Kapa Assembly Blog
By Ashlyn ’20
Today we had assembly! Our walk in song was taught to us by Mrs. Abbe, and it was called I Am Thankful For. After that, we sang Aia i ka poli o makiki, while Cary, Riley, Noah and Aiden played the ipu. Next was announcements. Ms. Gabby shared a lot of birthday books. Happy birthday to the Kulā‘iwi teacher, Mrs. Lee! For thought of the day, we said, “Makahana ka ike. In working one sees.”
Then, we turned the assembly over to the entering Po’e Ka’ahele students. They taught us all about their kapa experience. Did you know that in the olden days, the Hawaiians carved their ohe kapalas in bamboo? That was something I learned. The Po’e students had the privilege to make kapa with the wauke plant! Mrs. Varney taught the kids how to scrape off the bark and pound the wauke into a cloth-like fabric. Then, once it dries, it will be kapa! After they told us about that, each student talked a bit about their own process. The kapa print represents something about nature or navigation, like mountains or oceans. Some people put handprints of their peer’s on their cloth. It was inspiring to see everybody’s work because I saw many different ideas in each kapa. It was a very eye-opening experience and I can’t wait until Makahiki to see everyone wearing theirs!
