Bright Spot: Honokaʻa Dragons Spring Fair
“We believe in student voice, family involvement, community support, and making school a place where everyone feels they belong.” - Kaʻui Lagaret, PCNCC at Honokaʻa High & Intermediate.
A miniature horse from the vendor-operated petting zoo.
Parent Community Networking Center Coordinator (PCNCC) Kaʻui Lagaret fills a vital role managing the school’s relationship with students’ families and the wider community. Like many other PCNCCs, she incorporates students in her work wherever possible. We were pleased to help her secure a mini grant to help the students at Honokaʻa High & Intermediate enact their ideas for an exciting ‘Dragon Spring Fair’ that showcased the school, fundraised for clubs, and connected the community with local businesses and helpful resources. We think it’s wonderful when schools and their students work together on projects that meet everyone’s needs and interests while also building community.
Students crewed the whole event, and ran almost everything from planning, setup, cleanup, games, a concession stand, and more. Everyone worked together to raise money for even distribution to all participating clubs, removing the competitive element that might arise if each club ran their own booths and kept their own money. Fundraising included ticket sales for fun activities like the waterslide and petting zoo, as well as proceeds from the student-run concession booths.
A fair attendee exercising at the Hamakua-Kohala Health table.
Money also came in from local craft vendors and food trucks, who made donations to secure their spots at the fair. But in the interest of making a fun community event, students also created plenty of great free activities and games, which were partially built and purchased using the mini grant funds. There were also helpful organizations that came to make connections with families by sharing goodies, resources, information, and service referrals.
A student leader prepares inflatables.
Well before the fair opened, Kaʻui made sure to involve students in the difficult but exciting work of designing and planning. She told us, “Planning and running the fair gave students a chance to work as a team and be part of something bigger. They led nearly every part of the event — from the booths to the setup and clean-up — helping build confidence and a sense of purpose…By giving students a chance to be in charge and contribute in a hands-on way, we supported their overall wellbeing, encouraged leadership, and helped them feel more connected — not only to each other, but to the school and community around them…This event made a real difference in how students saw themselves and each other. Many of them stepped into leadership roles for the first time — planning, organizing, and working together to make the day happen. It gave them a way to grow in confidence and feel like they belong. Students gave up their own time during recess, lunch, and after finals to help prep — blowing up inflatables, designing flyers, organizing supplies, and even emailing vendors. These real-world experiences helped students build communication skills, learn teamwork, and feel a deeper connection to school.”
Screenshot of a group text with student leaders’ impressions of the event
Students appreciated the opportunity and had a lot of fun! Some students also found healing in the joy of working together and being part of the community while dealing with challenges in their own personal lives. It’s wonderful that Kaʻui created a leadership environment where kids could feel valued for their meaningful contributions. Giving kids the opportunity to step up has big social-emotional benefits, and teaches them lifelong personal and interpersonal skills that will benefit them in all areas.
There event also inspired families to be more involved in the school. It’s awesome to see people step up and ask how they can help. Family and community-welcoming events like the Dragons Spring Fair can help build a larger sense of community and mutual support by making people feel welcomed and excited about things happening at schools.
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In spite of bad weather, there were approximately 200 attendees, and the many organizers are eager to do more. Kaʻui and her students plan to make the Dragon Fair a beloved annual event, or perhaps try different seasonal events. As she puts it: “Either way, the goal stays the same: create safe, welcoming spaces where students feel included, valued, and excited to be at school.” There is certainly plenty of room to bring on more partners — local businesses, nonprofits, and volunteers — while keeping things student-led with help from the many thriving clubs on campus.
We hope you feel inspired to support these kinds of student-centered projects, whether at Honokaʻa or another school close to you (or close to your heart!). You can contact this school by visiting their website:
With ~500 students in grades 7-12 (and an elementary school right across the road!), there should be plenty of projects you can help with, whether financially, by offering your professional services, or by spending your time. Each school should have a staff member dedicated to building family and community connections, so please reach out!
If you’d like to help us provide more mini grants for schools to take on special student-led projects, please consider donating to our 501(c)3 fiscal sponsor organization, Friends of the Future.
