KOLOA — On Wednesday morning, the sound of busy, excited happy kids marked The Koloa Early School (TKES) with its capacity population of 49 students.
Mandie Gibson is the principal of TKES, which has been open and operating with its staff and students for about a month.
“We still have work to do,” Gibson said. “There are still toys to replace, and Bertram Almeida, the president of the Garden Island Motorcycle Club, (is) supposed to come next week to take away all the vegetation they cut back. They are all angels.”
TKES was a victim of the April rainfall and flooding that drenched Koloa.
“Everything was in shambles and pushed up to the fencing,” Gibson said. “The rains brought flooding of more than three feet of dirty, unsanitary water that wreaked havoc on the sand, play structures and the outside learning materials.”
Just as rainbows mark the end of rainfall, Gibson received an outpouring of support that came from TKES parents who helped with more than 10 dump runs for destroyed and ruined materials from the playground and under-shed storage.
“Austin and Sarah Lord were a tremendous help to taking destroyed items to the dump, as well as to haul away all the sand on the playground that was too unsanitary to keep,” Gibson said. “Many thanks to all the TKES families who showed their kokua in helping out with the playground cleanup.”
Gibson said there were many moving parts to getting the outside learning center ready for new and returning TKES students for the school’s Aug. 5 start date.
“A huge mahalo to Bertram Almeida and his crew who volunteered their time to help to get us ready for the new school year. e and his crew played a huge part in our playground cleanup. We want to extend our appreciation and gratitude towards Precision Fencing, who (helped) to repair our fences and with the spread of new sand,” Gibson said.
“Sam Angell built two amazing sandboxes, including the pirate ship sandbox that we never had before the flooding. Robert Filaroski built a tent structure and playhouse to replace the play houses we lost. Zeke Almamida repaired damage from the flooding, and Kauai Concrete and Rock graciously took the sand order to cover the playground and ensuring the sand would be ready for delivery in such a quick and timely manner.
“Paradise Bloom Landscaping created a puka in their route to have the sand delivered. Blythe with A&S Property helped with the overgrown vegetation, and there are many other TKES parents and volunteers who volunteered their time to sanitize, clean and (remove) destroyed items.”
With the school operating for about a month with its full complement of students, Gibson said the TKES staff feels blessed to be able to provide for the families of the south side and the surrounding community.
“Our TKES motto is ‘Where Children Love to Learn,’ and we are ever so grateful that we could begin the new school year with such a beautiful outside learning area,” Gibson said. “Kauai is such a magical place to live, and it is the people who make it so.”
