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Island Youth

The keiki and `opio of Molokai

A Little Play, A Little Work

Friday, June 3rd, 2011

UPDATE -- CORRECTION

Summer days don’t have to be boring for the keiki of Molokai. Both parents and students can benefit from a variety of fun and educational programs on the island, such as 21st Century, Alu Like, and PALS.
 
Whether you’re a teenager looking to make a few bucks, or a five-year-old learning dance, summer programs are available now.

“Even though it is a small island, there is so much to do,” said Karen Deguilmo, recreation specialist for Maui County.

PALS

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Ho`omana Hou Graduates Four

Monday, May 30th, 2011

Ho`omana Hou Graduates Four

Through tears and smiles, hugs and warm words, four students proudly graduated from Ho`omana Hou High School last Friday. The graduation ceremony – planned, organized and led by the students themselves – focused on  ohana to demonstrate understanding of who they are and where they come from.

The four – Mikayla Tengan, Shaquille Rapanot-McGuire, Che Gonzales and Rashel Ka`aikala – were joined by underclassmen in singing oli. Before they were handed their diplomas, students chanted their genealogy in `olelo Hawaii.

While Ho'omana Hou is not an immersion language school, `olelo Hawaii plays an important in the curriculum for students to learn about protocol, history, and the Molokai environment, according to Karen Holt, school principal.

Their kumu tied a kihei around the shoulders of the four students that they had each hand-painted, symbolizing status and maturity, according to Ho`omana Hou teacher Loretta Ritte. Students’ parents bestowed a kukui lei around their necks in recognition of the knowledge they gained, and their grandparents placed lei po`o (head garlands) upon them. The lei po`o were gathered and woven by the students themselves from native rainforest plants, symbolizing patience, planning and spirituality.

Speaker Rapanot-McGuire reflected on all his class has been through and the good times they shared – “We will cherish the memories and laughs,” he said.

Two of the four graduates are already enrolled in college, while the other two plan to apprentice in the electrician and mechanic trades, according to Holt.

The school’s curriculum is based on Molokai’s resources, focusing on the island's environmental and cultural heritage.  It provides hands-on opportunities to learn academic skills in outdoor settings.

Ho`omana Hou is licensed and its credits are accepted by colleges and vocational schools in Hawaii and on the mainland. The school is now accepting applications for new students in grades 9-12; to apply, contact the Molokai Community Service Council at 553-3244 or mcsc@molokai.org.

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Molokai Wrestlers Strong in States

Monday, May 30th, 2011

Community Contributed

By Randy Manley

On Saturday May 14, 58 wrestlers from the Molokai Wrestling Club participated in the Kid’s State Wrestling Championships at the Lahaina Civic Center on Maui. In all, 520 wrestlers representing 22 wrestling clubs from Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Hawaii Island and Lanai competed throughout the day.

Wrestlers from age four through adult were grouped in seven divisions and a variety of weight classes. 
At the end of the day, 34 Molokai wrestlers finished in the top three in their respected divisions. As a team the Molokai Club finished the day in fourth place with 76 total team points, just behind third place Maui Central (77 pts.), second Napili Surf Riders (80 pts.), and first place Maui Razorbacks (89 pts.).

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Stepping Up for Success

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

Stepping Up for Success

A new state educational incentive program has come to Molokai to help students excel rather than simply meet the status quo.

Now in its second year, the Step Up Scholars program encourages eighth and ninth graders to earn the state Board of Education (BOE) Recognition Diploma. To receive the recognition award, students pledge to achieve higher than required academic accomplishments during the next four years of high school. The program partners with individual schools to help provide tutoring, financial aid advice and free SAT training.

So far, 15 students from the class of 2014 and 18 students from the class of 2015 have pledged as Step Up Scholars. State-wide Step Up Program Manager, Cherry Torres, is recruiting more middle school students for the program’s third year.

“The president and our own governor are pushing for education reform,” Torres said, a 2000 Molokai High graduate. “I think it’s not so much a reform as a community-wide effort to help out statewide the education system.”

When students pledges to earn the Recognition Diploma, they commit to extra initiative: in addition to meeting standard high school diploma requirements, students must also complete AP English, an additional math class and a senior project.

Step Up recruits students at a transition time – on the cusp of high school – to ensure they begin thinking about their choices early.

“When [students] develop interests, by the time they realize the different classes they have to take, sometimes it’s too late,” Torres said.

need to look beyond Molokai,” Svetin said. “A lot of times you’re competing against students from all over the country, sometimes from all over the world – what can make you stand out?”

Torres said they are still accepting pledges from classes 2014 and 2015 for the next school year (2011-12) until May 31. Forms are available at stepuphawaii.org. For questions contact Torres at cherry@hawaii.edu or call 1-866-808-4327.

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Peace Poets

Tuesday, May 24th, 2011

Peace Poets

Community Contributed
        
By Greta Martinez, Kualapu`u School teacher

During the months of January and February, Kualapu`u School students in second, third and fourth grades immersed themselves in the art of writing poetry. Students focused on the theme of peace and wrote haiku, acrostic, free verse and rhyming poetry. Their poems were entered in the state-wide 12th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Poem contest, organized by the International Peace Poem Project on Maui.

Fifteen students from Kualapu`u School were proud winners of first and second prizes for Maui County; 12 students traveled to Maui last week to read their poems to an audience of about 100 families and receive their awards from the office of Mayor Arakawa.


Approximately 2,000 students statewide entered the contest; about 800 of them were from Maui County. This was a memorable life-changing experience for these young poets. They were beaming with confidence and pride. Six poems written in Hawaiian language won first and second prize awards, the only poems received in Hawaiian language statewide, and two of them received honorary mention. It was truly a joy and treat to listen to over 80 students read their peace poems with pride and passion!

The International Peace Poem Project has been holding Peace Poetry contests in the state of Hawaii for the past 12 years. Their goal is to write the longest poem in the world, about peace. All students’ poems have been added to the Peace Poem Scroll which measures about three feet in diameter. If you would like to add your two lines about peace to the scroll, e-mail Melinda Gohn at peace@maui.net

Peace
By: Ramie Ann DeVera (1st prize winner grade 3A)

Peace sounds like snow falling down the sky
Peace looks like kindness in you
Peace tastes like the snow in your mouth
Peace is like smelling the flowers falling

Maluhia
By: Keahe Ross (1st prize winner grade 3 Hawaiian Immersion)

Maluhia ke kokua ana
i kekahi i kekahi a ke aloha
Ka malama i ke kahi i kekahi
Ka mahalo ana i kekahi i kekahi
Maluhia ka haka e ki ke’enei
Translation: Peace is helping each other
Peace is taking care of each other
Peace is thanking each other
Peace is giving to each other
Peace is my heart beating

Haiku Peace Poem
By: Stasia Kaahanui (1st prize winner grade 4A)

Peace is like the world
That is filled with happiness
It’s gathering hearts

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Kaunakakai ACE Students Acing

Tuesday, May 24th, 2011

Kaunakakai ACE Students Acing

Community Contributed

By Cheryl Corbiell, ACE Reading Coordinator

Every day, for 30 minutes, one-on-one tutoring with ACE Reading transformed 17 Kaunakakai Elementary School students in first, second and third grades into excellent readers. Their accomplishments were acknowledged by parents and teachers at a graduation party last week.

Kaunakakai’s School’s ACE Reading program, which means Accelerated Community Empowerment Reading, emphasizes five critical reading skills, using cutting-edge technology to teach students not only the mechanics of reading but how to understand what they read. Students attend the after-school program to work one-on-one with a reading tutor.

ACE Reading uses multi-media technology and a technique called video feed forward, which shows a student reading fluently and answering questions in complete sentences. The edited videos model excellence in reading and comprehension.


“The students see themselves reading with positive reading behaviors, and it instills a mental picture of success in the student. The students become their own models,” said Dr. Caryl Hitchcock, one of two program developers. Through this observational learning technique, students made significant gains in fluency, comprehension and confidence.

All students took home their video of the skills they learned and the gift of a book to read over the summer with compliments of the First Book program. Mahalo to Kaunakakai School’s principal, Janice Espiritu, for her enthusiastic support; Bob Underwood for the use of his classroom; the elementary teachers for supporting the students; the ACE Reading coaches (Ashley Reyes-Connelly, Olivia Riel, Darlene Heil and Jylyn Stubbs); Site Coordinator (Cheryl Corbiell); and to the grant (21st Century CLC) that provided funding for this program.

The ACE Reading Program began at Kaunakakai Elementary School in September 2003 and meets current state of Hawaii literacy standards.

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Molokai Youth to Serve in the Holy Land

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

Molokai Youth to Serve in the Holy Land

Community Contributed

By Gaellen Quinn

Last fall, Sasha Ritte-Juario applied to do a Youth Year of Service at the Baha’i World Center in Haifa, Israel. She knew to get accepted was probably a long shot – every year, hundreds of Baha’i youth from around the world apply.  But with high hopes, she sent out her application and essay about her life and community service.

In December, the acceptance phone call came. Youth who are accepted to serve at the Baha’i World Center can be assigned, among other tasks, to work in administration in the world-famous Baha’i gardens (inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List – see more at www.bahai.org) or as guides for the more than half a million tourists who visit the Baha’i World Center each year. The youth are provided with room and board and a small monthly stipend, but are responsible for their own personal expenses and transportation to and from Israel. Sasha will leave for Israel on June 13.

Founded more than a century and a half ago, the Baha’i faith has spread around the globe. Members of the Baha’i faith live in more than 100,000 localities and come from nearly every nation, ethnic group, culture, profession and social economic background.

Baha’is believe that throughout history, God has revealed Himself to humanity through a series of divine messengers whose teachings guide and educate us and provide the basis for the advancement of human society. These messengers have included Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad. Their religions come from the same source and are in essence successive chapters of one religion from God.

Baha’u’llah, the latest of these messengers brought new spiritual and social teachings for this time. He taught the oneness of God, the oneness of the human family and the oneness of religion.

The youth accepted to serve at the Baha’i World Center get a unique opportunity to experience this unity first-hand because they meet and work with others from many diverse cultures and backgrounds. At any one time, youth serving there can hail from Africa, India, Europe, Asia, North and South America or the islands of the Pacific.

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Seal Play

Tuesday, May 17th, 2011

Seal Play

While the friendly Hawaiian monk seal KP2, or Ho`ailona, no longer lives on Molokai, he is still helping youth understand more about the species.  Students at Ho`omana Hou School are creating a video to raise awareness of monk seal extinction, using Ho`ailona’s story as inspiration. The fictional account of Molokai’s favorite seal being rescued by two sharks and some fishermen is called “Aloha, Ho`ailona, Aloha.”

“The fishermen and sharks to go California to rescue Ho`ailona from swimming in circles for the rest of his life,” said Walter Ritte, teacher at Ho`omana Hou, describing the video.

Students have been working on the film since the beginning of the school year, with lots of community kokua. Ritte’s class has been taking video shooting and editing lessons from Dan Emof of Akaku, and hope to give copies of the completed video to all Molokai schools, as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).


Kaunakakai Elementary School students came out to lend a hand during the shoot last week, standing at the Kaunakakai Wharf to welcome Ho`ailona home for one of the video’s scenes (pictured left/right/above). Fifth grade teacher Kawika Gonzales said his class has been learning about Hawaiian monk seals. Since his class has made field trips to Ritte’s school to learn about the fishpond, he said they wanted to come out to support Ho`omana Hou’s efforts.

Ritte said they are looking for pictures, videos, personal stories of Ho`ailona to use in the video. Please call Molokai Community Service Council at 553-3244 if you can kokua; materials will be returned.

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Nearly Pau With SUP Series

Tuesday, May 17th, 2011

Nearly Pau With SUP Series

Community Contributed

By Clare Seeger Mawae

Race five was held on April 30 and the forecast was calling for light and variable winds. How wrong that was, with steady trades hitting Kamalo during registration. Keala Freemon once again brought another victory to his name with a time of 1 hour, 40 minutes, leading the points in the long course. Raleigh Poepoe came in second, a minute behind Keala, and Jesseca Oswald took third place overall and women’s first place with a time of 1:49.
 
One hour later the kids and our off-island visitor Christian Isaacs and his son Noa started the short course. 11-year-old Kaydence Oswald shot off into the lead and took a convincing win in a time of 53:29. Christian and Noa Isaacs paddled in the tandem/family fun division with a time of 54:50, which has now become increasingly popular with parents and children. 11-year-old Luhi Pedro took second overall in a time of 57:35, and 8-year-old Alex Mawae took third place with 1:00.37.
 
As the short course was on its way, excitement was happening down the road with some new kids entering the race at Ali`i Fishpond. Slater Oswald chaperoned Reeve and Naavah Albino, and Reeve came in with a credible time of 21:37 for the one-mile course and sister Naavah in 21:57. Hats go off to Slater for being such a good chaperone since he was the second of the Youth in Motion kids to fracture his wrist this year, and could not race.
 


This was another excellent day of the race series of Makani Ikaika O Molokai. Anything can happen at the grand finale with the Molokai Holokai on May 28, hosted by Molokai Ohana Surf Club. The short course (3.5 miles) is finished, and the unofficial results show Kaydence Oswald in the lead, Alex Mawae in second, and Kekai Adachi in third place.
 
This has been quite an incredible series for the kids and we encourage that more family and youth sign up for next year. From the beginning of the year, these kids were so scared to go out to the reef and as the season ends, their confidence levels have risen, and ready to take on the deep blue. We also found a new category and division, the tandem racing with one adult and one child, which has been a good way to encourage the younger ones to get out on the ocean.
 
For more information for next year’s race series, the youth training program, register with the organization, volunteer, or donate, please got to www.supmolokai.org or contact Clare Seeger Mawae at 336-0946, email clare@youthinmotion.org.

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Molokai Gets New Playground

Monday, May 16th, 2011

The children of Molokai will have a new place to play soon after the construction of a new playground at One Ali`i Park. After three years of petitioning from the community, the project was approved by the Molokai Planning Commission (MoPC).

Zach Helm, Molokai District Supervisor for the county Department of Parks and Recreation, said that he hopes the new playground can be built by fall 2011. The last playground at One Ali`i Park, a jungle gym and a slide, was removed two years ago. The new playground will be “state of the art,” Helm said.

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