‘Teachers’ Blossoming At Kalani High’s Annual Lifestyle Fair

Kalani High School health academy students and the Falcon soccer team prepare Aina Haina Elementary School children for some vigorous soccer drills during Kalani’s second annual Lifestyle Fair for 122 keiki from AHES and Star of the Sea School. Photo from Yongchuan Lin.

Healthy living starts early — which is why Kalani High School hosted 122 students from Aina Haina Elementary and Star of the Sea schools last month for its second annual Lifestyle Fair.

“(The mission was) to educate and promote healthy and active well-being in order to lead students to follow a positive path,” explained Hyeji Lee, one of the Clinical Health students at Kalani who organized the fair. Hosting the event is one of the requirements for senior students in the school’s health academy.

The first- and second-graders enjoyed soccer, nutrition games, card making and Zumba at the health fair, with positive results. “I was on the field working with our Kalani boys soccer team,” said student Leiolani Ieon. “The kids loved interacting with our players and getting to know more about them and the game.”

In addition to all the fun, Misa Akiyama confirmed that the lessons did get across to the attendees. “When we got a thank-you card from the students, they all talked about how they learned that too much candy is bad and how they learned what to do in order to continue a healthy lifestyle,” she said.

Next year’s Lifestyle Fair will be hosted by a new crop of Clinical Health students, so the 2014 veterans plan to volunteer in the community on a smaller scale for HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) club.

While young children were the target audience of this fair, the health lessons the Clinical Health students seek to teach are for all kinds of reasons. Akiyama shared one tip about the importance of community: “As we get older, we start to participate in clubs and extracurricular activities in school, and I think that having a good, positive relationship with our peers, teachers and also our family can provide a very healthy lifestyle.”

“People, especially children, should eat more fruits and vegetables and less junk foods,” advised Yongchuan Lin.