Dairy Dispatch

Hawaiian Lei Day

Visitors to Hawaii quickly became accustomed to the lei as an expression of welcome and hospitality. While working at the Honolulu Star Bulletin, poet laureate Don Blanding discussed his idea of celebrating and recognizing the custom of giving and receiving lei with “Kamaaina Kolumn” columnist, Grace Tower Warren. She enthusiastically embraced the idea and suggested that the day should be May 1st, coining the phrase “May Day is Lei Day.” Inspired by their zeal, Leonard “Red” and Ruth Hawk composed the song, "May Day is Lei Day," which now resonates throughout every Lei Day celebration in Hawaii.

The first Lei Day was in 1927 and celebrated in downtown Honolulu with a few people wearing lei. Since then, it has grown, and many Hawaiians wear lei on May Day.

Sources: Honolulu Parks and Recreation,  Story,  Photo.

History of the Luau

In ancient Hawaii, men and woman ate their meals apart. Commoners and women of all ranks also were forbidden by the ancient Hawaiian religion to eat certain delicacies. This all changed in 1819, when King Kamehameha II abolished the traditional religious practices. A feast where the King ate with women was the symbolic act, ending the Hawaiian religious tabus, and the luau was born.

The favorite dish at these feasts is what gave the luau its name. Young and tender leaves of the taro plant were combined with chicken, baked in coconut milk, and called luau. These royal luaus tended to be big. In 1847, Kamehameha III hosted one of the largest luaus in Hawaiian history. The list of foods prepared included 271 hogs, 482 large calabashes of poi, 3,125 salt fish, 1,820 fresh fish, 2,245 coconuts, 4,000 taro plants, and numerous other delicacies. King Kalakaua, who was known as the “Merry Monarch” for his love of parties and dance, invited over 1,500 guests to his 50th birthday luau. They were fed in shifts of 500!

Luaus today are not as big as those hosted by Hawaiian royalty in the 1800s, but they are a lot of fun and feature the same traditional foods. Here's a list of recommended luaus on the islands of Oahu, Kauai, Maui and Hawaii.

Source:  Hawaii Luaus.com
Photo: EMI Hawaii

How to Make a Basic Hawaiian Lei

Hawaiian lei makers use a special lei needle, which is about 10” long (you can order a lei making kit online), but you also can use a large sewing needle. First, cut a 45” piece of dental floss or carpet thread.

Carefully string the flowers together by going through the centers of the flowers, from front to back, and slide them two or three at a time down the string.

When you’ve finished, your lei will be 36” long, giving you enough thread leftover to tie the ends together. Store your lei in a moistened plastic bag, and keep it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it.

Source: Hawaii-Luaus.com
Photo: MagicCarpetJournals.com

A Dazzling Feast of News Fit for a King

VizZle, produced by Monarch Teaching Technologies, announced the launch of the VizZle Classroom Edition, which includes three additional student player licenses per teacher license. With its new mobile tablet compatibility, educators can better meet the needs of students with special needs using technology best suited to their individual learning styles. VizZle offers more than 15,000 pieces of media and 4,000 peer-reviewed lessons to help foster independent learning and tracks student performance against IEP goals. The software also includes embedded professional development resources, including a self-study course powered by Moodle®, and on demand video modules. Read more…

Edmodo announced that the Khan Academy Community is now live on its social learning network, providing access to more than 2,100 videos produced and narrated by Sal Khan. Educators can access the Khan Academy videos by joining the community, then selecting Collection on the left navigation bar to view the entire library of videos. Resources from the Khan Academy are produced for both teachers and students, providing students with practice exercises and assessments, and teachers with data on student progress. Read more…

In advance of Better Hearing and Speech Month, Califone recently conducted a survey on the role of technology to prevent student hearing loss. Of the respondents, 84 percent either “strongly agreed” or “somewhat agreed” that technology should be available to help younger students understand the adverse effects of loud volume levels and protect them against prolonged hearing loss. A supporter of ASHA’s Listen To Your Buds campaign, Califone has designed a number of products that offer 85-decibel restrictions on volume, complying with the safety level recommended by ASHA. Read more...

This month, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden launched a national initiative to support and honor America’s service members and their families. In support, Discovery Education announced a campaign to provide high-quality digital content to DoDEA schools, including professional development through the Discovery Educator Network, Help on the Homefront classroom challenge, and representation of military children on Discovery Education’s Student Advisory Board. Coinciding with the launch, Jamie Hyneman and Grant Imahara from Discovery Channel’s hit series MythBusters joined Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden for a special event at Fountain-Fort Carson High School in Colorado Springs, where military children make up nearly half of the student body. Read more...

Key Curriculum Press launched a new professional development organization, Key Math Strategists, designed to help schools make sense of, and gain maximum benefit from, the integration of the Common Core State Standards. Key Math Strategists’ data-driven, tailored professional development programs incorporate face-to-face workshops, on-site and virtual coaching, student curriculum, and moderated online courses. After a complimentary and thorough assessment of a district’s math program, Key Math Strategists partners with the district to develop a comprehensive, integrated and strategic professional development program designed to deliver results and provide valuable resources for teachers and administrators. Read more...

Shmoop announced the arrival of two more Online Test Prep Courses: AP Psychology and AP Macroeconomics. The company’s other courses for AP Exams include: AP Calculus AB & BC, AP English Language, AP English Literature, AP Microeconomics, AP U.S. History, and AP U.S. Government. Each course offers deep content review, drill questions and practice exams. With this release, Shmoop now offers Online Test Prep Courses for nine of the most popular AP Exams, as well as the SAT, ACT and PSAT. Shmoop Test Prep is available for individual purchase and at a discounted rate through site licenses for districts, schools and libraries. Read more...

PCI Education introduced LIFT, a new line of intensive intervention programs targeted to middle and high school students. LIFT is designed for struggling students who are performing two or more years below grade level, including students with learning differences, and English language learners. To raise student performance, LIFT intervention programs target critical academic gaps, engage students and support teachers. LIFT comprises four intervention programs that address reading, writing and mathematics: TextConnections, SummerVentures Reading & Writing, SummerVentures Mathematics and Momentum Math Grade Level Editions. PCI Education announced LIFT at the CEC 2011 Convention & Expo, as the company celebrated its 20th anniversary. Read more...

e2020 launched eLibrary, a new feature that can be sold separately, or as an add-on to its Virtual Classroom/Virtual Tutor products. eLibrary is a keyword search tutorial system, giving students access to more than 4,600 lessons aligned to individual state standards in math, science, social studies, language arts and electives for grades 6-12. Search results provide lesson descriptions, including lesson objectives and elements, from which students select a part of the lesson they wish to view or complete. Using eLibrary, students can be proactive in their education by searching for individualized, self-paced learning activities to enhance and strengthen previously presented information. For more information, visit education2020.com.

The Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) and STI have launched the Graduation Tracking System to support ALSDE's ”Every Child a Graduate” Dropout Prevention Awareness Campaign. Tracking key dropout indicators enables school leaders to identify and monitor students at-risk of school failure and apply intervention strategies to get students back on track to graduate. The system is available to all schools, districts and local education agencies in the state at no additional cost through InformationNOW, STI’s comprehensive web-based student information system. Read more...

To provide educators with more online learning opportunities throughout the year, PBS TeacherLine®, the premier provider of online professional development for preK-12 educators, has expanded its course schedule to six terms. PBS TeacherLine now offers additional spring and summer terms that feature some of the latest and most popular courses from its catalog of more than 80 online facilitated courses that span the preK-12 curriculum. Independent research studies show that PBS TeacherLine courses help educators boost their confidence and competence in instructional technology integration, improve their knowledge of content and instructional strategies, and increase student achievement. Enrollment is now open. The first session begins May 11. Read more...

Yorktown Community Schools, Delphi Community School Corporation, School City of East Chicago and Taylor Community School Corporation in Indiana recently selected eChalk’s social learning platform to increase community engagement and improve student outcomes, while saving time and streamlining technology systems. With eChalk, Indiana school administrators, teachers and parents can easily and safely connect, communicate and collaborate anytime, anywhere to provide effective, personalized learning experiences for students. eChalk provides personalized tech support and hands-on training to ensure successful implementation and effective technology integration. For more information, visit echalk.com.

Mark Your Calendar

SIIA Ed Tech Industry Summit
May 22-24, 2011, San Francisco
Register at siia.net/etis/2011/register.asp

AEP’s Content in Context Conference
June 6-9, 2011, Washington D.C.
Register at contentincontext.org/index.php/pricingandregistration-menu

InfoComm 2011
June 11-17, 2011, Orlando
Register at infocommshow.org/eventinfo_279.asp

ISTE 2011
June 26-29, 2011, Philadelphia
Register at isteconference.org/ISTE/2011/registration

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