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| Old Kahili School |
Name Your School!
Ask
long-time Kauai residents, what does the word Kahili mean to you, and quite likely they will say, “That’s the
school at the base of Kahili Mountain at the end of the terrible dirt road.” Or
they might mention, “Some of my friends went to that school when they were
kids.” On Kauai, Kahili is synonymous
with the Adventist school that hundreds of island kids attended over a 28-year
period.
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| Kahili Standards |
When asked,
“What is Kahili?” a few might say, “It’s
the name of the tall feathered standards that the Hawaiians used to
announce to the people that the King was coming.”
Kahili was an inspired name for our
Seventh-day Adventist School—when it was at the base of the mountain—because it
not only told where the school was but it indicated the school’s mission “to
tell the world the King is coming.”
The problem
is, the school is no longer at the base of Kahili Mountain. It has been moved
to the temporary location of the Kapaa Seventh-day Adventist Church. So what
should we call the school now?
Should we
keep the name Kahili and launch a marketing campaign to explain that Kahili isn’t
a place—but the name of the standard that explains our mission to tell the
world, “The King is Coming?”
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| Kapaa church where school is located |
Or would it
be better to change the name and give the new school a new identity that isn’t
tied to a location or the negative feelings about the power-play that forced
the school to move from the Kahili location?
This
dilemma was posed to church members who attended the schools constituency
meeting last Sunday. And now we need your help!
What makes a GREAT Name?
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| New Preschool Classroom |
Ideally a name should represent the school without
having to say the whole thing or having to add a motto. For example, when asked
what school kids attend they usually say Kahili, or Kamehameha or Chiefess. We
could call the school Kauai Adventist School, but then kids couldn’t say, “Oh,
I attend Kauai!”
The name should be short. Easy to remember—and easy to
pronounce. (At least that’s what marketing experts would say.)
It shouldn't be tied to a location—because who knows
where the school will end up!
4. It should give a message about the mission of the
school by using words like character, love, service, integrity, aspire,
knowledge, or care. And it would be nice if it were a simple Hawaiian name—like
Kahili!
5. It should be something that the entire constituency
agrees on. We don’t want to be changing the name again!
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| New Elementary Classroom |
A
suggestion was made that since God cares for the individual, others, and the
environment—that should be the school’s mission as well. Unfortunately the
Hawaiian name that suggests that idea is Na Ke Akua E Malama. And then add
Adventist School—and that’s quite a mouthful. For native Hawaiians, the name
easily rolls off their tongues because it basically says, “God Cares.” But for
the rest of us, it’s hard to remember—and tough to say. Plus, a prominent
island pediatrician uses the word Malama in the name of his clinic. We don’t
want people thinking this is a school that “cares” for kids—like a medical
institution.
So, what do you think? What ideas do
you have? We are praying that God will give someone a flash of insight and a
spark of creativity and we will end up with a name that everyone will agree is
perfect! If God can bring us a pastor who everyone agreed on—He can certainly
bring us a name!
Send your
suggestions—and the reason why you think it’s a great name--to Debbie Nakamara,
our School Board Chair, at deborahnakamura@msn.com.
If you come up with the winning name, we can’t offer you free tuition for the
child of your choice—but we can say a big MAHALO!
`
Our Seventh-day Adventist conference sponsored school is
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