Hawaiian Club for High Schoolers

Tihani Arbogast
Senior Project 2020

Preface
 Growing up in Hawai’i, we are introduced to culture and history very early in

our childhood. However as we get older schools tend to focus more on United States

history, not the history of Hawai’i. Therefore students aren’t really exposed to the in

depth cultural history of the place they call home. Which is why I have decided to

uphold the Hawaiian club for high school students. It is important to understand the

host culture of where you live, and in Hawai’i traditions are still upheld to the present

day.

I feel personally connected to this project because I didn’t get invested into the

Hawaiian culture until about a year ago. It has become something I really enjoy

learning about. However, learning in a classroom can get boring and repetitive. So my

goal for this project is that students will be able to learn about the Hawaiian culture in a

fun environment, without the use of textbooks, homework or tests. Students will benefit

from Hawaiian club because my mentors have a lot of opportunities available for

people who are invested and take the culture seriously. Hawaiian club is unique

because I have the privilege of being able to teach members hula from a real halau. We

also will be able to show what we've learned at the annual Kihei Charter Luau, where

students can show their appreciation for the Hawaiian culture in front of a large group

of people.
Introduction

My driving question surrounding this whole project is “how can I help high

school students embrace the Hawaiian culture in a fun environment?” The way I am

going to achieve this is upholding the Hawaiian club for high schoolers at Kihei

Charter. My specialized mentor for this project will be Kumu Hula Mapuana Samonte.

She runs Halau Hula Malani O Kapehe, and is the one who provides us with the hula

choreography for the annual Luau. With her help along with other people from the

Halau, I will be able to teach the Hawaiian club members hula. This will be a great

aspect of Hawaiian club since it is a different way to embrace the culture and learn

about it.

There is a lot of key content that I will need in order to make Hawaiian club

successful. I have already started research on Hawaiian games we can play, as well as

modern games with a cultural spin on it. I am also going to be teaching Hawaiian

chants, all of which have a different meaning to them. I already have the chants written

down and accessible to write on a white board. This will most likely be the only topic

that would be considered “traditional classroom teaching.” Additionally, I am hoping to

teach everyone how to make a standard ti leaf lei. As well as teach a select few how to

make a ti leaf lei po’o and wrist garments. In order to do that however I need a lot of

leaves, so I am planning on harvesting them myself and asking for donations from

people who have leaves already.

For this project the most important skill I am going to be using is

Communication. I am going to be in contact with multiple groups of people throughout

this project. Therefore I need to be able to have clear communication with everyone so
things run smoothly. The second most important skill will be Civic Literacy and

Engagement. I am very involved in my community by teaching one group of people as

well as learing from another. While people may not realize it, what they learn about the

Hawaiian culture will shape the way they see the island. In addition, I am hoping for

Hawaiian club to an ongoing part of Kihei Charter. Lastly, Interpersonal skills will be a

great aid in this project. Besides working with a variety of people, I need to respect the

fact that some people don’t want to have an open mind and learn new things.

Running a club and being a leader is challenging to anyone who hasn’t had

much practice. Luckily for me paddling has taught me how to lead with compassion but

be strict as well. The only issue I see with having to teach, is kids not listening or being

disrespectful. However I know most of the members personally so I’m hoping it isn’t

an issue. The other limitation I foresee is not having enough material to keep Hawaiian

club interesting until March. I am hoping to avoid that by talking with people and

getting ideas from multiple sources. Lastly, the only thing I see struggling with now is

creating the Luau performing line up. I see this being an issue because I don’t have

much experience with performing or creating line ups, so I’m hoping to have some help

from Kihei Charter alumni.

I plan on presenting this project in the form of a video. Since I am taking a

video production class I want to make a video to show the progression of the club. I

don’t have too much experience with making videos, so I am hoping to have help from

my friends as far as editing, and shooting. I want to “interview” members and get their

perspective on the club and how it is impacting them. In case the video doesn’t work

out as planned, I am going to make a slideshow of pictures and videos. Since the KCS
Luau isn’t until March 7th, I plan on doing a mock trial of the Luau to show what

people have learned.

Annotated Bibliography

Admin@boncom.com. “Luau Party Games & Music.” Polynesian Cultural

Center, Polynesian Cultural Center, 2 Aug. 2019, www.polynesia.com/what-to-

play/. This website was helpful because I didn't have too much planned for the

Hawaiian club meetings. After reading through this site it helped give me ideas

for games we could play that have meaning to them. One game I came across is

very popular and a traditional game they played in the old days. There were also

games that are normally deemed as modern but changed to be Hawaiian. Along

with the games there was a list of Hawaiian musical artist. That was interesting

to me because I didn't think I would be using too much music but I might now

after finding this site.

“Chants.” Kihei Canoe Club, www.kiheicanoeclub.com/chants11.php.

The Kihei Canoe Club website was very helpful because it provided me with the

lyrics for the chants I need to teach at Hawaiian club. There were also audio

recordings and videos to help with pronunciation. I also came across some

chants that I would like to learn myself, so that was a good find. I am also going
 to direct people to the site incase they want to look over lyrics on their own

time.

Kwiat, David. “Common Hawaiian Words and Phrases.” Hawaiian Words,

hawaiian-words.com/common/.

This website was very useful because it has a lot of Hawaiian words, their

meaning and an audio recording so you can hear how it is suppose to sound.

This was really beneficial to me since I am still learning as well and now I can

use proper words in games. As well as teach people the proper meaning. There

is also a dictionary tab where it translates English to Hawaiian and vise versa.

That is also helpful because people might ask what certain words are in

Hawaiian and I can use that tab to find out.

Resources and Activities

Aside from the material I can find online and through other people, there are a

few things I may need to purchase. To start off, I want Hawaiian club to be a

welcoming place for everyone. That is why I am going to be providing snacks for the

members especially since meetings will be held right after school. To be safe I am

planning on having kids fill out a sheet saying if they have allergies or not. Also, with

permission from the Halau we get the hula from, I may purchase some hula materials

for the club members. Even if I cannot buy the hula materials, I am hoping to buy some

new accessories for the costuming, however I have not figured out cost yet.
 I am planning on raising about $250 - $300 for Hawaiian club. The money will

go towards the snacks being provided and hula materials. Additionally, if we do not

have enough costumes for the Luau, the money will be used to purchase whats needed.

Any extra money will be put towards the preparation of the Luau. So far those are the

only expenses, that way I have a extra incase of unexpected costs.

Timeline

September
● Promote club at the Ice Cream Social (5th)

● Start Hawaiian Club (6th)

● Meet with advisor (13th)

● Being shooting video for deliverable (13th)

● Progress Presentation 1 (20th)

● Expert Interview Reflection due (27th)

● Car wash fundraiser (28th)

October
● Provide snacks for members on Fridays

● Purchase hula materials (4th)

● Meet with advisor (18th)

November
● Start rehearsing for Luau in March

● Get some people to come to Halau

● Meet with advisor (15th)

● Final Argumentative Essay due (22nd)

December
● Progress Presentation 2 (6th)

● Meet with advisor (13th)

● Ask Cheryl from Halau to come help teach

● Every Hawaiian club member knows chants/ meaning

January

● Demo Presentation

● Majority of members chant in front of large group at regatta

● Friday meetings will be longer for performers (10th)

● Meet with advisor (10th)

● Start figuring out Luau line up (17th)

February
● Club members understand Hawaiian culture and importance

● Mock Luau (7th)

● Final Project Reflection due (14th)

● Final Presentation/ Trifold due (21st)

March
● Kihei Charter Luau (7th)