Education

PALS Winter Program Registration Open

Thursday, November 10th, 2022

Maui County News Release 

Online registration for the PALS Program Winter 2022 session begins today and continues through Nov. 15, the Department of Parks and Recreation announced.

The program is open to children ages 5 to 12 years old and will be conducted from Dec. 20 through Dec. 30, 2022. This will be the only registration period for the PALS Program Winter 2022 session on Maui, Molokai and Lanai.

For more information or to register for the PALS Summer 2022 session, go to mauicounty.gov/589/PALS-Program.

For more information, contact the PALS office at (808) 270-7404.…

Little League Hits Off the Season

Thursday, November 10th, 2022

Little League Hits Off the Season

By The Molokai Dispatch Staff

Little League players on Molokai came to bat at the end of last month for the first time in three and a half years. More than 200 keiki comprising 16 teams from across the island are coming together this season to celebrate baseball’s legacy on Molokai. The opening ceremonies on Oct. 22 also honored David Nanod, a Molokai resident with 59 years of involvement in Little League as coach, umpire, scorekeeper and announcer at the local, district and state levels. Bill Dudoit serves as this year’s Molokai Little League president. …

Robotics Coach Gets Statewide Award

Friday, November 4th, 2022

Robotics Coach Gets Statewide Award

By Sage Yamashita, Intern Reporter

Molokai’s Edwin Mendija recently received the Hawaii Society of Technology in Education Making IT Happen award. He was one of two winners statewide who were honored as educators committed to teaching students innovation and creating digital learning opportunities using technology. 

“It’s an honor seeing my name amongst all of the successful and prestigious educators that have received this award in the past and that I was chosen out of eight other well-deserving nominees, including my sixth grade teacher, David [Kawika] Gonzales,” said Mendija. “Mr. Gonzales was one of the teachers who introduced educational competition robotics to Molokai and I am glad that I have also been able to inspire Molokai youth to pursue STEM careers.”…

Students Help Restore Dryland Forest

Friday, November 4th, 2022

Students Help Restore Dryland Forest

By Sage Yamashita, Intern Reporter

High school students are working with local nonprofit Molokai Land Trust to replant dryland forests on the island’s northwest side. Molokai High School’s Natural Resource class has been volunteering since September, and their work isn’t done. They have committed to volunteer every month till December to help reach the goal of reintroducing over 8,000 native Hawaiian dryland forest plants into their natural environment.  

The Kawakiu Watershed Restoration Project is 7.25 acres based at the Mokio Preserve. The first 2.25-acre plot was built in 2010 and planted from 2011 to 2015. It has 95 percent Native Hawaiian plants and is fenced to keep deer and cattle out.…

$35K in AlohaCare Scholarships

Friday, November 4th, 2022

$35K in AlohaCare Scholarships

AlohaCare News Release

AlohaCare awarded seven $5,000 academic scholarships to Hawaii students from four islands — three from Maui, two from Oahu and one each from Molokai and Lanai. 

“Our annual AlohaCare Scholarship’s mission is to encourage workforce development and support students seeking careers in healthcare,” said AlohaCare CEO Francoise Culley-Trotman. “Our team is grateful that we are able to help students follow their educational dreams.” 

AlohaCare scholarships are granted to members or their dependents who are pursuing health-related post-secondary degrees or programs. The Molokai recipient is Michael Arce, who has been dedicated to the field of social work for 15 years.…

A’o Aku; A’o Mai: What I Learn, I Teach

Friday, November 4th, 2022

A’o Aku; A’o Mai: What I Learn, I Teach

Community Contributed

By Sara Jane Larkin, Teacher

Kilohana Elementary School is a Project Based Learning School and we encourage learners to develop problem solving and critical thinking skills, and extend our thinking beyond the classroom. In answering the question, “How can we share our learning with our friends, families and our community?” first graders at Kilohana will share their understanding with our community in the Dispatch. 

Oct. 19 is Unity Day.  We began a focused campaign to prevent bullying and demonstrate kindness to all. In first grade, we have been learning about verbs, which we used in our writing about unity. Our prompt was, “Aloha in action creates unity.”…

Victory for Young Chef

Friday, October 28th, 2022

Victory for Young Chef

By Sage Yamashita, Intern Reporter 

The odds might have appeared stacked against Molokai High senior and chef Jonah Sahagun, but that didn’t stop him from winning a statewide cooking competition two weeks ago. A member of the MHS Culinary Club, he was among two Molokai students to submit original recipes to the Localicious Recipe Contest at the Hawaii Wine and Food Festival. 

Just two weeks before the contest, Sahagun broke his collarbone in a football game. Then three days later, he learned he was selected in the top three finalists from 127 submissions to compete in the live cook-off  on Oahu.…

Fair Brings the Fun

Friday, October 28th, 2022

Fair Brings the Fun

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

A myriad of activities at last Saturday’s popular ‘Ohana Fun Fair brought a chance for families to come together. From horseback rides, bounce castles and arcade-type contests, to muddy fun under the fire truck’s spray and a friendly running race for keiki, there was plenty of laughter at the community event, held at Kualapu’u School. For even more excitement, families could enjoy the thrilling challenge of an escape room. Escape rooms are perfect for bringing family and friends together for a fun and memorable adventure.

“The main goal is just to get back together again and get back in the normal routine where we can just gather,” said Principal Lydia Trinidad.…

Fall Sports Come to a Close

Friday, October 28th, 2022

By Sage Yamashita, Intern Reporter

The past week marked the end of the Maui Interscholastic League (MIL) season for Molokai Farmers fall sports. Girls Volleyball, Cross Country and Air Riflery all competed at their MIL Championships on Maui, and some athletes will be headed to the state level. 

The Lady Farmers Volleyball team traveled to the MIL Division II tournament hosted at Maui Preparatory Academy. The quarterfinal game was a match between Maui Prep Pueos and Molokai High Farmers. The first two sets were won by the Pueos, 25-17 and 25-20. The Lady Farmers came back in set three, 18-25. The fourth set was stolen back by the Pueos, 25-15, leaving Molokai to finish their season with a 4-9 record. …

Scholarship ‘Aha

Friday, October 28th, 2022

UHMCM News Release

The Native Hawaiian Scholarship ‘Aha will be back in person at the UH Maui College Molokai Education Center. Join us on Nov. 7 at 5 p.m. to meet with various scholarship representatives and financial aid resources. There will also be a FAFSA workshop available and a chance to win $500! Go to NHEA.net to register today or call (808)553-4490×2 for more info!…