Old Kipapa School Plans, And Plants For Future

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Carleton Ching of Castle & Cooke (back) joins student council officers and grade-level reps to soften the soil with Hawaiian o’o sticks, making way for a new kukui tree on the Kipapa campus.

Mililani’s oldest educational institution, Kipapa Elementary, celebrated 75 years of learning this year, capping it off with a a special time capsule ceremony.

“(We did) a number of things throughout the year,” said principal Bruce Naguwa. “Our first big event was on Feb. 29, when we had a parade followed by a fun fair that was really well-attended. Our parents and children really enjoyed themselves.”

State Rep. Marilyn Lee (left), Carleton Ching, vice principal Corinne Kalilikane and principal Bruce Naguwa help students Kiana Wofford, Kai Chatfield-Kinjo, Kiana Jones and Kelsea Jones at the tree-planting, using western shovels. Photos from Susan Kam.

The school held its “Kipapa Fest” May 16 a celebration similar to May Day, which also attracted a number of retired staff members and special guests. Then on May 29, the Kipapa ohana planted a tree and buried a time capsule.

“We had opened the time capsule earlier from the 50th anniversary, and we put those items on display,” Naguwa added. “We have a list of those things from back in 1982. We kind of created it to be a grade-level project, where every grade level did research on the type of items they wanted to put in.”

Teacher Susan Kam and students Eddy Lucas (center) and Hope Pedro put the first-graders’ time capsule into place.

Inside the 2008 time capsule are pictures of cell phones, iPods, mp3 players,photos and posters of Miley Cyrus and High School Musical,in addition to games kids are playing in 2008, the school’s academic and financial plans, newspaper clippings,CDs and DVDs.The capsule will be opened in 25 years on the school’s centennial.

Both the school and Mililani town have grown and changed since pineapple fields surrounded the Kipapa campus, he said, noting that the road was once an irrigation ditch for the pineapple crop.