Kailua pupils and the senior residents of Rest Villa Homes Tsudanuma mutually look forward to the visits scheduled at least four times during the school year. The children know how happy they make the residents when they perform songs and dances, as well as when doing creative art with them.
The latest visit was on Tuesday, April 29. After a short message from the school principal, the performances started with the usual “Hello Song.” The singing and dancing of the school song, “Kailua Is Your Home,” followed this. The drama club then led the group in the singing of one of the students’ favourite songs — “The Only Flower in the World, Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana.” The senior residents were ecstatic when the children performed with creative choreography their version of “Let It Go,” the theme song from the popular movie, Frozen.
Other song and dance numbers were “L-O-V-E” by the four-year-old pupils and “Day Oh” by the five-year-old children. Three young girls performed solo numbers: Takara Moriyama — “Hanamizuki,” Haruka Kurimoto — “If We Hold on Together,” and Hinata Moriyama — “Hula Dance.”
The highlight of the visit was the decorating of a large koinobori with cutouts of hibiscus flowers that the children and the residents jointly coloured. It was a lovely sight to watch the children and the senior citizens as they engaged in lively conversations while working together. One girl was very excited to know that her partner in the decorating koinobori was a 100-year-old great-grandmother.
After the koinobori was completely decorated, the children sang the “Good-Bye Song” and promised to come back soon. It had been another heart-warming celebration of the aloha spirit by Kailua children and teachers. — ROBERT GOMEZ
