Island Youth

The keiki and `opio of Molokai

Sunshine in a Bag

Wednesday, April 17th, 2013

Sunshine in a Bag

Initiative addresses child hunger

While most children on Molokai fall asleep every night with a full stomach and go to school well-nourished, there are some who don’t. To help combat child hunger, the St. Damien Catholic Parish is spearheading an effort to provide food to elementary students in need, as well as assist families in creating a sustainable backyard garden.

Starting last Friday, the Sunshine Backpack and Ohana Garden project, or Kukunaokala, will distribute backpacks of food twice a month to selected students at Kilohana, Kaunakakai and Kualapu`u schools. Students are chosen for participation based on referrals from school staff, and parents must give permission for their children to receive a backpack.…

Molokai Middle Takes Second for STEM

Wednesday, April 17th, 2013

Molokai Middle Takes Second for STEM

Community Contributed

By MMS STEM Program Students

Molokai Middle School’s science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs took second place in the state at the Second Annual State of Hawaii STEM Week Awards Banquet held at the Hawaii Convention Center on April 9. Molokai Middle School (MMS) was represented at the ceremony by eighth grade STEM alumni students.

Under the umbrella of STEM, the award recognizes the accomplishments of MMS across all STEM-related efforts and programs including Robotics, Science Fair, Bridge Building, Math Counts, and STEM Conference.

The STEM institutional awards ceremony recognizes outstanding students, educators, and participating schools from Hawaii’s various STEM organizations.…

Molokai Math Day

Thursday, April 11th, 2013

MHS News Release

Molokai High School’s Math Department, in partnership with Aka`ula School and the University of Hawaii at Manoa, announces the Fourth Annual Molokai Math Day, to be held this Saturday, April 13 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Lanikeha Center. This year’s Molokai Math Day will showcase more than 25 interactive, hands-on stations for students of all ages, from 3 to 103 years old. Participants will explore a variety of Common Core standards-based activities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields.

These range from solving numeric and geometric puzzles to predicting, observing, measuring and collecting data. Stations will be manned by a mix of Molokai High and Aka`ula School students who are partnered with graduate students from the UH Manoa Math Department.…

Lady Farmers Take Weekend Series

Thursday, April 11th, 2013

Lady Farmers Take Weekend Series

MHS Athletic Staff

The Molokai High School Lady Farmers Softball Team split a pair of games two weeks ago with the Lady Dragons from Hana and then won the series by taking the tiebreaker.

Amanda Venegas-Makaiwi went the distance for Molokai in the opener and picked up the win in an 11-5 victory.  Venegas-Makaiwi gave up five hits and struck out five in seven innings of work.  She walked six and hit one Hana batter.

A misplayed fly ball put the Lady Dragons up by a run in the top of the first but the Farmers took advantage of four Hana errors to score four runs without the benefit of a hit. …

Molokai High Artists Earn District Honors

Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard News Release

High school students through Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District competed in an arts competition sponsored by the district’s congresswoman, Tulsi Gabbard. All three Molokai High School students who were among 16 finalists received honors in the contest, Gabbard announced last week. MHS’ Kierstyn Esteron earned third place, while she and fellow MHS students Rizpah Torres-Umi and Eliana Kalilikane-Garces won the “People’s Choice” contest on Gabbard’s Facebook page.

Eighty contest entries were received from high school students throughout the district. Each spring, a nationwide high school arts competition is sponsored by the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives.…

‘A`ole GMO’

Sunday, March 31st, 2013

‘A`ole GMO’

The main streets of Kaunakakai were closed Saturday morning as people young and old marched through town, carrying signs and shouting protests aimed toward Monsanto and calling for clear labeling of food made with genetically modified organisms (GMO).

Molokai activist Walter Ritte and Oahu resident Dustin Barca organized the series of rallies called March in March that took place across the islands throughout the month. The marches on Maui and Kauai had more than 2,000 participants each.

“This is equal to the other islands because in its own way, it’s making just as much noise and raising just as much awareness,” Barca said about the Molokai rally, which had about 200 marchers.…

Future Scientists Get a Sense of Our Past

Friday, March 29th, 2013

Future Scientists Get a Sense of Our Past

Community Contributed

By Bradford Duval

Every few years, science teacher Erron Yoshioka along with 15 eager science club members and two other teachers travel to Molokai from Moanalua High School on Oahu. During their spring break, they take in Molokai and gain a shared sense of history and perspective on some of the old ways and how it relates to their scientific lessons and explorations.

Sharing knowledge with those willing to learn is a specialty of 2013 Umu Kai Award winner Uncle Mac Poepoe’s, and on the students’ recent trip to Mo`omomi, learn they did.

Starting at the main pavilion, the students were able to learn about pono fishing techniques, and how traditional Hawaiian practices tie in to the science of fishery management.…

Molokai Boxer Named Regional Junior Olympic Champion

Thursday, March 28th, 2013

Molokai Boxer Named Regional Junior Olympic Champion

Molokai Southside Boxing News Release

The 2013 Hawaii State Regional Junior Olympic Boxing Championships were March 16 and 17 at Palolo Gym. On the first day of the competition, Molokai Southside Boxing Club’s 13 year-old Kekaiomalu Adachi weighed in at 110 pounds and fought hard in three one-minute rounds, coming up short in points against 14-year-old Matthew Perez of BoxFit808. Later, 16-year-old Hunter Manaba weighed in at 141 pounds, defeating 15 year-old Charles Naone of Pearlside Boxing Club in a non-tournament but sanctioned match. Hunter advanced to the finals and will represent Team Hawaii in the upcoming National Junior Olympics.

On day two, 15-year-old Michaiah Soares weighed in at 154 pounds and fought three tough two-minute rounds against Waipahu’s seasoned15-year-old Kekoa Balasi; with only a few seconds left in round three, the contest was stopped.…

Celebrating Coffees

Sunday, March 24th, 2013

Celebrating Coffees

Coffee, keiki and good causes brought the crowds up to Kualapu`u this weekend as Coffees of Hawaii celebrated 20 years of harvests in the area and 200 years of coffee in Hawai`i.

“She was pretty much abandoned when I came here ten years ago,” Coffees of Hawaii owner Mike Atherton said about the plantation, adding he was proud that he was able to keep the company harvesting coffee through the years.

March 16 was declared Coffees of Hawaii Day at the opening ceremonies Friday. The event led into an afternoon parade and evening festivities, including Project Runway: Plantation Style, where teams competed at the Kualapu`u Center to create the best fashion piece out of burlap and plastic paper without sewing.…

Class of 2019 Comes Together

Sunday, March 17th, 2013

Class of 2019 Comes Together

The class of 2019 got together in lifeboats last Friday morning and decided what items to keep and which to toss overboard. Each group’s decisions had to be unanimous, and they had to work quickly as their lifeboats took on water. These sixth graders from across the island weren’t preparing for Sunday’s heavy rains, though. The lifeboats were picnic tables, and the 104 students were getting ready for middle school.

“As they transition older in life, there’s going to be less boundaries and more decision-making,” said Kekama Helm from the Queen Lili`uokalani Children’s Center (QLCC), one of the organizations that came to the Kualapu`u Recreation Center for the transition day.…