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Island Youth

The keiki and `opio of Molokai

Molokai Youth Place in Naish Paddle Championships

Wednesday, August 1st, 2012

Molokai Youth Place in Naish Paddle Championships

Community Contributed

By Clare Seeger Mawae

A year has gone by since two Molokai kids showed up at Maliko Gulch as the youngest contestants at 9 and 11 years old to take on a prestigious long distance course when they joined an International fleet of Stand Up paddlers. Sunday, July 22 was the seventh annual Naish Paddle Championships, a 9.5 mile stand up paddle (SUP) race from Maliko Gulch to Kahului Harbor on Maui. Josie, age 12, and Alex Mawae, 10, returned once again this year — still the youngest contestants.

Josie had to take a time out from paddling due to a broken finger but insisted on racing despite no training.…

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Songs of Praise

Wednesday, August 1st, 2012

Songs of Praise

Hundreds gathered to share in the third annual Molokai Summer Praise Concert, held at Kaunakakai Ball Field on Friday. The concert featured four musical groups from off-island, including 2010 Na Hoku Award winners Barrett and Tara Awai.

The event, put on by a committee comprised of seven different churches on Molokai, was a free event for families, and offered free food, music and games for keiki.

“It’s a no-strings-attached event and it’s for our whole island,” said Pastor Randy Manley of Molokai Baptist Church. “We’re excited to be able to bless our community like this and see it grow every year.”…

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Mikayla Pico Receives Leadership Award from Mufi Hannemann

Wednesday, August 1st, 2012

Mikayla Pico Receives Leadership Award from Mufi Hannemann

The future is looking bright for recent Molokai High School graduate and Maui Interscholastic League Wrestler of the Year Mikayla Pico. She will attend Southwestern Oregon Community College this fall, where she plans to major in education. In addition to a wrestling scholarship from the school, she received the Faiaso Soliai Hannemann Leadership Award, presented by Mufi Hannemann last week.

The $500 award and plaque is given to one female student annually in the state, who is of Samoan ancestry and demonstrates academic promise and leadership potential. The award is in honor of Hannemann’s mother, while the Gustav Hannemann Leadership award, in honor of his father, is given to a male student of Samoan ancestry.…

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Building a Food Forest

Wednesday, August 1st, 2012

Building a Food Forest

Molokai High School’s permaculture farm almost in full bloom

The Farmers will have the chance to explore a new method of farming this year, as Molokai High School (MHS) partners with local grassroots organization Sust `aina ble Molokai to create a permaculture farm located right on campus. The garden, which was started in January of this year, will use fundamentals of permaculture farming like building food forests, or diversified ecosystems that wield a variety of fruit year-round, as compared to traditional commercial farms that only produce one crop in mass quantities.

“We want to have kids engaged enough to create their own school gardens and permaculture curriculum,” said Emillia Noordhoek, Sust `aina ble Molokai’s executive director.…

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A Day at the Park

Monday, July 30th, 2012

A Day at the ParkPlayground at One Ali`i Park officially open

Mayor Alan Arakawa and Council Chair Danny Mateo brought new meaning to the phrase “young at heart” when they became the first to slide down the new playground at One Ali`i Park last Wednesday morning. Keiki quickly followed suit after the blessing ceremony.

The project, which started back in 2008, replaces the old jungle gym set which had deteriorated and was removed two years ago, according to Zachary Helm, District Supervisor for Maui County Department of Parks and Recreation.

“What makes this project so special are the volunteers who helped with it,” Helm said at the blessing.…

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Summer Send-Off

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

Summer Send-Off

Molokai PALS celebrate another successful summer.

Play and Learn Sessions (PALS) keiki and staff from all four elementary schools on Molokai sang and danced their way to healthy living at this year’s Ohana Nite, held at Kualapu`u Rec Center on Thursday.  This year’s theme celebrated “Ke Ola Pono No Na keiki,” or “Healthy living for our children.”

While the keiki from Kilohana “walked it out,” Maunaloa PALS students danced, wielding homemade posters of healthy snacks.  Kualapu`u sang about aloha and Kaunakakai keiki went on a “buta hunt.”

PALS is a summer program that keep kids engaged physically and mentally through arts and crafts, sports, culture lessons, music and dance.…

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A Test of Success

Sunday, July 22nd, 2012

Middle School joins three other Molokai schools in meeting state standards

Though this is the first time ever that Molokai Middle School (MMS) has met Hawaii State’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) standards, Principal Gary Davidson said it is the amount of improvement the school’s students have shown this year that is its biggest achievement.

AYP standards, implemented by the national No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2001, measure participation, proficiency and progress in math and reading. In previous years, MMS has made either the reading or the math section, but never both, which are needed to make AYP. Last year, the students were at 38 percent proficiency in math.…

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4-H Youth Steering the Herd

Wednesday, July 18th, 2012

4-H Youth Steering the Herd

For youth in the Molokai 4-H club, raising and showing animals takes months of patience, preparation, and care. But participants at the organization’s annual Livestock Expo last weekend proved that all the work is worth it. Youth proudly showed off their animals large and small, while the community got to engage in their learning process and enjoy farm market goodies, raffles and auction prizes.

For senior 4-H-er Kainoa Kamakana, seven years of participation culminated in taking first place in the market steer showmanship competition on Saturday.

“It feels good [to win] – all the hard work paid off,” said Kainoa. “I encourage every child to join 4-H – it teaches a lot, [and you’re] better set for life from the skills you learn.”…

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Little League Hits It Big

Sunday, July 15th, 2012

Little League Hits It BigMolokai All Stars advance to state championships

The 13 boys of the Little League Majors, ages 11 to 12, came off the Maui Ferry Thursday night celebrating as District 3 champions. Having defeated defending state champion Central East Maui at the district tournament at Kalama Park, the Molokai All-Stars knew they would be headed to the state tournament.

This is the first time Molokai has made it to the state level since 2006, and it wasn’t easy.

After suffering a 13-1 loss to Central East Maui on Wednesday and the district championship title hanging in the balance, no one knew if the Molokai All-Stars would be able to turn things around.…

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Skating By the Rules

Wednesday, July 11th, 2012

Skating By the Rules

With faces frozen in concentration and feet teetering for balance, local keiki got to explore the art — and challenge — of riding a skateboard. For some younger youth at the Molokai Skate Jam held at the Kaunakakai stake park, it was a first attempt, while others worked to perfect their skills in friendly competition. Over 130 keiki participated in this year’s sixth annual Molokai Skate Jam on Friday, an all-day event sponsored by Maui County that spread across the skate park, ball field, pool and gym in Kaunakakai.

Participants ages 5 through 13, including those from the summer PALS program and the Youth Center, were not only able to develop their skateboarding skills, but they also learned about the importance of wearing safety gear and the proper use of park facilities.…

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