KOLOA — Koloa School opened its doors to students July 30, rolling off a highly successful weekend at the Koloa Plantation Days parade. “This was the first time we’ve done anything like this, but it was all thanks to Hartwell
KOLOA — Koloa School opened its doors to students July 30, rolling off a highly successful weekend at the Koloa Plantation Days parade.
“This was the first time we’ve done anything like this, but it was all thanks to Hartwell Blake,” Debbie Lindsey, the school’s principal, said of their participation.
Under Blake’s direction and guidance, Koloa School’s ‘ukulele band and its director, pastor Niles Kageyama, earned awards in the decorated unit judging.
“We also distributed some of the books we replaced,” Lindsey said of old school materials that were donated. “It was better than passing out candy. They are still readable, and we could tell parents to encourage reading with their children.”
Lindsey greeted the new school year Monday with news that it had passed its Adequate Yearly Progress marks, a goal that the school focused on for the greater part of last year.
“We’ve changed ‘mission impossible’ to ‘mission possible,’” Lindsey said. “Everyone knows what can be done with hard work.”
To keep the school focused, Lindsey, attired in a cowgirl outfit, said this year’s theme is geared toward cowboys and the hard work they do.
That theme also goes beyond hard work, and she drew from a book of cowboy sayings to help students with character development, loyalty and other positive growth traits, including: “The fastest way to drive cattle is to go slowly.”
In preparation for the school’s upcoming 130th anniversary in October, Lindsey is already working on trying to contact a Koloa School graduate, a protégé of Jake Shimabukuro, who recently participated in the Kaua‘i Music Festival.
“If we can get him to perform here, it will show the students that they can accomplish anything they desire if they stay focused,” Lindsey said.
