Trevy’s First Lā Kūʻokoʻa!

Once there was a little boy named Trevy Ha’alilio Once there was a little boy named Trevy Ha’alilio. He went to Kamehameha Schools, as a kindergartener. He loved it there. He had lots of friends and enjoyed learning all the cool things about being Hawaiian.

On the morning of November 28, his mom dropped him off at island car pick up. While saying good morning to Mr. Silva, he saw everyone in his grade was wearing a white shirt and so was he. He also saw that there were Hae Hawaii (Hawaiian Flags) everywhere!

On his way to drop off his library book, he saw older kids wearing red and blue. When he went in the library he asked Mrs. Samson, “Why is everyone wearing different colors?” Mrs. Samson answered, “Itʻs Lā Kūʻokoʻa, Hawaiian Independence Day. So everyone is wearing the colors of our Hae Hawaiʻi.” “Oh ok” Trevy said. As Trevy walked to class he thought about this “Lā Kuʻokoʻa” and thought about what the meaning behind it was.

When he got to class, his friends called out to him, “Trevy, come on When he got to class, his friends called out to him, “Trevy, come on! Something exciting is happening! Weʻre talking about Lā Kūʻokoʻa.” Mrs. Pittman was explaining that “In order for Hawaiʻi to become independent, three men had to go across the sea to England. These three men were, William Richards, Sir George Simpson, and Timoteo Haʻalilio.” Trevy answered with, “Hey, when I went down to the library Mrs. Samson told me that we were wearing different colored shirts to show the colors of our Hawaiian flag to celebrate Lā Kuʻokoʻa.”

Trevy thought about this and realized, “I have the same last name as that guy, I wonder why?” The rest of the day they played fun games, and had a parade to celebrate Hawaii’s independence. He sat by his friends, Isaiah and Kai.

When Trevy went home he told his Mom and Dad about what he learned in school and what Lā Kūʻokoʻa was. “Mommy, Daddy why does the guy named Timoteo have the same last name as us?” His dad replied, “We just found out he was your great, great, great, great, great uncle. He is a part of our family. So today we are having a party in honor of him and you can tell all your aunties and uncles what you learned.” He then talked about the three men that sailed across the sea. Then he asked his mom,

Later that night Trevy and his family had a Lā Kūʻokoʻa Celebration Later that night Trevy and his family had a Lā Kūʻokoʻa Celebration. Trevy told his ʻohana what he learned about the holiday and that today he discovered that Timoteo Haʻalilio was his great great great great great uncle. And at the end of the night, Trevy exclaimed, “I canʻt wait to celebrate Lā Kūʻokoʻa again next year!!” Hipahipa Holea!

Lā Kūʻokoʻa Cheers Lā kūʻokoʻa Hawaiʻi mau loa (x2) We say “Hipa” You say “Holea” (x2) We say “Lā” You say “Kūʻokoʻa” (x2) We say “Hawaiʻi” You say “Mau Loa” (x2) Line 1:Hold Lā for 2 seconds Line 2:Octave note higher Line 3: Hipa Holea means “Hip Hooray” Line 4: Hawaiʻi Mau loa means “Hawaiʻi forever and ever”