Parker Students Shine at School May Day
Parker lower school students performed at the school’s 13th annual May Day on Friday, April 27.
All 102 students in kindergarten through grade 5 worked twice a week for four months under the direction of kumu hula (dance teacher) Liana Aveiro to learn Hawaiian language, oli (Hawaiian chants), mele (Hawaiian song) and hula (Hawaiian form of dance). Fifteen faculty, staff and middle and upper school students also danced a hula in celebration of May Day.
Following the morning program, Parker middle and upper school students held a ho’olaule’a (celebration) which offered numerous hands-on cultural stations including: kapa (fabric made from plant fibers) design, lei making, poi pounding; as well as hukihuki (tug of war) and haka moa (standing chicken fight). The day’s festivities also included a Hawaiian menu of kalua pork (cooked in an underground oven), sweet potatoes, pineapple and haupia (coconut dessert).