Parents welcomed at Open House ʻ14
Photo by Quinn Williams
Sophomore Zack Fasi and parent, Mr. Paul Fasi, meet 10th grade English teacher, Mrs. Yatsushiro. Students and parents met with teachers for one-on-one conversations after team presentations at Open House, August 26, 2014.
August 27, 2014
KS Maui kicked off its 2014- 2015 school year with its high school Open House on Tuesday, August 26.
Parents were welcomed into Ke’eaumokupāpāiaheahe dining hall for the traditional Open House spaghetti dinner provided by Kamehameha Maui’s dining hall staff.
Walking into the room three weeks into the first semester, parents were greeted by staff, sign-in sheets and class poster presentations.
To start the night, Kumu Kalei Aarona-Lorenzoʻs Hawaiian Ensemble and members of Hawaiian language classes sang sweet dinner melodies. They sang songs, such as Kulahiwi, Haleakalā Hula, Iesu No Ke Ala, and Kumu Henohea Kaneʻs hula students danced along to a few numbers. The performers ended with the oli He Lani Ko Luna.
At the conclusion of dinner, parents went to assigned locations to listen to specific team presentations where teachers discussed class curricula, goals and other basics of their courses.
While freshman and sophomore parents had their individual team grade meetings, the upperclassman parents attended presentations by the academy teams. The teams were split up into three academies: Arts and Communication, Business and Information Technology, and Science and Natural Resources.
Parents, on the busy hunt to find all of their children’s teachers and classes before the program ended, had some positive feedback about Open House.
“It was fabulous! Everything was done in a timely fashion,” said junior parent Ms. Michelle Revelle.
After team and academy meetings with parents, teachers were available in their classrooms to meet with parents in a more one-on-one situation where they could ask more specific questions or voice concerns.
“We had more than ample time to meet with, actually, all their teachers, which is great because sometimes, you only get to meet one or two of them,” said Mr. Kepa Nile, the grandparent of a sophomore student.
He said that this was a positive point for the night because, he said, oftentimes parents barely know the teachers of their child.
Although most of the comments were positive, the open house did however receive one negative on the overall presentation of the night. Comments on the presentations ranged from rave reviews to some who felt they lacked finesse.
“Some of the teachers, when they present, they need to be a little bit more enthusiastic, perhaps, when they’re talking,” Ms. Revelle said.
