Lahainaluna High and Kulanihako‘i High students and staff participate in an opening protocol to honor the partnership between the two schools on Thursday morning. Kulanihako‘i High is serving as a temporary site for Lahainaluna students to attend classes until their campus in Lahaina can be cleared. Photos courtesy Department of Education

The Maui News

KIHEI — An estimated 500 Lahainaluna High School students reported Thursday to Kulanihako’i High for their first day of in-person instruction since the Aug. 8 wildfires forced the closure of their campus.

Lahainaluna students were welcomed by Kulanihako’i students and staff cheering and waving signs at the drop-off area on campus, according to the state Department of Education. The day started with an opening protocol to honor the partnership between the two schools, and was followed by a rotating orientation for Lahainaluna students. Students got their schedules, received a campus tour, met with their homeroom teachers and were offered in-kind gifts of snack bags and backpacks filled with school supplies and hygiene items. Staff also assisted students with new ID cards and distributed school uniforms.

“I always want kids to feel wanted and welcomed, for parents to feel wanted and welcomed on campus. And our staff is fantastic at doing that,” Lahainaluna Principal Richard Carosso said in a news release Thursday. “They were so excited these last three days, knowing they were going to get kids coming back to school, and I think they started out that way, and then just loving on their kids and making them feel that we, as Lahainaluna, are back.”

The school day ended with Lahainaluna students singing their alma mater, led by retired teacher “Aunty Lori,” who taught at Lahainaluna for many decades.

Lahainaluna High School students gather on the campus of Kulanihako‘i High School on Thursday. Kulanihako‘i High is serving as a temporary site for Lahainaluna students to attend classes while their campus in Lahaina undergoes testing and cleanup after the Aug. 8 wildfires. Photos courtesy Department of Education

Lahainaluna teachers and staff began reporting to Kulanihako’i High on Monday to plan and prepare for welcoming students. Staff were able to get acclimated to the new campus, set up their classrooms and also received training for student mental health support.

“I’m really looking forward to a great Lahainaluna feeling even though we are in a different space,” Lahainaluna math teacher Cornelio “CJ” Ancheta said in a news release. “The energy that I felt today is indescribable — I wanted to hug everybody, I wanted to talk to everybody because I care for them, and I’m looking forward to a great learning experience (over) the next three weeks.”

Kulanihako’i High is serving as a temporary school site for Lahainaluna students, who remain enrolled in Lahainaluna. Three of the four public schools in Lahaina survived the fires but remain closed for environmental testing and cleanup. The DOE is tentatively planning to reopen Princess Nahi’ena’ena Elementary, Lahaina Intermediate and Lahainaluna after fall break in mid-October.

Students and staff of King Kamehameha III Elementary, which was damaged beyond repair, will share a campus with Princess Nahi’ena’ena Elementary while a future temporary site is planned.

Some Lahaina students’ families have enrolled their kids in other schools in Central and South Maui or opted for distance learning.

On Thursday, free bus transportation for Lahainaluna students and staff was provided from Kapalua Airport and Whalers Village in West Maui and from War Memorial Gym in Wailuku. Due to increased student registrations for bus services, additional buses are being added to the route effective today. To sign up for bus service, see bit.ly/WestMauiBusApp.

Lahainaluna students will begin their regular class schedules today.

“I think that it’s very important for students to be in physical learning because we have our classmates around and it’s just much easier when you have your friends, your classmates, and especially for what we went through, we can be together,” said Lahainaluna junior class president RJ Arconado.

Carosso added that athletics and other extracurricular activities have resumed.

“For a lot of our programs, especially extracurriculars — athletics and the band as well — being able to have a campus that is open for us means that those programs can continue,” he said.

A distance learning hub for K-8 Lahaina students will begin welcoming students on Tuesday at Citizen Church in Kahana. The learning hub will provide distance learning students with in-person opportunities for teacher support and peer socialization, as well as access to meals, recess, social-emotional learning and other resources, the DOE said.

“We know there’s a really strong demand to have some kind of in-person opportunity on the west side and so we’ve been working around the clock to look for opportunities for students,” Rebecca Winkie, the Hana-Lahainaluna-Lanai-Molokai complex area superintendent said.

“We’re working on three different learning hubs — one is a distance learning hub, and it’s not a full-day experience but it at least gives them daily contact with an adult and some time to spend with her peers and for us to provide other services that are really important. We’re also looking at a Kaiapuni (Hawaiian language immersion) education hub … and we’re also looking to provide a hub for special education services.”

Families who need assistance can call the DOE’s support hotline at (808) 727-6880 or text SUPPORT to (808) 736-1427 from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Lahainaluna High and Kulanihako‘i High students and staff participate in an opening protocol to honor the partnership between the two schools on Thursday morning. Kulanihako‘i High is serving as a temporary site for Lahainaluna students to attend classes until their campus in Lahaina can be cleared. Photos courtesy Department of Education Lahainaluna High School students gather on the campus of Kulanihako‘i High School on Thursday. Kulanihako‘i High is serving as a temporary site for Lahainaluna students to attend classes while their campus in Lahaina undergoes testing and cleanup after the Aug. 8 wildfires. Photos courtesy Department of Education

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