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HIKI NŌ: The Nation's First Statewide Student News Network will wrap up its inaugural season on PBS Hawaii tomorrow (Mon., May 30, 5 pm), with a compilation of some of students' best community stories from across the state over the last 13 weeks. More than 50 Hawaii schools took part in this groundbreaking, real-world, 21st-century learning adventure, producing up to five drafts of their news stories before their reports received the thumbs-up for broadcast. School teams were willing to reach, in order to achieve higher journalistic and storytelling standards. Students conceived, reported, wrote, shot and edited the stories, under the supervision of their teachers.
PBS Hawaii's HIKI NO team--Executive Producer Robert Pennybacker, Managing Editor Susan Yim and Online Editor and Assistant Producer Lawrence Pacheco--expertly mentored teachers, many of whom were new to teaching journalism and media. I'm so impressed at how Robert, Sue and Lawrence are consistently positive and encouraging while suggesting areas for improvement. We've also relied upon experienced media teachers in every county, who served on our 10-member Teacher Steering Committee and provided assistance to their peers.
It's a pleasure to hear from schools that this new program is already changing lives by building skills and confidence, and inspiring new thoughts about careers. If your island school would like to join HIKI NŌ: The Nation's First Statewide Student News Network, please contact Sue Yim at syim@pbshawaii.org
Catch TV encores of this final episode of Season One on Tues., May 31, at 12:30 pm; Fri., June 2, 2011 at 9:30 pm; Sat., June 3, 2011 at 12:30 pm; and Sun., June 4, 2011 at 3:00 pm on PBS Hawaii. The weekly newscast is available to view online here.
HIKI NO will be back during the fall semester for Season Two!
Isn't Emma Veary beautiful at 81? And she can still sing like a dream. No kidding. That's me on the left, greeting the iconic Hawaii singer at Halekulani in Waikiki. Looking on with a big smile is Emma's daughter Robyn, Kneubuhl, my grade school classmate in Honolulu.
Today, Mom and Robyn live in upcountry Maui. Emma returned recently to the elegant Halekulani, where she headlined during the 1970s, to tape a television show which will air at 7 pm Sun., June 5, 2011 on PBS Hawaii.
Watch and listen to this gifted woman of Hawaii as she sings under a great kiawe tree, next to the sea and under the moon. Highlights include seeing Emma's dear friends, singer Nina Keali'iwahamana, and graceful dancer Beverly Noa, offer a performance in her honor. Daughters Noelani Bennette and Robyn acompany their mom's song with a hula dance. And vocalists Jimmy Borges and Tony Conjugacion give tender musical tributes. Emma was unpretentious, comfortable and welcoming on stage, and she might just as well have been having friends over to her house. Well, oldtimers do think of Halekulani as her home. Join us for this special show, Hawaiian Airlines Presents Na Mele: Emma Veary at Halekulani.
www.pbshawaii.org/ourproductions/namele.php
PBS Hawaii VP/Creative Services Robert Pennybacker and our crew, with some of the best independents in the biz, are responsible for producing this beautiful show. Halekulani general manager Gerald Glennon, with top corporate and employee support, provided a lovely reception for Emma and for Halekulani and PBS Hawaii guests. And it was a delight to see my friend and former colleague, Diane Ako, in her post-news career as director of public relations for Halekulani.
This is the second year in a row that I have a loved one in uniform and in harm's way in the Middle East. Last year it was my 25-year-old son-in-law, Paul; this year, it's my 19-year-old nephew, Brooks. They're young men in the prime of life who know that our foreign policy isn't perfect but they want to be part of a cause greater than themselves.
Yesterday I happened to be at Schofield Barracks and talked with several spouses, with children in tow, whose partners are overseas. "Don't let anyone tell you they take it in stride," one wife said. "You feel a lack of control and a sense of fear about what could happen every single day."
Like many Americans, I'll be thinking of them and sending grateful thanks their way as I watch The National Memorial Day Concert on PBS Hawaii (Sun., May 29, 2011, 7:00 pm). It's a time to honor the service and the sacrifices of our men and women in the military and their families. The brass will join hosts Gary Sinise and Joe Mantegna on the West Lawn of the White House for an all-star line-up of entertainment, with music from the National Symphony Orchestra.
I know that breeders are going crazy with designer dogs like the labradoodle, the Malti-poo, and Yorkie Tzu.
This little guy's creation was what his owners, our friends in Haleiwa, call a "happy accident." Can you guess his background?
He's bull mastiff/chihuahua. Sounds preposterous, right? Especially considering the father is the chihuahua!
When he matures, he'll be husky with short little legs.
In the 12th all-new edition of HIKI NŌ on Monday, May 23, 2011, at 5:00 pm, you'll have a rare view of the cultural push-and-pull that a young person from the restricted island of Niihau experiences. The report, profiling Kaiminaauao Keamoi-Strickland, is from the Kauai charter school, Ke Kula Niihau O Kekaha, where the enrollment includes Niihau students who travel to school by boat. This newscast episode on PBS Hawaii is hosted by Kealakehe High School in West Hawaii.
Other stories are from Hana K-12 School on Maui, showing how akule net fishing brings the community together; Kahuku High, on Oahu's North Shore, introduces us to Vocal Motion (pictured above), Hawaii's answer to Glee; Kauai High School takes us to the western-most book store in the country, Hanapepe's Talk Story Bookstore; Kapolei High School students in West Oahu feature an alum who's the youngest commercial radio station DJ in Hawaii; Connections Public Charter School in East Hawaii Island goes to the oldest goat dairy on the island; St. Francis School of Honolulu looks at the homelessness issue; and Kaimuki Middle School students tout the advantages of texting over talking.
HIKI NO is a weekly TV newscast on PBS Hawaii and it's available online at www.pbshawaii.org/hikino
A stranger helps you change a flat tire. A friend gives you a ride to the airport. A family member picks up your child after school. Colleagues visit you during a hospital stay. These are small things that can make a big difference in quality of life.
A new PBS Hawaii program puts into context an 1871 royal Hawaiian version of a seemingly small thing that made a big difference. That's when Queen Emma Naea Rooke chose to forego alii comfort and traveled on horseback to the upland forests of Kokee in West Kauai, making her way with courtiers over muddy trails.
The Queen's visit is commemorated every year with a powerful hula festival. "Journey to Emalani," premiering on PBS HAWAII PRESENTS (Thurs., May 26, 2011, 8:30 pm), follows three hula halau and their kumu hula to the gathering in Kanaloahuluhulu Meadow. They are: Tony Conjugacion's Halau Na Wainohia, Charlani Kalama's Halau Ha`a Hula O Kekau`ilani Na Pua Hala O Kailua; and Healani Youn's The Ladies of Ke'ala O Ka Lauae. Hawaiian music icon Nina Keali'iwahamana narrates.
My upcoming guest on LONG STORY SHORT (Tues., May 17, 2011, 7:30 pm) has just been announced as a YWCA of Oahu LeaderLuncheon honoree.
Many of her education peers are happy to learn of this recognition, but they're not surprised. Ms. Payne demonstrated leadership throughout her 35+ years in the State Department of Education.
Recently retired, this respected public school principal talks about having always wanted to help struggling students. She served at a succession of Oahu schools where students faced a constellation of major challenges. For example, she led Olomana, a school of last resort for those who didn't succeed in traditional school. There were separate learning environments for law-breakers and for those experiencing severe mental illness.
But she's best known for her 15 years at the helm of big Farrington High in Kalihi, where so many young people were learning to speak English (they grew up with Ilocano) and where gangs found members seeking a sense of belonging. Having been privy to students' sad and sometimes shocking personal histories, she remains resolutely positive . She believes even the most troubled students can and often will change their lives with education.
Where did her passion to help struggling students come from? Not from her own childhood, she says. It was comfortable. She was raised in a close and stable military family.
We'll be posting a podcast and a written transcript of this half-hour program.
www.pbshawaii.org/ourproduction/longstoryshort.php
Hawaii's middle and high schools are nearing the end of the spring semester--and with summer comes the completion of the inaugural season of HIKI NŌ: The Nation's First Statewide Student News Network.
Our PBS Hawaii staff is so proud of the participating students and teachers and our own team's guidance, that we've been gathering together on Mondays in our building's lobby to watch the premiere of every newscast. With every edition we see students learning 21st-century skills and we erupt in cheers when schools bring creativity and responsibility to storytelling.
Coming up Monday (May 16, 2011 at 5:00 pm, students from Farrington High School in Kalihi will host the 11th all-new HIKI NŌ edition. Students from Hawaii Preparatory Academy in North Hawaii Island show us how they assisted scientists in tracking turtles; and Maryknoll School in Honolulu looks at how non-journalists' photos and videos of breaking news developments have changed the way we view the world. We'll hear from Waianae Intermediate School students about a young man who drew inspiration from personal losses as he worked the land at MA'O Organic Farms in Leeward Oahu. And students from Maui's Lokelani Intermediate School in Kihei share the campus' best sweet treat--shave ice. Other participating schools include Kauai's Waimea High School, H.P. Baldwin High School on Maui, Waipahu Intermediate School in Central Oahu and Sacred Hearts Academy in the Kaimuki district of Honolulu.
Catch HIKI NŌ encores on Tuesday at 12:30 pm; Friday at 9:30 pm; Saturday at 12:30 pm; and Sunday at 3:00 pm. The weekly newscast is available for online viewing here.
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