Aloha! I am Mr. Kawatachi and I will be your child's PE and Health teacher for the school year 2023 - 2024. This will be my 6th year as Makalapa's PE and Health teacher as well as the manager of the after-school sports program that will include volleyball, basketball and track.

I was born in 1966 and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. I attended Lunalilo Elementary School, St. Louis School (Honolulu) and graduated from Punahou School in 1984. In 2006, I got my A.A. degree in Liberal Arts with a concentration in Elementary Education from Kapiolani Community College. I then earned my BA in Elementary Education from the University of Hawaii in 2009. 

I wholeheartedly and thoroughly enjoy being an elementary school teacher!  I started my teaching career as a part time teacher at Lunalilo Elementary School in 2009. It was my honor to be asked to teach at the elementary school where I spent my kindergarten through 6th grade years. I then became a 2nd grade Special Education teacher at Waikele Elementary and then became a 5th grade General Education teacher at Waipahu Elementary School where I stayed for 8 years before I became Makalapa's PE and Health teacher. I immensely enjoy teaching and working with children; they are honest, enthusiastic, and charming. Their very essence, at their age, of what life is about - no racial or gender differences, an energy unbridled, and a curiosity unquenched - are qualities that adults sometimes surrender. I honestly feel like there are a lot of lessons we could learn from children.

The sweetest time of my life was when I was in elementary school! I enjoyed my teachers who laughed and joked with us students and made learning fun. It made me work harder for those teachers and I couldn't wait to go to elementary school each and every day. I also remember my teacher's heart-warming smiles when I succeeded, their encouraging words when I didn't, and affectionate hugs when I felt sad and they knew it. I learned a lot from my elementary teachers back in the early 1970's and their impact resonates into the elementary teacher I am today.