Molokai High SCC Holds First Meeting

Community Contributed

By Mele Kaneali’i

New school year, new discussions! The Molokai High School Community Council held its first meeting on Aug. 25, on Google Meets and covered topics like the budget, latest safety precautions, new staff and school celebrations to kick off the first meeting of the year. The meeting was attended by the five stakeholders of the school community: two students, two parents, two community members, four teachers, two classified staff, and the principal, Dr. Katina Soares.

The council welcomed new teachers, Jason Elder, Building and Construction teacher, and Geneva Castro-Lichtenstein, counselor, and the new student representatives, Mele Kanealiʻi and Quedin Bumatay. Veteran SCC members parent Nate Oswald, community member Henry Keanini, teachers Laura Peterson, Diane Mokuau, Ric Ornellas, classified staff Bobbie Coelho and Chassy-dee Sambujan, took turns introducing themselves to the new student representatives and teachers. 

Dr. Soaresʻ principal’s report highlighted student successes, such as improved safety precautions with video surveillance, and upcoming school events, like free in-school COVID testing for students and staff. She also celebrated the start of athletics on Sept. 27 and that all the vacant staff positions were filled, bringing a new Woodshop/Ag class to MHS, which gives students the opportunity to learn real-world skills with a qualified building and construction teacher. 

“I thought the meeting was informative and looked good for the future,” an anonymous note on the meeting evaluation read, and another saying that “[It’s] great to be back and good discussion points!” 

The participants agree that there were many great discussions, such as the uniform one, where many congratulated the new student representatives, Mele and Quedin, for being the student voice in the discussion. One anonymous comment said, “I am happy to see the new student reps and the willingness to participate.” Another reading that they “love that our new students jumped right in to share openly.” 

Many are “looking forward to having some good discussions and making school improvements in the SCC this year.”

Needless to say, many attendees state that the meeting itself was a success, such as one anonymous message that says that “the meeting was well-managed and provided a nice range of information,” and “I thought the meeting was well-organized and the discussions were great!”

The next SCC meeting is scheduled for Sept. 22, virtually from 3:30 to 5 p.m. All students, parents and community members are invited to virtually attend. Please contact SCC Chair, Ric Ornellas, at Richard.Ornellas@k12.hi.us to receive the meeting link.