Thurs., November 5, 2020  7:30 pm    (HIKI NŌ 1202)

As we begin the first new school year in the COVID-19 era, HIKI NŌ students reflect on their experiences with distance learning and other challenges brought on by the pandemic:

Kaila Foster, an 8th-grader at Kamehameha Schools Maui Middle School in Pukalani, shows how her family solved the problem of siblings trying to do distance learning from home at the same time within cramped quarters. Each was given a portable Wi-Fi hot spot and they have been working at different outdoor sites around Maui.

Sora Cheng, a senior at Kalaheo High School on Oʻahu, talks about the disadvantages of distance learning and how she signed a petition sent to her school’s administration requesting that students have a voice in how they are being taught during the pandemic.

David Braman, a seventh-grader at Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School on Kauaʻi, spends his time away from online learning helping his mother make masks for the community and volunteering at local food-drives and food pantries.

Kai Tsugawa, a fifth-grader at Waiākea Elementary School on Hawaiʻi Island, expresses his concern for the health of his grandparents during the pandemic and the impact their physical isolation is having on him.

Kailani Ibanez, a sophomore at H.P. Baldwin High School on Maui, talks about how being quarantined at home gave her the opportunity to pursue hobbies she had always wanted to try but never had the time for.

ALSO FEATURED

“Kula Shave Ice,” a story by students from Waiākea High School on Hawaiʻi Island about a Hilo based business that is adding a new, eco-friendly twist to a longtime favorite island refreshment. The story includes an update on how Kula Shave Ice is fairing during the pandemic.

PLUS

As the 10th anniversary of HIKI NŌ’s February 28, 2011 debut approaches, we are presenting a series of stories on outstanding HIKI NŌ alumni from the program’s first decade. The alumni profile in this episode spotlights Moanalua High School graduate Andrew Tran, who worked on a HIKI NŌ story in Season One about a teen father. After high school Andrew pursued his passion for storytelling and now runs a highly successful boutique production company that tells the stories of some of the largest corporations in Hawaiʻi.