SHINING STARS
Iolani School earns honor for sun safety
Iolani School, the first Hawaii school to provide formal sun safety education for students, will receive a national award in a ceremony at 7:45 a.m. tomorrow in the school's St. Alban's Chapel.
The 2007 SHADE Foundation Sun Safe School of the Year award recognizes Iolani's programs, which began in 2000 in and out of the classroom. SHADE and Blue Lizard Sunscreen will give the school a $2,000 grant to continue sun safety education.
Elementary grade students learn about ultraviolet light, ozone and optimal sun protection measures in science classes. They make sunscreen with hot plates, beakers, thermometers and ingredients such as zinc oxide.
Dr. Carla Nip-Sakamoto, past president of the Hawaii Dermatological Society, and Jeff Bedard, chief executive officer of Crown Laboratories, which manufactures Blue Lizard Sunscreen, spearheaded the program, conducted by Iolani science teachers Laurie White and Ellen Gaylor.
Besides classroom education, Iolani encourages students to wear sunscreen and protective hats during outdoor physical education sessions. The school recently completed construction of the One Team Field House with a sun-protected play area to increase sun safety.
Shining Stars appears several times a week in the Star-Bulletin