawaii Fi-Do Service Dogs to get comfortable reading aloud to dogs trained to "listen" patiently. Finally, students read aloud to different groups of young students in Wahiawa and Mililani, reflecting upon the various experiences.

In February, Ho`ala Middle School students, grades 6-8, will finish up a second year of field work for "Project Stewardship" with the Nature Conservancy.

Each month, the students hike into the Honouliuli Preserve, in the Waianae mountain range, where they conduct a land preservation project shared by several other high school and middle school groups.

The project begins with an introduction to the plot of land on which they will work. Student then survey the plot for elevation and other terrain conditions as well as for native, alien and invasive species. After learning to discern between species, students work hard to remove the invasive plants and, in later months, replace them with native seedlings grown in a nearby field nursery.

The project helps reinforce the biological science curriculum that will be explored in class later this year. Mahalo to Middle School teachers Jef Fern and Amy White, as well as parent volunteers Jackie Rapozo, Mickey McGill and Kim Hines. A big mahalo also goes to the staff and volunteers at the Nature Conservancy staff for their patience and inspiration.

In a flurry of good fun, Ho`ala high school students hosted a "LITERACY FAIR" at Ka`ala Elementary School in Wahiawa on Saturday, November 13th.

Ho`ala students read aloud to groups of younger children using vibrant reading aprons they created through the UH 4H Read to Me Project. The fair included a performance by Ho`ala school Reader's Theatre drama group, presenting the "Three Little Pua`a." Free pancakes with all the fixings were shared with all. A full set of encyclopedias was given away as a door prize along with hundreds of free books.

The event enjoyed a fantastic turn-out, in part, because Ho`ala students went from classroom to ~