Imua Iolania voice for students

since

1923

December 18, 2008 Vol. 84, Issue 5 Honolulu, HawaII

‘Flu strikes, absences spike

By Tawni Murphy

Trying to juggle school, homework and other extracurricular activities contributes to making life hard at ‘Iolani. Missing school is something that most students dream of, but prefer not to do because making up missed work can be dreadful.

During the week of Nov. 17-21, student absences increased dramatically because of illnesses, rising from an average of about 2-4 percent to about 4-9 percent of students absent during that week.

The illness that struck the upper school campus probably started in the lower school just after the Veterans Day holiday Nov. 11.

Students in lower school had a milder sickness with a fever for about two to three days and a runny nose. The next week, an illness hit the upper school campus, leading to many student absences and sending many students home sick.

“Some of it seems to be the flu,” said Ms. Shannon Yonamine, the Director of Health Services for ‘Iolani School. “But in other cases it seems to be the common cold.”

On Monday Nov. 17, 8 percent of the upper school was out sick, and the number rose to 9 percent the next day. On Wednes-day Nov. 19, the amount of absent students dropped back down to 8 percent. The week ended with both Thursday and Friday hav-

ing 7 percent of the students absent. According to the Hawaii State Depart-

ment of Health, the flu has an incubation period of one to four days, with an aver-age of around two days. Symptoms of the flu include a high fever (over 100 degrees), headaches, sore throat, a dry cough, runny or stuffy nose, muscle aches and extreme tiredness. Some complications of the flu in-clude bronchitis or pneumonia, which could develop into life-threatening conditions.

Although a fever over 100 degrees and headaches are rare in the cases of a common cold, the symptoms still might appear. Oth-er symptoms of the common cold include mild fatigue and chest discomfort, sneezing,

coughing and sore throat. Complications include an earache or a sinus infection.

A rumor circulating around the upper school campus stated that if 10 percent of the upper school were absent, then the DOH would have to be called and school would shut down for the day.

It is true that the DOH would be notified, but school would not be shut down.

“When the DOH is called in by a school, swab kits are sent out to the school and are used for kids who visit the infirmary com-plaining of illness,” said Ms. Augustina Manuzak, a HDOH Epidemiological

Continued on page 4

Illustration by Cordelia Xie

Inside:Blood Drive - 4Sugary drinks will vanish - 2Football Champs - 6Spelling titans battle - 5

IndexEditorials--2Sports--6A&E--3Lower School--5Middle School--8Features--4

By EMily Saka

As the Christmas decorations begin to go up once more and carols sound from department store speakers, it’s hard not to get caught up in the holiday festivities. However, sometimes it’s just as hard to forget about the hundreds of families who will spend yet another Christmas without a roof over their heads or with hardly any food to eat, let alone presents or Christmas cheer.

This year, due to our current economic recession, there are more people than ever in need during the holiday sea-son. There are also students within the ‘Iolani community as well who simply can’t afford the shopping bags full of gifts that people have been known to drag around campus in years past.

‘Iolani’s tradition of giving back to the community, in the form of the SAO giving tree and various community ser-vice projects, sets a good example for those hoping to have an economical but fulfilling Christmas. Whether students

want to give back to others in economic hardship, or are dealing with financial problems themselves, volunteering is definitely one of the most rewarding options.

Scott Morishige, a program manager at Helping Hands Hawaii, reported an increase of 24 families in their Adopt a Family program and an overall 31% increase in the num-ber of people asking for help during the holiday season. Because of the country’s economic problems, 2008 is the program’s biggest year to date.

Helping Hands Hawaii provides a number of services to over 4,000 people a year. The ways to volunteer range from donating clothing, canned goods, and used items to work-ing in the Christmas warehouse to adopting a family for the holidays.

“It’s not just one individual who gets helped,” Morishige said, in regards to the volunteer work one person can ac-complish. He explained that it is this very reason that makes volunteering so rewarding, and also so easy.

“Volunteering is as simple as going up to a ringing Sal-

vation Army bell,” he said. “If ever you find yourself with loose change, donate it. Five dollars can buy a family’s worth of groceries from the Food Bank.”

Actually taking part in a more proactive form of volun-teer work is just as easy. The organization needs volunteers to work in their Christmas warehouse, and all it takes is a simple phone call to say you’ll help. The Adopt a Family program is also extremely simple to take part in. Each fami-ly member asks for only $10-$15 a person, and the donation can go towards giving the family a proper holiday meal.

Helping Hands Hawaii is only one organization that is looking for volunteers and donations this Christmas. The senior class recently arranged a community service project at the Institute of Human Services, where they sorted dona-tions, cleaned rooms, and wrote Christmas cards. Hospitals and senior citizen homes are always in need of volunteers to spread Christmas cheer to the patients and residents. There are many ways to do a whole lot of good with just a few dol-lars or one free afternoon this holiday season.

Volunteer for a merry, economical Xmas!

Twilight movie:

Sparkly, or just bites? - 3

Page 2 Editorials Imua ‘Iolani

Give gifts and thanks in the right orderBy AmeliA linsky

How very revealing that people begin the “Season of Giving” before giving thanks!

The bloated holiday season, in accordance with the American tendency toward excess, has advanced too far into normal life.

Beginning Christmas before Thanksgiv-ing, although a logical strategy for increasing profits, nevertheless undermines the generous, tolerant spirit that would make consumers inclined to spend their money.

Of course retailers are desperate to make a profit this year, but arti-ficially extending the frenzy too far before the actual day risks consumer burnout.

People grow weary of trolling malls for deals, admiring stores’ Christmas displays, and enduring badly rendered holiday songs.

Once Christmas actually arrives, I can’t deny that it’s fun to open presents.

Furthermore, the vast majority of people realize, at least theoretically, that it’s more re-warding to give than to receive, so they con-sciously curtail any unbecoming avarice.

Charitable giving, too, has come into vogue, along with more economical Secret Santas and gift exchanges.

But the current problem is not greed.

The problem is that Christmas has given way to a generic “Season of Giving” charac-terized by lavishly decorated malls and man-datory utterances of “Happy Holidays” from the cashiers.

Tips and advice on how to “survive” the holidays without “damaging” wallets and waistlines abound.

Now I dread increased traffic, budgeted excess, and the pressure to buy and give the right gifts.

I miss anticipating fam-ily time, relaxation, and peace.

A few years ago, I was too young and oblivious to notice the tarnish on the tinsel.

Or maybe everything really was bright and shiny before, and only recently has Christmas become so grossly enlarged that its advance spoils the taste of Thanksgiving dinner.

Illustration by Cordelia Xie | Imua Iolani

Crime, punishment should go hand-in-handBy AyeshA CoorAy

We do not live in a society in which forget-ting to pay the parking meter warrants a death sentence or lifting a Laffy-taffy from a con-venience store means dismemberment.

Enlightenment ideals and the subsequent study of society and the human mind has led to the creation of penology, or the study of the punishment of crime as both a deterrent and reformatory measure.

During the Enlightenment, Cesare Becca-ria spelled out in his essay “On Crimes and Punishment” the basic tenet of penology; pun-ishment must not only castigate, but reform.

If so, disciplinary study hall is an irratio-

nal punishment. Yes, the threat of study hall is a powerful deterrent and yes, the students in disciplinary study hall are being punished, but no, they are not being punished for the crimes they committed.

Disciplinary study hall imposes an academ-ic measure as means of curing a disciplinary problem. Enforced time to do homework has nothing to do with skipping chapel or entering the opposite sex’s rooms at senior camp.

It is true that by breaking school rules, one betrays this school’s trust. But by exacting a punishment that has nothing to do with the rule broken, this school betrays your trust.

Yes, ‘Iolani, as a private school, does re-serve the power to limit the freedoms of stu-dents by establishing and enforcing rules. But underlying that power is the understanding that the administration will proscribe punish-ment, not only in proportion to the crime, but

relevant to the crime as well. A wide range of disciplinary problems in-

duces effort to eliminate student’s individual advantages (i.e. those who can lie and argue effectively) and disciplinary study hall is man-ifestation of genuine effort to be fair.

But by creating and enforcing this system of standardization, we devalue individual cir-cumstances that may be important. With stan-dard punishments at the ready, judgment is seldom needed in disciplining students.

Students who have broken rules should be punished and subjected to disciplinary action, if not for breaking the rules then for getting caught.

But in this school, which continually seeks to instill justice and morality in its students, trouble-makers should be punished in a man-ner that both castigates and reforms.

By shAnthA mCkinlAy

Next year students will no longer be able to buy regular soda, Gatorade, and Icees on campus. Thank goodness we seniors will not have to be here to watch the mayhem.

Sodexho, the school’s food service pro-vider, will no longer be able to sell sugar-sweetened beverages due to a change in policy from its supplier. These beverages are believed to be a key contributor to the high rate of childhood obesity in America.

Many factors, not just the consumption of a soda every day at lunch, contribute to obe-sity and poor health. Obesity can be cause by limited activity, eating large portions, and the types of food a person is consuming.

The ban has already been implemented at other schools in various states, and the responses seem to be the same across the board.

“That’s stupid! People need that extra boost of caffeine,” said senior Matt Martines. Many of my classmates, when they do not feel like running over to Starbucks for a cof-fee or grabbing a Red Bull, hit up the vend-ing machine for a Coke or a Mountain Dew. With ‘Iolani being what it is, with mounds of assignments, students often resort to soda so they can stay awake and complete their

coursework.When the drinks are taken away, students

will most likely purchase them elsewhere. They can bring them from home. Students might even start bringing cans of soda to school and selling them to other students out of a cooler. I would not blame them. Students will still be able to buy items such as Coke Zero, which has no sugar, and other diet sodas, but students will not ex-perience the same satisfaction from these choices.

Instead of taking away these high-sugar sodas, the school should put more emphasis on instructing students about right choic-es when selecting food. There is no real difference be-tween an Icee and an ice cream bar as far as nutrition goes. Why not stop selling

those as well?Although the attempt to decrease child-

hood obesity is a thoughtful one, I am not sure if it will be successful. ‘Iolani attempts to keep its students from getting overweight by throwing them into physical education, a class most students abhor.

No-soda policy: How sweet it isn’t

Emily Shimkus | Imua IolaniSeventh-graders Elizabeth Barr, left, and Kiana Harpstrite treat themselves to a sweet, frosty Icee after school.

Imua ‘Iolani is published by the students of ‘Iolani School, 563 Kamoku St., Honolulu, HI 96826. Established 1923, printed at Hawai’i Hochi. Imua ‘Iolani accepts advertising on a space available basis. Rates are $100 for 1/2 page, $60 for 1/4 page, and $35 for 1/8 page ads. Please e-mail iolaniimua@gmail.com for more information. Include “advertising” in the subject line. Deadline for the next issue is Jan. 18, 2009.

Editor-in-Chief:Katrina Karl

Design Editor:Marissa Sakoda

Copy Editors:Annie Rian

Lianne ChungPhoto Editors:Courtney Ochi

Features Editors:Amelia Linsky

Emily SakaOpinion Editors:Emily ShimkusTiana Bohner

Sports Editors:Bianca Bystrom

Kelia CowanArts & Entertainment Editors:

Akari HatanakaKaela Shiigi

Lighter Side Editor:Stephen Stack

Lower School Editors:Kyle Kim

Andrew ZhouMiddle School Editor:

Madison ObataEditor at Large:

Stephen Toyofuku

Adviser:Mrs. Karin Swanson

Imua ‘Iolani is distributed free of charge to students of ‘Iolani School. Mail subscriptions are $15 per year. Imua ‘Iolani is online at www.imuaonline.org or as pdfs at www.iolani.org under the “Student Activities” menu. Some material courtesy of American Society of Newspaper Editors/MCT Campus High School Newspaper Service. The opinions herein expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the administration, faculty, staff of ‘Iolani School or Imua ‘Iolani.

December 18, 2008 Variety Page 3

By Julia Horie

At ‘Iolani School, it is not un-usual for a 4.0 GPA to be below the top 10 percent of a class. But what does that mean?

According to the Merriam-Web-ster Dictionary, grades are a “mark indicating a degree of accomplish-ment in school.”

This assumes, of course, that the other 90 percent of the student body are less “accomplished” in their ed-ucation and have not worked hard enough to achieve “success.”

The letter grading system is an unfair and inaccurate evaluation of a student’s performance and should be eliminated from ‘Iolani’s educa-tion system.

Letter grades are merely a mea-surement of a student’s ability to stuff as much information in his or her brain as possible, with no re-ward for creativity.

Even the most objective exams only test the student’s knowledge on the questions asked and cannot reflect the student’s actual learning of a subject in a truly objective way. This leaves no room for creativ-ity and only encourages people to think only about thoughts already thought before.

And what’s the difference be-tween an 89.4 and an 89.5, the tenth of a percentage that decides the fate of a grade becoming an A or a B? Does that mean that the person who got the A worked harder to earn it?

The answer is no. Too may people work endlessly and study for hours on end to receive a grade just short of that prized A, while too many others cruise through classes and catch A’s flying from the sky and onto their report cards.

In essence, the grade does not recognize a student’s determina-tion, focus, and eagerness to learn.

In fact, the grading system does just the opposite of encouraging learning. With the lure of grades at the their fingertips, teachers have too much power to deter-mine a child’s self-confidence and success.

Instead, school should be graded not on a letter scale, but on a pass or fail basis. This way, teachers can only encourage students to learn instead of putting them down with bad grades.

The pass or fail system also kicks out the favoritism that of-ten leads people to quit trying in a class. With no shiny A for students to strive for, one may doubt the ef-fectiveness of a pass or fail system. However it works for several presti-gious schools. The UCLA Medical School and Reed College use this method for grading.

Even Harvard does not report freshman grades until July, after both semesters have been complet-ed. ‘Iolani should adopt this grading system and oust the bogus method that claims to accurately measure a student’s ability.

When it comes down to it, life after school does not give out grades, and if the point of school is to prepare us for “real life,” then why not start now? With the pass or fail method, students will become more inspired to learn, and the fear of failure is eliminated.

An open mind is susceptible to absorbing more information.

Thus, the students will become smarter individuals and more con-fident adults. Why wouldn’t ‘Iolani want that for its students?

Abolish grades, affirm learning

A Brief History of Christmas Compiled By amelia linsky

Germanic pagans celebrate the winter solstice, Yule, with the burning of a yule log and a feast.

900 BCE? - Romans celebrate the birth of Mithra, the Sun God, on December 25, in the midst of the festival of Saturnalia.

366 CE–Roman calendar marks December 25 as the birth date of Jesus Christ.

700 CE-Christian “Feast of the Nativity” sup-plants Saturnalia.

1066 CE–Christmas is rowdily celebrated by wearing costumes, singing bawdy songs, and play games involving rolling dice on the church altar.

1400s-The practice of gift-giving is established.1500s–The custom of advent wreaths is

established.−Caroling and nativity plays become popular.−Naked caroling and rowdy requests for drink

(“wassail”) are commonplace.1605 CE–A fir tree is decorated with apples in

Strasbourg, France.1644–English Puritan regime under Oliver Crom-

well bans Christmas.1660 – Charles II of the Restoration removes the

ban in England.1670 – The first eggnog made in the USA is con-

sumed in Jamestown.1659-81–Christmas is outlawed in Boston ac-

cording to strict Puritan beliefs.1800s–The practice of giving holiday cards be-

gins in England.1809–Washington Irving, under the pseudonym

Diedrich Knickerbocker, describes the arrival of a Dutch-influenced “Saint Nicholas” on horseback in his History of New York.

1819–Washington Irving writes The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, gent., claiming to describe the English traditions of Christmas, but actually in-venting a new kind of family-centric holiday for Americans.

1823–Clement Clarke Moore portrays an elfin Saint Nick with his poem A Visit from Saint Nicho-las (The Night Before Christmas), including details about reindeer, a sleigh, and a jolly laugh.

1843–Charles Dickens writes A Christmas Carol, reinforcing the message of charity and goodwill.

-Henry Cole popularizes the Christmas card.1851 CE–The first commercial advent calendars

are printed in Germany.1860-80–American cartoonist Thomas Nast de-

picts Santa Claus and his workshop at the North Pole for Harper’s magazine.

1870–Christmas is declared a federal holiday in America.

1890s–The Salvation Army sends out Santa Claus look-alikes for Christmas donations.

1931–Coca Cola advertisements depict a human-sized Santa Claus.

1939–An advertising writer for the Montgomery Ward Company invents Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Kneed for a new sportBy sHantHa mCkinlay

Playing soccer was a big part of senior Kelsey NaPier’s life, but she gave it up this year and took a whack at paddling instead.

Last season, two days before the soccer season’s official start, NaPier tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and has been re-covering since.

NaPier’s senior year was supposed to be the pinnacle of her soccer career, but her injury forced her to switch paths.

After getting surgery on her leg she has been going to physical therapy to help get back flexibil-ity and strengthen her leg.

“It was super painful, way worse than the surgery. Breaking the scar tissue was the most pain-ful part of the process,” NaPier said.

The tear not only affected NaPier physically, but took other tolls as well.

NaPier just made the paddling team, which is a good fit for her.

“I love the water,” NaPier

said. She said that paddling possess-

es the same amount of teamwork as soccer does, and a fair amount of running as well.

While going through all these changes, NaPier had support from both friends and family.

Her parents drove her to physi-cal therapy, bought her movies and her parents got her a glass bell to use while she was bedridden.

“It was a bummer because I had to be her servant for weeks. I was on Gatorade and cracker refill duty,” said Erin NaPier, NaPier’s younger sister.

Her piece of advice for ath-letes, if they ever tear an ACL, or just for those going through a tough time: “The most important thing is to always look at your glass half full and not half empty. If something doesn’t work out one way then there will always be new opportunities. Plus, it takes too much energy to be sad.”

Illustration by Eunice Chang

CorrectionThe following errors appeared in Eunice Chang’s profile of ‘Iolani

math teacher Mr. David Masunaga ‘75 in the “Once a Raider, always a Raider” spread.

Mr. David Masunaga did not say that “This school still has the same high standards and rigor, although people say the workload has less-ened ever since the girls started coming to this school.” He said that this school has become less unforgiving and less severe, not meaning that the workload has lessened.

Mr. Masunaga has never been affiliated with New York University, and was initially hired to teach at ‘Iolani as an emergency last-minute substitute.

Features Imua ‘IolaniPage 4

By Blaire TolenTino

The 2008 ‘Iolani Blood Drive was exciting at best, hectic at worst, and overall a success. This depends, of course, on your defini-tion of success.

Headed by a team of newcom-ers (Director of Health Services and nurse Mrs. Shannon Yon-amine, Mr. Reid Sagawa, and se-niors Chaz Silva and me) the Blood Drive faced a few challenges. We did not reach our goal of 120 pints, but not for lack of support or effort. This event was a success because of all the support we received, not just from donors, but also from those who were entirely ineligible to donate.

The simple act of expressing the wish to donate or trying to do

so and being deferred meant a lot. Knowing that there were people who saw how important donat-ing blood is, who were inspired to help, was just as valuable as the blood itself.

Nearly 100 pints of blood were donated and, though that fell short of our goal, I’m not disappointed. In fact, it exceeded my expectations.

This year we had a small pool of eligible donors. Whether it was weight, antibiotics resulting from the school’s recent epidemic, sports or questionable vaccinations in for-eign countries, dozens of normally eligible people were deferred. Un-daunted, juniors, seniors, parents and faculty rallied to give all they could possibly give, as corny as it sounds: the gift of life.

Throughout the day some spe-

cial guests visited the Blood Drive: ‘Iolani fifth graders. Initially I worried about their visit, unsure how they would react or if they would be disruptive or bored. I was pleasantly surprised to find them all to be intuitive, interested and intelligent with their questions. They watched respectfully with wide eyes.

In the end I was glad that they

came because I felt some of them were motivated to return one day and donate blood themselves. That’s not such a crazy concept because, while looking through a box of book marks all fifth graders make to thank donors, I came upon bookmarks that had been made by this year’s senior class of 2009, many of whom had come in to do-nate. It’s funny that seven years lat-

er, after that art project had slipped their minds and escaped from their memories they were drawn back to source of all the fuss.

This year’s Blood Drive would not have been possible without the help of all our volunteers, especial-ly Key Club members. Key Club’s presence, not to mention yummy donations vital to the recovery pro-cess, was key to the Blood Drive’s

Blood drivea success

Ms. Shannon Yonamine | Imua IolaniStudents and faculty donated almost 100 pints of blood in hopes of saving lives.

Continued from page 1.

“The student would be swabbed and the swabs would be sent to the Hawaii State Labo-ratories Division for testing of two different types of flu.”

The first flu is known as Flu A. If the test for Flu A comes back positive, then more tests are conducted to determine the cause of the illness-es. The other type of flu is the Avian Flu. A posi-tive test for Avian Flu would mean a pandemic.

“That I know of,” said Ms. Yonamine, “it (school closing because of influenza outbreaks) has never happened before.”

Although after an illness the students might be well enough to return to school, they might still have some of the symptoms of the flu or of a cold. The teachers have to stay later than normal to help students catch up in class. Therefore, the teachers bring home more work, causing them to stay up later and become more prone to illness.

There are many way to prevent becoming sick. For example, you can wash your hands. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “if you don’t wash your hands frequently, you can pick up germs from other sources and then infect yourself. You’re at risk every time you touch your eyes, nose or mouth. In fact, one of the most com-mon ways people catch colds is by rubbing their nose or their eyes after the cold virus had gotten on their hands.”

Sharing food and drinks is another easy way for germs and illnesses to be spread from person to person.

By getting plenty of sleep, you allow your body to recuperate after a long day.

Another way to help prevent from getting sick is to drink a lot of fluids, especially water, to keep your body hydrated.

One of the best ways to help protect everyone from getting sick is to not attend school or work at all.

“If everyone were to stay home,” said Ms. Manyzak, “then not only would you get better, but you would help protect those who aren’t sick from getting sick.”

Flu and colds

Courtney Ochi | Imua IolaniAn exponentially large number of students visit the school nurse with common cold and flu symptoms.

By Brandon KumaBe

‘Iolani’s own Alyssa-Alysson Ochiai triumphed over 24 young and ambitious senior girls from Hawaii, winning Hawaii’s Junior Miss Competition. Among the other competitors from around the island was Marissa Sakoda ’09, who placed third.

The Junior Miss Scholarship Program is a na-tionwide competition that encourages senior girls to celebrate themselves and cultivate their skills in preparation for the future. The Junior Miss Program has both a state and national level. Winners from the state level go on to compete in the nationals. The contestants are evaluated in five categories and the top four girls are rewarded with scholarships.

To be considered for Junior Miss, hopeful con-testants must send in a transcript from school that proves they have a solid academic record. Once chosen, contestants must prove themselves by showcasing their talent, interview skills, scholastic abilities, fitness, and self-expression.

Their personalities are judged through an inter-view that asks them questions about their future goals and knowledge of current world events, while their fitness is evaluated through their ability to perform aerobic exercises.

The talent portion of the competition allowed the girls to showcase their individual talents. The girls performed everything from Chopin piano composi-

tions to Filipino Candle Dancing.One of the more intensive parts of the competi-

tion is self-expression. The girls have to learn an elaborate flurry of steps in a runway-esque chal-lenge. They also must answer questions of moral importance.

Each girl is scored in these categories, and the outstanding contestants receive scholarships in each category. Ochiai and Sakoda won the talent por-tion, receiving $750 in addition to their scholarships awarded for placing in the top four. The winner of

the competition is the young woman who receives the best score overall.

Both Ochiai and Sakoda were influenced to compete by other people. Marissa was inspired to join the competition many years ago by Mrs. Denise Irons, a former math teacher. When train-ing began in November, Sakoda was overwhelmed. The contest was much more intense and involved than she had expected.

Ochiai’s inspiration to compete in Junior Miss came eight years ago from Camilla Lau, a friend who participated in the program back in 2000. Over the years, she has worked to be herself and made it her goal to do the best in all her endeavors.

Participating in the competition was not easy. Ochiai ran into some difficulties while trying to

prepare for the self-expression segment. Ochiai recalled being especially stiff when she

attempted to master the steps and was told that it looked like she was walking on eggshells.

In the end, she relied on simple distraction to calm her nerves, “I overcame it by singing a song in my head that my dad sang to get over it” Ochiai said.

She will be representing Hawaii in the national Junior Miss Competition held in Mobile, Alabama.

“Junior Miss gave me the opportunity to realize how beautiful both inside and outside young women can be,” Ochiai said.

‘Iolani’s own shine at Junior Miss 2008

Katrina Karl | Imua ‘Iolani

Above: Sakoda (left) and Ochiai (right).

Lower, middle schoolers survive fusillade of words

By andrew Zhou

The normally quiet and reserved audience of Seto Hall erupted in applause on Decem-ber 3rd as the winner of the middle school spelling bee, eighth grader Logan Davis, walked up to a podium to accept a certificate of his achievement.

Davis endured a grueling hour and 30 minutes, more than 20 rounds of spelling, and a heated struggle with eighth-grade run-ner-up Maya Stevens, before finally winning the Bee with the word “dentifrice”.

The Bee consisted of 47 students in the third through eighth grades.

This event was widely anticipated by the participants and their friends. However, even with support from friends in the audience, many participants were anxious for the final results.

Kaela Taho, a third-grader in the bee re-marked that the hardest thing to do when on the stage was to “look out over all the people and not get nervous… but I got nervous--re-ally nervous.”

However, not all of the contestants were as passionate about the bee.

Sean Chan, an eighth grader in the bee,

said that “It wasn’t that big of a deal” to him, and that he “wasn’t really hardcore about it.”

On the other side of the spectrum of con-testants however, were some intensely com-petitive spellers.

The winner, Logan Davis, felt a “roller-coaster of anticipation” the whole time he was on the stage.

“Standing up to the mike wasn’t as bad as sitting down in the chair, waiting for your next turn,” Davis explains. “Thinking about what my next word is going to be and how to spell it is the hard part.”

Throughout the competition, Davis kept his cool.

Keeping the audience laughing with wit-ty remarks, he calmly spelled words, often pausing for dramatic effect.

Davis explained that making jokes were his way of keeping calm under pressure, and it seemed to work.

Unlike previous ‘Iolani Spelling Bees, this competition marked the first time that spell-ers younger than sixth grade were allowed to participate in nationally ranked spelling competitions.

Mrs. Jane Romjue, the coordinator of this year’s Spelling Bee, noted that this was “an example of ‘Iolani School taking precedent to build the spelling program,” and the out-comes were certainly fantastic.

“This year’s Bee was much more exciting that usual, and there were indeed a lot more people in the audience,” said Mrs. Romjue. “I hope next year’s Bee will be as exciting as this one!”

December 18, 2008 Page 5Lower schooL

By iris Kuo

How small can a violin be? Apparently, it can be small enough for a three-year-old to play on. The Iolani Suzuki Program, headed by Ellie LeRoux, offers classes for students from ages three to seventeen or eighteen.

One of these classes is called the “Fan-tastic Fourth Grade Fiddlers”. For short, it’s called “FFF”, which in music, means fortis-sissimo (very, very loud). The fourth grad-ers meet with Ms. LeRoux during their study hall periods on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

These students mainly learn from the

Suzuki books, but, at the moment, they are working on Christmas songs like “Jolly Old St. Nicholas” and “Jingle Bells”. Kris-ten Izuo (’17), Amy Nakamura (’17), and Kelsey Kimura (’17) are in the Fantastic Fourth Grade Fiddlers class, and all three just started playing the violin this year.

The students are required to practice at least half an hour every night, which for Amy, is a lot of work. In these classes, one of the areas Ms. LeRoux emphasizes is posture. According to Kristen, Ms. LeRoux had a presentation for the parents where she taught

them the correct way of holding a violin. Therefore, when Kristen plays for her

parents, if she is standing incorrectly, her parents know how to fix it. The main goal of the program, however, is to build strong-character through self-discipline.

Ms. LeRoux says that “beginning stu-dents in a fine art in which the parents are very involved promotes confidence, creates possibility, and supports communication in the Suzuki triangle (the parent, child, and teacher).”

The Suzuki Method was founded by Dr. Shinichi Suzuki. He wanted to “make the children of the world happy after WWII.”

Learning an instrument “the Suzuki way” includes parental coaching, starting students at a younger age, delaying music reading un-til proper position and tech-nique are mastered, listen-ing daily to the pieces to be learned, carful daily prac-tice which builds methodi-cally on a solid foundation, and plenty of review.

Ellie LeRoux has been teaching Suzuki Violin for the past 34 years and has studied under John Kendall and Dr. Suzuki himself.

She has a “love for and firm belief in the Suzuki philosophy,” and an “ex-citement for the potential in all children.”

She recently published a book and CD on violin posture called Fan-tastic Fiddle Form. Ms. LeRoux hopes to strengthen Iolani’s fine orchestra program by starting the students at such a young age and benefit the children by boosting their self esteem, memory skills, skill of setting and reaching goals, creative thinking, and self-refinement.

As Izuo puts it, “It’s a nice opportunity for kids who never really played the violin to start learning [it] from a professional like Ms. LeRoux. I like it a lot.”

Photos by Andrew Zhou | Imua IolaniAbove: Third-grader Lauren Nguyen was one of the lower school partici-pants in the school spelling bee.

Suzuki class fostersyoung musicians’ skillsEighth-grader Logan Davis

won the 2008 `Iolani Spell-ing Bee held at Seto Hall on Dec. 3. Maya Stevens came in as runner up after several heated rounds with Davis. Davis (left) and Stevens (above) will repre-sent ‘Iolani in the Honolulu district spelling bee. Third-grader Sabrina Kawakami (not pictured) was the lower school winner. This is the first year in which Hawaii state rules allowed third and fourth-graders to compete.

By Brandon KumaBe

‘Iolani’s own Alyssa-Alysson Ochiai triumphed over 24 young and ambitious senior girls from Hawaii, winning Hawaii’s Junior Miss Competition. Among the other competitors from around the island was Marissa Sakoda ’09, who placed third.

The Junior Miss Scholarship Program is a na-tionwide competition that encourages senior girls to celebrate themselves and cultivate their skills in preparation for the future. The Junior Miss Program has both a state and national level. Winners from the state level go on to compete in the nationals. The contestants are evaluated in five categories and the top four girls are rewarded with scholarships.

To be considered for Junior Miss, hopeful con-testants must send in a transcript from school that proves they have a solid academic record. Once chosen, contestants must prove themselves by showcasing their talent, interview skills, scholastic abilities, fitness, and self-expression.

Their personalities are judged through an inter-view that asks them questions about their future goals and knowledge of current world events, while their fitness is evaluated through their ability to perform aerobic exercises.

The talent portion of the competition allowed the girls to showcase their individual talents. The girls performed everything from Chopin piano composi-

tions to Filipino Candle Dancing.One of the more intensive parts of the competi-

tion is self-expression. The girls have to learn an elaborate flurry of steps in a runway-esque chal-lenge. They also must answer questions of moral importance.

Each girl is scored in these categories, and the outstanding contestants receive scholarships in each category. Ochiai and Sakoda won the talent por-tion, receiving $750 in addition to their scholarships awarded for placing in the top four. The winner of

the competition is the young woman who receives the best score overall.

Both Ochiai and Sakoda were influenced to compete by other people. Marissa was inspired to join the competition many years ago by Mrs. Denise Irons, a former math teacher. When train-ing began in November, Sakoda was overwhelmed. The contest was much more intense and involved than she had expected.

Ochiai’s inspiration to compete in Junior Miss came eight years ago from Camilla Lau, a friend who participated in the program back in 2000. Over the years, she has worked to be herself and made it her goal to do the best in all her endeavors.

Participating in the competition was not easy. Ochiai ran into some difficulties while trying to

prepare for the self-expression segment. Ochiai recalled being especially stiff when she

attempted to master the steps and was told that it looked like she was walking on eggshells.

In the end, she relied on simple distraction to calm her nerves, “I overcame it by singing a song in my head that my dad sang to get over it” Ochiai said.

She will be representing Hawaii in the national Junior Miss Competition held in Mobile, Alabama.

“Junior Miss gave me the opportunity to realize how beautiful both inside and outside young women can be,” Ochiai said.

‘Iolani’s own shine at Junior Miss 2008

Katrina Karl | Imua ‘Iolani

Above: Sakoda (left) and Ochiai (right).

Lower, middle schoolers survive fusillade of words

Courtney Ochi | Imua IolaniThe Fantastic Fourth Grade Fiddlers practice during their study hall.

Page 6 SportS Imua ‘Iolani

Getting a hold of a new jobBy Jana DagDagan

“Mr. Schroers is pretty beastly,” laughs wrestling captain Olivia Fatongia ‘09. For all of you who don’t know, Mr. Carl Schroers, long time athletic director, recently became the ‘Iolani wres-tling coach after coach Yoshi Honda left.

Mr. Schroers previ-ously coached ‘Iolani wrestling from 1978 to 2001 and, after screening applicants for the new coaching position last school year, decided to coach wrestling himself.

“Coach Schroers likes the basics,” wrestling captain Niklas Streng ’09 said. Though “the basics” could be inter-preted negatively, Coach Schroers comments that he plans on “emphasizing different things” fol-lowing his philosophy, even if that means using methods that are for-eign or outdated to current wrestlers who are struggling to adjust to a new coaching style and new techniques.

“He teaches us moves we didn’t even know existed and helps everyone improve. He is a very understanding coach and knows that schoolwork comes first,” Fatongia said.

Wrestling captain Andrew Chung ’09 said “He’s old school and he’s definitely different from our former coach, but he brings something new to the team and to wrestling. I think he’s a good coach and his record definitely shows it. All of the seniors have grown up with Yoshi as a coach ,and it’s hard to not have him coach us our senior year.”

Coach Schroers appreciates this year’s batch of wrestlers.

“These kids are working really hard,” he said. “I think they’re com-mitted and I’m happy with the work they’re putting out.”

“My personal goal is to win the state title for my division and I hope for everyone to do their best and place highly in states,” said Streng.

All of the wrestling captains share this mutual goal of getting to states, but “hope for everyone to just have fun,” Chung said.

Although this wrestling season is challenging for both wrestlers and new coach Mr. Schroers, it’s a “rebuilding year” and “‘Iolani Wrestling is in the process of recruiting younger people in the intermediate team,” said Faton-gia. This is a tricky job for anyone, and puts lots of pressure on Coach

Schroers. “For a guy his age, he dem-onstrates some of the moves for us, which is very impressive,” she said.

“It’s harder for me to get up and down from the mat like before,” Coach Schroers said . “I have to have assis-tant coaches do some of the moves for me.”

Hardcore wrestlers are still highly motivated and devoted to the sport it-self. “It’s totally different from the pro-gram we’ve been a part of for the past six years, but we’re trying to adjust and make the best of our senior year,” said captain Keiko Akamine ’09.

Wrestler Ian Akamine ’11 said that “When all is said and done, it’s the team, not the coach, that wins cham-pionships. That is why we’ll continue to work as One Team towards our goals.”

Bianca Bystrom | Imua ‘Iolani

Mr. Carl Schroers, new head coach of ‘Iolani wrestling, demonstrates “the Wizard” position.

Div. II Champs...AGAIN!By Keenan Ho’oHuli

After an exhilarating Friday night game at the Aloha Stadium, the ‘Iolani Raiders became the first team in Division II football history to repeat as State Champions.

Through hard work and perse-verance the Raiders were able to smell the sweet scent of victory again. Thanks to a great coaching staff, the Raiders were ready for what the Radford Rams were will-ing to throw at them.

Even though it seemed as if the Raiders weren’t ready for those trick plays and play actions, the de-fense came through in the trenches, letting the Rams rush for a season low. The defense was lead by players such as Kela Marciel ‘09, Breland Almadova ‘09, Carl Gibson ‘09 and Seali’i Epenesa ‘10.

The defensive backs came through in clutch situations again for the Raiders, causing two inter-ceptions by Almadova and Gibson. Epenesa lead the defense with a

team high of 10 tackles, 4 of which went for losses. Gibson and sopho-more Cody Petro-Sakuma added 9 tackles apiece.

Since the Rams were unable to stop the rushing attack by the Raid-ers, ‘Iolani did not attempt a single pass in the second half. It was the first time in history that the Raiders did not attempt to pass in a half.

This allowed quarter back Jarrett Arakawa ‘10 to only pass 11 times, 6 of which were completions. One of those 6 receptions resulted in a touchdown right before the first half ended. Arakawa lead sophomore receiver Trevyn Tulonghari on a 27-yard post route up the middle of the field, leaving 35 seconds in the first half.

Kellen Imada’09 led the Raiders with 117 yards on the ground and 2 touchdowns. Both touchdowns were runs right up the middle in which he used his quickness to burst through the holes the Rams created for him.

Marciel also carried the ball, one of which was a highlight of the game. Marciel had to scamper 70 hard earned yards in order to reach pay dirt. It looked as if he was about to get tackled, but he broke free, and then he delivered a great stiff arm and had a key block from Arakawa in the backfield. He then switched directions of field, going east to west and then running down the left sidelines with two blockers in front of him.

Another highlight of the game was from Almadova, where he took a squib kick 67 yards for a touch-down to spark the Raiders in the second half. Through great block-ing and speed, Almadova was able to hit the open hole and take it all the way, practically untouched.

In the end, it was the Raiders who came up with the victory, allowing them to feel like champi-ons, again! The Raiders celebrated their victory with great class and sportsmanship.

A preview of the ‘Iolani Classic

By Kela Marciel

The time is here. I’m not talking about Christ-mas vacation, ‘Iolani Win-terball or the ‘Iolani Winter Choir Concert.

I’m talking about the best high school basketball tournament in the nation. The ‘Iolani Classic!

This holiday basketball blockbuster is celebrating its 25th Annual Tourna-ment in superb fashion.

Mr. Glenn Young, tour-nament director and ‘Iolani assistant basketball coach, has brought in a mind-blowing lineup with top 25 teams and five-star recruits from across the nation.

Teams from the con-tinental U.S. such as Vir-ginia, Alabama, Maryland, California, Oklahoma, Il-

linois, Washington D.C., and China, in addition to a multitude of teams from Hawaii, are all competing.

With these teams play-ing against each other, ex-pect lots of dunks, great plays and last second win-ners. It’s going to be an ex-cellent tourney showcasing the best of the best boys.

The girls’ touney is ex-pected to be just as exciting as the boys’. The second annual girls tournament should be a classic one.

Teams from mainland states such as California, Oregon, and Atlanta, as well as teams from the is-lands, will be playing.

This tourney will run until Dec. 22. Don’t miss it because it’s going to be epic.

Girls’ soccer opens with a winBy Presley Pawn

Dec. 1 was a hot and humid day, an unusual day for a soccer game. This was the first game of the first round of the ILH 2008-2009 girls varsity soccer season soccer season. The game took place at 4:15 p.m. here at ‘Iolani on our home turf. The team’s first round opponent was Saint Francis’s girl’s varsity soccer team.

The Raiders had quickly won possession of the ball in the beginning. However, the Raid-ers remained score-less until the thir-teenth minute, with a beautiful header put into the back of the net by senior Ni-cole Endo.

It was starting to look like the 1-0 score against Saint Francis would hold, especially after nu-merous attempts and misses. The Raiders continued to domi-nate. With the per-sistence of driven balls from both in and outside of the 18-yard line, the Raiders continued to target the goal, walking away with two more goals. This brought the Raiders to a 3- 0 lead at half time.

Into the second half, the Raiders kept control after their kick-off. Coach Chris Neid did a great deal of sub-stituting throughout the half, allowing players to play in different positions.

With fresh legs into the game, the Raiders continued to keep up the quick pace, placing two more goals grace-fully into the net; both by sophomore forward Krystal Pascua.

Senior Kirsten Adams tied up the loose ends on a driven shot to the bottom right post. The score was 6-0 Raiders, with 5 minutes left in the game.

Despite their strong lead, the Lady Raiders continued to put high pressure on their opponents, with runs down the wings and crosses from both the left and right side. It was a beautiful end to the beginning of the girls 08-09

Bianca Bystrom | Imua IolaniKelsey Matsuoka ‘11 kicks the ball during practice.

December 18, 2008 Arts & EntErtAinmEnt Page 7

By Kaitrin toBin

Twilight is awkward. The two leads, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattison have no chemistry whatsoever. The main reason you should not waste your money on this piece of garbage is the creepy and awkward acting of Robert Pattison. Through most of the movie, he glares at Kristen Stewart as though he is trying to kill her with his mind. This, combined with his weird interpretation of an Ameri-can accent, had me laugh uncontrollably, something that offended most of the audience.

Additionally, the pale godly look that Edward is supposed to have is destroyed by the gallons of congealer caked on. Just as disturbing as Robert

Pattinson’s face are the awful special effects. When you are supposed to be watching Edward majesti-cally sprint at inhuman speed, it looks like someone hit the fast forward button on TV.

Lastly, the book, already no great literary work, does not translate any better to film. An emotional climax in a film should not be when someone tries to kill another person with a Honda, nor should it come as the aforementioned character screams, “No! You put your seatbelt on!”

Walking out of the theater that night, I talked with my sister’s friend who said, “Yeah this is the second time I’ve seen it. Pretty good huh?” No. No, it was not.

The Twilight debate: love it or hate it?A complete waste of time

By Madison oBata

Vampires. We assume that a vampire is amazingly gorgeous and will suck your blood, along with the interesting ward-robe choice of a cape and tuxedo. But for our generation, there is a new definition of vampire.

The movie “Twilight,” based on the book by Stephanie Meyer, is a chance for us to see the characters come alive on the big screen. The movie is very similar to the book, with some changes here and there along with some scenes taken out from the book.

“Twilight” is a complicated love story about a human and vampire. The new girl Isabella Swan who likes to be called Bella (Kristen Stewart) moves from sunny Ari-zona to the rainy, fictional town of Forks, Washington. Since she hasn’t been there since she was little, things have really changed, and a new there’s a new family in town. They are known as the Cullens to all that attend Forks High School, the elite group of kids that are all dating each other and living together. They are adopted by Dr. Carlisle Cullen (Peter Facinelli) and are all vampires. The thing about this bunch is that they are like “vegetarians” in the their

world, only devouring the blood of animals rather than humans.

Doesn’t that make you feel so much safer?

There is a strong attraction between Ed-ward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and Bella. Edward has to keep his urge to drink Bella’s blood under control, he doesn’t want to kill her because, in the words of Edward, “you are my life now.”

As a lover of all the books, I had to see the movie. At the end, I was glad because the movie is pretty accurate compared to the book. When you imagine the characters of the book, the actors and actresses are perfect for the job. You are in awe the whole time, I mean, whoever cast Robert Pattinson as Ed-ward was a genius.

All is peaceful in Forks until “animal attacks” start occuring around the Washing-ton area. But we all knew what it really was with the two hints that were provided. One, there was a deer being attacked by a person at the beginning of the movie when Bella is giving us the 411 on how she would want to die. Two, there is the scene where we get to see a worker frantically running away from a group of fast vampires.

Soon, we find out that this other group

of vampires isn’t like the Cullens, and still feast upon human flesh. The wild redhead that wears a piece of fur on around her like a shawl is Victoria (Rachelle Lefevre). There’s also Laurent (Edi Gathegi) who turns out to help out the Cullens near the climax of the movie. Finally, we have the one who is after Bella, James (Cam Gigandet) who actually dies at the end of the film by getting his head ripped off and thrown into the fire by Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene).

The special effects in this movie are re-ally something. I mean from playing base-ball during a storm to speeding Volvos, this movie has got it all.

But was it really necessary to have the haunting music playing throughout the whole movie? It was probably the same score from the beginning to end. Even the swerving camera angles could make anyone in the theater stop eating their popcorn. You can be dramatic without the roller coaster ride of angles.

Part of the audience was probably dis-appointed with how little Taylor Lautner, who plays Jacob Black, was shown in the movie.

He was supposed to be the main event for most girls, but we only see him maybe

three times in the movie, each of which that only last about one minute.

“Twilight” was, and still may be, the must-see movie of our time. Most girls were probably were dying to feast their eyes upon one of the greatest chick flicks of all time.

Boys could see this movie as a tutorial on getting the girl. For instance, you have to be impeccably fast, like when Edward throws Bella on his back like a koala bear. It’s re-ally something to laugh about.

You need super strength as well. W a i t for the moment when a mini van is about to squish the girl you want, then jump in front of it and save her life, she’ll defiantly ap-proach you wanting an explanation.

Edward has a “special gift” for reading people’s minds, except for Bella’s. Some-how you have to get a “special gift” of your own.

And you have to get Edward’s award winning crooked smile on. You should also include comedian to the resume of talents because Edward was the comic relief in the whole movie.

With comedian add spider, because Ed-ward randomly climbs trees here and there. But don’t try to be Spiderman -- Tobey Ma-guire has got that covered.

Sink your teeth into it

1. The new black iPod nano (KC)2. Car parts (KC)3. Money in general (KC and RM)4. “Jamba juice gift cards are always useful” (RM)5. “HDTV for my room” (KC)6. “More time with my girlfriend” (KC)/ “A girlfriend” (RM) 7. Faster internet (KC)8. A Desert Eagle airsoft gas pistol (KC)9. Canned goods “and if you want to make it easier for me you could take it down to IHS. This is not a joke.” (RM)10. Love and Christmas Cheer J (RM)

Top ten wants of Christmas according to Kevin Chun ‘09 and Robert Moran ‘10

1. End to Starvation2. Peace and an end to violence3. End to discrimination4. Infrastructure5. A cure for cancer and affordable pharmaceuticals for those in

third world countries6. Toiletries and other material necessities7. Friends and Family 8. Food and water9. The opposite gender10. Music

Top ten needs of the world according to Brandon Kum-abe ‘09, Jana Dagdagan ‘11 and Akari Hatanaka ‘11

Illustration by Kaela Shiigi ‘11

By Bridget toBin

We’ve all heard our fill of Christmas music for the year, but there are still a few weeks until Christmas. Holiday music began playing on radio stations before Thanksgiving.

Even when the radio is off, we can’t escape. Holiday music fills commercials. When we walk into stores, we’re hit by the overly cheerful tunes accompanied by the scenes of inflatable Santas and fake snow. The overload of Christmas music has become irri-tating. The top three most annoy-ing Christmas songs are:

3. “Santa Baby”There’s just something really

disturbing about this song. “Santa cutie and fill my stocking with a duplex, and checks…” Santa cutie? The last time I checked, Santa was a fat, red-faced old man with a white beard. The

song is basically about a woman sweet-talking Santa into lav-ish gifts. As for the artist, there have been versions done by Ky-lie Minogue (not as horrible as I expected), Kellie Pickler (worse than I expected: she sings far louder than her instrumental ac-companiment), Madonna (by far the worst: the fake New York ac-cent ruined what could have been a decent version of this song), and the Pussycat Dolls (the fake New York accent falters over and over again as all the members of the groups sing different parts), just to name a few.

2. Alvin and the Chipmunks: “Christmas Don’t Be Late”

The first thing you think when you hear this song is, “Aww, how cute!” Don’t be fooled. It may seem cute the first time you hear it, but after that, things just go downhill. The chipmunk voices are nasally and when people try to imitate it, it comes out sounding

worse than the actual song. The dialogue between Dave, Simon, Theodore, and Alvin is also mild-ly funny at first, but after hearing the song for the 10th time, “Al-vin? Alvin?! ALVIN?!” give you a headache.

1. “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer”

The twang of a banjo at the beginning of the song guarantees that the song will be annoying. The singer also has a southern accent. The rhythm is surpris-ingly cheerful for a song about somebody’s grandmother getting run over.

It is prolonged by about thirty more seconds of “Grandma got run over by a reindeer, walkin’ home from our house Christmas Eve. You can say there’s no such thing as Santa, but as for me and Grandpa, we believe.” Listening to this song is probably the worst possible way to spend three and a half minutes.

Most annoying songs of the season

Page 8 The Middle Years Imua ‘Iolani

By Madison oBata

Twilight was the talk of the town and everyone rushed through the theater doors to sit down and watch the movie, it is totally worth ten dollars… On the top of most teenage girls’ Christmas list is their own Edward Cullen, don’t we all need one?... Here comes the happiest time of the year for children, Christmas. Hopefully everyone has been nice to each other… Santa Claus is real, I mean my parents wouldn’t get up at three in morning just to put presents under the tree for me. He’s real and we all know it… What crazy souls dared to go to Black Friday and got a taste of the first day of Christmas shopping along with the thrill of getting a good deal on some presents in these hard economic times? … Barack Obama could be stopping by during the holidays for a visit to Hawaii… Guitar Hero: World Tour is on the top of most people’s lists, for now it comes with a drum set and a microphone. There was also the hilarious commercial featuring Kobe Bryant, Michael Phelps, Tony Hawk, and Alex Rodriguez dancing around in their under-wear to the song “Old Time Rock and Roll” by Bob Seger... Now that the elections are over, I wonder what Saturday Night Live will do about Tina Fey and her recurring role of portraying Sarah Palin… I think we all need to work off those extra calories from Thanksgiving, or we could all just add it to our New Year’s resolutions…

Lucky we have these 13 kids

Lewe B. Stanaland ‘13 recieves his One Team bag tag and large chocolate-chip cookie as a reward for being a Kudos Kid from Mr. Scott Rountree.

At left, Ken-Ben Chao ‘13 and Jarret Lin ‘13 show off their Kudos Kids awards. Above, Sally Kishi ‘13 and Lauren Goto ‘14 meet after chapel for the group picture and ponder how to start munching those cookies. To the right is Aolana Banes after recieving her award.

Photos courtesy of Mrs. Lisa Bailey

By Madison oBata

Everyone does their part to make ‘Iolani a place where you can feel comfortable. There are people who make you laugh and always wave or smile at you. But a few seventh and eighth graders do this on a regular basis.

A One Team Chapel was held on Monday, Dec. 8, to bring the whole middle school together. During that time, Mrs. Lynn Muramaru, Ms. Yuki Basso, Mr. Paul Heimerdinger, Mrs. Kim Keli’iholokai, Mrs. Lisa Bai-ley, Mrs. Cyrenne Okimura, and Mrs. Michelle Yoshioka became Santa’s helpers in finding all the kids that should go on the “Nice” list. There were a special group of 13 outstanding students that stuck out to the teachers that helped make the ‘Iolani community even more wonderful.

It was well explained that ‘Io-lani isn’t just a school of smarts, but students with great person-alities. Most of the students were called up for their determination to accomplish a goal, but stop-ping to help other people along the way.

A Kudos Kid is not selfish and knows how to appreciate every-

thing around them. The joy that these students have is recognized by everyone, and fun to have around the school campus. They are honest to their teacher and peers, along with a tendency to make people giggle.

The group of students that won the award is the kind of people that make coming to school bearable. Such as Sally Kishi ’13, who is known to always have a smile and be able to help everyone around her. Sally’s style of kindness is shy and quiet, yet her gentleness attracts many people.

But winning this award has nothing to do with seniority. New students such as Jarret Lin ’13 and Aolana Banes ’14 were named Kudos Kids. They were both known to have the willpower and strength to make everything around them joyful. They take ad-

vantage of their opportunity to come to ‘Iolani and get involved with the school community. Both of them also entered ‘Iolani this school year and in such a short time were able to leave their mark on the middle school student body.

Each student was presented with a large chocolate-chip cookie and a One Team bag tag for their achieve-ment. The large chocolate-chip cook-ies were made by Mrs. Lisa Bailey as she has been doing for about 10 years. She makes them special for

this One Team Chapel every year. and loves seeing the expression on the faces of students who receive them. While making them she does about three oven loads to complete the load of cookie dough that needs to be baked.

Do not fear if you haven’t gotten a giant cookie yet, for you have until May to show how much you contrib-ute to the ‘Iolani community. But, keep in mind; even though you may not be recognized in Chapel, you are always a Kudos Kid to someone.

Twilight, and Christmas, and New Years, Oh My!

Letter to the Editor

Edward Knox ‘00 responds to Katrina Karl’s “Creative teaching benefits all” (November 2008) re-garding ‘Iolani teachers’ addressing different learning styles, offering his intial feedback for the school as stated in interviews.

To the Imua,

First, am I really “fated to accept mediocrity and remain overlooked”? I thought I was doing okay, but now I’m sort of depressed. Second, I thought I asked for that old yearbook picture to be burned.

Miss Karl contacted me, and interviewed me a bit both on my old editorials and my general thoughts about Iolani. I was actually suggesting that Iolani could use study hall periods to teach those intangible aca-demics: computer skills and typing, using day-planners and calendars, taking notes and filing them. I had to take summer school or teach myself in college. But, granted, it was Miss Karl’s article, not mine.

Katrina, don’t give up on math. It’s just another language. You can study it as easily as you study French.

Edward Knox