Island Youth

The keiki and `opio of Molokai

Softball Downs St. Anthony

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

Homeruns, grand slams and mercy rules were prevalent this past weekend at Duke Maliu Regional Park. The Lady Farmers softball team continues its path for an undefeated season with two wins against St. Anthony last weekend, 11-1 on Friday and 25-5 on Saturday.

Jasmine Borden pitched a full game on Friday.
“My goal was to get 10 strikeouts and I got eight,” Borden said.

Molokai was able to hold St. Anthony to one point with a core of 11-1 in the fourth inning with the mercy-rule, and saw hit after hit from Molokai.

“We started off slow in the first and second inning, but we came back stronger,” said Tootie Rawlins.

Saturday’s game saw a quicker pace of game. Amanda Makawi pitched the entire game, which lasted four innings until the mercy-rule went into effect.

The game saw some excitement when Makawi and Natalia Levi each hit in-the-park grand slams.

“I was just thinking how I needed to hustle and get to home plate,” Makawi said of her grand slam.

Their next series will also be their last home games of the season against Hana on April 15.

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Farmers Start Season 1-1

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

The Farmers’ baseball team started off their regular season 1-1 this past weekend against Seabury Hall. Molokai took a win on Friday 12-6 with pitching from Kaoli Place, who had 12 strikeouts and one walk.

“All of the hitters in our lineup scored a run. In baseball, that’s a pretty awesome accomplishment,” said coach Mike McCutcheon.

The Farmers were up 5-3 in the fourth inning of Saturday’s game, but Seabury Hall came back with a four-run rally in the seventh inning to win the game 7-8.

Their coach cites costly base-running mistakes and pitching errors.

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Molokai Qualifies in High Jump

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

At the first meet of the regular Maui Interscholastic League (MIL) season, track and fielder Kalei Adolpho jumped 5-feet-2 in the high jump, a state qualifying height.

“She had pretty crisp looking jumps,” said coach Jessie Ford.

The Farmers competed in last weekend’s Yamamoto Invitational, where two of their five runners placed in Saturday’s final meet. Sophomore Akona Adolpho ran the 800-meter and finished in sixth place, while senior Kalei Adolpho placed fifth in the 800, along with her impressive high jump.

Ford said that Akona Adolpho had an exciting run in his final 800, finishing at 2:11.08 – a 2.5 second drop. She added that this was a learning meet for the team.

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Tennis Holds Own Against Trojans

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

The Molokai High School tennis team gained in points from last weekend’s matches, winning three match ups against St. Anthony on March 25-26, on the Farmers’ home court.

Sophomore David “Kamanu” Pascua-Kahookano and freshman Quintin “Pono” Chow, both new to the sport this year, won their doubles match 6-1, 6-0.

“David is really good, he’s got really nice strokes,” said coach Catie Brind.

Chow followed up his win on Friday with another doubles win on Saturday, this time teaming up with senior Jordan Hao, 6-0, 6-2.

getting used to covering more of the court, not getting stuck in no-man’s land,” Brind said.

The team heads to Maui to play quadruple matches against Maui High and Maui Prep this weekend, April 1-2 – a make-up meet from the rained out March 4-5 matches.

Molokai vs St Anthony in Tennis
Friday
Pascua-Kahookano and Chow won 6-1, 6-0
Micah Matson lost 1-6, 0-6
Hope Will lost 1-6, 0-6
Rhena Singh lost 6-0, 6-0
Alohalyn Espejo and Shauna Pule-Kaahanui lost 6-4, 6-4
Monalisa Espejo lost 0-6, 0-6
Nerveza and Ruiz won 7-5, 1-6, 6-3
Luke Santiago lost 0-6, 0-6 (played # 1 player in MIL)

Saturday
Nerveza and Ruiz lost 2-6, 2-6
Singh lost 0-6, 0-6
Will lost hope 1-6, 0-6
Mona Espejo lost 0-6, 0-6
Aloha Espejo and Pule-Kaahanui lost 2-6, 2-6
Pascua-Kahookano lost 0-6, 0-6 (also played # 1 player in MIL)
Santiago lost 0-6, 0-6
Matson lost 0-6, 3-6
Chow and Jordan Hao won 6-0, 6-2

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This Week in Molokai Sports

Monday, March 28th, 2011

Molokai softball and boys’ volleyball kept up the winning streak during last weekend’s Maui Interscholastic League (MIL) regular season games, while tennis, track and field, and baseball made strides of their own.

Softball
Homeruns, grand slams and mercy rules were prevalent this past weekend at Duke Maliu Regional Park. The Lady Farmers softball team preserved its undefeated season with two wins off St. Anthony, 11-1 on Friday and 25-5 on Saturday. Framers Amanda Makawi and Natalia Levi both hit in-the-park grand slams.
“I was just thinking how I needed to hustle and get to home plate,” Makawi said of her grand slam. Their next series will also be their last home games of the season, against Hana on April 15.

Check back soon for more results and details!

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MHS Utilizes New Technology

Monday, March 14th, 2011

Some students at Molokai High School (MHS) are getting their hands dirty these days, as part of the school’s Natural Resources Academy. Their new farm has been growing a plethora of vegetables and students are learning what it takes to be self-sustainable.

It has been nearly five years since the last student farm on MHS property. Science teacher Malia Lee said funding for the program had run out. But the high school’s new administration finds that a school with the mascot of a farmer should provide an agriculture program.

“We are “The Farmers” after all,” Lee said.

She has been working with seven students since last October at the school’s small farm, teaching the students how to grow various vegetables organically.

The vegetables, such as tomatoes, lettuce, onions, eggplant and corn, are being grown through hydroponics. A hydroponics system grows vegetables organically using piping, fish, and water – all without using any soil. The main fertilizer in the process is the manure that comes from the fish pond.

The water from the pond is circulated through a series of tubes and used to give nutrients to the pla
vision to get more Hawaii kids involved in finance, so we can keep more finances in Hawaii instead of being controlled from abroad,” said Paula Freal, an economics teacher at MHS.

The Bloomberg station is a sophisticated computer that teaches students how to evaluate stocks and invest money. It is one of eight in the entire state and one of 200 in the country.

“We are bringing the world to them,” said Stan Hao, MHS principal.

Freal runs the station with seven students, ranging from eighth to 12th grade. The station is made up of six LCD monitors that teaches the students how to read investment and stock charts and practice finance activities.

The program utilizes real-world situations. The students start with $1 million to invest in the stocks of their choice.

Freal said having experience with the Bloomberg station is great for any student to have on their resume when applying to colleges, and especially those who want to go into a financial field.

The new technology has gotten more popular at the school since it was introduced last spring.
“I only had three students when I started this program,” Freal said.

Hao also recently purchased 30 iPads for student use with the 21st Century grant program.

“I want to push the envelope,” Hao said. “I think we have wasted money on projects in the past on equipment.”

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Tutu’s Corner

Monday, March 14th, 2011

Community Contributed
Column by Tutu and Me

Children develop social competence in three main ways: initiating interactions, solving conflicts with others (children and adults), and maintaining ongoing friendships. Children are joining social situations, and spending more time with peers at earlier stages in their lives. Tutu and Me Traveling Preschool is a good example.

Recent studies show that the importance of forming friendships ranks second to the forming of family relationships. Friends come in all ages, shapes, colors, nationalities and religions.

Tutu and Me Traveling Preschool offers many opportunities for young children and their caregivers to cultivate friendships. Through friendships, social experiences occur that encourage children to express opinions and ideas, as well as to practice negotiations and compromises.

Try This at Home:
•    Give your child skills for being a good friend such as knowing how to greet other children, taking turns at games, sharing toys, and using kind words with friends.
•    Model good friendship by being a good friend to your child. Engage your child in conversation every day, just as you would a good friend.
•    Make sure that your child knows the names of your friends. Let your child see you and your friends being friends.
•    Acknowledge your child’s imaginary friends. Believe it or not, these “friends” serve an important purpose in some young children’s lives.
•    Teach your child how to choose friends wisely. Discuss with your child how a good friend acts.

Remember, friends, just as family members, are people we care for and who care for us.

Contributions from Tutu and Me Traveling Preschool, a program of Partners in Development Foundation. Tutu and Me is funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

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Online Classes Gaining in Grade Schools

Monday, March 14th, 2011

In a time where state education budgets are slashed and administrators cannot hire teachers, some schools and even parents are enrolling in full-time virtual schools.

Molokai High School (MHS) takes advantage of newly available online course to offer classes they couldn’t otherwise. MHS does not offer foreign language or advanced placement classes, said Principal Stan Hao.

Through the Department of Education’s virtual learning network, the high school offers French, Spanish, Japanese, AP World History and U.S. History, according to registrar Julia DeGeorge. The classes are provided by Myron B. Thompson Academy, the state’s “e-charter” school.

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Students Draw Inspiration from Molokai’s Successful

Monday, March 14th, 2011

Marcus Quiniones wanted to tell stories. After working for years in in the arts dancing, writing and acting, he realized getting paid to do all three was inspiration enough to continue.

Quiniones, who was born on Molokai and moved to Seattle during high school, was on-island last week to teach importance of art and performance art to the students of Molokai High School during Future Fest.

A local twist on the traditional high school career day, Molokai High School (MHS) teamed up with five organizations on the island to present traditional and non-traditional career paths.

Around 200 of the school’s 340 students signed up to participate in the all-day event, and broke up into small groups which rotate around 14 various stations.

Local Inspiration
The students at Quiniones’ station listed off their desired careers: musician, chef, something in performing arts. One student asked what Quiniones’ biggest challenge was. “Discouragement,” he said.

Alcon invited the students to submit their own designs. Junior James Duffy was one student working on a design at Alcon’s booth. He said it was “inspirational” to see people with similar interests doing well. Besides entrepreneurship, Duffy said he was also interested in graphic design and photojournalism.

“There are a variety of things to see” at Future Fest, he said.

The fest featured the school’s six career pathways, designed to help the students take the right classes for the profession they want: business, the arts, health, industrial or engineering, natural resources, and public/human service.

Senior Diamond Corpuz said she has been focused on going into elementary education, but she also looked into photography at the career fest.

“I like to learn about new cultures,” she said. Her friend, freshman Mariah Dudoit, said she’d like to be a paramedic but took in the diversity of careers available.

A mechanic, oceanographer, worm farmer, chef, and construction manager were among the careers represented. There were also various organizations and programs associated with the University of Hawaii.

Takata said this year’s career day was designed to expose students to post-high school opportunities, whether the student chooses further schooling or vocational training.

Quiniones also said one student showed interest in pursuing dance after high school.

“I saw her enthusiasm for dance, and I knew she had the same thing in her heart for performing art” as Quiniones does, he added. “She came back and asked questions; I encouraged her to go for her dreams. Dance might lead you somewhere else.”

Participating organizations in MHS’ Future Fest includes Kamehameha Schools, Na Pua No`eau, Gear Up, Friends of Molokai High and Intermediate School, Maui County AHEC (Huli Au Ola).

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SUP Not Dampened by Rain

Monday, March 7th, 2011

SUPAM News Release

Makani Ikaika O Molokai may not have had the winds blowing in the first race of the season, but the blessings of the gentle rain instead prevailed. The long course from Kamalo was cancelled due to shifting winds, so the competitors headed to Rice Patch for the start of the short course a distance of three miles. With a turtle in the shallows flagging the start line, and the whales breaching in the distance, the competitors took to the water for the first race of the season.

The younger competitors chose to start from Ali`i fishpond in the family fun division since the wind was not in their favor for the official short course. As the short course competitors hit the turn to the final stretch to Hotel Molokai, the family fun division commenced.

Keala Freeman was the first to cross the line at Hotel Molokai with a time of 57 minutes, followed by Raleigh Poepoe III with 59 minutes, and Liliana Napolean in third place and first woman with a time of 59.17. Mother and daughter duo, Jesseca Oswald took second place women’s division and 10-year-old Kaydence Oswald took third place women’s and first place youth.

The keiki fun division was comprised of two six year olds: Malia Greik-Lani and Kristen Oswald. Malia won the six and under division, paddling on her own from Ali`i Fishpond in a time of 42.36.

Slater Oswald, age 8, blasted the kids’ fun division in a time of 18.42, with Kekai Adachi on his heels in 19.14, and Alex Mawae in third at 21.18.

Next race will be Saturday, March 19, check in at noon for all divisions and courses at Kamalo with a 1 p.m. start for the long course.

For more information please contact Clare Mawae clare@youthinmotion.org, (808) 336-0946 or visit the Stand Up Paddle Association of Molokai’s website www.supmolokai.org