PUHI — How many of the Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School students will show up for the Bicycles on Rice?
Tommy Noyes of the Kauai Path invited and encouraged the students in the sixth grade to participate (with their parent, or guardian a la Bikes on Rice guidelines) as a graduation from the bicycle skills and safety instruction they received.
“Bikes on Rice puts you out on the street,” Noyes said. “But there is a ‘no one gets left behind’ clause that means you can put to practice what you learned on the real street. All turns will be signalled.”
Juanito Singh, one of the CKMS students, was excited to hear that.
“I learned how to get outside,” the sixth grader said. “And, I learned the signals for turns.”
Nouveau Naumu, a CKMS instructor, said the bicycle course was a pleasant accident.
“Originally, I planned to have a bike safety class with a guest speaker for a day,” Naumu said. “Bicycles are part of these students’ lives, and the skills they learn, they can use throughout their life. The sixth grade students are just starting out and haven’t reached the point where they are doing the crazy stunting. They are very prone to learning the right way.”
While researching his guest speaker, Noyes reached out and offered to do the course that involved classroom learning in a fun format with testing before and following the course to measure what the students have learned.
It also extended onto the school’s covered playground where students got hands-on training in bicycle skills and safety where Noyes got help from other Kauai Path volunteers and the Lions Club volunteers.
“I ride my bike to the store,” said Kyra Pond, another CKMS student. “I don’t ride it to school, though.”
Naumu said the bicycle instruction will serve the students through their entire life, using his miniature bike to dart between riding stations to check on the progress of the class students.
Through the two days of instruction, more than a hundred students at CKMS benefited from the expertise provided by Kauai Path.
“They have been a tremendous support,” Naumu said. “They have provided classroom instruction, and including bicycles and helmets for students to use. This also teaches the students how they are engaged in the community, and the community resources that are available to help them be more healthy and active.”
Naumu added that because of the pre- and post-testing, the students all showed improvement in the area of bicycling.
“I have way more control of my bike, now,” said Bella Kellerman, another CKMS student who uses her bicycle to go to the store. “I learned how to use my brakes, and if there is a letter shift on the bike, it’s easier to pedal.”
Noyes said Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School is not the first to receive the Kauai Path bicycle instruction.
“We’ve done this program with other schools like the Kapaa Elementary School, Kilauea Elementary School, and Island School,” Noyes said. “It’s good to sit with the kids in the classroom and learn with them. But to really learn, they need to get out into the community through events like the Bikes on Rice, or ride on Ke Ala Hele Makalae.”
••• Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
