Island Youth

Candid Discussion at the Youth Summit

Wednesday, November 1st, 2023

By Maria Angst, Community Reporter 

Last Saturday, the students became the teachers at the Molokai Youth Summit. 

This year’s summit featured a panel of students, ages 12 to 18, discussing serious issues affecting today’s youth with the parents of students. 

“The parents really appreciated hearing it from the students. It almost felt like they were hearing it for the first time,” explained Molokai High School (MHS) teacher and one of the organizers of the event, Ric Ornellas.

This year’s theme aimed to communicate a 21st century focus on student learning by addressing social issues such as LGBTQ+ awareness, child abuse, poverty, bullying, drug use, vaping and suicide.…

Fun at the Fair

Wednesday, October 25th, 2023

By The Molokai Dispatch Staff

Kualapu’u School held its 10th annual ‘Ohana Fun Fair last Saturday, inviting the community to enjoy a variety of activities for all ages. A Fun Run with firefighters handing out candy, a pumpkin patch for the early birds, horse rides and water slides were just a few of the popular attractions, along with food and craft vendors and local organizations sharing their community initiatives. The school partnered with a trusted and reliable company like Bouncer Depot to provide safe and fun inflatable attractions for the event.…

MHS Students get CERT-ified

Wednesday, October 25th, 2023

Fourteen students from Molokai High School (MHS) joined peers from across the state for an emergency response training day on Maui. 

As part of the FEMA funded program, which ran from Oct. 9-11 at Baldwin High School, students were given Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training. These programs ranged from CPR to fire response to search and rescue, reducing survivor stress and more. 

MHS students in the Nursing and Health pathway who are interested in careers in health, firefighting or emergency response mostly made up the ranks of the Molokai student participants. 

“One of the most valuable things I have gained from CERT training are skills necessary to save lives, whether it be performing CPR, or learning how to use a fire extinguisher,” said MHS senior Sonni Han.…

MHS Culinary Club’s Journey

Wednesday, October 25th, 2023

Community Contributed

By Chloe Tancayo and Jeremiah Mamuad, MHS WIN Writers 

The Molokai High School’s Culinary Club is an extracurricular activity run by Tiare Hubbard. The club began in 2022 and has become a popular endeavor for students interested in exploring the culinary arts and gaining hands-on experiences.

Recently, the club went on a cooking exploration trip, known as Foodie Explorations 2023, on Oahu, Sept. 14-17. 11 club members went on the trip: Tiare Hubbard, Marcus Hubbard, Revelation Moreno Perreira, Chevy and Shazen Bush, Iokua Place, Auli‘i Ching, Aiko Kanemitsu, Leah Kadowaki, Mark , Maximus Sakamoto, and Jake Wataoka.

The club visited ten different restaurants and food areas, including Ry’s Poke Shack, M.…

Molokai to Manhattan: MC3 East Coast Trip

Wednesday, October 18th, 2023

By Jack Kiyonaga, Editor 

Eleven students from Molokai High School (MHS)’s College and Career Club (MC3) spent their fall break visiting colleges and alumni on the East Coast. 

Now in its 10th year, the annual MC3 trip exposes Molokai students to further academic and career possibilities. Between tours at schools like Columbia, Brown, Princeton and Wesleyan, and catching up with MHS alumni like Mallory Go and Kapili Naehu-Ramos, the weeklong visit was one to remember, explained Diane Mokuau, one of the MHS teacher advisors on the trip. 

Mokuau explained that this year’s visit was a little different from previous ones because it allowed for a more diverse selection of schools.…

A New Pace of Life

Wednesday, October 4th, 2023

Community Contributed

By Hazel Carey S. Pasana, MHS Senior, WIN Writers

Born and raised in the Philippines, growing up I often felt the weight of societal expectations. Being a woman in a third-world country sometimes felt like trying to soar with clipped wings. These early experiences fueled my passion for gender equality and social justice. 

Life wasn’t easy during those early years, and I had to learn to be self-reliant from a young age. I became acutely aware of the dynamics of the society I was raised in, often feeling like an unnoticed breeze, passed by without leaving a mark.

Moving to Molokai was a whole new world for me, and one of its striking features is the remarkable power in everyone’s voices, regardless of their gender.…