Aloha pika waiʻolu kākou! ʻO Sophie Kaleimomi Waiʻoli koʻu inoa. No Kāneʻohe, Oʻahu mai au. Noho māua ʻo kaʻu kōkoʻolua, ʻo ʻIkaʻaka Nāhuewai, ma ka ʻāina kaulana i ka paia ʻala i ka hala. Puka akula ma lalo o Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani a loaʻa maila ke kēkelē laepua Haʻawina Hawaiʻi, ka Laikini Aʻo Kahuawaiola, a me ke kēkelē laeoʻo Hoʻonaʻauao ʻŌlelo a Moʻomeheu ʻŌiwi– he pāhana no ka hoʻomākaukau ʻana i nā kumu no nā keiki ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi pā i ka Dyslexia. ʻAkahi nō au a komo ma ka ʻohana Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu i ka makahiki 2021, ma ke ʻano he kumu hoʻonaʻauao haumāna kīnānā. Me ka haʻahaʻa a me ke ohohia au e ʻauamo ai i kēia kuleana me ka mālama pū i kaʻu mākia hoʻonaʻauao ponoʻī: "I ʻike ʻia nō ke kanaka no kekahi lāhui ma kāna ʻōlelo" (Ka Puʻuhonua o Nā Hawaiʻi, 1917). ʻO ka ʻōlelo ke kaʻā o ka mauli.

A pitcher full of pleasant waters to everyone! My name is Sophie Kaleimomi Waiʻoli. I am from Kāneʻohe, Oʻahu. My partner, ʻIkaʻaka Nāhuewai, and I reside in the land made famous by the fragrant walls of pandanus. I graduated under Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani and received my BA in Hawaiian Studies, Kahuawaiola Teachers License, and MA in Indigenous Language and Culture Education– my action research project is based on preparing teachers for Hawaiian language speaking students affected by Dyslexia. I joined the Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu ʻohana for the first time this year 2021, as a special education teacher. It is with much humility and enthusiasm that I carry this responsibility while also maintaining my personal educational motto: "A person is recognized by which nation they belong to through their language" (Ka Puʻuhonua o Nā Hawaiʻi, 1917). Language is the fiber that binds us to our cultural identity.