One of the many electives offered at Kalani, Directed Studies in Art & Communication — also known as the Morning Bulletin — is also one of the smallest. It involves the use of Hiki NŌ, a program run by PBS Hawaii. This program has both middle and high schoolers write and film stories on given topics and the winner gets their work showcased on PBS.

Last year, the class at Kalani made a film on a student with a passion for music production, and another on Ms. Costales, the piano teacher.

Ms. Costales & Piano

https://youtu.be/tkbxr79CtiA

Students work on multiple projects at once, some of them spanning an entire quarter.

If you’re interested in shooting and creating stories, this class can be very fun. Current students say you may enjoy the “community and closeness of the group” and the “flexibility with class schedules.”

https://youtu.be/8ROKh-vPJWg

However, the class requires some prior experience.

“If you’ve taken a film class in middle school or you’ve had a little bit of film experience, you come into the class and learn more,” student Kaua Zabala-Moore said. “Say if you learned how to edit on iMovie before, you’re going to learn how to edit on Final Cut Pro and learn how to use different types of camera. If you already know that, then it builds upon it.”

The course is graded based on multiple criteria but your effort and participation are emphasized.

“Our class is graded based on participation, how much we contribute and how we work together,” Zabala-Moore explained. “It’s graded on effort, but I do think quality of work is important.”

Students are recommended to contribute to the Kalani Morning Bulletin, who make up half the cast.