Lavender Whorline

Kumu Jordan Kahaku Asing helps his students prepare for an upcoming presentation to celebrate Queen Liliʻuokalani’s birthday. Asing also teaches both the Hawaiian Language classes and the hula classes.

In September, the Sacred Hearts Academy Hawaiian classes celebrated Hawaiian History Month and honored Queen Liliʻuokalani’s birthday with a series of student-led presentations.

Under the guidance of teacher Jordan Kahaku Asing, students learned three ‘oli (traditional Hawaiian chants), two speeches, a “fact of the day” and a mele (song) performed by the advanced class during the morning flag assembly.

“They deserve to see other people’s cultures, and I think that if we acknowledge each other’s cultures and traditions, we can get to know each other on a deeper level.”

Cassandra Morete, a senior at Sacred Hearts Academy, was in the crowd during flag. She expressed her interest and appreciation for the presentation and said she is excited for the next upcoming presentation from the Hawaiian class.

The celebration recognized the queen’s lasting contributions to the Kingdom of Hawai‘i and her people.

“There is an upward growth of Hawaiian language, Hawaiian history and Hawaiian cultural students,” Asing said. “To have them, to teach them, share with them the beauty of our culture, true language, aloha and history—so that our language and culture remain a strong force here.”

Preparations began in August and concluded on the last day of September. For weeks, students in the Hawaiian language classes wrote their own scripts and rehearsed the chants.

The ceremony received much praise from the school community, and Asing said he has more projects like this planned for the future.