The journey
Rising from Our Roots was a year-long journey of exploring students' cultures, personal experiences, and the writing process. Students and teachers were supported along the way by authors, artists, and cultural ambassadors.
The book has two parts- Our Roots includes myths, legends, and personal narratives from students' home countries and Branching Out features personal narratives of students' experiences in their new homes in Hawai'i.
The student authors
Rising from Our Roots is an anthology of stories written by multilingual Waipahu High School students from the Philippines, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nicaragua, Samoa, and Tonga.
Students incorporated their home languages of Chuukese, Ilokano, Marshallese, Samoan, Spanish, Tagalog, and Tongan in their stories.
Author and Artist Visits
Students and teachers were inspired by local authors Lee Cataluna, Michelle Cruz Skinner, Patsy Iwasaki, Keao NeSmith, and Lee Tonouchi, whose visits helped students find their voice and hone their stories.
Artist Solomon Enos met with the art team and shared his process for illustrating a story and gave us a look inside his home studio.
Cultural Ambassadors
Leeward District Bilingual School-Home Assistants Evelina Fuataga, Arlene Helgeson, Eola Lokebol, Teresita Ocariza, Setiro Paul, Fialupe Tafaoa, and Marietta Uyehara shared folktales, myths, and legends from Chuuk, the Marshall Islands, the Philippines, and Samoa.
The writing process
Bess Press provided numerous examples of published works that inspired our students as they worked through multiple drafts and collaborated with each other to refine and revise their stories.
Bilingual text was reviewed by Waipahu High School staff and Leeward District Bilingual School-Home Assistants.
Bilingual author Elizabeth Jiménez Salinas provided professional development for teachers along the way, contributing to the revision process and providing insights into the publishing world.
Student authors also partnered with AP Literature students, who served as student editors.
The Artwork
Some student authors illustrated their own stories, others partnered with a student artist to capture their story in an image. Several authors used Pixton.com to share their story in a graphic novel format.
The Teachers
Rising from Our Roots was made possbile through the hard work, collaboration, and dedication of Waipahu High School EL department teachers Yvonne Calvan, Chloe Maeshiro, Lori Murakami, Jiamin Ruan, and Jennifer Sagucio.
A big mahalo to Lori and Jiamin for doing the design and layout over the summer!