Shaka Shave Ice & Cane Juice owner Joe Licata (right) shows Lokelani Intermediate School eighth grader Amau Juan how to use a shave ice machine. — SARAH RUPPENTHAL photo

Ever wonder how that colorful logo got on your favorite T-shirt? Or how a bumper sticker is made?

There’s a group of middle-schoolers who can show you how it’s done.

After months of planning and anticipation, Lokelani Intermediate School will debut a new student-run on-campus store the week of March 27. The students named it Wave Mart, a nod to the school’s team name, the Waveriders. Helmed by a crew of nearly 50 eighth and seventh graders, the store will sell student-made T-shirts, stickers and cups of shave ice to Lokelani students, teachers and staff. The profits will be used for student activities like the school’s spirit week in April.

Principal Francoise Bell says a group of students came up with the idea for Wave Mart last fall. Aware of the widespread economic strain brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, they were keenly interested in learning about entrepreneurship and financial literacy in a hands-on way, she said. A school store fit the bill perfectly. As for what they wanted to sell, the students had something specific in mind: T-shirts. So Bell purchased a silk-screen printing machine using federal COVID-19 relief funds intended to help improve student engagement.

As luck would have it, one of Lokelani’s custodial staff members, Vernon Kalanikau, has his own screen printing business. When the machine arrived on campus, he taught the students how to use it and says they mastered it quickly. Since then, they’ve designed and printed company T-shirts for all of the Wave Mart workers; they’ve also made personalized name tag stickers using a Cricut crafting and cutting machine. In addition to the screen printing and Cricut machines, the school now has a Glowforge laser printer and a shave ice machine for the students to use. To learn the art of shave ice-making, the Wave Mart crew took a field trip to the Shaka Shave Ice & Cane Juice stand on South Kihei Road, where owner Joe Licata gave each student a step-by-step tutorial.

Lokelani Intermediate School Vice Principal Peter Hansen (standing, far right), educational assistant Brandon Haros (kneeling, far right) and faculty adviser Marylin Abshire (center) accompanied a group of eighth- and seventh-graders to Shaka Shave Ice & Cane Juice in Kihei, where they learned the fundamentals of shave ice-making. The students will be making their own shave ice to sell at the school’s new student-run store, Wave Mart. — SARAH RUPPENTHAL photo

For these middle-schoolers, life lessons abound. With the support of Bell, Kalanikau, Vice Principal Peter Hansen and teachers Marylin Abshire and Hanh Bui, the students are developing skills they can carry with them into adulthood — and they’re having a lot of fun in the process. Apart from learning the ABCs of retail operations, they are also honing soft skills like communication, teamwork, problem-solving and time management. And like other businesses, Wave Mart has an organizational chart: Each student works in a different department, such as sales, design, accounting and marketing.

Eighth-grader Hannah Cooper is Wave Mart’s general manager. She applied and interviewed for the position in January and credits the organizational skills and sales experience she’s gained as a Girl Scout for helping her land the job. It was somewhat spur of the moment, Cooper said, “But I decided I wanted to try out for general manager.” She says she’s settling into her new role and looks forward to the upcoming grand opening. Cooper’s classmates, Leila Johnson and Bella Mantia, are also eager to welcome Wave Mart’s first customers. They will lead the store’s sales team. Why did Mantia apply? “I thought it would be cool,” she said. “And I like to be in charge.”

Cooper, Johnson and Mantia say Wave Mart’s current offerings — T-shirts, stickers and shave ice — are just the beginning. The students hope to eventually print shirts for Lokelani’s six sports teams, the school band and other campus clubs and groups. There are also plans to eventually sell other student-made items like keychains and engraved and wood-burned signs.

And they have all the tools they need to make it happen.

Like Shaka Shave Ice & Cane Juice, other local businesses and business owners can volunteer to share their expertise with the students. To learn more, contact Lokelani Intermediate School at (808) 875-6800.

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

• Pa‘ina Food Court. Craig Omori is the University of Hawaii Maui College Culinary Arts Program coordinator. ...

The Maui News Seafood processors in Hawaii who had to pay additional costs for COVID-19 health and safety measures ...

The Maui News While Maui island saw lower unemployment rates in February than it did a year ago, jobless rates ...

The Maui News Police are warning the public about a scam involving spoof callers claiming to represent the Maui ...

The Maui News WAILUKU — Police arrested a man who allegedly drove recklessly while fleeing from officers ...

The Maui News A local group developing Molokai’s first community-owned renewable energy resource project will ...

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

Copyright © Maui News | https://www.mauinews.com | 100 Mahalani Street, Wailuku, HI 96793 | 808-242-6363 | Ogden Newspapers | The Nutting Company