Mainely Middle
Journal of the Maine Association for Middle
Level Education
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2001/2002 |
A Hawaiian AdventureIn April, 2001, Mr. Thompson and I, two teachers from Mt. Blue Middle School in Farmington, Maine, took fifteen eighth grade students on a trip of a lifetime. A year prior to going, the students were joking about what an awesome time we could have is we went to someplace like Hawaii. At that time I also received, by fate or not, a flyer from the Jason Project, which so happened to be running its program in none other than Hawaii. Mr. Thompson, of course, flew with the idea and one year later, on April 11, we boarded a plane to that very spot. Prior to leaving for the trip, the students spent several months learning about Hawaii, both through the Jason Project and Mr. Thompson. Mr. Thompson was born in Hawaii and still has relatives there. He was able to shed more light on the customs and culture than students would have gotten from books. Our students stayed with host families during our time in Kona, helping us keep our expenses down. One of the gifts we brought for the host families was fresh lobster! Some of the Maine students had not had lobster before either. We were given leis from the host students. Every day during our stay in Kona, their group leader placed new pictures on their school's website so our families back home could see what we were doing. Many parents were thankful to see pictures of their children after the seventeen-hour trip. The first day, we were immersed in Hawaiian culture. The students attended classes with their hosts and learned the art of making leis, as well as how to hula. The boys especially liked the demonstration given by the young ladies from our host school. Our next day took us to Volcano National Park. The Maine students had heard and read a lot about this area because this is where Dr. Ballard had his base camp for the Jason Project. Students learned about both flora and fauna of the region. They got a first-hand look at Kilauea volcano. Another aspect of the volcanoes that the students absolutely loved was the lave tubes. One thing they noticed was that every place we went on this part of the island was wet and damp. The weather was damp all day long. On Saturday, our host school took us sight seeing. Everywhere we went, we were treated to spectacular views. We visited Parker Ranch, which is the third largest ranch in the United Stated. It is now owned and operated by a conglomerate. We didn't get close to see the buildings because the driveway was miles long. Another spot that was breathtaking was Pololu's Lookout. We visited white and black sand beaches, as well as many other beautiful places. One in particular told of the great warrior King Kamehameha. We spent our last day in Kona snorkeling to identify fish, while some brave soles surfed. When we left Kona, we flew back to Honolulu where we stayed in WaiKiki for another three days. While there, we visited the U.S.S. Arizona. This fit perfectly with our students' social studies class back home. We also took in the Polynesian Culture Center where students were once again immersed in Hawaiian culture. They learned how to play several games that have entertained Hawaiians throughout history. Several of them fared very well. The evening topped off with an unbelievable show consisting of dance, song, and story, all done in the native tongue. Totally awesome! After ten days in Hawaii, we were all ready to head home. But none of us will ever forget our Hawaiian Adventure. Aloha!
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