• Failure notice from provider:
    Connection Error:http_request_failed

  • Submission Deadlines

    Advertising

    Thursday 4pm

    December 18, 2025

    Content

    Friday 4pm

    December 19, 2025

    To print on:

    Wednesday

    December 24, 2025

  • Join us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Google Plus Subscribe via RSS

Island Youth

The keiki and `opio of Molokai

Hawaiian Language Lives On

Monday, May 16th, 2011

Hawaiian Language Lives On

`Olelo Hawaii filled the Molokai High School Hawaiian Immersion graduation ceremony, and dozens of lei rose to the noses of the graduates last Friday evening.

The ceremony was the culmination of five students’ knowledge of Hawaiian language and culture: Kekukuimawaenaokamokumaikekuahiwiakalaniikekai  Kaiama-Lenwai, Kealakai Alcon, Keakaokalani Kaiama, Ka`imiola Sagario and Kailana Eheu`ula Ritte-Camara.

Each graduate spoke in Hawaiian for about 10 minutes in front of an audience of 100 people at their garden at Molokai High School. The students also recited their “Oli Mo Okuahuhau,” or genealogical recitation.

language and culture thriving on Molokai,” he said.

Posted in , , , , , , , commentsAdd your comment

Club Wrestling Battles at Home

Thursday, May 12th, 2011

Club Wrestling Battles at Home

Eight wrestling clubs from around the state gathered last weekend at The Barn for a showdown of strength and agility. The Molokai Wrestling Club was represented at its only home tournament of the season by 70 of its 80-some athletes. With the state club wrestling tournament coming up next weekend, the stakes were high and a roaring crowd cheered on the battling keiki.

“The kids are showing a lot of heart and respect,” said coach Benny Venenciano. “We’re in a good position for states,” he said, adding that at the first tournament of the season two weeks ago, Molokai came home with 10 gold medals, 11 silver medals, and quite a few bronze.

Coach Randy Manley agreed. “We’re doing well,” he said. “We lost states last year by two points, and this year, we’re hoping to come out on top.”

Posted in , commentsAdd your comment

Planting Health and Wealth

Thursday, May 12th, 2011

Planting Health and Wealth

With Molokai’s reputation as a strong farming community, one island nonprofit thought the time was ripe to start a community garden, to educate residents on the best gardening practices.

Rosie Davis, executive director of Huli Au Ola Area Health Education Center, received a grant from the Department of Health in November 2010 to begin a health-through-gardening project, called Community Putting Prevention to Work.

“Everybody wants to eat healthy, but it’s so expensive,” Davis said. Her family started their own large garden four years ago and is currently building their second greenhouse.. She said they save around $500 a month on their grocery bill by growing their own vegetables as well as fishing.

The first community garden site, a half-acre in Kalamaula, will be cleaned and the soil tilled this week by volunteers. Davis’ program runs on community volunteers, who reap the benefits at the end of harvest.

“[Molokai] dirt is really healthy, we just have to know how to mix it to make things [grow],” Davis said.

faces, taking ownership of what they’re planting,” Kalani said.

Davis said they intend to add more community garden sites, and are on the lookout for more volunteers who would like to grow their own fresh vegetables. Contact Huli Au Ola at 553-3623.

Posted in , , , , commentsAdd your comment

Royalty Returns

Tuesday, May 10th, 2011

Royalty Returns

Royalty returns to Molokai! Hundreds of keiki and their families participated and enjoyed this year's May (Lei) Day events, scattered around the island. Below are pictures from Molokai's six schools' celebrations.

Posted in , , , comments1 Comments

Designed to Shine

Friday, May 6th, 2011

Designed to Shine

Although Molokai High School has a mascot, a motto and a crest, they’ve never had a branded logo. So as a part of his senior project, Kaoli Place created a logo he hopes will stick around – with the help of several products for students and community to enjoy.

Place, with the help of classmate Eesha Dudoit-Alapai, created the Logo Store at the school, selling several products with Place’s logo design.

“It started to increase school pride and spirit,” Dudoit-Alapai said. They began last semester with small items – pencils and coffee mugs – while Dudoit-Alapai and their teacher Lisa Takata researched how to stock bigger items like bags and t-shirts.

Takata said with the help of a 21st Century grant, she’ll be opening up a print shop this summer to do their own printing – “keeping money on-island.” Eventually, Takata said she hopes to incorporate Place’s design into the school’s uniforms.


Place created a logo that integrates images of the school’s slogan – “Farmers of the Land and Sea” – into the text itself.

“It just came to me somehow,” he said. Place used a fishing pole with a fish and a taro plant as inspiration.

He spent time on weekends and during spring break to clean up the student activities room, which serves as the classroom for Takata’s leadership class, and now houses the Logo Store. He said he plans to study graphic design after he graduates.

Community members as well as students are welcome to shop during the lunch recess (around 12:15 p.m.) Monday-Friday, to browse through t-shirts, tank tops, bags, lanyards, license plate frames, sweatshirts and notecards.

Posted in , , commentsAdd your comment

Checkmate: Molokai Middle Top at Chess

Thursday, April 28th, 2011

Checkmate: Molokai Middle Top at Chess

Community Contributed

By Ted Takamiya

There are 64 squares on a chess board – 32 squares are occupied by various pieces at the start of a game.  The unique moves of each piece tests every competitors ability to attack, defend, and counter-attack to achieve the game’s ultimate goal of checkmating the opponent. 

Eleven Molokai Middle School (MMS) students, under the tutelage of Tubz Kalipi, dedicated themselves over a three week period in March to hone their skills, preparing for the 2011 Hawaii State Scholastic Chess Tournament. Besides chess strategies, Coach Kalipi emphasized the parallel between the game of chess and life where every decision made has consequences, both positive and negative. 

The annual tournament was held on Oahu on Saturday April 2 with a total of 141 students from 37 K-12 schools participating in the event. 

After placing fourth in last year’s tournament, MMS’ chess team entered the tournament with the goal of placing in the top three.  After eight grueling hours of tournament play with each participant playing five matches, it was announced that MMS placed second in a field of eight teams in the middle school division. With a total of 11.5 team points, they finished two points behind the winning team from Washington Middle School. 


The chess program is supported by Queen Lili`uokalani Children’s Center in partnership with MMS and Grace Episcopal Church.  A special mahalo to QLCC staff:  Kekamaikaikamaikalani Helm and Ebra Silva; MMS Principal Denise Kelly, Corene Helm, counselor, and teachers Laree Mowat, Iolani Kuoha, Fay Huff, Michael Kahale, and Michael Hino; high school counselor Michael Fiorito; the Friends of Molokai High and Middle School Foundation; Ke Aupuni Lokahi; Kelvin Keanini; community volunteers Tubz Kalipi (chess teacher extraordinaire), Julian Torres, Cheesung Stone, Anthony Fukuoka, and Ted Takamiya; Jeffrey Adams, MMS eighth grader, who practiced with the team but was unable to attend the state tournament; and to all the parents and caretakers of the chess participants for entrusting us with the care of your sons and daughters. 

Posted in , commentsAdd your comment

Hana Avenges Lady Farmers

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

The Lady Farmers softball team tried to put the finishing touches on their undefeated regular season by winning the Maui Interscholastic League (MIL) Division II tournament finals, but was not able to fend off a feisty Hana team.

The Lady Farmers remained undefeated after a 14-3 win in five innings against Seabury Hall (3-7) on Friday, and advanced to the championship playoffs on Saturday against Hana.

Genessa Puaoi pitched five innings on Friday night in the win. Amanda Makawi, pitcher, went 3-3 with two triples. Natalia Levi, center field, also helped with a three-run double.

The Hana Dragons also won their match on Friday against the Lanai Pine Lasses 20-13.
The two wins between Hana and Molokai resulted in a two-game playoff championship on Saturday.

Posted in , , commentsAdd your comment

Wrestling Club Ready to Roll

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

Not only are the youth of Molokai learning the latest “takedown” techniques and gaining endurance in the Molokai Wrestling Club, but they are also having fun and staying out of trouble.

“Wrestling to us is a learning experience to help us for the future,” said Mikayla Pico, Maui Interscholastic League (MIL) D-II all-star wrestler for Molokai High School (MHS), who wrestles in the club during the off season. “It teaches us life skills, being goal oriented and makes us a stronger person.”

These days, the group is gearing up for their first tournament of the season, held at Maui’s War Memorial Gym this Saturday, April 30 where they will compete against nine other teams.

Posted in , , , commentsAdd your comment

Final Kualapu`u Race Before Oahu

Tuesday, April 26th, 2011

Final Kualapu`u Race Before Oahu

Community Contributed

By Sue Forbes-Kikukawa

On Saturday April 23, the fifth and final 5K in the “Do 5 for the Kids” race series was held.  This time the race course was moved to the road in order to simulate course conditions that the Kualapu`u team will encounter on May 1 in Honolulu.  The 3.1-mile course ran from Coffees of Hawaii to a half mile past Molokai High School and back.  Course conditions were hot and fast, with temps in the mid-80s by the 8 a.m. start. Several runners turned in personal records, with Akona Adolpho leading the pack in a time of 20:10.  Other standout performances included Kaina Adolpho, in his first-ever appearance, winning the boys’ division in a time of 24:15, and Mary Grace Ringor besting her twin sister, Mary Rose for the first time, running 29:10.  

Race organizers have decided to continue hosting a monthly race so that the kids (and the adults) can continue to improve their times over the summer.   The next race will be held on May 21 starting from Coffees at 7 a.m.  


Girls’
1.    Mary Grace Ringor– 29:10
2.    Mary Rose Ringor – 29:42
3.    Noelani Helm – 29:51
4.    Genevieve Kikukawa – 32:22
5.    Yasemin Soares – 39:56

Boys’
1. Kaina Adolpho- 24:15
2. Rafael Adolpho- 25:15
3. Nainoa Kahale – 26:56
4. Kahili Helm – 28:40
5. Noah Donnelly – 28:42

Women’s
1. Sue Forbes-Kikukawa – 21:48
2. Jessie Ford- 25:05
3. Alestra Menendez- 25:48
4. Katina Soares – 30:37
5. Ellen Reed – 42:30

Men’s
1.    Akona Adolpho – 20:10
2.    Kaimana Kahale – 23:28
3.    Chavis Purdy – 25:06
4.    Ryan Link– 26:47
5.    Ian White – 27:23

Posted in , , commentsAdd your comment

Youth Program Dropped

Tuesday, April 26th, 2011

Youth Program Dropped

The students of Paxen Huli Ke Alo – About Face! and Jump Start programs – no longer have funding to continue their educational after-school program. The state-wide program helped students with academic and life goals, and served middle and high school youths on Molokai.

State budget cuts went into effect on March 31, and Paxen Huli Ke Alo lost 90 percent of its staff state wide, according to Lehua Kaauwai-Cougar, the program’s general manager.

Molokai’s site supervisor, Jera Pali, said she got the kids involved in the process to try and save their budget.

“[We said,] what we need from you [students] is support letters,” Pali said. “They went on Facebook, they were taking an active approach in hoping the programs would not end.”

Posted in , , commentsAdd your comment