Place Based Education
Aloha!
Thank you for visiting our page!
We are current teachers of 4th and 5th grade classes.Dolores Villanueva (4th), Shirley Bringas (4th), Ku'ulei Tengan (4th), Alyssa Miyamoto (5th)
Last year, we were a part of a Professional Development class through PREL called "Ulu Kalihi". The focus was on "place-based education". Ulu Kalihi (“Kalihi, growing and flourishing”) is a model of teacher professional learning developed by PREL that builds educators’ capacity to teach about our environment through place-based and experiential learning in the Kalihi community. Through a combination of in-class workshops and field trips, Ulu Kalihi empowers educators to teach through and about their ahupuaʻa with the support of local curriculum materials, like E Hoʻomau!; partner organizations like Kōkua Kalihi Valley, Bishop Museum, and Mokauea Fishermanʻs Association; and ongoing job-embedded STEM professional learning.
Ulu Kalihi is made possible through funding provided by the McInerny Foundation, the G.N. Wilcox Trust, and private donations from PREL partners. Learn more about Ulu Kalihi and PREL at http://prel.org
Through this class we were able to write a grant for our students. We have used such funds to take our students on service learning field trips, build vermicasting systems out of recycled materials, create garden boxes to grow plants, and so much more! Our goal of this project is to create awareness and pride of the Kalihi community where our students live and go to school
Feel free to click on the class links on the right to see what each class is working on! Mahalo!
What is Ho'oulu Aina?
We have been going on service learning field trips to Ho'oulu Aina in the back of Kalihi Valley. Here, we learn about sustainability within the Kalihi Community and help take care of the land. Each participating class goes 1 Monday every month till the end of the year. So far, we have....
Hiked into Kalihi Valley
Harvested 'olena, honohono, and maile hohono
Created nutrient-rich soil to plant sweet potato and kalo
Worked as a team to learn about sustainability in our Kalihi ahupua'a
Mahalo to Uncle Scotty, Uncle Mark, and Uncle Joey for hosting us!