STEM Support

Wednesday, April 19th, 2023

STEM Support

By Jack Kiyonaga, Reporter 

Molokai STEM programs received a boost last Friday thanks to the Molokai Island Foundation’s annual fundraiser. The concert and dinner event at the Molokai Community Health Center went to fund robotics programs at local schools through the Malama Education Fund. 

STEM, standing for science, technology, engineering and math, covers a wide range of educational programs on island. To know more of STEM education, you can check out Google’s Kamau Bobb.

One of the highlights of the event were the robotics displays put on by Kaunakakai and Maunaloa Schools, and Molokai Middle and High Schools. Lines of  crane-like machines operated with computer coding.…

Miss Hawaii Visits Children’s Theater

Wednesday, April 19th, 2023

Miss Hawaii Visits Children’s Theater

By Jack Kiyonaga, Reporter | Editor

In the week leading up to their first performance of The Legend of Mulan, keiki performers of the Hokulani Children’s Theatre of Molokai (Hokulani CTOM) got a visit from a special guest. Miss Hawaii 2022, Lauren Teruya, shared her own passion for theater, and also spoke with students at Kaunakakai School during her visit to Molokai last Wednesday. 

Leading Hokulani’s keiki actors through a series of exercises and warmups, Teruya spoke to the role that theater had played in her own life. 

The 24-year-old Oahu native explained that theater “gave me the confidence to want to be on stage.” …

Lessons and Fun at Kamp Kaohi

Wednesday, April 19th, 2023

Lessons and Fun at Kamp Kaohi

MEO News Release 

Sixteen middle and high school youth on Molokai learned about the negative effects of alcohol and “bad-vertising” of vaping and tobacco products  while having fun and developing their leadership skills at Maui Economic Opportunity (MEO)’s Kamp Kaohi.  

The overnight gathering on April 7 and 8 at Molokai Baptist Church was run by MEO Youth Services staff on Molokai and Maui and was the first camp for MEO’s year-old Kaohi youth program on Molokai.

Activities at the camp focused on tobacco/vaping, bullying, underage drinking and teen suicide prevention with informational, teambuilding and fun activities. For example, youth wearing goggles simulating drunken vision participated in a relay race.…

Torch Run for Special Olympics

Wednesday, April 19th, 2023

MPD Press Release 

The 38th Annual Troy Barboza Law Enforcement Torch Run  for Maui County, hosted by the Maui Police Dept., will begin on Friday, April 21 between 4 to 6 p.m. on Molokai at the Kalaiakamanu Hou Church across from Coconut Grove.  

This year’s event will continue on Lanai and conclude on Maui on Friday, April 28. 

The Law Enforcement Torch Run began in 1981 in Kansas and is the largest grassroots fundraising movement for Special Olympics. Known as Guardians of the Flame, law enforcement members and Special Olympics athletes carry the Flame of Hope into the Opening Ceremony of local competitions and Special Olympics State, Provincial, National, Regional and World Games. …

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

Wednesday, April 19th, 2023

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

Community Contributed

By Sara Jane Larkin, Teacher

First graders at Kilohana are studying fresh water on Molokai. We are learning about where it comes from, where it goes and why it is so valuable — waiwai.  Our Project Based Learning goal is to have outdoor hand washing stations that reclaim the water used for handwashing to water our grass and our gardens.  We are calling our project the Waiwai Wai Project.…

Spring Vegetables

Wednesday, April 19th, 2023

Community Contributed

By Glenn I. Teves, UHCTAHR Extension Agent

Spring officially started on March 21, and it will only get hotter as we head into the first day of summer on June 21. So far, the weather has been cooler than normal but when the sun is up with Kona weather, it’s super hot and humid. In a normal year, this is your last chance to get some cool season vegetables sown or direct seeded before it gets too hot for most leafy and spring vegetables, but the weather is far from normal. Some of the cool crops to grow now include lettuce, mustards, radish, beets, carrots, beans, cilantro, snap and snow peas and basil, among many others.…

He Is Risen, Alleluia!

Wednesday, April 19th, 2023

Community Contributed

Opinion by Father Pat Killilea, St. Francis Church, Kalaupapa

The action began with the blessing of the olive branches. These had been brought by Meli and Rosa the previous day from the olive tree next to St. Philomena Church in Damien’s garden in Kalawao. The church was built by St. Damien himself. This was Palm Sunday and we were celebrating Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. So also, the many churches in the Christian world would celebrate Christ’s jubilant entry into Jerusalem. This is the custom each year on Palm/Passion Sunday.

Of course, we know that the cheers had turned into jeers by Friday as the crowd, spurred on by some of the religious leaders, called for Jesus’ death.…

Maritime Career Fair

Wednesday, April 12th, 2023

By Jack Kiyonaga, Reporter 

A career fair last week highlighted opportunities in maritime fields, part of an effort to “keep local people in the local waterfronts,” according to Marimed Foundation CEO Melissa Herbert. 

Marimed is a Hawaii nonprofit that offers vocational training, education and community programs for youth, with a focus on maritime opportunities. Along with entities such as Young Brothers and Seafarers International Union, Marimed staff visited the UH Maui College, Molokai (UHMCM) campus  on April 6 for the career fair. 

Olelo Schonely Spencer, Career and Technical Educational Specialist at UHMCM, explained that the fair was “an attempt to help get our kids and local community motivated to look towards a career in maritime.” …

Sports Bring Deeper Learning at Kualapu’u

Wednesday, April 12th, 2023

Sports Bring Deeper Learning at Kualapu’u

By Jack Kiyonaga, Reporter

Through the sunlight drenched mist, a champion was crowned at Kualapu’u Charter School. Friday, April 6, represented the culmination of the school’s basketball unit in Physical Education (PE) class – a milestone Kualapu’u School PE teacher Danny Davis was not going to let pass unnoticed. 

After months of focus on fundamental basketball skills, Davis organized a multi-grade three-on-three basketball tournament. Through an administration supported schedule, Davis was able to open the tournament to all fourth through sixth graders, allowing for 58 kids to sign up and participate in the two-day event. Davis is one of two full-time PE teachers at Kualapu’u School, which is unique on-island in its offering of daily PE classes. …

April Is Native Hawaiian Plant Month

Wednesday, April 12th, 2023

DLNR News Release 

Governor Josh Green, M.D. has proclaimed April as Native Hawaiian Plant Month, recognizing the diversity and biocultural value of roughly 1,400 native plant species, including many found on Molokai.

Native Hawaiian Plant Month also provides an opportunity to celebrate the successes made by rare plant botanists, who manage more than 420 endangered plant species statewide. The Plant Extinction Prevention Program (PEPP), a collaboration of the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW), University of Hawaii, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently released an annual report detailing a series of rediscoveries and rebounds in rare plant populations across the archipelago.

Several plant species previously thought extinct were rediscovered through field surveys last year.…