LIHUE — Hokulani Iseri was a little nervous when she was told about the reading program. The member of the Kauai High School girls junior varsity volleyball team was not used to reading aloud to younger students. “But after reading
LIHUE — Hokulani Iseri was a little nervous when she was told about the reading program.
The member of the Kauai High School girls junior varsity volleyball team was not used to reading aloud to younger students.
“But after reading to a few of the groups, it’s not that bad at all,” she said.
The Red Raider JV team was pressed into service Thursday for a “Set. Spike. READ!” program by Sarah Iha, a team mother and a language arts teacher at the Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School. The JV team members read a story and enjoyed healthy snacks with 25 students from the Boys and Girls Club, Lihue.
Sierra Hampton, Young Adult Librarian at the Lihue Public Library, organized the event.
“I had to try and figure out an activity for 16 young energetic young people,” she said. “But the sports theme and tying in with healthy nutrition works. It’s healthy for young people to read, too.”
The volleyball players were split into four groups. Each group spent about 15 minutes with smaller groups of students, some being joined by parent-child combinations.
“It was too cute to watch these student-athletes interact with the younger children,” Iha said. “There were times when I was nearly to tears. I think the students learned a lot more than they realize.”
Chelly Ann Luis said the experience was more than she anticipated.
“I actually like it, and we should do more of these,” she said.
Her teammate Kaylyn Perlas agreed.
“I really liked reading to the young students,” Perlas said. “I liked how they were so interested and asked really good questions and had good comments.”
