Middle School Interest Stories

Palo Banchero, Victor Wembanyama, Anthony Edwards, Scottie Barns, and other young players are starting to solidify themselves as young stars in the NBA. But with these new players coming in, the older players are starting to show their age. One of these players and teams that are starting to slow down is Jrue holiday. Jrue has shown major regression and at the age of 33 has averaged 13 ppg (points per game) but just last year averaged 19. Jrue Holiday is one of the few players starting to regress. Click here to learn more about these NBA players.

Parents have started to have many reasons to talk with their teens, but one deadly one stands out, Fentynal. Fentanyl kills around 150 people a year and is making vulnerable teens make bad choices. A small dose can kill, as small as 2 mg causes the individual to die. Their speech will be slurred. They may have difficulty staying awake. They may have difficulty, obviously, in standing up, and then they'll fall asleep. Click here to learn more about how fentanyl affects middle school students.

During this week, one of the major events for students happened. NHD is a project that begins in November and ends in January, or longer if you advance to the next level. On Thursday, students set up their projects for all to view their hard work and research. There are multiple steps to this event, depending on how creative your project is, and if you put enough dedication. There are different levels that you advance to if you pass. First, it's at Island School, then it goes to KCC. If you advance again, then you travel to Oahu to present. During the presentation, students are interviewed about their topic, to see how much they learned. If the interview goes well, and their project is organized, they advance to the next level. NHD allows schools to study history and understand more information about our past. Learning about our past can help us and future generations learn how to proceed in the future. The point of doing NHD is to help people understand important topics and events that have occurred and to teach research skills. Click National History Day to read more.

Hawaii, a beautiful state located in the Pacific Ocean, has always been a popular tourist destination. However, in recent years, there has been a significant increase in tourism, boosting over 94% statewide. This can be due to a variety of reasons, including the state’s beautiful topography, its range of beaches, and its friendly people. One of the main factors is the state’s effort to promote a sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle. Hawaii is a natural paradise with its lush forest, pristine beaches, and crystal-clear waters. However, the state has taken steps to ensure its tourism industry does not harm the environment. This includes putting forth reducing waste, and protecting endangered species. Click here to learn more. 

The Trans-Pacific Volleyball Tournament is a volleyball tournament on Oahu that's held at the Hawaii Convention Center. It gives many students an opportunity to win medals and get experience with good competition since Oahu had many advanced teams. Many Island Schools students attended this tournament and participated in the 14-u division and 16-u division to play hard and to win. Many of these students worked hard for many months balancing practice and school work. Their work paid off when they placed 3rd and 2nd place in the silver division. They also placed 5th in the gold division. All this wouldn't have happened if it weren't for the club, Ike Loa, that is held at the Island School gym. Ike Loa  is a volleyball club that has groups  from 6th grade and below to 8th grade and above. This year students arrived on Oahu on January 12th and left on the 15th. The tournament lasted 3 days, 13th - the 15th. This tournament is hosted every year on the same weekend and the UH volleyball teams come and sign autographs. The Transpacific tournament also has boys volleyball competing at the same times as the girls.

Teens, typically between the ages of 12 and 18, are particularly vulnerable to the effects of weed on brain development. During this stage of life, the brain undergoes significant growth and maturation, making it more susceptible to external influences such as drug use. It impacts memory, attention, learning, and impulse control by binding to brain receptors called THC. Using cannabis can interfere with the normal development of these cognitive functions, potentially resulting in long-term impairments. Teens' brains are still forming important neural connections, and cannabis interference can disrupt this process. Research shows that smoking marijuana during teenage years can impact brain development. Teenagers commonly use weed at parties, gatherings, and even in private settings. Popularization of weed in popular culture and relaxed attitudes toward its use have contributed to its widespread availability and usage. For several reasons, it is critical to know how weed impacts teens' brain development. Firstly, it's important to tell young people about the dangers of using cannabis early on. The second advantage is that it encourages parents, teachers, and healthcare workers to learn about education, prevention, and early intervention. Click here to read more about the impact of marijuana.

When you start vaping at a young age, it can change your health. If you or someone you know started vaping from a young age, then their life is in danger! Vapes are cruel chargeable smoking devices that contain about 30 different chemicals, nicotine, and artificial flavoring inside of them. If you start at an early age then you can have the risk of getting very bad lungs and eventually losing 15-20 years of your life! In fact, once whole vape is equal to about 50 cigarettes. Vaping can lead to major depression and anxiety. Click here to learn more about why vaping is so bad for you.

A unit that you should understand is how to make money as a teen. The world revolves around age and when you are underage you can’t get employed to work for a real business unless you are the founder, CEO, worker, and Manager of your small business. So making money around a young age will be very difficult unless you do chores around your house and your parents pay you. Also washing cars and mowing the lawn around neighborhoods is another way to earn money. Depending on where you live, shoveling snow could be an income. Making money is great for teens due to the lifestyle of a teen involving money to buy new clothes or save up for something. This also can teach teens responsibility by having them make their own money. The concept of currency and prices with tax is a good skill to have in a world that has put a cost on eveLearning to make money at a younger age is a great way for teens to learn how to manage it responsibly, at their current age, or even when they’re older. For example, observing the purchases they may partake in can make it so that when they are older they save more money to use for productive things. These productive items in question include things like food, houses, cars, and necessities. There is one barrier the law of child labor is in the way of younger teens from having a job at a young age. The law of Child Labor is against the amount of teens who have the desire to make money at a younger age. On the other hand, the law is there to stop adults from employing children for their own selfish reasons and to profit the adults more than the kids. The formal name of the law is Fair Labor Standards Act. This law prevents teens from applying to jobs that may be too hard or complicated like pursuing a lawyer or an anesthesiologist. Click here to learn easy ways to earn money as a kid.

You’ve probably heard the saying, to keep yourself healthy, do some type of sport daily; well, swimming is an excellent sport to work your entire body. Every stroke can make different muscles work. For example, the butterfly stroke can improve your core strength. Next, this sport is appropriate for people with injuries, disabilities, or others. Swimming can even reduce some joint pain people are struggling with. Last, you could learn to swim at any age. Swimming provides benefits for older adults and younger ones because it’s a low-impact activity. This is a full-body workout with a very low risk of injury. According to the article, 18+ Surprising Statistics About Swimming You Need To Know, there are 3100 swim clubs in the USA. So, wherever you are there is a high possibility of a swim team nearby. Start learning now! To tourists and locals, Kauai is known as a beautiful island full of hidden gems. With a clear sunny sky and seemingly serene waves, no one could think the dangers below the water. The leading cause of death for Kauai tourists is drowning! Tourists drown 13 times the national average and 10 times the rate of Hawaii residents. A fun snorkel adventure near the shore could turn into a harrowing battle with the ocean. Undertows and currents can sweep you out to sea and make it virtually impossible to make your way back. A strong foundation in swimming can help you stay above water and fight against the waves. The webpage civilbeat.org talks about how nearly half the kids on Kauai can’t swim and what risks this poses on an island surrounded by water. I talked to 10 kids and all of them said they knew someone who had been swept out to sea or drowned. Knowing how to swim will let you and your family have fun at the beach without worry, knowing you’re safe from the ocean. Click here to learn more about why you should learn to swim.

Polihale, located in the ahupua’a of Kona is nicknamed Polis. It’s accessible through an old cane haul road. This seventeen mile beach is the longest in the Hawaiian Islands. Its terrain includes tall soft sand dunes and remarkable sunsets peering over the island of Ni’ihau. Nearing the end of the NaPali Coast, Polihale greets you with its beautiful sights. Polihale offers various activities to do with others. Water activities such as surfing and swimming are a common interest at this beach. This beach offers no lifeguard, so caution is always advised before playing in the waves. Non-water activities such as bonfires and camping are always a pleasing way to spend your time. Polis closes around 8:00 PM, excluding camping with a permit. Another activity is shelling, which is a walk along the beach looking for shells along the water-line or sand. Another place to shell is in the water, snorkeling at Queens Pond, a section of Polihale. Queens Pond is a great place for keiki, as it's near the parking lot of Polis. Click here to learn more about the State Park of Polihale. 

You should visit at least one of the top 10 cafes on Kauai! Higher-rated Cafes are most likely to respond to your needs such as allergies and other food accommodations. 

Knowing the top-rated restaurants in a certain area or place can be helpful when wanting to be prepared when deciding where or what to eat. Higher-rated cafes show how much trust a local business has. People can also provide reviews on certain websites of the business which cafe management can take into recognition. This gives it a chance for a cafe to improve its management skills, moving it higher on the list of top-rated cafes. It is also important to support local companies for their good earnings and reputation as a way of saying, thank you! A list of the top-rated cafes on Kauai is most useful to tourists or people visiting the Island. Visitors would find a list helpful because they will most likely not be familiar with the area and would need directions. And you know what, websites with a list of the top-rated cafes also provide their location (online map), contact, menu, hours open, ratings, reviews, special diets, and more. The #1 rated cafe on Kauai is Kalaheo Cafe & Coffee Company. Click here to find out more information on Kauai’s top 10 cafes!

If you’re a movie fan, get ready for the new 2024 releases! There are many movies set to be released in early 2024, and they range from animation to live-action horror. Being in the know about new movie releases can help you make popcorn in the time you would have been deciding what to watch. No matter what genre of movie you’re a fan of, there will be something for you. Movies are a way to escape reality and have some downtime. Some movies to look for if you go to the movie theaters are Dune 2 and Ghostbusters 2! Another one of the most anticipated releases of this year is the remake of Mean Girls. There are also a variety of new animated movies coming out soon, like Garfield, Despicable Me 4, Inside Out 2, Frozen 3, and Sonic 3. So get your popcorn ready and click here to find your next watch!

Surfing enthusiasts of all ages can revel in the diverse wave conditions Kauai has to offer. Beginners and seasoned riders alike gather at the renowned Hanalei Bay, a picturesque spot where the waves cater to various skill levels. The who encompasses a mix of locals and visitors, creating a vibrant surf community. What awaits surfers are waves that range from mellow on the South Shore, perfect for learners, to challenging swells on the North Shore during winter, attracting thrill-seekers. Where to catch these waves is key, with Hanalei Bay standing out as a prime location. When it comes to timing, the winter months see the North Shore's waves at their peak. Safety is paramount, making sure surfers check weather conditions before diving into the Pacific playground of Kauai, ensuring a memorable and secure surfing experience. Click here to read more about surf spots on Kauai.

Team Sports are fun, engaging and promote great exercise for students. However, the competitive nature of sports could cause an overly competitive environment where kids feel like they have to win. Sports give adolescents an opportunity to work with others and give themselves free time. Usually students do sports associated with their school. Therefore, team sports usually occur on school campuses. Although there are many benefits about team sports, it could distract students from their studies. There are many different sports students can play to suit everyone’s interests. School sports promote school spirit. The average effort in PE for an 8th grader is 60%, but the average effort in club sports for an 8th grader is 100%. In addition 5 out of 5 middle schoolers report that they enjoy team sports more than PE or school exercise classes.This is because for most adolescents, if one is interested and loves a specific sport they will put more effort into it. If a student is on a travel team they get to experience many new things. They can also see new places, broadening their horizons. Those who participate in club sports get a lot of exercise in their daily lives. A lot of team sports are after school. They can occur on the weekend or in the afternoon on weekdays. Even though kids like club sports, it can make them increasingly tired. Many injuries are caused by club sports so some parents don’t like their children participating. There are many pros and cons about team sports; they seem very enjoyable to adolescents. Click on this link to read more about team sports.

Throughout the years vaping has become a toxic trend that has negatively impacted the younger generations. Vaping is a highly addictive product containing nicotine that influences younger buyers due to peer pressure. Nicotine has a chemical called dopamine, dopamine causes mood changes that temporarily make people feel good. Some teens use vaping as a temporary escape from things like depression and anxiety, but it only gets them addicted and permanently damages their lungs. Permanent lung damage can cause cancer and overall health decrease. It can also cause respiratory failure which can lead to death. Vaping is very addictive and harmful and kids today should be warned about the effect vaping has on them. Click here to see the effects of vaping on young lungs.

The state of Hawaii has the rarest goose in the world as our state bird! As of 2023, the population of the Nene goose is around 3,862 geese. Nene are an endangered bird species that mainly live on the island of Hawai’i, but are also found on Oahu, Maui, Moloka’i, Big Island, and our home, Kaua’i. Unfortunately, the Nene goose has slowly been becoming endangered due to introduced mammals and predators (dogs, cats, mongoose, rats, and pigs), and loss of habitat; because of this, the people of Hawai’i are currently trying their best to limit the amount of new and unknown animals in the state and preserve the Nene’s natural habitat. The Nene goose tends to live in high elevation or grasslands and has been the Hawai’i state bird since 1957. Though the Nene goose seems like an original animal, it actually developed from another type of bird, the Canadian Goose. Its name Nene comes from its call; in the Hawaiian language(Olelo Hawai’i), the word Nene means to chirp and to croak. The Nene geese, as mentioned in certain chants, are said to be the guardians of the land and seen as very symbolic; representing the connecting of the mountains and the coast. In order to conserve the endangered species, the Nene goose, we will have to try our best to keep what the Nene needs to live and survive properly. Nene geese are a very important and historical animal, especially to our state, Hawai’i. Click here to read more about the Nene goose from Haleakala National Park. Click here to view seven interesting facts and photos of the Nene goose from Hawai’i Magazine. 

Teens with divorced parents tend to suffer with trauma, behavior problems, guilt, and having a difficult time forming an intimate relationship with their parents. The trauma some teens deal with may be verbally abusive. Teens and young adults all over the world have divorced parents and this can cause them to feel guilty and bad when choosing another parent’s side in an argument or situation. Having divorced parents can cause a teen to have an overload of emotions that they cannot express and may lead to mental issues. Another part of having divorced parents is dealing with their other halves and step siblings; this can cause teens to feel loved less and for their relationship to be distant and separate. Teens may feel drained out when having to deal with family issues and parenting problems. This then can result in teens losing interest in things that they love and can have a major impact on their emotions, school, hobbies and sports. There are problems and issues with divorced parents and their teens like not having a close relationship. Teens with mental health issues may sense higher levels of depression, anxiety and behavioral problems that they don't feel comfortable sharing with their parents. When switching and living in two different homes there are opposite rules and abilities that the teen may not agree with and can result in an argument. When living in different homes, teens may experience abuse and harm that parents call discipline but the other parent can’t do anything about it. And this can lead to the parents not having a healthy relationship and can cause the teen to be affected. Parenting in a healthy way is the way to go - divorced or not. 

Portuguese Man O’ War, also known as Pochos, are in the Siphonophore family, closely related to jellyfish. They have powerful tentacles that have a dreadful sting that is produced through their venom. Portuguese Man O’ War are found all along the beaches of Kauai; they follow the wind patterns. Specifically, they are found from Poipu to Kekaha and they influence teens through their impactful sting. Their stings may lead to trauma, pain, dislike of the beach, and fear of swimming because of the distress and horror these creatures have evoked into people's lives. Portuguese Man O’ War are often found on the island of Kauai during the Winter time, which makes humans scared to swim in the ocean. Interestingly enough, even when they are dead they can still sting people, which puts people relaxing on the beach at harm. Their powerful sting causes welts on any touched skin, feeling worse than a bee sting or a pinch. With their powerful sting these animals can not only paralyze small sea creatures but can kill them. Click here and here to read more about Portuguese Man O’ War and their impact on teens and their families' lives.

Losses are known as a big impact on middle school students. Losses could affect a middle schooler’s mood and the way they act towards other people. For example, if they lost their grandparent they might take out their anger on a friend that had nothing to do with this situation. They also might shut people out causing them to be alone which can sometimes make the way they feel worse. Sometimes when middle school students feel depressed or grief they might end up doing dangerous things, such as smoking, vaping, or drinking or maybe even worse. There are many ways to help middle school students when they are in this situation. You can reach out, not force them to talk, check emotions, allow happiness, and participate in healthy coping together. Click here for more information about how losses have a big impact on a middle school student’s life.

Tik Tok usually affects teens especially in middle school. TikTok has many effects on teens, some of them are the mental and physical effects on teenagers. How it causes damage is by being very addictive and making kids stay up for a long time and some videos implicate wrong ways to act. Tik Tok has become a problem from 2013 to nowadays as it has been a trend in middle and high schools. While some users find it entertaining and a source of creativity, others may experience negative effects such as social comparison, cyberbullying, or excessive screen time. It's important for parents and educators to be aware of these potential issues and promote a healthy balance in technology use. Click here for more information.

Over the past 2 months, Island School middle and high schoolers have been working tirelessly to create a National History Day project in the form of an exhibit board, documentary, paper, performance, or website. On January 18, 2024, all middle and high schoolers are set to present their projects to a panel of volunteer and student judges who will rank them and give them feedback on their project. Project presentations will be held in the Wilcox Gymnasium. Projects include 9/11, Queen Kahuumanu, and King Kamehameha. The ranking system works like this: Each group of judges (2-4) will get 6-7 projects to judge, rank, and give feedback on. Students who were ranked high enough will go on to the district finals held at Kauai Community College. Students who advanced to the district level will then be judged by official judges from the National History Day organization. 3 projects in each project category and age category will advance to the state level held on Oahu. Middle school students will be entered in the Junior age division and High school students will be entered in the senior age division. The state level competition will be held on April 20, 2024 at Windward Community College. When students get to the competition, they will receive a $100 travel credit to compensate for getting to Oahu and back to Kauai. State level judges come from all over Hawai’i. Last year, Mr. G and other chaperones went with students a day early to visit the capitol, go to museums, and spend an evening at Ala Moana Shopping Center. Awards work like this: judges will give every project feedback and give it a ranking/score. If a project is good enough and qualifies, it may win a special award because of its topic. For example, a project is created about Women gaining the right to vote, it may win the “Women’s History” special award. Like the district level, state level age categories and project types are all given a top 3, with usually the top 2 moving on to the national level. Standout projects that didn’t place may win an honorable mention. When you read this, the schoolwide History Day will have already passed, so best of luck to everyone vying for a spot at the District level! Click here to learn more about National History Day!