In August we welcomed the new school year with ʻĀINA Program Trainings on the Kōkua Learning Farm and garden parties at participating ʻĀINA schools. Training sessions were held on Friday, August 1 for ʻĀINA Team Coordinators (ATC) and ʻĀINA Lead Teachers (ALT) and Saturday, August 9 for ATCs, ALTs, classroom teachers, volunteers, and administrators to be trained on Lessons 1 and 2 of the ʻĀINA in Schools curriculum. Garden parties were held at Sunset Beach Elementary, Kahala Elementary, and Kainalu Elementary to help prepare their gardens for the new school year. Continue reading more about how ʻĀINA Schools started the new school year below!
Q1 ʻĀINA Teacher Training
We celebrated the start of the 2025-2026 school year with our first training session on Friday, August 1st. ʻĀINA Team Coordinators (ATC) and ʻĀINA Lead Teachers (ALT) gathered both in-person and online to learn about how to run the ʻĀINA In Schools program. It was our first time providing a hybrid option and we hope to offer it again next year!
Quarter 1 ʻĀINA Program Training took place a week later on Saturday, August 9th at the Kōkua Learning Farm. ATCs, ALTs, classroom teachers, volunteers, and administrators gathered to be trained on Lessons 1 and 2 of the ʻĀINA In Schools curriculum. We were excited to on-board six new ʻĀINA teachers and welcome back ten returning teachers.
ʻĀINA Garden Parties
It is officially Garden Party season! ʻĀINA Schools all over Oʻahu have been hosting garden parties to help prepare their gardens for the new school year. Sunset Beach Elementary students, teachers, and volunteers worked together to remove sunn hemp that was planted over the summer and top off their garden beds with fresh soil. Kahala Elementary students and volunteers were hard at work preparing their garden beds and rejuvenating their soil. They also held a second garden party to finish their preparations with the help of students from Kalani High School. Kainalu Elementary hosted their garden party at the end of this month and prepped 17 garden beds. We can’t wait to see their gardens flourish this school year!
Q2 ʻĀINA Teacher Training
The Quarter 2 ʻĀINA Program Training will take place on Saturday, September 27 on the Kōkua Learning Farm from 8:30am-2:30pm. We will be reviewing Lessons 3 and 4 of the ʻĀINA Curriculum and distributing supplies. This training is open to ATCs, ALTs, classroom teachers, administrators, custodians, and volunteers (must be approved by ATC or ALT before attending). Anyone interested in attending can rsvp here.