HANAMA‘ULU — Everyone had a hand in the Afternoon of Fun at King Kaumuali‘i Elementary School on Friday afternoon, school principal Karen Liu said. “Every one on the staff is working, and we have help from the Boy Scouts of
HANAMA‘ULU — Everyone had a hand in the Afternoon of Fun at King Kaumuali‘i Elementary School on Friday afternoon, school principal Karen Liu said.
“Every one on the staff is working, and we have help from the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 148, and the Key Club from Kaua‘i High School,” Liu said. “This is a collaborative effort between the school, the community and the PTSA.”
The event was a mini-carnival, book fair, silent auction, spaghetti dinner and talent show all rolled into one on the campus of the Hanama‘ulu school, said Jeannett Martins, the school’s technology coordinator.
Liu said the event was Martins’ brainchild. School staff members became parking and traffic attendants when families’ cars filled the lots at Peter Rayno Sr. Park.
“This is good,” said a member of the Kalepa Hillsiders senior softball team who was grooming the infield of the softball field while keeping an eye on the outfield filling with cars. “There aren’t enough events where parents and their children can spend time together. Parents should spend time with their kids.”
Martins said she believes the school’s first Afternoon of Fun proved a success based on the large number of students who participated activities ranging from bounce houses to interactive carnival games such as a ring toss for prizes. Jim Aronica, the school’s physical education teacher, arranged to have Trikke bikes available for students and adults who wanted to experience the human-powered cross between a bicycle and a scooter.
Trikke designs and builds three-point cambering, or leaning, vehicles that allow the frame to lean into turns while keeping three wheels on the ground for stability.
Aronica said there were two sizes of the three-wheeled Trikke bikes available for the students to experience during the Afternoon for Kids event.
“We got ours through one of the Department of Education special resource people,” Aronica said. “This is just for the event.”
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
