Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 4, 1 April 1993 — Pūnana Leo opens in Waiʻanae [ARTICLE]

Pūnana Leo opens in Waiʻanae

by Jeff Clark The Wai'anae Coast now has its own "language nest preschool," Pūnana Leo o Wai'anae. Pūnana Leo, nonprofit Hawaiian language preschools, started eight years ago with three preschools on Hawai'i, O'ahu and Kaua'i. Today there are six

sites and approximately 80 preschoolers who speak the Hawaiian language at fluent or nearfluent proficiency levels. Pūnana Leo o Wai'anae, whieh opened Feb. 8, currently has nine students. The new preschool rents space in the Boys and Girls Club of Wai'anae at 85-165 Plantation Rd. "The entire community is just now finding out that we are situated here in Wai'anae," said preschool director Rene Bishaw. "There is a great

demand for appliea- = tions." Families wanting to enroll their keiki in Pūnana Leo o Wai'anae should eall the school at 6960212 and Bishaw will mail an application. The school is currently operating on a temporary Department of Human Services license, and Bishaw won't know until she has the permanent license in hand how many students the school

will be able to accept. But she does expect there will be a few openings when the next school semester starts in September. In addition to Bishaw, the school is staffed by po'okumu (head teacher) Ululani Chock, kumu Ululani Glass, and kumu kōkua (assistant teacher) kupuna Iliahi Faulconer, a mānaleo

(native speaker) who was born on the island of Ni'ihau. Bishaw said the school needs a second assistant. "We are looking for a kumu kōkua who is willing to work 30 hours, is able to speak Hawaiian fairly well and has a good rapport with young children, and who is aware of the Hawaiian culture, because we tie the language in with the culture." Pūnana Leo o Wai'anae could

also use Hawaiian-speaking volunteers, Bishaw added. Bishaw hopes to hold an open house sometime in the near future, perhaps in June, by whieh time the students will be more proficient in 'ōlelo Hawai'i and will be able to proudly show their stuff. When the school opened, none of the students spoke Hawaiian beyond

the basic words - such as "puka" and "pau" - that we all use. By early March they were able to understand their teachers and say more elaborate phrases. "I would say they understand the daily routine, and they ask 'What is your name?' and 'Where do you live?' and they ask to leave the table when

they're done eating, things like that," Bishaw said proudly. For more information on Pūnana Leo o Wai'anae write the school at P.O. Box 1848, Wai'anae, H1 96792. To learn more about the Pūnana Leo concept and the other sites around the state, write: Hale Kāko'o Pūnana Leo at 174 Kino'ole St., Hilo, HI 96720.

'O nā kamaiki a kākou ke ola o ka 'ōlelo Hawai'l. 'O ke keiki e hānai 'ia a mālama 'ia i ka 'ōlelo makuahine, 'O la ka ha'aheo o ko kākou lāhui. Our children are the life of the Hawaiian language. The chiid that is nurtured in our mother tongue is a source of pride for our people.