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KEAAU, Hawaii (AP) — Hundreds of Pahoa students displaced by lava have been exploring their new schools in Keaau.
About 850 students living north of the flow cutting through Pahoa are moving to schools in Keeau. An equal number living south of the flow will attend Pahoa schools.
More than 300 of the students visited Keeau high and middle schools for an early look on Friday, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald (http://bit.ly/1trxHpe) reported.
Keeau's existing students stayed home to give the new students from Pahoa an opportunity to learn their way around without being overwhelmed by having to fit into the social scene of a large, bustling high school.
"We wanted it to be a day just for them, to get used to the campus when there aren't 1,059 other kids around," said Keaau High Principal Dean Cevallos.
Only Keaau High's student body government representatives were on hand to help make the new students feel welcome.
"I think it's exciting that we get to meet new friends," sophomore student body secretary Jadelyn Fernando said.
Sophomore student body treasurer Jessica Andres said she could empathize with students being forced to relocate to a strange place well into the school year.
"It's a new environment to them," she said.
Sophomore student body president Narizza Saladino agreed, saying "they're kinda nervous."
One primary concerns among former Pahoa students has been their place on athletics team rosters.
The Keeau athletic director is working the issue, said Cevallos.
The timing for the transition is good because the schools are between sports, he said.
Administrators must also still determine whether graduating seniors will receive diplomas saying Pahoa, Keaau or a mixture of the two.
"This is a work in progress, and there are things like that where we want to be really sensitive. . They're our kids now, and it's hard for them," said Keaau High Vice Principal Paul McCarty. "We want to be sensitive to that."
The state Department of Education decided to reassign students and staff after scientists predicted lava from Kilauea volcano would cross both Pahoa's main road and Highway 130.
In all, 1,700 students and 300 employees are affected in this transition process.
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Information from: Hawaii Tribune-Herald, http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/
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