Groups of students were challenged yesterday with a scavenger hunt about Haʻalilio, the first diplomat for the Hawaiian Kingdom, as a way to celebrate Lā Kūʻokoʻa.

Kumu instructed students to huli a loaʻa, or search and find, several clues to complete different missions around the campus.

“If I had to do this by myself, it definitely would have been way more difficult,” junior Maile Kehano said. “I know that because the first ten minutes was just our team standing in confusion! Because I was a part of a team though, our brains were able to come together and eventually shift to a mutual agreement, which is way easier than having to do things on your own.”

In all, there were four teams—three were victorious, finding all the items on the list. The prizes included stickers, t-shirts, hats, and pins.

The students were thrilled to receive their prizes after a long day that included a revised schedule in which they attended all four classes in a row without a break in the morning, followed by lunch and Lā Kū’oko’a activities in the afternoon.

Many students were also involved in the other activities of the day, such as a photo booth and mana’o wall. Papa Hula and Hawaiian Ensemble performed mele, hula and oli honoring Mauna Kea, and football athletes performed their ʻai haʻa for the middle school recognition ceremonies.

With so much going on, students were glad to finish the day with activities like jam sessions, kalo pounding, arts and crafts, makahiki games, and the scavenger hunt.

“My favorite part was when Sienna had to get blindfolded with another mask and we had to guide her to Kahu Wong’s office in order to win one of the clues,” Maile Kehano said.

Kumu Ekela Kaniaupio-Crozier and po’o Ms. Jay-R Kaawa oversaw the students and watched them run across the field and rush into different classes looking for answers.

“My favorite part was seeing how each of the groups would interpret the different clues because everybody looked at it differently, although already knowing the story of Ha’alilio,” Ms. Kaawa said. “Just watching you guys get along while also being eager to solve problems was so much fun to see.”

Students came together and educated themselves more about Hawaiian Independence Day at the same time.

“Lā Kūʻokoʻa, to me, means having pride. It means reciprocity, having love for our land, sacrifice, and most importantly, it means unity,” Ms. Kaawa said.

“To me, it is a day to celebrate and be proud of a time when Hawaiʻi was its own nation while also recognizing that we as a lāhui, are capable of doing it again,” senior Carly Zablan said.

Gallery • 7 Photos

Photo by Savannah Browne

Sienna Kamalani is blindfolded in order to receive the next clue.