WHEELERAca,!E+ARMYAca,!E+AIRFIELD, Hawaii - Wheeler Elementary School recently celebrated 50 years of teaching while honoring the path of the warriors, or "hanohano ke ala na koa," in Hawaiian.
The school - students, parents, teachers, staff, retired teachers, district administrators, former students - and its military partner, the 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, represented by Lt. Col. Kenneth Hawley, commander, 2-6th Cav. Regt., sat through a 45-minute ceremony in a constant but gentle mist of rain.
Yet, not even the rain could dampen the hearts and minds of the Wheeler Elementary community as it honored the past and the present.
"We've set a course for the future of our students," said Joe Lee, school principal, referring to a time 25 years from now when future students and faculty will be able to unearth a time capsule containing items carefully chosen from 2010.
Some of the items included a yearbook, grade level curriculum booklets, a school menu, a school uniform T-shirt and a copy of the Hawaii Army Weekly and Honolulu Advertiser.
An oil-painted mural was revealed during the ceremony. The mural portrayed the connection and evolution of learning. It depicted an ancient warrior passing knowledge and wisdom to a present-day student, and also a modern-day Soldier passing knowledge and wisdom to an ancient child.
Before Wheeler Army Airfield's military history began, ancient chiefs used the area as a training ground for warriors in the 1600s.
"It was created based upon the collective hearts and minds of the fourth-grade students' own artwork, poetry and personal interviews," explained Laurie Ganaban, a local artist who painted the mural, which will be displayed in the school's library.
Fourth-grade students studied the lyrics of the song "Aina," written by Gordon Freitas, who was also a special guest at the event. They wrote interpretive responses and performed a hula to the song taught by Kumu Hula Kaipo Kalua.
An ukulele group made up of fourth- and fifth-grade boys, led by Kupuna Janet Ongoy, played "Happy Anniversary."
Rounding off the day's celebration, students, teachers and parents visited activity stations with poi-pounding, hula, storytelling, Hawaiian implements and games.
"I am proud to walk the path with past contributors, our current team of skilled teachers and the students who are our future," Lee said about his beloved school. "Invest now and all will prosper, especially when we invest love, understanding and trust."
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