Nāʻālehu Elementary students return to campus Monday after repairs from Hurricane Lala

About 400 students returned to Nāʻālehu Elementary School on Monday after a nearly two-month closure for repairs following Hurricane Lala, which left mud, debris and flood damage across the South Hawaiʻi Island campus.

Mondayʻs reopening began with a ceremony at the school flagpole, where students gathered for an oli aloha, or welcoming chant.

Members of the school’s hālau performed an oli pale (a protective chant) and hula and presented a lei to the school. The gathering concluded with an oli mahalo, or chant of gratitude, and a closing pule, or prayer.

Students then ran through welcome-back banners stretched across a campus corridor to celebrate their big return.

Sixth grader Luke Mook said he was “super excited to come back to school and learn.”

“I got to see all my friends and hang out with them and, like, communicate again and see all my teachers and, yeah, it’s really special.”

Hurricane Lala, which struck the Big Island on Aug. 15, brought heavy rains and flooding, leaving mud and debris inside school buildings and classrooms and damaging the foundation support of one building.

Jason Britt, Principal at Nāʻālehu Elementary, said Monday felt “like the first day of school.

“We only had a couple of weeks before the storm hit, so we didn’t really get a chance to build those relationships and do everything we wanted to do. So it’s a brand new year all over again.

“Itʻs really nice to have the kids back, to have them running through the halls, making noise, playing on the playground. It’s just bringing life back to the school, which in turn brings back a sense of normalcy and life back to the community of Nāʻālehu,” he said.

The team removed more than 600 tons of debris from the campus and refurbished about 40 rooms. Work included installing new flooring and ceiling fans, repairing classroom ceilings, painting, removing mold, and restoring the playground.

The team also replaced furniture and equipment damaged by water and mud.

The Hawaiʻi State Department of Education, the state Department of Accounting and General Services and private construction crews worked together to restore the campus and prepare it for students’ safe return.

Ramzi Mansour, program manager, DAGS, West Hawaiʻi District Office, explained that the team took care of 39 rooms, “replacing the flooring, the ceilings.”

“We have to add more structural elements to the ceiling to be able to handle the new ceiling tiles. As you see from plywood, we put ceiling fans for every classroom. So it was a lot of work, given the time that we were given, 21 days to complete, so our kids could come back to school,” she said.

Students and staff had temporarily relocated to the Kaʻū District Gym beginning Sept. 2.

In-person instruction continued there on a staggered, grade-level schedule while repairs were underway. The reopening marked students’ return to campus after weeks of temporary learning arrangements and extensive restoration work.