Indian Fusion Music and Kanewai Lo'i

Our Field Trip

by Nanea Chu

Today, my class went on a field trip. First, we went to East-West Center to listen to Indian music. There were only three instruments. It was the cello, tabla, and the sitar. Then they started to play the music. It was cool. My favorite instrument was the cello.

Next, we went to the lo'i. First, when we got there we sat down and heard a story about a God of fresh water. The other God was the God of salt water. Then we went to a fresh water stream and saw how the water goes to the lo'i. We also learned a new song. Finally, it was time to go in the lo'i. We threw in leaves which is food for the kalo. Then we stepped on the leaves to mix them in the lo'i. It was so mushy!

I had fun and I hope we can go again!

These are the Indian Musicians.

They played the sitar, cello, and tabla.

We listened to a legend about Kane and Kanaloa.

We are learning about the stream on the left side of the photo.

We picked up lots of leaves to put in the lo'i.

This is called "laulima", many hands working together.

We helped throw the leaves in the lo'i.

Here we go! Stomping in the mud is so much fun!

We are working so hard!

Don't forget to squish all of the leaves into the mud!

We helped to churn the mud in this lo'i that is almost ready to be planted.

After a day of hard work, we wash off in the auwai.

Field Trip Reminder

Field Trip on Monday, Sept. 23
East-West Center Indian Music Fusion &
Kanewai Lo'i

Please come to school on time. Bus departs at 8:15.

Wear shorts and t-shirt.

Please bring:
1. Sack lunch and drink
2. Change of clothes and rubber slippers, hat in a plastic bag. We might get muddy at the lo'i.
3. Hand towel to dry off (optional).
4. Student will be responsible for and carry everything in their backpack. (No rolling backpacks, please.)

Planting Sunflower Seeds

Haylie: Today I got to plant a sunflower seed. I had a lot of fun. First, my class got a milk carton. I got to go to our school's garden. I had to listen to two kids from Ms. Mew's class.  Then we got together with our rows and put soil in our cartons. We all shared the soil and shovel. We went back to the garden to get more soil. We had to listen to Miss Mew's students again. They gave us seeds. We put them in our cartons. I filled my carton to the line. Finally, our row and all the other rows went inside the garden. We went to the sprinkler and we all watered our plants. We went back to class and went to recess. What a trip!

Marcus: Today we planted our sunflower seeds for the school garden. When we firs got ready, I started to squeal with joy. After we softened the soil, we started to put soil in our milk cartons. Next, the bugs I saw were ants, sow bugs, and spring tall. When we were poking a hole, it was hard because my finger is not strong. Finally, when we watered them it was easy because we just need to hold the hose up and drizzle it.

Edwin: Today we went down to the garden to plant sunflower seeds. First we grabbed shovels and we went in the garden to get one scoop of dirt. It was kind of gross because the mud was wet, but I still did it even if it was gross. Then we took out the rocks and even that was gross, but I got through it. I saw the warm vermicast. It is black and brown. We put our seeds in and watered it. I thought I would get wet from the water, but I didn't. That was hard work!

Reminders for this week- Sept. 16-20

1. The Animal Research 4 Paragraphs were due today. Some of the children did not turn them in. Please check your child's planner for a note if he/she still needs to turn it in.

I will be reviewing each child's paragraphs with him/her and helping them revise/edit it. If there are minor changes they will not need to rewrite it. However, if there are many changes, I will be asking them to rewrite with the revisions. We will then be word processing the final draft in school.

The children should now be working on creating their visual item to be shared on Sept. 30. Today they saw some examples of projects in B21 and got some great ideas. Please discuss this part of the project with your child and assist them in creating it for their sharing on Sept. 30.


2. Field Trip next Monday, Sept. 23- A great opportunity came our way for a field trip sponsored by the East-West Center next Monday. They will be covering the cost of the bus so we won't need to collect any money. We will first be going to UH East-West Center to listen to an Indian Music Fusion concert. This concert will expose the children to music from a different culture.

We will then be walking across the street to go to the UH Hawaiian Studies "Ka Papa Lo'i o Kanewai" The students will be learning about the Hawaiian way of growing kalo and the history behind it. They will also be participating in a service learning project to clean and work in the lo'i.

Please send a change of clothes and slippers in a plastic bag so the children can change after working in the lo'i. They will also need to bring a lunch and drink. This should be a very exciting day!

Please return the Field Trip Notice and Waiver form by Thursday. Mahalo!

Grade 3 Garden Weeding Party

A huge mahalo to the following B23 parents and family members who came out on Saturday to help weed our garden: Mrs. Oshiro, Ms. Kaalekahi, Mrs. Mamac, Mr. Miyata, and Mr. Chong. Noah F. also came to help! There were also parents from B21 and B22 there. A big mahalo to Mrs. Hood, and her friend, Stuart, who are our garden experts and really helping to lead the way and to Ms. Mew for spearheading this huge project!

The garden was covered in waist high weeds. Within an hour, most of the weeds were pulled out. The next few hours were spent pulling the small weeds, tilling the ground, pulling the vines off the fence and preparing the soil for planting. It was a huge task, but with all of the hardworking hands and energy, we accomplished a lot!

We will begin planting in the next few weeks. The kids are very excited about this project and are looking forward to helping care for the garden.

We will need lots of help and would like to ask for volunteers to come for about 1/2 hour any day of the week to help water and pull weeds with a small group of children. We welcome your help because we will need to go out every day to keep our garden thriving. Please let me know if you are available to help and what days and times.

Enjoy these before and after photos. Thanks again for your support!

This is what the garden looked like before.

And this is what it looked like after!!! What an improvement!

Noah F. even came by to help.

Reminders for this week- Sept. 9-13

A few reminders for this week:

PE tomorrow- Wear shoes, shorts and a shirt. Don't forget a water bottle.

Kapunahala Book Fair- There is a book fair set up in the library this week. B23 will be previewing the books tomorrow and the children will be making a wishlist. They will be bringing home the wishlist for you to review and select books if you would like to buy any. If you would like to buy any books, please send cash or a check on Thursday. A flier went home today which lists some of the books on sale.
There is also a wishlist (in a pocket chart near the computer corner) for our classroom library. We appreciate any donations that can enrich our class collection!
Note: This Book Fair is separate from our classroom book order which should be arriving in the next week.

Animal Adaptations Research-  Most of the class met our first deadline for this project. Today, they should have brought in their research notes. Thank you to those of you who assisted your child in finding information. The most common error I found is that they wrote about the "Physical" and "Behavioral" adaptations, but did not explain how these adaptations help the animal to survive in their habitat. I noted on their notes if they need to fix anything before writing their paragraphs.
The next step is to write the four paragraphs. Today in class, we worked on the first paragraph which is the introduction. I showed them how to do the other paragraphs. The directions for the other 3 paragraphs is at the bottom of the behavioral adaptations page. Please help your child complete the 4 paragraphs and turn it in by Mon., Sept. 16. We will do revisions after they turn it in.
They should also be working on a visual to share during their presentations.
Please let me know if you have any questions.

KidBiz and AR points- Students should have at least 14 KidBiz points and 7 AR points by the end of this week. I will be writing their current points in their planner tomorrow. Please check it and encourage your child to meet the goals. Mahalo!

Fun Fair Volunteers needed- Each grade is responsible for providing manpower to staff a booth. We are still short volunteers for all shifts. It would be greatly appreciated if you could volunteer for a shift or two! You could also sign up adult relatives and friends! Come and join in the fun! Thank you!

Garden Weeding Party- Grade 3 will be cleaning out the school garden behind the cafeteria this Saturday, Sept. 14. We have great plans to plant a vegetable, herb, and flower garden this year and have the children help us care for it. Before we can plant our garden, we will need to clean it out because the garden is overgrown with weeds. We would appreciate any adult help that we can get from our families. Please come and help if you have a free morning. The shifts are 8:00-10:00 and 10:00-12:00. Please let me know if you can help! Mahalo!

Reminders for this week

Aloha Parents! I hope you are enjoying your Labor Day Weekend. Just a few reminders for this week:

• PE tomorrow (Tuesday)- Don't forget to wear shoes, shorts, and shirt and bring a water bottle.
• Library day is on Wednesday. Please bring back your library books. If you are still reading your books, please bring them back and renew them. If your child needs a book about his/her animal for the research project, please talk to him/her about borrowing one on Wednesday. Ms. Umemoto or I can help them find one.
• Scholastic Book order is due on Fri., Sept. 6. Remember that you can order online or use the order form on the forms sent home last week.A reminder letter is attached on the link below. 
• Scholastic Reminder Letter

•  Animal Adaptations project- Please help your child work on finding information about their animal. The research notes are due on Sept. 9.
• AR Reading- Your child should have at least 5 points by now as we are halfway through the quarter. Please encourage your child to read AR books daily and take AR quizzes in school when they are done reading a book.
• KidBiz- Your child should have passed 8-10 articles by now with 75% or higher. Please encourage your child to read the article and questions carefully, refer to the article and follow the KidBiz tips.
• Multiplication Facts- We have covered the 0, 1, 2, and 5 times table. We are now working on the 3 times table. By the end of the quarter, your child should be fluent in the 0-5 multiplication facts. Please help him/her practice daily.

Thanks for your support!

Zoo to You

Last week Thursday, Mr. Tim from the Honolulu Zoo came to teach the third graders about Animal Adaptations.He showed us a video about different adaptations that animals in different habitats have to help them survive. He also brought replicas of animals skulls, animal fur, feathers, antlers and other cool stuff. We enjoyed his presentation and learned so much from him.

Here are reports from Joshua, Skylar, and Haylie:

Joshua: Today Zoo to You came to Kapunahala. It was fun because we got to see a lot of amazing things and animals! We saw bones of animals and videos about adaptations. One adaptation for the ostrich is it can run fast and peck. Another adaptation is that the cheetah can run fast and bite. There are a lot of places where the animals live like the rain forests, jungles, and open plains. It was fun because I learned stuff I did not know.

Skylar: What I learned from Zoo to You is that we have to pritect the wildlife and stop cutting down trees so animals that live in the trees can survive in the forest. Mr. Tim taught me all about anumals like ostrich, tigers, elephants, and also cheetahs and lions. I learned that chameleons use color mostly for showing their moods and zebras stay in a group to confuse their predators.

Haylie: Today was Zoo to You. We learned things about animals. I learned that the cheetah has a really small head. Also, did you know that the ostrich has feathers that are open and that's why it can't fly? We also got to see a Jackson Chameleon. It was green. Green means that he was happy. The male chameleon has horns and the female does not.