[intro music] HIKI NŌ, Hawai‘i's New Wave of Storytellers.

Aloha and welcome to HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i.

I'm Jaylin-Epyphany Castillo, and I'm a senior at Island Pacific Academy on O‘ahu.

We're so glad you joined us for the latest show produced by Hawai‘i's New Wave of Storytellers.

This episode is filled with energy and inspiration.

We'll meet students who are getting hands-on professional experience in a workforce pipeline program called Ready to Work.

We'll meet a P.E.

teacher on O‘ahu who is dedicated to getting to know her students on and off the court.

We'll learn how to use strategy to play the ancient game of Go, and we'll meet an educator who is sharing the ancient Hawaiian knowledge of mapping with the next generation.

Let's start the show with an inspiring story produced by students at Roosevelt High School on O‘ahu.

You'll meet the students and employers who are involved with the school's Ready to Work program.

My name is Elijah Shiira and I work at Mānoa McDonald's.

I work at Walgreens on Beretania.

students are participants that gain jobs through the Ready to Work program.

Darleen Bumanglag, a teacher of the program, helps guide these students.

The Ready to Work program is devised or developed to help students with exceptionalities to transition from high school to the workforce.

And it all starts in the classroom, where they start with simple lesson plans.

plans are driven through this book, and what we do is we take it, and we try and make sure that the students understand what the lessons are all about.

And so, what happens is the soft skills from this book is to help the students with their – transitioning into the workforce, and to use the soft skills that are applied whenever they have to work.

They teach me how to like, talk to people like, what are like, good like, good things to talk about, and what are things that aren't really good to talk about for customers.

The kids in the classroom setting, they learn hands-on skills.

They learn to look at the visuals on the slideshows, and from the classroom setting all the way to their interview session, we have supported them all the way, even until their job.

like in front of a mirror.

So, we would practice, and we would get ready, and then when that time came, we did it.

you have a job, it's such a wonderful feeling for them.

After that, they partner directly with establishments and begin their journey to the workforce.

We give him all the same training and opportunities resources that we do provide for anybody else that we employ.

that are searching or go to the aisle and then look at the barcode, look for the last four digits, and I would have to match it.

Here in Mānoa Valley, we have our Mānoa McDonald's, and Elijah is one of our participants.

from them and serve drinks and people.

energy and great attitude.

He was pretty timid at first, not wanting to ask questions.

And I understand and I've seen it at home.

I've seen growth in him.

We had an opportunity to go on a vacation during the last break, and he said, “I can't do that.” I says, “Why not?” He says, “Because I already committed to work.”   When he comes into work, he's greeting everybody.

He's saying good morning to everybody, and he quickly is, you know, ready to figure out, okay, well, where am I today?

What am I going to be doing?

And that's really what it's all about, is just kind of seeing that growth and that confidence.

like Elijah and Cyress are not only able to gain real-world experience and job opportunities, but they also get paid through this program.

and their families with the income that they're making.

We have students who are even helping with utility bills.

The students have grown amazingly.

When I first visited them, I had goose bumps, because here I saw them from a classroom setting, and then they went into the job force.

They have self-confidence, they have motivation, they have set goals for themselves.

I just wish everybody would have the chance like these students have had to go out there in the workforce to be with non-disabled peers and to be successful.

This is Kevin Mo at Roosevelt High School for HIKI NŌ, on PBS Hawai‘i.

wave]   to watch this memorable story from one of our first seasons.

In it, students from Wai‘anae Intermediate School profile a 13-year-old boy who loves basketball and video games and happens to be living with cerebral palsy.

is a typical 13-year-old boy who enjoys basketball, playing video games and joking around.

We act like regular brothers do, you know?

We fight, we play games with each other, we watch TV, we, you know, we tease each other, we make each other laugh.

He also has dreams for his future.

He wants to be – But before he can save the world, he has to overcome a few obstacles.

He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

It affected his muscles, and he cannot walk.

And he was also exposed to Ice.

His mom was on drugs, so he had Ice in his system, and that kind of destroyed some of his nerves.

and loving personality, some people fail to see who he is inside.

They look at him like he's different, but he's not.

So, when you see him, his legs don't work.

His mind works, his heart works.

And I just wish everybody would just treat him normal.

People gotta see past the chair.

And those who can't miss out on who he really is.

Even though Kawika is very hard to understand, he's really hilarious.

He is very friendly.

He's very nice to work with too.

special need, so they feel like there's no way for them to ever overcome it or to adapt it to whatever their situation is.

Kawika doesn't see life that way.

outlook on life has had a positive impact on those around him.

This is a poem that I wrote when I was in sixth or seventh grade.

He really inspires me to be a better person on the inside and be more positive towards people.

People look but they don't see him.

They see a wheelchair, a little boy, skinny legs, a boy who cannot walk.

He has cerebral palsy.

Look past his chair.

Look past his sickness.

Look at his smiling face.

He is a happy kid.

Open your eyes and see him, my brother, Kawika.

And if people choose to look beyond Kawika's disability, they will find a young man who turned challenge into opportunity, who proved that an individual confined to sitting in a wheelchair can be a stand-up person who is inspiring to all.

This Is Shealyn Torres reporting for junior Searider Television.

Our next story comes from Hiroku Yasu, a student at Campbell High School on O‘ahu.

She profiles a beloved P.E.

teacher on her campus.

At Campbell, P.E.

is a required credit, but for the students in Ms.

Kam's class, it can be an escape from schoolwork.

My name is Elizabeth Kam.

I go by Ms.

Kam.

P.E.

teacher, department head at James Campbell High School.

I teach freshman P.E., and then I also teach body conditioning.

I've been teaching for 18 years at Campbell.

P.E.

is right up my alley.

I love sports.

I like being active.

I like teaching healthy lifestyle.

My teaching style is definitely hands on, tailored to individual needs and the students, what the students like.

Big on relationships, super important to me.

I think that if you can really foster relationships with every child, not just the ones who are more extroverted or outgoing, you'll start to see smiles and a ripple effect amongst your whole class.

And for me, that's huge, is getting to see everybody feel included and feeling like they're part of my class, and that they matter.

It's never easy, I'll say.

There are a lot of challenges.

I try to think of ways of ʻhow can I make this this child, feel that they're important in my class,’ so that they will produce and be engaged in my class.

They'll start to come to class.

Maybe, if they're truant, they start to attend.

It goes back to that relationship building again, like making that child feel special.

as juniors and seniors in my upper-level body conditioning class, awesome.

Like just seeing that maturity.

So, they want to be there.

They value a healthy lifestyle.

They value working out.

Kam's love for sports and physical fitness continues to inspire her students today.

Growing up, she was always involved in sports, and P.E.

was her favorite class.

Kam is different from other teachers because she cares about her students, not just how they do in the class.

She cares about them personally.

I like playing with this class because it's a way to get away from regular work, to have fun and be athletic.

My favorite thing about this class is even when you're having a bad day or like you're feeling down, you get to come out here have fun, play with your classmates and just have a good time, and everybody's pretty competitive, so.

I have this big wall bulletin board.

It's the wall of fame.

I highlight students that I've had that are really good, not just athletes, but really good students.

And then if you look at my prom pictures, or winter ball, or any of the other events that they go to, it's pictures of kids who might not be athletic, but they've been in my class, so before they leave, I tell them, “Hey, make sure you give me a picture, because I want you on my wall.

It's the wall of fame,” and the kids look at it.

Kam wishes her students to leave knowing how to be a good sport and not quit when things get tough.

This is Hiroko Yasu from Campbell High School for HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i.

Let's keep up the energy and visit another P.E.

class.

When students take physical education at ‘Ewa Makai Middle School on O‘ahu, they don't just play dodgeball or run laps around the track.

This story explores how the teachers use technology to help students get fit.

With the rise of technology in our lives, many feel physical education is stuck in the past, but the ‘Ewa Makai P.E.

department has taken a whole new mindset and thinking to challenge their students.

I thought it was going to be more sweating and more playing outside.

I really thought that P.E.

was actually going to be kind of torturous.

does help students learn.

And so, for some, they need to hear it.

Some people need to see it, some people need to sing it, some people need to write it down, and technology allows that.

Technology gives many avenues to learn.

P.E.

tends to be the most athletic kids do well, because they can demonstrate it.

And then you have somebody with no skill, no experience of it, and now they're expected to do that same skill.

But now with technology, maybe they can't necessarily perform it, but they can express it.

You know, whether it's through song, whether it's a PowerPoint, whether it's even seeing themselves.

Merging physical education with technology allows all students an equal chance to express what they have learned, making the focus less on the physical aspect and more on the educational aspects of P.E., such as taking interactive notes and using heart rate monitors to control the speed and time at which they exercise.

I think the most helpful piece of technology would be our heart rate monitor unit, done by Mrs.

Combs.

She's able to track her student progress daily in terms of them working out in their target heart rate zone.

The heart rate monitor can be something done outside of class.

You don't need a lot of fancy equipment, and it can keep you healthy aerobically.

You know, our P.E.

program here, we don't focus on traditional sports, and we want students to be lifelong, healthy and productive citizens.

And I think just exposing all of our students to different pieces of technology.

the most was when we took videos from the iPad, because when I reviewed them, I knew what I was doing wrong, and the next time when I was ever to do that same activity again, I was sure not to do that same mistake again.

I think about P.E.

after using technology is like, more easier and simple, because then later on the years, we can look back to what we've learned.

department has helped students learn a new way to stay healthy by combining traditional sports with new technology.

This is Faith Borges from ‘Ewa Makai Middle School for HIKI NŌ.

In this next classic story from our very first season of HIKI NŌ, students from Kamehameha Schools Hawai‘i report on the situation of athletes who lack a public facility for skateboarding.

On the island of Hawai‘i, the youth have a limited amount of activities.

One of the activities that is being scrutinized is skateboarding.

It's been something that's been in my life for as far back as I can remember, and it's a release for me, basically, to get things I'm stressed out about.

It's fun to do.

It's pretty much just been my life.

I mean, for as long as I can remember, I've been about skateboarding and just skateboarding and going places and skateboarding with my other friends.

And it's definitely a bond, as far as a lot of the people I've met throughout my life.

We've met through skateboarding, and I've met other people through skateboarding, like when I go to visit them and stuff.

So, it definitely is and one of the main things in my life, it has been for a long time.

and set your own goals, and not necessarily have to be like on a team to go out and do it.

You know, that's the one thing I really like about it.

Or you can make friends and hang out with your buddies, and it's a whole lifestyle, really, if you want to take it that far.

In January 2011, the Department of Parks and Recreation announced that the Volcano Skate Park will be closed until further notice due to maintenance and safety concerns.

The park's been active for about six about six year– five, six years now, and at any given time, we have anywhere from Saturday, you know, 10 to 30, 50 people.

It's the busiest thing we have up here in Volcano.

We all pretty much love the place.

Our kids like the place.

However, we've had a little trouble with trying to get someone capable of running it.

With one out of two skate parks closed on the east side of Hawai‘i and no skate park in Hilo, the youth have no other place to skate besides on the streets.

It's real underground because there's not anywhere public to skate in Hilo, so everyone's skating spots.

Having a skate park would be just totally crucial for bringing everyone together, and people knowing all the community of skateboarders and as well as the community to get to know the people that skateboard.

Since there's not a spot right now, everyone skates in the streets or just at different spots, and people get a real bad impression on that, because they don't know, you know, that there isn't a place that it's public where kids can go skate.

everything; you wanted to play tennis or golf, and there was no golf course.

You just you can't do it, or you find a way to do it that you're not supposed to.

And this would give a lot of kids a place to go, where it would be safe and legal, and everyone is going to benefit from that.

Let's take a game break with students at Pacific Buddhist Academy on O‘ahu who teach us how to play the game of Go in this next how-to video.

Go is a strategy board game that originated in China more than 2,500 years ago and is believed to be the oldest board game still played today.

It has long been a cornerstone of cultural exchange and intellectual tradition across East Asia and later spread worldwide.

One player uses black stones, while the other uses white stones.

Place your stones.

All stones are placed on the intersection of the board's lines.

Receive a point when you surround a stone of a different color.

Defend your area with a strong border to avoid losing points.

The game ends when both players pass and are unable to move any longer.

The higher score is the person with the most controlled spaces and captured stones.

In this case, black stones win.

Mastering go takes patience and practice, reminding us that every move is part of a bigger picture.

This is Teo Cardenas from Pacific Buddhist Academy for HIKI NŌ, on PBS Hawai‘i.

Let's visit Waiākea High School on Hawai‘i Island to meet a student who has defied all odds to play his favorite sport, soccer.

Hey, my name is Austin, and I play on varsity for Waiākea High School’s soccer team.

I have been playing soccer since I was eight, but there was a point where this could never happen.

At eight months old, I was diagnosed with liver cancer.

I had to undergo countless surgeries, chemo, and radiation therapy.

My parents felt like it was never going to end, until at age two, we received the best news that I'm cancer free.

Thanks to all the doctors and nurses that helped me in my journey that I can now play the sport I love.

I saw clips of soccer players, which inspired me to play.

I was scared to try it at first, because I had a fear of getting hurt again.

However, the more I play, the more confident I got.

I now play for my school’s soccer team.

We were the number one seed in the first division, and we were on our way to win the league championship.

On our last game against Hilo, we lost by three to two.

Losing that game left me feeling frustrated and defeated.

For my last year in high school, my goal is for my team to win first place.

In the end, even if I didn't meet my goal for this year, it does not compare to what I could have lost.

To close our show, I want to share this special profile story produced by our student correspondents at Kua O Ka Lā Miloli‘i Hīpu‘u Virtual Academy on Hawai‘i Island.

They shine a spotlight on a man who is dedicating his time to teaching the next generation how to map important sites the traditional Hawaiian way.

Long before GPS, Hawaiians used plain table mapping to document historic sites and make detailed maps of heiau.

Keone Kalawe is a cultural practitioner and archeologist.

He teaches students how to apply traditional mapping techniques pioneered by Henry Kekahuna, a renowned mid-20th century surveyor, historian and researcher.

For decades, he has taught plane table mapping to the next generation as a means of teaching them about their history.

My objective is that they learn how to map, and they know what they have in their district, and to mālama and preserve their sites.

method that involves making the map directly in the field, with plotting and observation happening simultaneously.

It uses a plane table, a drawing board mounted on a tripod, and a sighting instrument to draw a map, citing flags and drawing points on a sheet of paper.

For 15 years, Keone has worked with Miloli‘i students to map culturally significant sites on Hawai‘i Island.

Working with Uncle Keone has been such an amazing experience.

I've learned so much about our cultural sites around Hawai‘i Island.

Today, we are mapping Omaka‘a Bay, where we have been working with Uncle Keone for the past two years.

Keone has mapped historical sites throughout the Hawaiian Islands.

where you live on this world.

You know, you can, you know, live anywhere, but people need to emphasize the importance of, you know, maintaining and stabilizing their sites.

Doesn't matter, you live in Egypt, or you live in Canada, or you live in Thailand.

When you destroy a site, it destroys the legacy, you know, destroy the culture.

So, we need to hang on to whatever we have left.

Yes.

that's it for our show.

Thank you for watching the work of Hawai‘i's New Wave of Storytellers.

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You can find this HIKI NŌ episode and more at pbshawaii.org.

Tune in next week for more proof that Hawai‘i students HIKI NŌ, can do.