Island Youth

The keiki and `opio of Molokai

Fish in the Net

Wednesday, December 4th, 2013

Fish in the Net

Community Contributed

By Royden Abafo

Editor’s Note: Royden, a middle school student at Aka`ula School, originally wrote this in the school’s Nov. 15 newsletter. It is reprinted in its entirety here.

Right there! Look at the ripples! Are you ready? Throw it! On yeah, fish in the net. Monday, Nov. 11 in the late afternoon, my brother and I were out on the reef throwing net. We caught a lot of small fish. Then, when the bucket was full, we dumped all the fish back in the water so they could grow bigger. We continued to catch more fish. The most fish I caught in the net at once was four.…

‘Tonbo’s Amazing Adventure’

Friday, November 29th, 2013

‘Tonbo’s Amazing Adventure’

News release by Yamashita Ohana

Grateful for, awed and encouraged by Molokai’s tremendous response to her first children’s picture book, Marie Yamashita has published a second children’s book, “Tonbo’s Amazing Adventure.”

Tonbo, the little airplane at the Honolulu International Airport, sees huge jets thunder and roar off to faraway places in the world and wishes that he, too, could be a big jet like them. He gets his wish and goes off in search of a place no one has seen or heard of.

Amazing adventures follow. He lands in a magical place and is befriended by “wishers” like himself. A time comes when he longs to return home.…

10th Annual Ku Ka Lau Lama

Monday, November 25th, 2013

10th Annual Ku Ka Lau Lama

Community Contributed

By Kalehiwa Dudoit, Aka`ula student

After all the wind and the rain, the skies cleared and the moon came out as Aka`ula School’s 10th Annual Ku Ka Lau Lama began.  For those who don’t know, Ku Ka Lau Lama is found in “Oleleo Noeau,” by Kawena Pukui and she translates it as, “Many Torches Stand.”  That means that there are many lighted bonfires, a signal of joy and victory.  The dinner event is one of the ways the school raises money to provide financial aid to students.

Led by chairperson Kaui Manera, Aka`ula families organized an incredible evening.  Walking onto the Hotel Molokai grounds, the smell of food coming from Aunty Marion Dudoit’s Hawaiian pupu buffet drew guests to the registration table where they were serenaded by nahenahe music from The Kupuna Serenaders while waiting to receive their bid numbers. …

Molokai Middle School Wizards of Bots

Sunday, November 17th, 2013

Molokai Middle School Wizards of Bots

The Molokai Middle School Wizards of Bots robotics team competed in the Maui Regional First Lego League tournament two weeks ago and were awarded first alternate team to the state competition. Team members are Kaitlin DeRouin, Lana Domingo,  Marianna Campos and Taye Mowat (pictured here), coached by Jennifer Whitted. The competition was held at Seabury Hall, and the district champion was Carden Academy Mindreapers, which will be one of four Maui County teams represented at the state championship. This year’s theme was “nature’s fury” or preparation and response to natural disasters, which guided teams’ projects and presentations. Photo by Arlene DeRouin.…

Kilohana Grandparents Day

Thursday, November 14th, 2013

Kilohana School News Release

You’re invited to Kilohana’s annual Grandparents Day, Student Showcase, and Turkey Trot. Grandparents, come to enjoy breakfast with entertainment.  Students will have a showcase of their work, either orally or on bulletin board displays. Parents are encouraged to come and enjoy the showcase, activities with the kupuna in the classrooms, turkey trot, and afternoon activities.

The event will be held at Kilohana School on Nov. 27. From 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. will be breakfast and entertainment, 8:30 to 9:30 is the student showcase, 9:45 to 10:45 will be kupuna activities, the Turkey Trop will be from 10:45 to 11:30, lunch will be at 11:30, and from 12:15 to 1 p.m.…

Kamehameha Preschools Applications

Wednesday, November 13th, 2013

Kamehameha Schools News Release

Kamehameha preschool applications are now being accepted for the 2014-2015 school year at the Kalama`ula, Molokai preschool. Families applying must be current residents of the state of Hawaii and all applications must be received by Kamehameha Schools’ (KS) Admissions Department no later than Jan. 31, 2014.

This year, KS will be applying a new preschool entry age requirement in alignment with the Department of Education’s (DOE) Kindergarten age requirement and the elimination of the Jr. Kindergarten program that will take effect during the 2014-15 school year. New students applying for KS preschools for the upcoming school year must be 3 years old by July 31, 2014 to be eligible for the 3-year-old program and 4 years old by July 31, 2014 to be eligible for the 4-year-old program.…

HallowHim Ushers in Season of Giving

Wednesday, November 13th, 2013

HallowHim Ushers in Season of Giving

Volunteers served food, pictured here, during this year’s HallowHim on Wednesday, Oct. 31. Held annually at the Kaunakakai Baptist Church, the event offered a non-scary and family-friendly alternative to Halloween with a traditional All Hallow’s Eve celebration the night before All Saint’s Day.

More than 1,000 people attended the event, according to Pastor Cameron Hiro, one of this year’s organizers. Families enjoyed games, candy and live music performances, and received free food, haircuts and shoes for keiki.…

Girls Volleyball

Thursday, November 7th, 2013

Strong Athletes, Strong Students

The Molokai High School (MHS) girls volleyball season came to an end after this year’s Maui Interscholastic League (MIL) Championships on Oct. 16. Looking back, the Farmers consider it a hard-fought season of determination and improvement on and off the court.

“From pre-season to post-season we’ve definitely improved,” said head coach Mahea Rawlins. “We tried as hard as we could…we stuck together as a team and we fought to the end.”

The girls finished the season with a 9-4 record after competing against Hana and coming up short in the semi-finals of the MILS, according to MHS Athletic Director Hoku Haliniak.…

Costume Contest Brings Big Crowd

Thursday, November 7th, 2013

Costume Contest Brings Big Crowd

Zombies, clowns, giant sweets and superheroes of all ages put on a show and strutted their stuff Thursday at this year’s Lions Club Halloween Costume Contest.

Over 140 costumed contestants presented their scariest, cutest and most original Halloween-wear to Lions Club members on the Kaunakakai Public Library’s front lawn with cash prizes of $10 for first place, $5 for second and an ICEE coupon for third.

“This year, more kids are making their own costumes and it’s fun seeing how creative they can get,” said Lion Linda Mina.

This year’s results are still a little fuzzy as Lion member judges viewed a monster mash of costumes, however the recorded winners are as follows:

For the baby to preschool category, Liliu McGuire won cutest costume as a lamb; Kileona Kanawaliwali won scariest as a witch; and Lehue Rawlins-Elalins won most original as an aloha float.…

Lessons on the Pacific Ocean

Thursday, November 7th, 2013

Molokai elementary students got a chance to dive into learning about the Pacific Ocean when a giant traveling map from the National Geographic came to visit. Measuring 26 by 35 feet, it’s one of the world’s largest maps of the world’s largest ocean. The map is printed on smooth vinyl with bright colors that can be spread on the floor, giving students the opportunity to learn about geography in a fun, interactive way. The map was on loan to Hawaii schools from Oct. 15 through Dec. 20, and visited Molokai last week.

Teachers were provided with a curriculum and activities for the map.…