Island Youth

Spring Fling

Wednesday, May 14th, 2014

The Kilohana Spring Bazaar, the school’s annual fundraiser event, brought a breath of fresh air for families on a warm Saturday. Dozens of prizes large and small were given away during the lucky number drawings, while games booths were set up for keiki, food and craft vendors offered local goodies, and entertainment played all day under the shady limbs of the school’s spreading tree.

In past years, the Spring Bazaar has raised more than $20,000 annually, which all goes directly back to the school and its students. The money covers the costs of school supplies, busses for field trips, and visiting science experiences and art performances.…

Empowering Teachers for Student Achievement

Wednesday, May 14th, 2014

Celebrating student success and showcasing school achievement were hot topics at the first-ever Canoe Complex Summit last Monday.

Dozens of teachers and administrators in the complex area for Molokai, Lanai, Lahaina and Hana schools, the so-called “Canoe District” of Maui County, shared their journey and challenges faced during the academic year with other educators.

Instructional Leadership Teams (ILTs) from Molokai and Lanai schools met to discuss approaches on readying students for college and thriving careers. Each ILT — a team of educators that collaborate to target academic areas of weakness within their school — shared their trials and successes with teams from other schools at the Molokai Community Health Center.…

Taking a Stand Against Bullying

Monday, May 12th, 2014

When people think about bullying, it usually involves playground spaces and high school hallways. But the conversation shouldn’t stop there, say advocates of Molokai’s Families Against Bullying (FAB).

It’s a problem that affects communities, families and schools nationwide. Tackling the issue takes a commitment from parents, teachers and children themselves. That was the message delivered last Friday when FAB members and supporters took to the streets to generate a conversation on bullying in Molokai schools.

The statistics are staggering: 28 percent of U.S. school children in grades six through 12 say they’ve been a target of bullies at one time or another and 70.6 percent of young people say they have witnessed some type of bullying at school, according to StopBullying.gov.…

Aka`ula Students Professors for a Day

Wednesday, May 7th, 2014

Community Contributed

By Madison Trenner, Grade 5, and Qwynci Pawn, Grade 7

Five Aka`ula students traveled to the University of Hawaii West Oahu campus to make a presentation on Wednesday, April 23.  Students prepared PowerPoints to share their environmental research with college students who are planning to become teachers.  Miss Kim, the math teacher at the college, wanted her students to see that math can be found in other subjects, like science.

Aka`ula students Qwynci Pawn and Dillon DeCoite explained the issue investigation process and then Malu Duquette and Madison Trenner shared a specific investigation about mosquitoes that was researched earlier this year. …