This month, we are especially grateful for our first entire school-wide field trip to Hoʻākea, an event led and hosted by the Hawaiʻi Department of Education to expand our students' knowledge of waʻa (voyaging canoes).

While in Hanalei, the students studied navigation from kūpuna, learned on the pier with voyagers from across the state, did knot and trust work, assembled waʻa models, and heard moʻolelo about Hōkūleʻa.

We’re proud to announce another milestone: We secured water for Namahana School’s permanent site! 

Though we now own the 11.3 acres that Namahana School will sit on, we needed to apply for water rights with the Department of Water (DOW). Getting the water rights wouldn’t have been possible without the community. We received and presented over 100 letters of support, 96 of which were handwritten letters from Namahana School students. 

For a deep dive into Namahana School, head on over to Kappanonline.org where Namahana School Leader, Dr. Kapua Chandler, was recently published. The essay is a look back at Kapua’s upbringing on Kauaʻi, the educational challenges here on the North Shore, and how those influenced the forming of Namahana School and it’s innovative learning design. 

North Shore Preserve (NSP) has stepped up to support Namahana School! NSP will be taking care of mowing our permanent land for us, resulting in significant monthly cost savings. Additionally, they donated furniture to help fill our classrooms, and overall have been dedicated supporters of advancing Namahana’s mission.  Mahalo to North Shore Preserve for supporting the community!

Mahalo to Johnny Apicella from Pennsylvania who DIY’ed a fundraiser for Namahana School, taking donations for his endurance run. He ran 10 hours straight—over 40 miles—to raise $2,523 for Namahana! We extremely inspired and thankful he chose Namahana to support for his fundraiser!

Mahalo to Island Ace Hardware Princeville for the support at last month’s Round Up Campaign! Throughout the month of August, customers were given the chance to round up their purchases to the next whole dollar, with the change going straight to Namahana School. This year, thanks to ACE, over $1,300 was raised. This is the second year ACE Princeville has supported Namahana School, and we’re grateful to its staff and customers for the support!

Healthy Hut Market and Café in Kīlauea has donated a case of period products to Namahana School. We are grateful for this contribution, which makes a meaningful difference in our students’ daily lives!

We hope to see everyone at ʻOhana Fit Fest on September 27. When you sign up, write “Namahana” for your team name—the more people on our team, the more funds we can raise for Namahana School.  Register to run in the event on 9/27 here.  

Namahana School is participating in Foodland’s annual Give Aloha campaign! For the entire month of September, please support Namahana School every time at check out by using code 79152. You can’t miss the Namahana banner hanging up in the Princeville Foodland. Throughout September, you can participate in Give Aloha at all Foodland, Sack N Save, and Foodland Farms stores statewide. When you donate, Foodland will match any donations up to $249 for Namahana School.

On August 4, Kaua‘i North Shore residents witnessed a cherished community dream come true: the opening of the public, tuition-free, post-primary school for the districts of Koʻolau and Haleleʻa. This achievement by Namahana School capped six years of meticulous planning, including a thorough community engagement process, the charter school application and a continuing intensive fundraising campaign to build a dedicated campus.

Mahalo to media across Hawaiʻi for all their coverage of Namahana’s opening across web and TV. Here, some highlights to check out…

Last week, we ran a unique Instagram campaign: we asked local businesses or influencers to share a post. If 50 did, a very generous donor would gift Namahana $50,000 towards building our permanent middle school classrooms. Thanks to the support of the community, we easily flew by that goal of 50 posts, gained over 167,000 views, and secured the $50,000 match. 

Most of us know that safe, clean drinking water is essential for everyone. Now, thanks to the Rosalyn and Joseph Newman Foundation, the students and staff at Namahana School have access to great water, with their Foundation donating two FloWater systems to the school. 

The effort to prepare our temporary 7th and 8th grade classrooms continued over the last few weeks, with the North Shore Lion’s Club stepping up to build tables for our classrooms. The work looks great, and we are grateful for all the time and donations that went into this effort. 

Congratulations to Dr. Kapua Chandler, Namahana School Leader, for being named by “Pacific Business News” as a 40 Under 40 Honoree. The annual 40 Under 40 recognizes young leaders throughout the state for achievements in their professional lives, as well as in the community. 

Students say Namahana is “amazing,” with a “different way of teaching style” that makes learning meaningful and fun. Programs like Ulu ʻĀina Day give them the chance to connect with the land and community through hands-on experiences. One student shared that Namahana has “helped me rebuild my confidence” and shown them that “communicating is a big key in make friends.”

Kīlauea, Hawai‘i — On August 4, Kaua‘i North Shore residents witnessed a cherished community dream come true: the opening of the public, tuition-free, post-primary school for the districts of Ko‘olau and Halele‘a. This achievement by Namahana School capped six years of meticulous planning, including a thorough community engagement process, the charter school application and a continuing intensive fundraising campaign to build a dedicated campus.

Over a decade in the making, the countdown is on to the first day of school at Namahana! Many of our staff and kumu (pictured above) are busy preparing. As Namahana’s mentor from Big Picture Learning says, "this first day of school will only happen once.”

We are thrilled to welcome and introduce our founding Kumu (teachers) for Namahana School. The kumu are very excited about Namahanaʻs innovative school design, have experience and a deep interest in 'āina-based learning, and are passionate about supporting learners and their unique interests.  

For the second year in a row, The Vehr Family Foundation pledged $100,000 to Namahana if 100 people donated $1 or more to our middle school classrooms campaign. In just two weeks, our community came together to help us surpass 100 donors, secure the $100K match, and raise an additional $137,164.