LHES Students Represent School at State Education Day, Return Amid Kona Storm Delays
Three students from Lānaʻi High and Elementary School (LHES) traveled to the Hawaiʻi State Capitol on March 19 for the DOE State Education Day. About 26 schools were invited statewide. LHES was the only school there from Maui County.
Ninth graders Kyrene Clea Ocharona and Jian Lubos, and tenth grader Georgia Baetge made the trip with Monique Bolo, Student Activity Coordinator for LHES, along with principal Douglas Boyer and high school English teacher Jerico Jaramillo. They shared one booth in the Capitol rotunda, each with their own display. People moved through and stopped to talk story, including Hawaiʻi Department of Education Superintendent Keith Hayashi and Senator Lynn DeCoite.
Plantation history held one side of the table. Two documentary films from Mr. Jaramillo’s Filipino class focused on Sakada women who lived and worked on Lānaʻi. Interviews were done with Nida Calderon-Maltezo, Valentina Karen Joyce Tabura, Fortunata Mamaclay, and Filomena Espiritu.
“Our goal was to preserve the rich heritage our island holds, and we also wanted to keep their stories alive,” Kyrene said. “One of the most meaningful things I learned from the Sakada women we interviewed was how resilient they were.”
Student life was represented through Associated Student Body (ASB) work. Events like Homecoming, Winter Ball, and BYOBanana Day were part of what Jian shared.
“I feel like the way we do these events is different from other schools and really special,” Jian said. “They help transform how students interact and build a stronger school community.” She also said that Superintendent Hayashi watched the Lānaʻi Today parade video and said he wants to come in person next time.
That same student-led work extended into a different kind of need.
“In September, I was able to train around 20 staff members, students and community members,” Georgia said.
Her project was built over the summer and carried into the school year. Working with CPR It Works!, a training organization that teaches people how to respond to cardiac emergencies, she brought in instructors and equipment to run a full training session. Participants went through CPR, AED use, rescue breathing, and drug overdose response.
“I wrote up a proposal and got a whole bunch of funding and donations for high-grade mannequins and all the materials we’d need,” Georgia said.
The session was set up to prepare people to act before help arrives. Training was done on mannequins with AED units on hand, with each step practiced through repetition.
Later that day, the group was brought into the Senate chamber, where they were recognized. The trip had been planned as a same-day return.
The Kona storm changed that. Flights out of Honolulu were delayed and then canceled, forcing an overnight stay on Oʻahu. “We were supposed to come back that afternoon… our flight kept getting delayed and pushed back and then we ended up spending the night in Oʻahu,” Georgia said.
The next day, the group flew to Maui to try catch the ferry back. By the time they landed, service had been canceled. Boats remained down through Saturday, extending the trip further.
“We only got back Sunday morning,” Georgia said.
Through it all, Monique said the students stayed steady. “The students were great,” she said. “They were troopers.”
Kyrene pointed to the opportunity itself. “I hope our school continues to participate in opportunities like this so students can share their voices and make a difference,” she said.