Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016

Lava stalactites are visible hanging at right in Hawaiian Volcano Observatory's newly released footage
of volcanic activity at Kilauea's summit lava lake. Screenshot from USGS/HVO

DRAMATIC FOOTAGE OF KILAUEA’S ERUPTION is available from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. The 11:14-minute video filmed between July 24 and July 31 features activity at the summit lava lake and HVO scientists studying the activity. They filmed in a hazardous area that has been closed to the public since the vent opened in March 2008. During filming, they wore respirators to avoid breathing noxious gases.
USGS video producer Stephen Wessells told Caleb Jones, of the Associated Press, that when rocks break from the vents wall and fall into the lake, “there’s a big gas release, this big kind of bubble burst, and it will hurl fragments of molten lava … up onto the crater rim.”
Such an event occurred at a location just a week after the crew filmed there.
“It was a very sobering moment,” HVO geologist Janet Babb told Jones.
“It was the greatest shooting experience of my life,” Wessells said. “It was just spectacular.”

To view the footage, click here.
See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
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Activities for students and residents will soon be available
at the new Ka`u District Gym. Photo by Ron Johnson

ACTIVITIES ARE GEARING UP at the new Ka`u District Gym on Pahala’s school campus. The gym opened yesterday, and Hawai`i County Department of Parks & Recreation announced plans for various activities for children and adults.

For students, the department will offer age group basketball, age group and exponent track & field and after-school activities and events.
A recreation room will feature tables for ping pong table, pool and fooseball. Xbox games will also be available.
Adults will be able to participate in volleyball and basketball. A weight room will also be open to adults as well as high school students. All users must sign a waiver/release form and sign in at the Recreation Office daily prior to use.
Times and dates have not been announced.
For more information, call Nona Makuakane or Elijah Navarro at 928-3102.
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All grade levels improve in 2016. Graph from HIDOE

HAWAI`I’S STUDENTS CONTINUE TO MOVE in the right direction in meeting higher expectations for college and career readiness. In its second year of administering a new, more rigorous testing standard, the state Department of Education this week released Smarter Balanced Assessments test scores in English Language Arts/Literacy and mathematics. First administered in spring of2015, the test is aligned to Hawai`i Common Core standards and replaced the Hawai`i State Assessments in math and reading.

“The second year of results show incremental improvements, and our second year of data provides a solid foundation for comparisons moving forward,” said Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi. “Our schools are invested in the higher standards of this test, and we hope to build on our momentum each year to ensure that our students are prepared for college, careers and community life after high school.”

Kathryn Matayoshi

The results show that 51 percent of students tested met or exceeded the achievement standard in ELA, up three percentage points from the previous year. In math, 42 percent of students tested met or exceeded achievement standards, up one percentage point from the previous year.

The scores reflect the percentage of students who meet or exceed achievement standards. More than 90,000 students took the SBA, and Hawai`i had a 98 percent participation rate, up one percentage point from the previous year.
SBA tests measure how well students are developing the skills needed for success in college or the workplace. On the basis of their 11th grade scores, 5,756 of this year’s public high school seniors already qualify for college-level classes. At 256 colleges and universities in ten states, including the University of Hawai`i System, students can use their SBA scores to be exempted from placement exams and to enroll directly into entry-level college courses, eliminating the need for remediation. These 256 colleges and universities represent 78 percent of the higher education institutions where members of the graduating class of 2015 enrolled.
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INTERESTED IN KA`U COFFEE PRODUCTION? An upcoming workshop focuses on the latest processing equipment, coffee berry borer control, crop nutrition, subsidy programs and legislative updates.
The workshop takes place at Pahala Community Center on Saturday, Oct. 22 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Lunch will be provided.
RSVP to Laura Diaz at laura@ldomarket.com, 928-8188 or 408-306-5596.

Kaipo AhChong Photo from VAC

VOLCANO ART CENTER INVITES EVERYONE ages 15 and up to tropical flower arranging workshops with Hawaiian cultural practitioner Kaipo AhChong tomorrow and on the first Friday of November from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village is the site for the workshops.

Tropical agriculture farmer and member of Halau Na Kamalei, AhChong shares his skills in this hands-on workshop. Explore color and texture in three dimensions with tropical flowers. Each class will result in an arrangement to take home and enjoy. Or, extend your Aloha to a friend or loved one with an arrangement you assembled yourself.
Choose from an array of flowers like anthuriums, orchids, ti leaves, ginger and Heliconia, to name a few.
Cleaned tropical flowers are provided, and the class fee is $45.
Call 967-8222 to register.

TICKETS FOR TOMORROW’S OKTOBERFEST at St. Jude’s Church in Ocean View are available at the door. Prices of $8 per person, $15 for two or $20 for family include German food and music by the Last Fling Band. Doors for the event that supports community service programs open at 5:30 p.m.
Call 939-7555 for more information.

Tom Peek

TOM PEEK PRESENTS WRITING ON THE WILD SIDE Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. Class fee is $75, or $65 for VAC members.

Hone your writing skills, explore your creative mind, and discover your unique voice in a new writing workshop with the popular Big Island writing teacher and award-winning novelist. Social media correspondents, bloggers, storytellers, journal writers and poets will find Peek’s stimulating techniques and exercises empowering.
In his newest workshop, Peek offers a wealth of knowledge that writers can use in everyday social media sharing, including journaling and blogging. Writing on the Wild Side will help writers create prose that people actually want to read.
Previous students have found Peek’s workshops to be engaging, informative and practical.
Learn to silence your inner critic and unleash your expressive potential in this fun, fast-paced and provocative writing workshop. Open to all levels and genres. No writing experience is necessary.
Peek has taught his popular workshops since 1991. A writer for over three decades, his work includes an award-winning novel, newspaper stories and commentaries, university publications, magazine articles, national park exhibits and award-winning video productions.

Noreen Naughton Photo from NPS

Call 967-8222 to register.

NOREEN NAUGHTON OFFERS A PAINTING WORKSHOP SATURDAY. One of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park’s current artists-in-residence, Naughton will talk about her process of discovering the subject and how she arrives at abstraction while painting out in the park. She will also discuss creative process and how it works for her.

The free workshop takes place from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the lobby of the `Ohi`a Wing between Kilauea Visitor Center and Volcano House.
Registration is required. Call Laura Schuster at 985-6130 or email laura_c_schuster@nps.gov.

Park entrance fees apply.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.