About 700 students returned to Lāhaināluna High School for the first time in more than two months after the Aug. 8 wildfires.
This was the first of three schools to open this week. Lāhainā Intermediate will open Tuesday followed by Princess Nāhi‘ena‘ena Elementary and King Kamehameha III Elementary.
The first day of school consisted of morning piko (protocol) in the gym with an assembly that included chant, song and a student tribute.
"It's been really nice to see all my friends," Lāhaināluna senior Teva Loft said in a Monday news release. "This campus brings back a lot of good memories from last year."
It's homecoming week at Lāhaināluna High, with activities leading up to the school's first home football game Saturday against Baldwin High.
Parents and teachers had raised concerns about the evacuation plan for wildfires and the air and water quality in the surrounding schools.
Lāhaināluna High Principal Richard Carosso said he's comfortable being on campus after the Hawai'i Department of Education determined it to be environmentally safe.
"I've been up here for the last couple of months," Carosso said in a news release. "For me, the data and the science says that our school is safe, so I'm comfortable being here."
Superintendent Keith Hayashi said the DOE has done environmental testing on soil and drinking water, which has been determined safe.
The education department posted a progress report of the test results for air, water and more.
Hayashi also said the department is weaving the new emergency access routes into the emergency action plans.
As other schools are slated to open later this week, King Kamehameha III Elementary will share a campus with Princess Nāhi'ena'ena Elementary. Students and teachers will be in air-conditioned tents used as classrooms until the temporary campus near the Kapalua Airport opens.
