Saturday, December 28, 1996
Name: Wendy Yoshimoto
Age: 52
Position: Wailupe Valley Elementary principal
Education: Church College of Hawaii
Pastimes: Tennis, swimming, reading
So the Wailupe Valley Elementary School principal tries to be there when her staff needs her, whether it's for advice or help in the classroom.
"If you need help, she will pitch in no matter how busy she is," said kindergarten teacher Ann Fuller. "She's very generous."
Lately much of that help has been in the form of ukulele-strumming and piano key-
punching.
Because the school's part-time music instructor can accommodate only half the students, Yoshimoto has taken it upon herself to give kindergartners through second-graders their music education in weekly, 30-minute sessions.
"I just enjoy music," said Yoshimoto, a music and technology teacher for more than 20 years at Enchanted Lake Elementary. "You can't get it out of the system. I was just fortunate that this school is small enough for me to be able to do it."
The children learn Hawaiian songs, themes from Disney shows and musicals. They also do a bit of dancing, play acting and even the hand jive.
Fuller and Yoshimoto formed the Wailupe Valley Singers, about 18 students who meet after school once a week - no audition necessary. The children performed on Veterans Day for senior citizens at Lunalilo Home, singing patriotic songs and "Happy Birthday" in Hawaiian. They even stuck around to teach the residents the hand jive, Fuller said.