2012 dec lr

Volume XXX ■ No. 2 ■ Issue No. 85 ■ WINTER 2012

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MA KE KULA

ON THE COVER: HPA’s Sea Turtle Research Program team members at the Aquarium des Lagons in Noumea, New Caledonia. Pictured, l to r: George Balazs, leader of the Marine Turtle Research Program, NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Sidney Vermeulen, Tyler Alt, Richard Farman, director of the Aquarium des Lagons; Ava Jean Johnston, Jackson Cootey, Marc Rice, director of HPA’s Sea Turtle Research Program; and Laura Jim ‘91, HPA Middle School science teacher.

Photo courtesy Laura Jim ‘91.

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Staff

[features]

15 HPA Biennial Scholarship Auction Set for April 27, 2013

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Scott Bradley ‘80 Named to Board of Trustees

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HPA Hosts Waimea Ocean Film Festival

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Bee the Change: What is Happening to Our Honeybees?

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Cover Story: Sea Turtle Research Program Celebrates Silver Anniversary

Editor Phyllis Kanekuni, APR

[departments] From the Headmaster

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HPA Advancement

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HPA Admissions

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HPA Student Council

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Student Spotlight

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Student Profile: Jessica “Jess” Gravelle ’14

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On Stage at Gates Performing Arts Center

Faculty Profile: Richard Braithwaite

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HPA ‘Ohana Association

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Alumni Profile: Kirk Caldwell ’71

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Coaches Corner

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Alumni Profile: Emmanuelle “Manu” Mangalle ’10

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Alumni News

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From Aunty June’s Kitchen

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Alumni Voices: Bobz N. Kwarara ’10

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On Campus

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The mission of the Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy is to provide exceptional learning opportunities and a diverse community honoring the traditions of Hawai‘i.

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[ BOARD OF TRUSTEES ] Gregory R. Mooers, Chair Laurie T. Ainslie Scott Bradley ‘80 Dr. Michael Chun

Putman D. Clark ‘65 Michael K. Fujimoto ‘70 Allison Holt Gendreau Will J. Hancock Nona F. Hasegawa ‘78 Charles G. King ‘64

Duncan MacNaughton ‘62 Jake J. Mizuno ‘86 David W. Pratt William D. Pratt ‘86 Robert L. Reed Michael S. Spalding ‘66

Hannah Kihalani Springer Donna Tanoue Dr. Peter Vitousek ‘67 Roy A. Vitousek III ‘68 Harry M. von Holt

Alumni News Arati Clarry ‘96 Production Assistant Deanna Evans Contributing Photographer Patrick O’Leary Art Direction + Design Clifford Cheng > VOICE Design Public Relations Office Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy 65-1692 Kohala Mountain Road Kamuela, Hawai‘i 96743 P: 808.881.4099 • F: 808.881.4069 E-mail: mkk@hpa.edu • www.hpa.edu

Ma Ke Kula is published two times a year in December and July for students and their families, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of HPA. Ma Ke Kula reserves the right to select and edit all materials submitted for publication.

[ From the Headmaster ]

T

he blink of an eye. On occasion, vast amounts of time—at least as measured by humans—can seem to go by in the blink of an eye.

Consider the year 1962—half a century ago!

For those of us who were alive then, were about to enter our teenage years, and were becoming more aware of the world around us, 1962 can seem like yesterday.

We remember Mercury 7 astronaut Wally Schirra’s successful sea landing near Honolulu after orbiting the earth six times.

Many recall the shocking news that Marilyn Monroe had died. “Here’s Johnny!” was on its way to becoming one of the most famous introductory lines in show business history.

Agent 007 was being introduced to us on our movie screens. Macel Leilani of Hawai‘i was being crowned Miss America. The Cuban Missile Crisis was instilling in us a real and present fear of nuclear destruction and, for many, validating the credibility of a young president who stood toe-to-toe with the USSR until offensive missiles were removed from Cuba. And the Arizona Memorial was opening as a most moving tribute to the sacrifices made by a freedom-loving people during World War II. At HPA in 1962, many of our activities were still taking place at the original campus in Waimea. But the school was beginning construction of a “new” campus just outside of town. We were preparing to graduate 27 seniors—26 boys and one girl! Our varsity football team was claiming its first-ever BIIF championship and, indeed, the first varsity championship of any type in the school’s (then) 13-year history. Our new cinder 440yard track was being used in 1962. William Inge’s Splendor in the Grass was mandatory reading for some high school students. The horse program—led by the inimitable Dick Solmssen—was in full flight as an activity. A huge “A” was the featured symbol on jackets worn by members of The Lettermen’s Club.

Lindsay R. Barnes, Jr.

And, of course, Hapuna Beach was as popular an attraction for HPA students then as it is now.

Flashing forward, imagine it’s the year 2062. Another half-century has passed in the blink of an eye. What can we expect our school to embody in principle, to look like in appearance, and to reflect in programming 50 years from now?

About some elements of the future, we can have some confidence as we gaze into the proverbial crystal ball. For instance, for HPA to be a thriving school in 2062, we must be exhibiting then a high degree of energy independence, independence that is rooted in our prudent collection, storage, and use of renewable energies, state-of-theart conservation and agricultural practices, and, insofar as is possible, disassociation from petroleum-based products. We can also confidently say that, in 2062, Hawai‘i Island will still be situated far from anywhere else, meaning that we will remain one of the most remotely located schools in the world. This being the case (and assuming we wish to retain a healthy boarding student population representing many countries), our academic and co-curricular offerings will need to be highly competitive—on par with or exceeding in quality nearly any independent school program anywhere. Finally, it’s likely that we cannot even fathom at this time the technological advances that will be the norm in 2062. Whatever they are, however, we can understand now that we must marry these advances with the best of pedagogy. Who knows? HPA could well find itself in 2062 as the hub for a virtually linked community of independent schools worldwide, leading our brethren schools in (1) the design of sense-ofplace and sustainability curricula and (2) the injection of this kind of programming into what will likely to continue to be recognized then—as they are recognized now—as our “traditional” academic disciplines, those foundational blocks on which an excellent preparatory education is built.

Yes, the present will pass and the future

will arrive before we know it. In the time it has taken you to read these musings of mine, 540 lives in the world have ended; 1,300 lives have begun; hundreds of new and important inventions have been developed; your heart has circulated almost seven gallons of blood throughout your body; billions have been earned and lost in the stock market; and our wonderful HPA teachers have met with dozens of successes in enlightening the young minds entrusted to us. So much can happen in a quick period of time, just as a lengthy period of time can pass so very quickly.

Planning prudently. Managing time smartly. Supporting our school generously and regularly. Keeping our mission front and center in our thinking. Dedicating ourselves 24/7 to our students. Valuing positive change.

At HPA, these tenets were as important in 1962 as they are in 2012 and as they will be 50 years hence. May we all keep these few words in mind—and practice the principles they suggest—as we seek to secure a prosperous future for the school we love, a future that, to be sure, will be arriving in the blink of an eye. ■ Aloha,

Lindsay R. Barnes, Jr. Headmaster

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PLEASE SAVE THE DATE! HPA Biennial Scholarship Auction Set For April 27, 2013

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he Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy’s Twentieth Biennial Scholarship Auction will be held on Saturday evening, April 27, 2013 at the Fairmont Orchid in the Mauna Lani Resort.

Hosted cocktails and auction preview begin at 5 p.m. with dinner at 6 p.m. the main event opens at 7:30 p.m. with Jim Bakker of James R. Bakker Antiques, Inc. presiding.

The biennial fundraiser is the brainchild of the late Anna Lindsey Perry-Fiske, an early HPA board member and owner of Anna’s Ranch in Waimea. Perry-Fiske served as general chairman of the auction from 1974 to 1993.

The last two auctions in 2009 and 2011 raised a total of more than $1.2 million to benefit the school’s financial aid program.

The school owns all auction items and 100 percent of the proceeds go directly to HPA students. Currently, 253 students—236 of whom are from Hawai‘i—receive assistance from the program.

This year’s auction is co-chaired by Laurie Ainslie, board of trustees member and former board chair, and Bernard Noguès, retired director of the Isaacs Art Center.

Noguès, who served the school for 46 years, directed every Scholarship Auction since its inception in 1974.

A trademark of the HPA Scholarship Auction is the quality of items presented for sale. Gaylord Dillingham ‘66, director of the Scholarship Auction and director

Below: Ginger and Hi‘ilawe Falls at Waipio Valley, Lloyd Sexton c. 1960 a 2013 auction highlight.

Above: Prospective bidders ponder Peter Hayward’s North Shore Waves.

of the Isaacs Art Center, anticipates much interest in Lloyd Sexton’s Ginger and Hi‘ilawe Falls at Waipio Valley painted circa 1950, a lovely seascape by D. Howard Hitchcock, a charming oil by Lionel Walden of Hawaiian maidens swimming in a mountain pool, original paintings by Martha Greenwell, and works by the celebrated artists of the last 100 years, including Jean Charlot, Hon-Chew Hee, Huc-Mazelet Luquiens, Horatio Nelson Poole, Shirley Russell, Harry Wishard, and John Young. Other auction highlights include antique and modern koa furniture and bowls and extraordinary vacation packages.

“All members of the auction committee are actively working to find outstanding new art work, travel opportunities, and other surprises for the auction that appeal

to our school ‘ohana in myriad ways,” said Dillingham. “This will be a historic event you will not want to miss.”

Dillingham will consider donations of interesting items, art objects, and services for the auction until March 31, 2013. Auction items will be available online for preview as of February 1, 2013 (and as they are added) at http://isaacsartcenter.hpa.edu/.

If you would like to support the auction or purchase tickets, which are $150 per person, please contact Gaylord Dillingham ‘66 at 808885-5884 (e-mail: gdillingham@hpa.edu).

Tickets include dinner and complimentary wines and French champagne during the auction. Seating is limited and early ticket purchase is strongly encouraged. ■

Scott Bradley ‘80 Named to Board of Trustees

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cott Bradley ’80 has been appointed to the board of trustees at Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy (HPA). Gregory R. Mooers, chairman, announced the appointment after the board’s recent meeting in Waimea.

Bradley is president of Bradley Properties, Ltd. and comanaging director of RT, LLC Investment Company. Bradley previously was co-managing director of Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties. During the years he led CB Pacific Properties, the family of real estate services companies expanded to include Pacific Access Mortgage, Pacific Access Title and Escrow, and Coldwell Banker Commercial Properties. Realogy Corporation bought CB Pacific Properties in 2005.

Bradley has been active in community and professional organizations. He is past chairman of the Hawai‘i Community Development Agency and has served as chairman of the Young Presidents Organization, vice president of the National Association of Realtors, director of The Hawai‘i Historic Foundation, American Red Cross— Hawai‘i, Diamond Head Theatre, Hawai‘i Historical Society, and Hawai‘i Business Round Table. He is past president and past director of the Honolulu Board of Realtors, the Hawai‘i Association of Realtors, and

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past chairman of the CB Franchisee Multi Office Broker Group. Bradley is vice commodore of the Waikiki Yacht Club.

Bradley, who earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Claremont McKenna College, has received numerous awards and recognition, including the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year, PBN 40 under 40, and Realtor of the Year from the Honolulu Board of Realtors and the Hawai‘i Association of Realtors.

Bradley is the father of four children, Catherine ‘13, Suzanna, Sam, and Luke.

Other members of the HPA board are Laurie Ainslie, Dr. Michael Chun, Putman D. Clark ‘65, Michael K. Fujimoto ‘70, Allison Gendreau, Will J. Hancock, Nona F. Hasegawa ‘78, Charles G. King ‘64, Duncan MacNaughton ‘62, Jake J. Mizuno ‘86, David W. Pratt, William D. Pratt ‘86, Robert L. Reed, Michael S. Spalding ‘66, Hannah Kihalani Springer, Donna Tanoue, Dr. Peter Vitousek ‘67, Roy A. Vitousek III ‘68, and Harry M. von Holt. ■

In Memoriam: Frank C. Lawrence

HPAadvancement

October 30, 1928 – August 14, 2012

Frank C. Lawrence, 83, who retired from HPA in 1985 after 21 years of dedicated service to the school, died peacefully on August 14, 2012 in Portland, Oregon. Left here to celebrate his life are his wife of 58 years, Anne C. “Bets”; his daughter Dale (grandchildren Nicole, Keawe, Jordan, and Alex, and five great-grandchildren) of Portland, OR; son Bryn (wife Debbie and grandchildren “Joey” Lopaka, Bryn, and Brooke) of Kamuela, HI; son Lyn of Mt. Rainier, MD; and daughter Cay Cay of Sacramento, CA. Lawrence was born in Villa Mercedes, Argentina to Cecil Victor and Anne Peres Lawrence on October 30, 1928. Growing up in Argentina, Frank spoke Spanish, French, and English, and soaked in his lifelong love of soccer. At 18, he attended Rutgers University.

Deployed to Hawai‘i in 1952 as a young officer in the U.S. Army, Lawrence met his wife, Bets, at a local dance near Schofield Barracks.

Two years after they met, the couple married, settling in Honolulu. They immediately started a family and were blessed with four children in five years.

Lawrence moved his young family to Kamuela in 1964 when he joined the HPA ‘ohana as a Spanish teacher. He later served as Language Department Chair and is widely recognized for popularizing soccer in Hawai‘i, establishing the sport at HPA and encouraging its growth in the islands. He was a beloved coach, influencing many of his student athletes with his fair-minded, passionate love of the sport.

After retiring from HPA, Frank became a Distinguished Instructor in Hunter Safety Education. He also was a gifted woodworker, who coaxed life into wood as jewelry boxes, sculptures, and cabinetry.

Lawrence leaves a legacy to be perpetuated; a fund in his name has been established at Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy. Contributions may be made to HPA in his name at 65-1692 Kohala Mountain Road; Kamuela, HI 96743. ■

John Colson Director of Advancement and Special Projects

In the early years of the Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy, Headmaster James Taylor taught many life lessons through his chapel talks and evening sessions in the dormitories with students. He used literature and life experience to drive home his message that was almost always based on the concept of Integrity. He was famous for saying, “Without integrity, you have nothing.”

This message continues to resonate and serve as the backbone of the HPA Experience. We work diligently to ensure our students understand that personal character, built on Integrity, compliments their growth and maturity.

As we work to raise the bar on everything we do at HPA, we remember the message of Integrity and its definition of “doing what is right.” We strive, as the positive adult role models on campus, to drive home the need to be balanced and to always live with Integrity at the core of everything we do.

Consequently, as we work to do what is right, we ask all HPA constituencies to join together to support the education of our future leaders grounded with a foundation of values. It is the “right thing” to do as there is no greater return on investment than the success of each of our students.

To support our work and the attendance of many deserving students we will be hosting the Twentieth Biennial Scholarship Auction on Saturday, April 27, 2013, at the Fairmont Orchid Hawai‘i. Board member Laurie Ainslie and retired Isaacs Art Center Director Bernard Noguès will co-chair this important event that produces funds for deserving students.

As always, we very much appreciate your partnership as we invest in the future of our students. We must never forget the strength of Integrity as the core of our being and of our school. ■

An Early Christmas for Middle School Music Program Students in Barbara Kopra’s Acoustic Guitar elective display the new instruments generously donated to the school by current parents Masahiko and Sayo Yamano, whose son, Masamune, is pictured in the center.

According to Kopra, the gift of three junior Yamaha guitars with cases will allow students without their own guitar to take advantage of the guitar course elective, while the wide selection of percussion instruments will be used by the sixth and seventh grade music classes.

Instruments include three pairs of pro maracas, two large tambourines, two large drum/tambourine combination, four small frame drums, three triangles, and three double bells. ■

MA KE KULA 5

HPA Hosts Waimea Ocean Film Festival January 3-6, 2013 This January, in addition to whale watching and surfing in Hawai’i, people will gather to watch films that embody the beauty, power, and mystery of the ocean. Building on the success of the last two years, the Waimea Ocean Film Festival lures film buffs and ocean lovers to the island of Hawai‘i. This popular event immerses participants in a greater understanding and awareness of the ocean and island culture.

HPA’s Gates Performing Arts Center will once again be a host venue for the Third Annual Waimea Ocean Film Festival, which runs January 3-6, 2013 in Waimea and along the Kohala Coast. The festival will move on to Four Seasons Resort Hualalai January 8-11, 2013. Special hotel rates are available to festival pass holders at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Hapuna Beach Prince Resort, The Fairmont Orchid and Four Seasons Resort Hualalai.

With screenings of 30 to 40 exceptional and award-winning films, breakfast talks, Q&A sessions with filmmakers, panel discussions, exhibits, receptions, a ‘Taste of the Island’ event, and early morning activities, such as yoga on the beach, and outrigger canoe lessons, the festival keeps participants on their toes and presents many opportunities for dialogue and interaction with filmmakers and speakers.

This year’s special guests and filmmakers include Jeff Orlowski, the director of Chasing Ice, which currently is under consideration for a 2013 Academy Award nomination; Jon Shenk, director of The Island President; Louie Schwartzberg, director of Jake Eberts’ most recent production, Hidden Beauty, who also gave one of the most popular TEDx presentations of all time, “Gratitude”; O‘ahu’s own former KGMB producer and director Phil Arnone; Na Ka Lai Wa‘a director and master navigator Chadd Paishon, as well as a number of international filmmakers who will be on hand, from as far away as New Zealand, Australia, Argentina and the United Kingdom.

M. Sanjayan, science and environment contributor to CBS and chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy, also will speak on ocean health and big storms, such as Sandy. Sanjayan was a TED Global 2010 speaker, is a frequent guest on NBC’s Today Show, has appeared on David Letterman, is a Catto Fellow with the Aspen Institute, has hosted documentaries for the Discovery Channel, BBC, and National Geographic TV, is one of only 20 senior advisors to the Clinton Global Initiative, and is a frequent and sought after guest speaker at top-level international forums.

Among the films being screened at Gates Peforming Arts Center are: ■ Chasing Ice, by Jeff Orlowski. After a 2005 National Geographic assignment on the Earth’s changing climate, photographer James Balog returned to the Arctic to capture a multi-year record of the world’s changing glaciers using time-lapse cameras. The images compress years into seconds, capturing ancient mountains of ice in motion as they disappear at a breathtaking rate.

■ The Endless Winter, by Matt Crocker and James Dean. This very British surf film explores the history, characters, and culture of the British surf scene, along its 5,000 miles of rugged shore. Full of British humor and wit, this film shows that the much-maligned British weather produces some of the most unique surfing conditions in the world, along with one of the most unusual and colorful surf scenes on the planet. Parental guidance for occasional lapse of language.

■ Finding Joe, by Pat Takaya. Through interviews with visionaries

from Deepak Chopra to Laird Hamilton and Sir Ken Robinson, Finding Joe explores mythologist Joseph Campbell’s work and navigates the stages of what Campbell dubbed The Hero’s Journey: the challenges, the fears, the dragons, the battles, and the return home. Finding Joe shows how The Hero’s Journey provides a narrative for how to live a fully realized life, and why we are so drawn to the Hero’s story.

■ Hidden Beauty, by Louis Schwartzberg. Hidden Beauty launches into a series of stories about the bats and the bees that reveal the importance of flowers and their pollinator partners. While we associate flowers with beauty, we often don’t realize how essential they are to our own survival, and how much we depend on flowers, and their winged messengers, for the foods we eat.

■ North of the Sun, by Inge Wegge and Jørn Ranum. Wegge (25) and Ranum (22) spent nine months of cold, Norwegian winter on a remote, arctic island off the Northern coast of Norway. Living “off of leftovers,” they built their own cabin out of debris and trash that had washed up on shore, and ate expired food the stores would otherwise have thrown away. Perhaps most extraordinary in this extraordinary film is that they surfed through the dark of winter.

For more information, or to purchase passes, visit www. waimeaoceanfilm.org, call the festival office at 808-854-6095, or visit the Waimea Ocean Festival’s Facebook page. ■

Martha Greenwell’s “Mouse House” on Display at Isaacs Art Center A miniature Christmas Village created by beloved island painter and Kona resident Martha Greenwell is on display at the Isaacs Art Center at Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy through January 5, 2013.

“Having the Mouse House at The Isaacs Art Center during the extended holiday season has become an important tradition, and a time when we welcome keiki of all ages 6 MA KE KULA

to experience Martha Greenwell’s magical creation,” said Gaylord Dillingham, director of the Isaacs Art Center.

The Isaacs Art Center is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Admission is free. The Isaacs Art Center will be closed between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. For information, or to arrange group visits, call 808-885-5884. ■

Bee the Change: What is Happening to Our Honeybees?

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hat is happening to honeybees? That is the question facing our island, our state, and a significant portion of our planet, as bee colonies worldwide are weakening and dwindling. To shed some light on the plight of honeybees and what can be done to help, Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy, in partnership with Bee Love Apiaries, The Kohala Center, Kohala Mountain Farm, and Slow Food Hawai‘i, will host Bee the Change from 6 to 9:30 p.m. on January 25, 2013 at the school’s Gates Performing Arts Center (GPAC).

The event, which is free and open to the public, will feature tastings of locally farmed honey, a screening of the critically acclaimed movie Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us?, and a panel discussion featuring several Hawai‘i Island beekeepers, an entomologist from the University of Hawai‘i, and bee educators.

Honeybees in Hawai‘i have long been the subject of controversy.

While not a native species, they have been in the islands for centuries, and farmers depend on them to pollinate many of their crops. Bees have been essential agents in the local movement toward greater food self-reliance and abundance. But today, bee colonies here and worldwide are facing a variety of threats, which are weakening them and causing their numbers to drop, in turn impacting our food supplies.

“Bees are the primary pollinators of many of the fruits and vegetables grown here in Hawai‘i,” said Nancy Redfeather, project director for The Kohala Center’s Hawai‘i Island School Garden Network. “Our local food supply depends on them.”

There are many factors thought to be contributing to the declining health of the planet’s bee colonies. Replacing honeybees’ natural food sources with sugar water or high-fructose corn syrup is a common practice among non-organic honey producers that might be having an impact. Pollination of genetically modified (GM) crops might be another. In Hawai‘i, the introduction of two parasites also is posing a significant threat: The varroa mite, a tiny parasite that feeds on the blood of weaker bees, and the hive beetle, which eats bee eggs, larvae, honey, wax, pollen, and other hive materials. Colonies are growing smaller or, in some cases, retreating to the forests to build new hives, and thus not pollinating agricultural lands.

Above: Taggart Siegel, director of Queen of the Sun. Right: Bee historian Yvon Achard is featured in Queen of the Sun.

“We have to help make our bees and colonies stronger through better stewardship,” said Redfeather. “Our ‘Bee the Change’ program will be a fascinating and informative evening that will educate the public, and help them understand how they can be part of the solution.”

Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy and its partners gratefully acknowledge the Richard Smart Fund at Hawai‘i Community Foundation and the Will J. Reid Foundation for their generous support of this program. Although there is no admission charge, RSVPs are encouraged. For more information, or to RSVP, please contact Koh Ming Wei at 808-443-9231 (e-mail: mwkoh@hpa.edu). ■

Making Lupe (Kites) Keali‘i Bertelmann of Na Ka Lai Wa‘a recently visited the Upper School to talk about the 2013 Worldwide Voyage of Hokule‘a and how schools and the community can get involved in this historic event. Na Kalai Waa is a non-profit organization that maintains the voyaging canoe Makali’i and the associated education programs.

Bertelmann also talked about the cultural significance of lupe (kites). For example, Polynesian navigators used kites to determine wind direction and speed, and Hawaiians used them to mark the arrival of the Makahiki season.

“The lupe is significant because it was the symbol that bound people together,” said Bertelmann. “It’s the community’s way of showing ‘we’re all in.’”

Bertelmann taught the students how to make lupe, which he encouraged the students to fly when the Hokule‘a sets sail on its worldwide voyage. ■

Hawaiian Language III and Environmental Literature students learn how to make lupe (kites) from Keali‘i Bertelmann of Na Ka Lai Wa‘a.

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Energy Lab Named Apple Distinguished Program

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awai‘i Preparatory Academy is pleased to announce that it has renewed status as an Apple Distinguished Program for the 2012–2013 school year for its Energy Lab. This year, the Energy Lab at HPA joins 42 programs that Apple is renewing nationwide as exemplary learning environments. The Apple Distinguished Program designation is reserved for programs that integrate Apple technology in education and meet the five best practices: visionary leadership, innovative learning and teaching, ongoing professional learning, compelling evidence of success, and a flexible learning environment.

“Inspirational learning tools need to be prototyped in an inspirational space and the HPA Energy Lab offers that,” said Dr. Bill Wiecking, director of the Energy Lab. At the Energy Lab, students have access to 40 MacBook Pros, 50 iPads, and more than 20 iMacs for their projects helping to support the way they live and how they want to learn. All rooms have flat panel displays linked to Apple TV units for fluid presentation of iPad and MacBook screens.

Servers in the building host educational materials developed for, and created by, students, which can be previewed by teachers throughout the campus.

All students also have file server connectivity with additional access to more experimental resources at the Energy Lab, including weblogs, iBooks, iTunes U, and student-created wikis.

Over the last year, HPA students have completed a DNA cloning apparatus, created Virtual Reality tours of the Energy Lab and W.M. Keck Observatory, developed a mind-controlled quad rotor helicopter, and learned to evaluate various teaching styles using live video analysis of a teacher while wearing the Emotiv brain wave headsets.

The 6,112-square foot Energy Lab opened in January 2010. In April 2011, the International Living Building Institute described the Energy Lab as “the world’s greenest K-12 school building” in its announcement of the Energy Lab’s Living Building Challenge certification. The Energy Lab, which also is the first building in Hawaii to achieve LEED Platinum certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Schools 2.0 rating system, has been recognized with numerous awards for design, engineering, integrated development, and building/technology. ■

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HPA Honors Long-Time Employees… and Extends a Warm Aloha to New Faculty and Staff Congratulations to the following employees who recently were recognized for their dedicated service to HPA:

25-Year Employee: Edgar Spencer ‘65 Facilities Superintendent.

5-Year Employees: Stephanie McDowellUpper School Science, Dave HuntingtonUpper School Science, Betsy Tranquilli-Lower School Physical Education, Steve FurchnerUpper School Guidance Counselor, Rosanne Mitchell-Upper School Office, Erica GargiuloLower School Education Specialist, Matt Piercy-Middle School Social Studies, Lisa Van Kirk-Middle School Math, and Terry LadwigInformation Technology. Missing: Charlynn Taniguchi-Accounting.

20-Year Employees: Shirley Ann FukumotoAssistant Headmaster, Mark Noetzel-Upper School Dean of Co-Curricular Programs, and Barbara Kopra-Middle School Performing Arts.

15-Year Employees: Dee Walker-Lower School Education Specialist. Missing: Andrew Kelsey-Upper School Director of College Counseling and Brad SamuraMaintenance.

New Upper School Faculty: Eric MumauHistory, Liana Aranita-ESL and English, and Tim Beneski, English. Missing: Molly CarterResidential Life.

New Middle School Faculty: Jeff MixSocial Studies.

10-Year Employees: Kimo Higgins-Upper School English and Dr. Bill Wiecking-Upper School Science.

New Lower School Faculty: Alexa Bates ‘94-Art.

New Staff: Jackie Jefferson-Admission Office and Ralph Yawata-CDL Trainer/Maintenance.

Kristin Tarnas, who teaches fifth grade, and Dr. Koh Ming Wei, the school’s sustainability curriculum facilitator, were invited to present at education conferences on O‘ahu and in California.

Tarnas presented “Creative Podcasting in Education” at the Schools of the Future Conference held October 23-24 at the Hawai‘i Convention Center and sponsored by the Hawai‘i Association of Independent Schools, Hawai‘i Community Foundation, State of Hawai‘i Department of Education, and Hawai‘i Society for Technology in Education.

Tarnas’ presentation focused on how to create creative podcasts for Middle School students using Apple GarageBand to enhance social studies, art, science, math, and technology courses.

Koh presented “Gardens for Training Teachers” and “What’s the Learning in Learning Gardens?” at the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) 41st Annual Conference October 10-13 in Oakland, California.

Koh also will present “The Influence of Classroom-Based Kristin Tarnas Dr. Koh Ming Wei and Experiential Training on Teachers Attitudes Toward Sustainability Education” at the 11th Annual Hawai‘i International Conference on Education January 6-9, 2013 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort on O‘ahu.

The goal of the 2013 Hawai‘i International Conference on Education is to provide an opportunity for academicians and professionals from various education-related fields from around the world to come together and learn from each other. An additional goal of the conference is to provide a place for academicians and professionals with cross-disciplinary interests related to education to meet and interact with members inside and outside their own particular disciplines. Last year, more than 1,300 participants representing more than 35 countries attended. ■

Fourth and Fifth Graders Rock Our World!

Fifth graders Mia Patig and Carter Macy respond to questions online from the Rock Our World hosts during Family Night on November 15 as fifth grade teacher Kristin Tarnas looks on.

Fourth and fifth graders, along with their teachers, Cobey Doi and Kristin Tarnas, joined the Rock Our World Family Night project on November 15. The online event brought 12 classrooms together from around the country and around the world to celebrate this year’s music and collaboration.

Through Rock Our World, students create music tracks with other classes and have virtual class visits. HPA’s fourth and fifth graders met online with classes from Illinois and Oregon and collaborated on music tracks with students from California to Indonesia. For more information, visit www.rockourworld.org. ■

HPAadmissions Joshua Clark, Director of Admission

A Sad Goodbye…

Whenever a member of the HPA ‘ohana passes away, we are saddened and we mourn the loss of a friend and loved one. We also reflect on how that person played a part in our lives, and show gratitude for having known them. A great friend of HPA and the Admission Office recently passed away and I would like to memorialize the life of Malawan Patamapongs from Bangkok, Thailand.

Malawan is the mother of Natasha Patamapongs ‘03 and wife of Nadtha. In addition to supporting her daughter at HPA, Malawan was instrumental in helping many other students from Thailand attend HPA. Almost a dozen Thai graduates from HPA can trace their attendance here to Malawan’s encouragement and advice.

Her kindness and generosity also extended to helping HPA whenever we visited Thailand by providing lodging and transportation. Each time we landed in Bangkok we knew Malawan would have families for us to meet, candidates to interview, and laughs to share. She was a happy and kind person with a wonderful sense of humor.

The love she showed to family and friends was unwavering, even when there were differences of opinion. She was a very intelligent woman, and many times she would share her thoughts and opinions, often disagreeing with me. However, I always knew I could still count on her support. Her steadfast loyalty extended to her own alma mater, as well as to the schools her daughter attended, including HPA. Photos courtesy Natasha Patamapongs ‘03

Tarnas and Koh Present at Education Conferences

Malawan was an example to me. Each time I try to be a better version of myself, part of that motivation comes from knowing her. I know that her passing will be difficult for her friends and family, but her memory will live on through our lives. We are much better because we knew her.

It was fortunate that my recent trip to Bangkok allowed me to attend Malawan’s funeral services. In Thailand the funeral services typically last for several days, and I had the honor of representing HPA on one of those nights to express our collective sympathy and condolences.

It was a touching experience and I was impressed by the number of people who came, a testament to how many people were affected by Malawan’s goodness.

We will certainly miss Malawan. I know there are other members of the HPA ‘ohana who have had a positive impact on our lives. I hope we remember them, and if possible, thank them for their example and kindness. I encourage each of us to reflect on our HPA connections and how the people associated with this school have made our lives better for having known them. This is a wonderful group of people from around the world. Thank you for being who you are, and for being part of our family. ■ MA KE KULA 9

Turtle Lovers, Turtle Huggers, and the Fantastic Four

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s is always the case, it sure doesn’t seem like 25 years,” said Marc Rice, director of HPA’s Sea Turtle Research Program. “The old adage that time passes quickly when you are doing something you like is certainly true.”

Since October 1987, about 2,000 students have participated in HPA’s Collaborative Sea Turtle Research Program under the direction of Rice and George Balazs, leader of the Marine Turtle Research Program within the Protected Species Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center. The program, the only one of its kind for students in grades 6-12, offers unrivaled opportunities for students to work locally and internationally with renowned scientists and travel abroad to present information about their work at international symposia, where the students have been the youngest presenters. In addition to working at study sites on all of the major Hawaiian Islands, students have traveled with the program to Australia, French Frigate Shoals, Greece, Japan, Mexico, Midway Atoll, and New Caledonia.

Beyond the hands-on research work, Rice has organized community outreach programs, with students presenting at various events such as the Kaloko-Honokohau Culture Day, Coral Reef Awareness Day, Turtle Independence Day, and at various community lectures. He also heads the school’s “rescue team,” which responds to reports of stranded sea turtles in the area from Honokohau Harbor to Pololu Valley. The school’s turtle hotline (808-881-4200) is open from sunrise to sunset; after-hour emergency calls are taken at 987-6903.

Twenty-five years later, the program continues to thrive under Rice’s leadership.

In May 2012, Rice invited four Middle School students, all experienced turtle taggers, and their science teacher, Laura Jim ‘91, on a trip September 16-21 to assist with a project in Noumea, New

10 MA KE KULA

Sea Turtle Research Program Celebrates Silver Anniversary in Noumea Caledonia. This project followed up on an earlier research trip in 2008, when 42 juvenile loggerheads were tagged and released. HPA students Meimei Nakahara ’12, now studying biology at the University of San Diego, and Caylin Kojima ’14 assisted Rice and Balazs on that trip.

This group of budding scientists—Tyler Alt, Jackson Cootey, Ava Jean Johnston, and Sidney Vermeulen—also known as the “Turtle Lovers,” “Turtle Huggers,” and the “Fantastic Four,” jumped at the opportunity to travel for 13 hours and 3,800 miles each way to volunteer their services attaching satellite tags to 46 tortue gros tetre (loggerhead turtles) at the Aquarium des Lagons.

For three, intense 14-hour days, the Fantastic Four carefully prepared each turtle for satellite tag attachment by washing and weighing the turtles, taking measurements and fecal samples, scanning the passive integrative transponder (PIT) tags to identify individual animals, and gently sanding the turtles’ carapace (shell).

Students then assisted with the attachment of satellite tags by applying elastomer to the carapace, carefully placing the tag on the elastomer, and applying resin and fiberglass strips to secure the tag.

The turtles were safely released on September 23 from a freighter in international waters between New Caledonia and Australia and the satellite tags now allow scientists to track and learn about their movements. According to Rice, this was the largest single release of satellite tagged loggerheads in the South Pacific and this information has been submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records for consideration.

By Phyllis Kanekuni Photos courtesy Marc Rice and Laura Jim ‘91

Above left: George Balazs, leader of the Marine Turtle Research Program, NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, with Tyler Alt, Jackson Cootey, Ava Jean Johnston, Sidney Vermeulen, and Laura Jim ‘91, HPA Middle School science teacher. Above right: Marc Rice, director of HPA’s Sea Turtle Research Program and Ava Jean Johnston attach a satellite tag to one of 46 loggerhead turtles as a French news station documents the group’s work.

Left: The students’ work makes the news in Noumea.

“Our students worked tirelessly, effectively, and professionally during each day with only a short break for lunch,” said Rice. “Their ability to interact with the French volunteers, the many visitors who came in to observe what we were doing, and with the ‘old’ scientists directing them was simply outstanding. There was never a cross word or expression from them. Their actions and efforts were, in short, exemplary and amazing. I am truly thankful to Mrs. Jim and her students for their significant contribution to this project.”

When the work was done, the team had a chance to explore Noumea, including beachcombing and snorkeling in the cool waters of Baie de la Citron and at Ilse Aux Canard, a small island off the coast of New Caledonia. The students also visited the Tjibaou Cultural Center and were treated to a VIP tour of the Aquarium des Lagons.

The team then began their long journey home with a quick stop in Sydney, Australia, where the group enjoyed a boat tour of Sydney Harbor and visited the Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art. From the students’ perspective, everything about this trip was a new and exciting adventure.

“It was a once in a lifetime experience for all of us, especially at this young age,” said Johnston, who also noted, “there was a language barrier [in Noumea], since everyone spoke French and we didn’t.”

“We got to travel outside the country and got to do things we never did before,” said Cootey. “It could be a once in a lifetime experience.”

“It was great learning from Mr. Balazs,” said Alt. “We were so much better people coming back here. We learned so much working together.”

For Vermeulen, it was all about learning real-life skills.

“We had to cook and manage our own money,” she said. “I was thinking about pursuing a career in science and this opened the door for that.”

Jim said this trip presented two main areas of growth and exposure for her students.

“The first revolved around the process of traveling and exposure to a new culture,” she explained. “The second area of growth involved the scientific aspect of our time in Noumea. The realization that our students were part of an international effort to help a species, the South Pacific loggerhead sea turtles, was amazing.

“Students learned the diplomacy needed to work in such an environment and the hard work involved. They were able to work with loggerheads for the first time, learned how to safely place satellite tags on sea turtles, and the various processes involved with this satellite tag placement. In addition, their time at the Aquarium des Lagons was magical. They were able to see a world-renowned aquarium with the spectator’s eye and the aquarium’s eye.”

Jim also acknowledged the exposure HPA’s Sea Turtle Research Program provides students to participate in “cutting-edge science” projects led by world-renowned researchers.

“The reason this has been possible is through the hard work and collegial relationships developed by two inspirational men, Marc Rice and George Balazs,” she said. “Both of these scientists have confidence in the abilities of our students to be respectful, hard working, dependable, and accountable. As is often the case with our students, they more than meet these expectations. They have taught me, as a teacher and as a scientist, that the potential in students is only as high as we set the mark.”

MA KE KULA 11

Ava Jean Johnston, Jackson Cootey, and Tyler Alt beachcomb at Baie des Citrons.

Sidney Vermeulen snorkels in the cool waters of Baie de la Citron.

The Fantastic Four and their teacher, Laura Jim ‘91, eat French pastries at the outdoor market in Noumea.

I was involved in the turtle tagging program during my time at HPA. It was one of the highlights of my time there and definitely influenced my decision to major in biology, which eventually led to getting a master’s degree in oceanography. — Rachel Shackelford ‘93 The soft-spoken Rice reflected on the impressive body of work accomplished and knowledge gained over the last 25 years.

“Working with George and all of the multitude of HPA students over the years has been an amazingly enriching experience,” said Rice. “The work we have done and continue to do has helped to raise awareness of conservation issues related directly to the Hawaiian honu (turtle) and the marine environment in general. We have been blessed to be able to contribute in such a meaningful way to the conservation and recovery of the honu throughout its range in Hawai‘i.

“The experiences and ‘out of the box’ learning opportunities that have been afforded our students and faculty are extraordinary and unique. We have George Balazs, his colleagues, and his agency to thank for these opportunities. While we have contributed some to George’s work, he has contributed enormously and effectively to our program’s success. To all of those who have made this last 25 years possible—students, faculty, administration, NOAA, NMFS—I offer my profound appreciation and gratitude. Let us continue to work toward the conservation of our marine environment so that students in the future will have a more natural and bountiful marine environment to enjoy.”

The charismatic Balazs also shared his reflections on the 25-year relationship he has had with Rice and his students.

“Mr. Rice and I have had an amazing 25-year mutual admiration for one another’s contributions to sea turtle research and conservation, not just in Hawai‘i, but throughout the Pacific. While the turtles have always been a prime focus of our interests and attention, our work together might have gone unnoticed if not for the ‘golden currency’ that makes for high success—that being the youthful, cheerful, hardworking students of HPA, always eager to learn and provide good cheer.

“Without their outstanding role in each and every field trip, the partnership would never have been the joy it has been, and I doubt we 12 MA KE KULA

Tyler Alt and Sidney Vermeulen remove tape and prepare the satellite tagged turtles for release.

would have made it to five years, let alone 25 years—and I say this with a smile on my face and deep appreciation in my heart. I’ve always said time and time again, ‘People Make Partnerships.’

“But the truth is, the students of HPA have been, and continue to be, the very best partners anyone could ever hope to have.” ■ Editor’s Note: Under Rice’s direction, the Sea Turtle Research Program continues to carry out tagging trips to monitor the honu and E’a populations along the West Hawai‘i coastline. What’s next? “In January 2013, we will embark on a small research project at Kiholo to assess the status of the honu population making use of the ancient fish pond there,” said Rice. “The Nature Conservancy is ‘restoring’ the pond by removing invasive plants and cleaning the area. We will be looking at the use of this pond by the honu. It will be a fun and interesting project. We also will be doing a trip to Kapoho to continue our work there, as well as maintaining our monitoring efforts at Puako.”

For more information about the Sea Turtle Research Program at HPA, visit http://akepa.hpa.edu/~mrice/turtle/turtleindex.html.

[student] profile Pursuing a Passion for Turtles

By > Melia Cavedoni ‘14

“Back at home I was known as the turtle girl,” admitted Jessica “Jess” Gravelle ‘14 with a cheerful smile. Gravelle is the proud owner of a life-size stuffed turtle named Norbert, which lives in her dorm room decorated with pictures of even more turtles. Her walls are hand-painted with sea patterns, and her bed adorned with a homemade quilt covered with Melia and Jess tracking turtles. images of her favorite animal.

This is Gravelle’s first year at HPA. The 16-year-old Fort Collins, Colorado native discovered her dream school by reading an American Girl article about Meimei Nakahara ’12, who was active in the Sea Turtle Research Program at HPA. Enticed by the mere thought of working with turtles, Gravelle immediately looked up the school. The more she found out about HPA, the more she liked it—the diverse class offerings, the exceptional cross-country program, and most of all, the turtle tagging.

When questioned about her attraction to turtles, Gravelle answered that they possess an unexplainable magnetism.

“They’re very cute, they just have such a sweet face and such dynamic eyes, and they’re just so chill.”

Since fourth grade, after meeting a classmate’s aunt who is a wildlife conservationist specializing in sea animals, Gravelle has known that her future involves turtles. After having such limited opportunities in Colorado, she appreciates “just the chance to be around them as much as I can here.”

Middle School Reads at the Beach What middle school student doesn’t want to spend a weekday afternoon at the beach? HPA’s Middle School students did just that during the recent Third Annual Read at the Beach Day, organized by librarian David Giff. After lunch, students took a 15-minute bus ride to join faculty, several parents, administrators, and Friends of the HPA Libraries volunteers for an afternoon with books at beautiful Hapuna Beach. Students broke up into their small advisory groups to find a comfortable reading spot in the shade or on the sand. After the first 20-minute independent reading session, students swam or enjoyed refreshments for 30 minutes. The students then returned to their small groups for the final 20-minute reading session.

Despite her busy schedule in both academics and athletics, Gravelle still finds time to pursue her personal passion by actively participating in turtle tagging. In her first semester at HPA she has participated in three trips, where she assisted in gathering health information about green sea turtles.

“It’s actually very active work because we need to carefully hold the turtles and keep them calm while we take measurements.”

Gravelle has learned many new things about turtles, such as how smelly and active they can be.

Jessica “Jess” Gravelle (left) with fellow student team members during a recent turtle tagging trip to Puako. Pictured with Gravelle are (l to r): Lily Hoskinson-Weinstein, Alua Jumabayeva, Hannah Twigg-Smith, Malia Becker, Abigail Riley, Kako Ito, and Alina Sabyr. Photo courtesy Marc Rice.

“A blast of turtle breath in your face is just so nasty,” she warned.

However, rather than deterring her, turtle tagging has unquestionably confirmed her desire to continue working with them.

“The whole experience has just been so rewarding and fulfilling,” she explained. “I would most definitely do this a hundred times over.”

Grateful for the chance to be around her favorite animal, Gravelle noted that turtle tagging is the main reason why she attends HPA. “I don’t think I would’ve been allowed to come here if it wasn’t for the turtle program because this is what I want to do as a career,” she said. “You can’t do this in Colorado.”

Gravelle plans to attend the University of California—Santa Barbara and become a marine biologist. Clearly an opportunist, Gravelle is on the right track to a successful lifelong journey with her beloved turtles. ■ Editor’s Note: Melia Cavedoni ‘14 is a boarding student from Hakalau, Hawai‘i who prefers penguins over turtles. In her spare time, Melia enjoys running and going to the beach.

By > Mara Paio

Keanu Young enjoys his reading time at the beach.

The intent of this popular activity is to encourage independent reading in addition to assigned school reading, as studies have shown a connection between independent reading and academic success. During the

days leading up to the event, Giff sees many students browsing in the Lynn Taylor Library for their Read at the Beach books. He takes those opportunities to chat with the students about the kinds of books they like to read so he can recommend more books to them.

Events like this will motivate students to incorporate independent reading into their personal lives as they grow into lifelong learners. This event was made possible with the support of the HPA administration, faculty, parents, and volunteers who served as chaperones and provided snacks. ■ Editor’s Note: Mara Paio is a library intern at HPA through the University of Hawai‘i-Manoa Library and Information Sciences Program.

MA KE KULA 13

[faculty] profile Richard Braithwaite

By > Cyrus Inglis ’15

Upper School English

D

uring his short time at HPA, Richard Braithwaite has managed to establish himself as an active member, and influential part of the school’s community. Apart from teaching several English classes, he is a soccer coach, and the creator and director of HPA’s hit improv show, C-Rock.

A wide spectrum of students agree that Braithwaite is a great teacher, a motivated coach, and an exciting director. Sophomore Bryce Zeffert, a student in Braithwaite’s World Literature Honors class, enjoys having Braithwaite as a teacher because “he cares for his students,” and although Zeffert has only been in Braithwaite’s class for a month, he says, it is clear that “Mr. Braithwaite is very passionate about what he teaches.” Zeffert describes Braithwaite as “enthusiastic,” “exhilarating,” and “dependable.”

Ari Datta, another member of Braithwaite’s World Literature Honors class, also speaks fondly of the energetic and attentiongrabbing teacher. According to Datta, “Mr. Braithwaite creates a unique classroom experience as he breaks down the wall between student and teacher.”

Braithwaite’s ability to teach his material and keep the class focused, while still allowing for the students to play a major role in the discussion of the lesson, makes his method of teaching more effective, as well as more entertaining.

Sophomore Vera Mahoney—yet another student from Braithwaite’s World Literature Honors class—admits that Braithwaite is “kind of crazy,” but quickly adds, “in a good way.” According to Mahoney, Braithwaite’s “crazy” side “makes class more interesting,” and vastly more “unpredictable.”

Cody Lambrecht—who played varsity soccer with Braithwaite as his coach last year—speaks fondly of Braithwaite’s coaching abilities.

In his words, “Braithwaite is an excellent coach who respects his players and makes soccer more fun.”

Sophomore Eliana Kaplan, a talented actress, has had the pleasure of working with Braithwaite in the art of theater. Last year Kaplan starred in a series of hit sitcom-style theater productions known as “Silver Springs,” which were directed, and partially written

by Braithwaite. Kaplan describes Braithwaite’s aptitude for theater as “fun,” and ”very enthusiastic.” He lets the actors “interpret their characters in their own way.”

It is clear from the widespread praise for his teaching style from his students, athletes, and actors, that Braithwaite is a dedicated individual who wants, above all else, for the students of HPA to enjoy their experiences, whether it be in the classroom, on the soccer field, or on the stage in Gates Performing Arts Center, but what does Braithwaite think of teaching?

Braithwaite’s favorite part of education is witnessing “the moments where students discover things.” He finds great joy in “being

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a part of discovery,” and fortunately, he declares that he is “constantly discovering things” along with his students. Although students and athletes agree that Braithwaite is an amusing and crazy teacher, he says that “seven or eight years ago [he] was looser in the classroom,” and that now he is “unintentionally [more] serious in the classroom,” as well as “on the soccer field.”

The reason for his seriousness in soccer is that he sees “success on a soccer field as hard work,” while the reason for his more serious approach in the classroom is because although he believes the classroom is a “creative” environment, it is “structured creativity” and therefore must be taken seriously.

In the end, Braithwaite is precisely the kind of teacher a student can only hope to learn from before his/her formal education has been completed. He is the sort of educator, coach, and theatrical leader who provides an environment in which a young person’s creativity can erupt in a surge of magnificence and appreciation. Creativity cannot simply be learned in a classroom, nor taught, but its growth can be stunted if not exercised; in Braithwaite’s class, creativity is never robbed of exercise, as it practically runs a marathon throughout each class. ■

Zoe Sims ‘13, President

The Upper School Student Council consists of 24 student leaders, each elected to represent his/her class, dorm, or the student body.

They work as a bridge between the students and faculty and administration, promote student interests on campus, and make sure that, between classes, sports, and other extracurricular obligations, HPA’s students still have opportunities to relax, spend time with each other, and have some fun. Here are some highlights of student life this semester.

P

icture this: the senior class bonds over early-morning pancake breakfasts in the Student Union.

A student acting group presents the first gripping episode of its ongoing high school drama, Council Rock. Five days of Spirit Week festivities animate the HPA campus.

It’s been a busy semester at the Upper School!

Student life activities included plenty of live music, loud music, Fun Hat Fridays, and even a bacon suit. (Yes, you read that right, a bacon suit!)

On the first weekend of the new school year, Student Council hosted the Welcome Back Dance in the Ko Kakou Student Union, with more than 240 students turning out for music and dancing DJd by Fred Hwang ‘14, popular for his original remixes and beats.

He was joined by Luigi Sambuy ‘14 for the October 12 Sadie Hawkins Dance, which caused a stir on campus by reversing the boys-ask-girls tradition and letting the girls choose their dates.

The Student Union also hosted “Lava Lounge” this fall, a free open-mic evening showcasing student talent. Patrick O’Leary and Auntie Arati Clarry served up hot, syrupladen waffles while students provided live music and recited poetry.

Student Council was especially busy at the fall Pumpkin Patch. Class representatives organized booths to benefit their classes, and student groups held booths to fundraise for Winter Ball, Prom, and Student Council initiatives. Seniors donated their services—from dog-walking to swim lessons—and items—from

original photography to dumbbells—to the Silent Auction to raise money for our Grad Night.

Students also led booths benefitting their clubs and sports teams.

The school got into the Halloween spirit with the most high-participation and all-out Spirit Week that the Upper Campus has seen in years. The weeklong celebration of Ka Makani spirit and shameless eccentricity kicked off with Twin Day on Monday. In what was arguably the day’s most distinctive display of meticulous matching, English teacher and soccer coach Richard Braithwaite dressed to match his six-month-pregnant wife, Jamie Johnson, also an English teacher; the costume was complete with boots and baby bulge.

Tacky Tourist Tuesday inspired outrageous displays of psychedelic aloha attire, flotation devices, plastic neon lei, and gratuitously large maps, cameras, binoculars, sun

Princess Jasmine, Jacob Black from the Twilight series, Dora the Explorer, and many other famous figures on the Upper Campus. It was a fun-filled and appropriately outrageous week!

Student Council’s semester wrapped up with Winter Ball on December 1, held at the Blue Dragon in Kawaihae. The semi-formal dance was planned by the juniors and their Winter Ball Committee, headed by logistical wonderworker and Junior Class Representative Morgan Monahan. The committee fundraised throughout the fall to support the event, which was themed “Winter Wonderland.”

At the semester’s close, we celebrated a Teacher Appreciation Day to thank HPA’s faculty for all they do to support us, both in and out of the classroom. Whether by supporting student clubs, cooking for monthly Senior Class Pancake Breakfasts, hosting study sessions, willingly participating in Spirit Week

Photo courtesy Patrick O’Leary

HPAstudentcouncil

Left: Juniors Kimi Cantyne, Kelly Ulrich, Alina Katase, Mariah Haight, and Veronica Ladwig show their spirit on Tacky Tourist Tuesday. Right: Seniors Ryan Vasquez and Katie Holdcroft light up the Lava Lounge stage.

glasses...really, almost everything was gratuitously large. Connor Varney ‘15 received an award for his costume, which he completed with a brightly-colored beach chair.

On Halloween, students sported their costumes to school and walked around campus dressed like witches, angels, Disney princesses or—most memorably—a strip of bacon. Other favorites included Alex Blacksmith as Brittany Spears, Hannah Parkin and Tori GrecoHiranaka as matching versions of Waldo from Where’s Waldo?, and the girls’ award winner, Emily Yoshida, as a kimono-clad samurai.

Throwback Thursday stimulated the most creativity on campus. Across classrooms and in the hallways, King Kamehameha met a 1960’s flower child, and a toga-clad Greek goddess met a Jane-Fonda-esque workout crew.

Finally, Favorite Character Friday saw Frodo and Sam from Lord of the Rings, Aladdin and

festivities, or making time to give extra support outside of class, the Upper School faculty are instrumental to student life at the Upper School, and we cannot thank them enough.

It’s also important to acknowledge the students who shape the Upper School. This semester, Angie Shumov—between student council, AP classes and her lead role in the Ka Makani Players’ Sound of Music—found time to establish an organization pairing senior girls with their freshman counterparts as mentors and big sisters. Another group of students founded a new school newspaper by and for HPA’s students. Dozens of high schoolers led Pumpkin Patch booths to support nonprofits like the Red Cross and Hawai‘i Humane Society. Beyond the walls of our classrooms and the bounds of our sports fields, the Upper Campus thrives with the student body’s enthusiasm, initiative, and unbridled spirit. ■ MA KE KULA 15

[student] spotlight Zoe Sims Named Semifinalist in 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program Senior Zoe Sims has been named a semifinalist in the 58th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Martin Ferrell, HPA’s dean of academics, made the announcement.

Sims will continue in the competition for 8,300 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million that will be offered next spring.

Sims also has been recognized as AP Scholar with Distinction, which is granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams.

Sims, the daughter of Neil and Kathryn Sims of Kailua-Kona, is an active member of the HPA community. She is student body president and served as student council representative for two years.

She also serves on the school’s Honor Council. In addition, Sims has written numerous articles for Ma Ke Kula, the school magazine, and North Hawai‘i News.

Sims is well known in the running community as one of the state’s top harriers. She was the 2011 individual BIIF champion and went on with her teammates to take the 2011 state championship. In track, Sims won her first state title in 2011 in the 1500m; she also took second at states that year in the 400m. This year, as captain of the girls cross-country team, Sims led her team to a BIIF championship and won the individual BIIF championship. Sims also placed fifth at the HHSAA state cross-country championship.

About 1.5 million juniors in about 22,000 high schools entered the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2011 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/ NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

National Merit Scholarship winners of 2013 will be announced beginning in April and concluding in July. These scholarship recipients will join more than 291,000 other distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title. ■

2012 Winter Art Show The Gerry Clark Art Center hosted its first ever Breakfast Edition Winter Art Show on December 7. The show featured work by Upper School students from the first semester. In addition to the wonderful art, visitors enjoyed hot chocolate, coffee, donuts, muffins, and live student music. ■

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Hiatt College Scholarships Awarded to Two HPA Seniors Seniors Bhillie Luciani and Catherine “Cat” Bradley are the recipients of the Hiatt College Scholarships for Community Service and Creativity and Initiative. HPA parents Jerry and Mahilani Hiatt were on hand for the presentation at the Upper School assembly on Monday, November 12.

Luciani received the Community Service Award and a $1,000 scholarship for her concern and care for others. As a master at efficiency, Luciani has managed to be an exceptional student and athlete and still find time to devote more than 100 hours to teaching and coaching young children to swim. From academics to varsity sports, to student council, to student ambassador, Luciani has done it all with joyfulness, curiosity, and determination. In her freshman year, Luciani organized a school-wide collection of care packages for 36 local soldiers overseas. She also has served on the student council as a representative and secretary, organizing Fall Ball and prom events. As a founding member of the Service Learning Advisory Council (SLAC), she has led the charge to eliminate plastic bottles from campus and has encouraged everyone to be good stewards of our environment. Luciani is the daughter of William Luciani of Kamuela and Janet Nowak of South Dakota.

Bradley received the Academic Creativity and Initiative Award and a $1,000 scholarship for her research work in the school’s Energy Lab, which has been compared to graduate-level studies. Her internships in energy monitoring at local hotels and businesses have led to thousands of dollars in savings for these organizations. Bradley is focused, determined, poised, and passionate about academics and athletics, where she excels in cross-country and track. Bradley is the daughter of Scott Bradley of Honolulu and Lisa Bradley of Honolulu.

The Hiatt College Scholarships were established in 2004, when Jerry and Mahilani Kellett Hiatt established the Mahilani Kellett Hiatt Endowment Fund. The Service Award recognizes a student who provides extensive and meaningful local service to the community, while the Creativity and Initiative Award recognizes a student for scholarly work above and beyond the regular academic curriculum.

Award recipients are selected based on nominations from their classmates and faculty. These nominees then are reviewed by an independent school committee. ■

Top Spellers

Tristan Sienkiewicz Wins HPA Geographic Bee

Forty-six Middle School students participated in the Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy Spelling Bee on November 1. Eighth grader Alicia Chow (right) and sixth grader Kealia Haitsuka were named cochampions. Chow and Haitsuka now advance to the Hawai‘i Island District Spelling Bee on January 19, 2013 at HPA’s Gates Performing Arts Center. The winner of the district competition will represent the Big Island at the state spelling bee. ■

Eighth grader Tristan Sienkiewicz (left) won the school-level competition of the National Geographic Bee on December 11 and a chance at a $25,000 college scholarship.

Classmate Braden Kojima placed second at the school-level Bee, where students answered oral questions on geography. This was the first round in the 25th annual National Geographic Bee. Sienkiewicz will advance to the next level of competition, a written examination to determine state competitors. ■

AP Scholar Awards Announced

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students at Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy have earned AP Scholar Awards in recognition of their exceptional achievement on AP Exams.

The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program (AP) provides motivated and academically prepared students with the opportunity to take rigorous college-level courses while still in high school, and to earn college credit, advanced placement, or both for successful performance on the AP Exams.

About 18 percent of the more than 1.9 million students worldwide who took AP Exams performed at a sufficiently high level to also earn an AP Scholar Award.

The College Board recognizes several levels of achievement based on students’ performance on AP Exams.

At Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy: Three students received the National AP Scholar Award, which is granted to students in the United States who receive an average score of at least 4 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams. These students are Phong Hoang, Kyle Matsuda, and Justin Sandulli.

One student received the State AP Scholar Award, which is granted to the one male and one female student in each U.S.

state and the District of Columbia with scores of 3 or higher on the greatest number of AP Exams, and then the highest average score (at least 3.5) on all AP Exams taken.

This student is Phong Hoang.

Fifteen students received the AP Scholar with Distinction Award, which is granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams. These students are Yuki Ainge, Tori Campbell, Katherine Case, Jung-Hwi Cho, Nicholas Chock, Trevor Edwards, Linnea Gregg, Phong Hoang, Kyle Matusda, Delaney Ross, Justin Sandulli, Zoe Sims, Kulananalu Tarnas, Catherine Thorbecke, and Mariko Thorbecke.

Five students received the AP Scholar with Honor Award, which is granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams.

These students are Rebecca Barrett, Eloi-Kai Bernier-Chen, Connor Bradley, Alexandra Disney, and Yoonjung Rho. Seven students received the AP Scholar Award, which is granted to students who receive scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams. These students are Weier Guo, Emily Johnson, Torin Kubo, Zane Moran, Angelica Shumov, William Young, and Sihan Yu.

Of this year’s award recipients at Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy, five currently are seniors who can complete college-level work during the 2012-2013 school year and possibly earn another AP Scholar Award.

These students are Connor Bradley, Emily Johnson, Yoonjung Rho, Angelica Shumov, and Zoe Sims.

Through 34 different college-level courses and exams, AP provides motivated and academically prepared students with the opportunity to earn college credit or advanced placement and stand out in the college admission process. Each exam is developed by a committee of college and university faculty and AP teachers, ensuring that AP Exams are aligned with the same high standards expected by college faculty at some of the nation’s leading liberal arts and research institutions. More than 3,800 colleges and universities annually receive AP scores. Most four-year colleges in the United States provide credit and/or advanced placement for qualifying exam scores. Research consistently shows that AP students who score a 3 or higher on AP Exams (based on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest) typically experience greater academic success in college and have higher college graduation rates than students who do not participate in AP. ■ MA KE KULA 17

On Stage at Gates Performing Arts Center Searching for A Place to Call [Bi]ome

A motley group of animals who have escaped from the zoo searched for their own proper biome in Biomes: Animals and Plants in Their Habitats, presented by the second and third grade classes on November 30. The kindergarten and first grade classes will present the next performance at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, February 8, 2013.

Hit Realty Show, Revivor, Comes to Campus

A Sock-Hopping ‘50s Musical!

Fourth and fifth graders conjured up the Founding Fathers in their musical performance, U.S. Constitution, Revivor: Philadelphia, on Friday, October 5. The production was presented in conjunction with the students’ U.S. Constitution unit.

A cast of 24 seventh and eighth grade students presented the ‘50s-style musical, Doo-Wop Wed Widing Hood, on October 11 and 12. The performance featured Tristan Sienkiewicz and Rachel O’Toole as Mr. and Mrs. Hood, with Sarah Emmons, Violet Fink, and Sidney Vermeulen as their three daughters, Green, Purple, and Little Red. Colby Camero and Isa Richter played the King and Queen, with Wolfgang Brennan, Braden Kojima, and Tyler Alt as the three Princes. Maya Krauss was the Evil Queen, Leia Acideras was the Godmother, Chris DeSalvo was the Wolf, and Rachel Siebert played the Grandmother. Photo courtesy Marc Rice.

“The Best Voice in Children’s Music” Visits HPA

…And in the Community: Holiday Bells

Multi-award winning singer/songwriter Red Grammer recently shared his many gifts with Lower School students during his visit to campus. Grammer also presented a concert for the Lower School and students from Waimea area schools. The concert featured songs of oneness, character, conflict resolution, and community. It was a “bebop” time for all!

The Middle School Handbell Choir, under the direction of Georgia Polakova, shared holiday cheer in a series of free public performances throughout the community. The group performed at the Parker Ranch Tree Lighting at Pu‘uopelu, the Parker Ranch Shopping Center, the Parker School Farmers Market, Kings’ Shops Waikoloa, Prince Kuhio Plaza, and at Hale Ho‘ola Hamakua in Honoka‘a. Photo courtesy Nancy Carr Smith.

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Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music Packs the House

The Upper School’s Ka Makani Players filled the house every night and afternoon with its presentation of one of the most popular musicals of all time, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music November 15-18. The cast featured Angie Shumov as Maria and Duncan Michael as Captain Von Trapp. The children were

played by Kimi Cantyne (Liesl), Churchill Crean (Fredrich), Nani Welch-Keli‘iho‘omalu (Louisa), DJ Sekiya (Kurt), Eliana Kaplan (Brigitta), Maiah Police (Marta), and Malia Becker (Gretl). More than 40 other HPA students played supporting roles, with 20 more students in the orchestra and assisting with production.

All That Jazz!

For the first time ever, Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy proudly presented the awardwinning Honoka‘a High School Jazz Band in concert on Sunday, December 2. Under the direction of Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction Gary Washburn, the Grammy Signature School band performed many classic favorites, including Burlesque, I’d Rather Go Blind, I’ve Got to Use My Imagination, Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean, Li’l Darlin, Razzamataz, Smooth Operator, Tell It Like It Is, and much, much more! Photos: Patrick O’Leary

MA KE KULA 19

HPA Students Give Back to School, Community Students in grades K-12 generously shared their time, talent, and blessings with the community before leaving for Thanksgiving break on Wednesday, November 21.

Lower and Middle school students and families collected food donations for the Waimea Food Pantry and assembled baskets for Family Support Services Hawai‘i.

Upper School students volunteered their time for one of 20 service projects around campus, in Waimea, and in Kona.

Projects included helping with maintenance work on the Makali‘i, making comfort pillows for cancer patients, earning first aid certification, making Kiva loans, a food drive, entertaining seniors in the community, assisting at Punana Leo o Waimea, working at Ulu La‘au, assisting at the women/ children’s center, making jewelry to benefit the American Red Cross’ Superstorm Sandy relief effort, turtle tagging, roi eradication, and more! ■ Under the direction of Deighton Emmons, more than 30 students teachers, families, and staff helped with a massive harvest of all the ‘uala (sweet potato) planted over the last year at the Upper School terrace. The group also cleaned and packed several hundred pounds of ‘uala for distribution to the Food Pantry and Mama’s Kitchen in Waimea.

Students display the jewelry they made, which will be sold by the Red Cross Youth Group.

All proceeds will benefit the American Red Cross’ Superstorm Sandy relief effort.

Waimea Nature Park volunteers spread wood chips on the walking trail.

20 MA KE KULA

A student group assists in building a walkway to the Energy Lab.

Comfort pillows, made with love and care, will help make someone’s fight against cancer a little less painful.

Scott Fetz, Rae Cardosa, Tori Greco Hiranaka, Keli Jackson, and Keanna Lundy help brighten the world of women and children at the Women/Children’s Center in Kona.

Left: Students prepare to unpack, organize, and shelve food supplies at the local food pantry.

Right: Keali‘i Mailua speaks to student volunteers on the Makali‘i.

Thanksgiving Baskets Students in grades K-12 organized food drives for Family Support Hawai‘i, Food Pantry, and Food Basket of the Big island.

Iron Aid Seventy Upper School students, several faculty members, staff, and parents were up bright and early ready to provide man [and woman] power at this year’s Ironman Triathlon held on October 13. The volunteers worked for 12 hours at the Hilton Waikoloa Village aid station distributing snacks and beverages to the triathletes. The group ended the day cooling off at the Mauna Lani pool! ■

MA KE KULA 21

HPAohanaassociation Casey Francis, President

Caseyfrancis66@gmail.com

Pumpkin Patch Yields Bumper Crop of Support and Kokua Right on the tail end of Parents Weekend, which was highlighted by dominant athletic performances in crosscountry, football, and volleyball, a transformation of the Upper Campus facilities took place for what has become the premier fall celebration in the area: The 21st Annual Pumpkin Patch, hosted by the HPA ‘Ohana Association, on Sunday, October 21. Tents were erected on Saturday, hoards of volunteers came in early Sunday morning, and by 10 a.m. the entire campus was abuzz with games, prizes, food, activities, and, of course, pumpkins. Dozens of booths, manned by students, parents, coaches, faculty, administrators and community volunteers, helped to create one of the most successful fundraisers in recent memory.

Local radio personality Tommy “Kahikina” Ching emceed this year’s event, and an absolutely amazing performance lineup delighted the crowd throughout the day. One booth that has become a hit has been the Chili Cook-Off, won this year by Kohala Burger and Taco, located just down the hill at Kawaihae Harbor.

Top to bottom: There were games galore at this year’s Pumpkin Patch!

HPA students perform a welcome chant.

Princess Leia and Darth Vader look for the perfect pumpkin.

The beverage crew keeps everyone cool with thirst-quenching refreshments.

More than 120 volunteers were on hand to help with the work and the fun, and the community came out in force to celebrate fall and help raise money for student groups, classes, teams and clubs, and the ‘Ohana Association. Gross receipts on the event topped $80,000, and the lion’s share of the proceeds will be distributed among the groups that worked so hard to put on a first-class event.

The ‘Ohana Association owes a deep debt of gratitude to the HPA administration, faculty, maintenance, and security team for their support and kokua in putting on this event. While it is impossible to recognize every person who lent a hand in this tremendous effort, particular thanks go to a few key players who brought this all together: Melissa Samura (pumpkins and entertainment), Kathryn Freitas (sponsors, volunteers, and outside vendors), Becky Ryan and the Silent Auction team (who did a stellar job while implementing new technologies in the process), Rocky Horton (food booths and facilities), and Tami Painton and Tina Arapkiles (prizes and keiki games).

The purpose of the HPA ‘Ohana Association is to support HPA in its mission to provide exceptional educational opportunities for its students. We invite every parent, student, faculty, and administration member to lend your voice in helping us determine how to maximize our impact in the HPA community in the 2012-2013 school year. ■ Mahalo nui loa!

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The plant booth always is a popular stop.

A Very Busy (and Fun!) Parents Weekend 2012 More than 200 parents from near and far visited the HPA campuses during Parents Weekend held October 18-20.

Highlights included presentations from Brown University, Carnegie Mellon University, and Southern Methodist University; performances by our very talented Middle and Upper School students, and exciting athletic events!

Right: Christopher Belcher of Brown University spoke to students and their families on Saturday, October 20. Belcher is pictured here with HPA college counselors Andrew Kelsey (left) and Joanie Brotman.

Allison Welch and her son, David Welch Keli‘iho‘omalu, work on a project in the Village Campus computer lab.

Patrick O’Leary, Upper School visual arts and history teacher, greets Rodney and Michelle Chobany during parent conferences.

Assistant headmaster Shirley Ann Fukumoto reviews schedules with parent Barbara Ozaki as Lisa Sakurai looks on.

Jonathan and Elizabeth Chock share a light moment with Middle School science teacher Laura Jim during their parent conference.

Abelardo and Sharon Asuncion enjoy lunch with their daughter, Arabella.

HPA hosted the BIIF cross-country championship on Friday, October 19.

MA KE KULA 23

Coachescorner Stephen L. Perry Athletic Director

24 MA KE KULA

Cross-Country Puts on a Great Show Hawai‘i Prep hosted both the Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) and the Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association (HHSAA) cross-country championships in October. Led by BIIF Individual Champion Zoe Sims, the girls team won the BIIF championship and placed second at the HHSAA state championship. Kristiana Van Pernis, Erin Evans, Mariah Haight, Emily Evans, Veronica Ladwig, and Kelly Ulrich joined Sims in both races and put in

impressive performances. Over the last three years, the girls team has finished runner-up, champion, and runner-up in the HHSAA. The boys cross-country team, led by Michael Spetich, Justin Macy, and Walter Disney, finished in third place at the BIIF championship and qualified six runners for the HHSAA state championship at Hawai‘i Prep: Spetich, Macy, Disney, Jake Lai, Hide Akai, and Nate Ladwig. ■

Girls Volleyball Finds Success at HHSAA Tournament After finishing the BIIF season in third place, the girls volleyball team finished in fifth place at the HHSAA championship on O‘ahu with a 3-1 record. Led by Tiana Reynolds (Pictured left), Gabbie Ewing (center), and McKenna Ventura (right) the girls defeated Hawai‘i Baptist Academy, La Pietra, and Waimea High School in tournament play.

The girls only defeat was to HHSAA runnerup Seabury Hall of Maui. The fifth place HHSAA finish is the highest for the HPA girls volleyball program. Photos courtesy Patrick O’Leary. ■

Football Shows Improvement The boys on the football team played the second half of the BIIF season with passion and confidence. The team defeated BIIF runner-up Kamehameha at home 19-10 and then gave BIIF champion Konawaena everything they could handle on the their homecoming night before falling 56-49 in the highest scoring game in BIIF history.

Returning talented players Bobby Lum, Koa Ellis, Keenan Greenbaum, Li‘i Purdy, Kellen Gillins, and Nicolas Palleschi look forward to BIIF play next season. ■ Left: QB Koa Ellis throws downfield. Center: Keenan Greenbaum checks on a Kohala tackler. Photos courtesy Patrick O’Leary.

Right top: Bobby Lum gets around the end vs.

Honoka‘a. Right bottom: Li‘i Purdy looks for some running room against Kamehameha. Photos courtesy Bo Bleckel ‘14.

A Positive Coaching Alliance

HPA Fall Sports Award Recipients Announced HPA coaches reviewed the fall athletic season and recently honored outstanding student athletes. Students receiving awards were: BOYS CROSS COUNTRY: Justin Macy and Michael Spetich, Most Valuable; Hide Akai and Walter Disney, Coach’s Award; Daniel Matsuda and Davy Ragland, Most Improved.

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY: Zoe Sims, Most Valuable; Jasmine Fojas, Coach’s Award; Kristiana Van Pernis, FAAL Award.

In partnership with Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA), Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy has hosted a series of workshops for its coaches, faculty members, parents, and students.

Kiha Pimental (left) and Gary Pacarro of PCA recently led workshops for Upper School boys and girls. For more information, about HPA’s partnership with PCA, contact Mark Noetzel at mnoetzel@hpa.edu, or visit http://www.hpa.edu/athletics/positivecoaching-alliance.

FOOTBALL: Bobby Lum (Offensive Back) and Keenan Greenbaum (Offensive Lineman), Most Valuable; Blake Hooser and Joey Kailimai (Defensive Backs) and Kaimi Stevens (Defensive Lineman), Coach’s Award; Collin McKenna, Most Improved; Eigoro Akai, Holi Bergin Award.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: Gabbie Ewing, Most Valuable; Tiana Reynolds, Coach’s Award; Ula Brostek, Most Improved; Morgan Monahan, Nolan Doliente Award.

MA KE KULA 25

[alumni] profile

BACK TO BA

Kirk Caldwell ’71 Story > Andrew Perala ‘72

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Photo courtesy Caldwell for Mayor

T

he water is deep, the waves large with storm swells rolling in from Australia and Antarctica. On the Big Island’s treeless South Point shoreline, beaches are few, lava cliffs many. Fall in, and you could die. Many have. Help is hours away. But the lure of the landscape is almost as powerful as the urge to fish for ulua—giant trevally—at night.

A more deserted place on the Big Island cannot be found, especially if one heads north along the southwestern coast and sets up camp on a rocky outcrop overlooking the open ocean. At night, there are no other lights. On a clear, moonless night, the best time to fish for ulua, the Milky Way’s stream of stars arcs overhead, bright enough to illuminate land and water, and buries itself into the broad shoulder of the Pacific Ocean.

The nearest neighbor could be 12 miles or more away; the nearest landfall: 8,000 miles. No planes, few boats, no others intrude on the solitude—it’s just you and your fishing buddies. For anglers, fishing the shoreline of South Point defines the pursuit of happiness.

The weekend before Thanksgiving, Honolulu attorney Kirk Caldwell and his younger brother drove down a private, 11-mile, four-wheel-drive-only road to the shore north of South Point. While growing up in Hilo, they had fished there many times before. They camped out; kept lines in the water baited with eel. They caught no fish bigger than a 5-pound papio, or baby ulua, and were supremely happy. That’s the point of South Point: there is no challenge if a prize 100-pound fish is caught every time.

The weekend camping and fishing trip was not a time of extreme risk for the experienced duo. Instead, it was a time of relaxation, a time “to recharge the batteries” after months of Kirk’s relentless campaigning to be the next mayor of Honolulu.

Routinely taking on the challenges of South Point, and bouncing back to win a

major election appear to come easily to the HPA graduate.

True, the South Point trip caught no ulua. But just nine days earlier, in his second run for Honolulu’s mayoral office, Caldwell won, a victory that surprised many. He wasn’t surprised.

Pre-primary election polls last August placed Caldwell a distant third in a three-way race. Yet Caldwell defied the polls to defeat incumbent Peter Carlisle, forcing a run-off in the November 6 General Election against former Governor Ben Cayetano.

Caldwell won that contest too, garnering 54 percent of the voters. On January 2, 2013, Caldwell takes the oath of office to become the 14th mayor of the nation’s 12th largest metropolitan area: Honolulu.

As rival Cayetano saw it, the 2012 mayoral race was a single-issue campaign focused on the on-again, off-again $5.2 billion rail project

linking O‘ahu’s “Second City” Kapolei and Ala Moana Shopping Center. Contentious barely describes the fight between the two sides; one determined to kill the project, the other to see it through.

Aside from the rail project, candidate Caldwell’s tactic of reaching out to all voices appeared to appeal more to voters than single-issue campaigners. This strategy was more clearly planned in 2012 than in 2010, and though some might disagree, reveals the evolution of a politician responding to an electorate’s full range of concerns.

Carlisle had rather easily defeated Caldwell two years earlier, in a special 2010 election for Mayor. In 2012, though, both Carlisle and Cayetano faced Caldwell’s retooled, better planned campaign; with a larger campaign staff, a bigger vision of the future of Honolulu that still went back to the basics— water, sewer, roads, and all the infrastructure

SICS

THE EVOLUTION OF A POLITICIAN

Kirk Caldwell ‘71 is mayor-elect of Honolulu

“With 8,000 miles of open ocean to Antarctica, big swells are a given at South Point. How to handle them? Big swells are a given in politics, too. How to handle them? Caldwell’s tactic: with grace and respect—personal traits that have been evident in his public persona since his days at HPA.” Photo courtesy Caldwell for Mayor

stuff “a governor has no experience with,” Caldwell said. And hard work, a tremendous amount of work. Physically, Caldwell maintained a brutal daily schedule that typically began with 5 a.m. roadside sign waving and ended after many meetings around Oahu at 10:30 p.m. with a flop into bed.

And just about everything was documented in social media.

“But it was a lot more than social media,” Caldwell told Ma Ke Kula. “We went out to all parts of the community; it was a grassroots effort.”

Task: Sign wave with Caldwell’s Filipino supporters disenchanted with rival Cayetano— Check. Task: Attend daily sunrise sign waving to greet morning commuters—Check. Attend Okinawan festival—Check. Task: Attend a Senior Citizens meeting—Check. Secure the support of SHOPO, the State of Hawai‘i Organization of Police Officers—Check.

The list was long, the pace relentless.

Meet and greet. Shake hands, kiss babies, give big Hawaiian hugs.

Another task, though, proved problematic: dealing with the negative campaign advertising that was prevalent in 2012. Although Caldwell stated he played no part, the carpenters union and a group identifying itself as Pacific Resource Partnership spent millions attempting to taint Cayetano’s reputation.

While the effectiveness of the ad campaign is debatable, the majority of voters appeared to prefer the idea of jobs—jobs the rail project would create.

And that would translate directly into jobs for the project’s most visible workers:

the blue-collar construction workers who traditionally might have supported Cayetano: the laborers, drivers, carpenters, electricians and more who would actually build the rail system.

The strategy worked.

And as of January 2, 2013, Caldwell will begin to see if his plan to include all sides will work. He believes deeply that consensus can be achieved through rational discourse.

Opponents are obligated to speak up— “that’s how the Constitution framed public debate,” Caldwell said. “There is always disequilibrium … and we all want a better future for Honolulu.”

How hard can crafting the future be? For a multi-billion dollar rail line only 20 miles long, the promises of easing one-way hourlong commutes might not all be fulfilled. Or they could succeed, and make life easier for tens of thousands. The tasks are enormous, the legal hurdles still not fully resolved.

Although he was still seeking Cabinet-level applicants when he went fishing at South Point, Caldwell had a transition team in place.

“We’ll be ready,” he said.

In some ways, the next mayor of Honolulu faces giant challenges like no other.

Yet, one wonders, how does it compare with fishing at South Point where one wrong step can be fatal? How does it compare to setting the hook on a giant trevally and then landing a fish that can weigh more than 100 pounds from a wave-washed South Point cliff without falling in or losing the trophy? Success in both requires more than luck, more than skill.

Planning is required: how does one keep the wily ulua from tangling the line around a coral head and snapping it in a nano-second?

Where exactly should one step to land the fish?

With 8,000 miles of open ocean to Antarctica, big swells are a given at South Point. How to handle them? Big swells are a given in politics, too. How to handle them? Caldwell’s tactic: with grace and respect—personal traits that have been evident in his public persona since his days at HPA. Perhaps Caldwell, HPA’s 1971 Senior Scholar, Student Body President, economics graduate of Tufts, with a master’s degree in Law and Diplomacy, and a Juris Doctorate from UH-Manoa’s Richardson School of Law, a scholar of the U.S. Constitution, former aide to Sen. Daniel Inouye, husband to the former head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and very proud father of a teenage daughter, can meet the challenges.

His belief that balancing of perspectives is essential when everything is a juggling act might hold true.

Perhaps the former House Majority Leader, former Managing Director of Honolulu and the city’s one-time Acting Mayor has the vision and persuasive arguments to bring opposing sides to a middle ground.

Caldwell’s lifelong friend and fellow HPA classmate Dwight Mounts ‘71 thinks so.

“How smart is he? Is that the question? I think not. How wise is he? That I think is.

“I see Kirk as a balance of reality and idealism. He is willing to work with people and that leads to more reasonable outcomes.” ■ Editor’s Note: Freelance writer and editor Andrew Perala ’72 lives in Waimea with his family. He is a co-winner of the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.

MA KE KULA 27

[hawai‘i prep] alumni news 1960s

Arati Clarry ’96 Director of Alumni & Student Programs aclarry@hpa.edu

Eric von Platen Luder ’75 Alumni Association President eric@huggos.com

Thank you for your participation at our 2012 Alumni Reunion, our Alumni Back to Campus events, family education events, admissions fairs, and performing arts and sports showcases. We delight in sharing the time together reminiscing about our HPA history, and reveling in our great school.

This Fall has also brought us bittersweet moments as we reunite in remembering a beloved teacher and treasured classmates who have passed. Our prayers are with them and their families always.

Please continue to join us this Spring and for the 2013 Alumni Reunion, July 18-21. We look forward to our times together and thank you wholeheartedly for continuing to support our school with your participation, mana’o, and perpetuating the gift of an HPA education through an alumni annual fund donation. _ No ke aloha o ko kakou kula For the love of our school

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he has married the love of his life, and bought their first home in mauka Kona.”

IN MEMORIAM: RICHARD “Dickie” Harvey Eleakala PELFREY ‘61, 69 of Kamuela, died September 19 at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Portland, OR. Richard was born on May 3, 1943, in Honolulu, he was a Civil Engineer.

TOM STEVENS ‘64 reports from Pacific Grove: “I work part-time in a book store and write a column for the local paper. The column is called “Otter Views.” It’s available on the website for the Cedar Street Times.

He is survived by daughter, Miechelle (Pelfrey) Nations, of Portland, OR; daughter, Rebecca Pelfrey, of Kamuela; brother, Henry Pelfrey, of Waikoloa; brother, Rex Pelfrey, of Happy Valley, OR; former wife, Sharon Pelfrey, of Bellingham, WA; grandchildren, Keali’i, Kekoa & Kanani Nations, of Portland, OR; grandchildren, Kaleo Pelfrey & Malia Fernandez of Kamuela; numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

TOM CANNON ’67 shares the following news about his classmates: MARK ‘67 and Margot JOHNSON now live in Dallas, Oregon, and arranged for a mini-45th HPA reunion at their home in June. DAVE “Doggie” WILCOX ‘67 made the trip from Bend on his Harley, PHIL ABBOT ‘67 drove up from Eugene and PETER BURKLAND ‘67 drove all the way from Bellingham, WA. Mark reports “We’re definitely slowing down…but we’re still moving forward.”

MARK HUBBARD ’64 shares the following news from his classmates: CURTIS TYLER ‘64 and wife Leslie have bought a house in Tucson, Arizona and are spending a fair amount of time there. KEOKI SPALDING ‘64 has also moved up to Tucson. Evidently Curtis has the traveling bug and enjoys cruising an area larger than the Big Island. Going to Prescott, Arizona to see BILL BRYE is “only a 3 hour drive from Tucson”, according to Curtis who is already thinking like a mainlander. Curtis reports: “Our daughter, MIKA TYLER ‘94, is a 14year resident of Vancouver WA, where she provides caregiving and management services to clients of Goodwill Industries.

She also continues to be active in sports, especially playing softball and participating in many Pacific Northwest tournaments and a recent World Series in Las Vegas. Our son, Jay, has been employed with Hawaii State Division of Forestry & Wildlife for almost 12 years and currently is a Forestry & Wildlife Technician III based at the State Tree Nursery in Waimea. I am happy to report that

JAMES “Jamie” RUTGERS ‘67 sends news that he and family are doing well in Tahiti and that he is working on a fictional novel he has been contemplating for years. TOM CANNON ‘67 is looking forward to the possibility of seeing James and family along with STEVE SIEGFRIED ’67 later this year.

Steve raises flowers in heavenly Hana, Maui, and Tom works as an architect and milking goat farmer in nearby Haiku.

TOM SOFOS ’69 shares the following news about his classmates: JOAN “Fluffy” ANDERSON ‘66, has two new daughtersin-law and couldn’t be happier. She is busy putting on equestrian events and roping at their ranch.

STEVE MUNI ‘69 plans to leave the Attorney General’s office (in Sutter Creek, Amador County, California) in 2017, and teach at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, and train consultants in Medicaid Fraud. His cooking show may morph into a blog, but, as of now, all continues the same.

1970s ED CAMPBELL ’71 shares the following “Kathy and I stayed in Seattle during the reunion this past summer) as our second grandchild was due then. Our son is VP Field Operations for the company and took time off at that point and I was called back into full duty in the company. “ Dick O’Donnell & Russ Bailey ‘69.

JON EAGLE ‘69, of Roanoke Valley, Virginia, survived Hurricane Sandy with no major damage, and did have all the dead leaves in his yard blown across the street to his neighbor, which eliminated his normal fall chores.

PETER MORGAN ’69 moved to Twisp, WA for his second career, as an owner of the historic inn, www.methowvalleyinn.com. Peter has also entered politics as a member of the Methow Valley Town Council.

KATHY GREEN ‘69 writes that she has no plans to retire, but, might like to reduce her work week to 4 days a week, and that she and husband, Brady, will travel up Twisp and visit with the Morgans very soon.

JOHN GUARD ‘69, writes that he also has no plans to retire, but if anyone wants to buy a Pet Shop, he would think about it. He continues “I’m just grateful that I have a beautiful spot to live, with plenty of peace and quiet, and my children and grandchildren all live on Maui, as well. Lucky to live in Hawaii, luckier to live on Maui !”

NICK BLEECHER ‘69 writes that he is teaching art at the University of Hawaii and continues to ride his electric skateboard.

LEW ROSS ‘69 continues his work as a mediator in the Federal Courts in Oahu.

A mini-HPA reunion was held at the Greek Festival attended by (l to r) Tom Sofos ‘69, Steve Sofos ‘71, Kirk Caldwell ‘71 ( mayor-elect) and Eugene Hamamoto ‘64.

Ed Campbell’s mural painting welcoming his grandchild.

TODD DACEY ‘71 and partner Meg Sibley have recently moved to Waimea from South Kona. Todd is delighted to be back after 44 years and plans to further his culinary arts and education in the field of vegan and living foods for optimum health and environmental sustainability. His partner, Meg, is playing violin in the Kamuela philharmonic orchestra, is a soprano singer in the upcoming HPAF production of Amahl and the Night Visitors and teaches voice and violin.

1972 ‘Ohana.

DENICE SHEFFER ’72 shares the following: “The HPA ’72 Ohana had a memorable, loving and sharing 40th reunion this year on the Big Island. Friends gathered from various classes – ‘72, ‘74, ‘76 and more. Kisses and hugs filled the home at Puako beach. Thank you AL, NEVY, GREG, LORING, KAM, EDIE, and all who touched our hearts. As Edie said, ‘I cherish all of you more than ever and miss those who could not be here in the middle of everything with us.’ This sentiment was felt by all. Thank you Edie and our ‘72 Ohana for the tearful seaside aloha for our HPA family that have already passed to the heavens. Pili a mehana no ko maua aloha.”

DALE LAWRENCE ’73 shares the following, “The only news I have is that my precious daddy passed away in August, but to counter that, I had 2 grandchildren born this year within 4 months of each other (London Kalea Kapiolani to my oldest son, Keawe, and Vance Kahuokalewa to my youngest son, Alika). I’m still plodding along at Kaiser as a Coding Educator although my mom (who now lives with me) desperately wants to move back to Hawaii, but can’t live by herself since her fall in 2010...maybe when Kaiser opens up their new hospital in Kona.”

1980s

IN MEMORIAM, RONALD SCOTT ’85, passed away on November 1, 2012. Ronald was born in Honolulu on July 30, 1967. He worked as an executive assistant for Hawaiian Western Management Group in Honolulu. Ronald is survived by wife, Christina M., sons Brevin and Jett, daughter Blayze, mother Elaine F. Seacord and stepfather Terry Seacord.

TERI CHONG ’82 shares the following regarding Ronald’s family: To all who have posted about our fellow alum, Ronald, know that his mother, Elaine Scott Seacord, extends the family’s personal heartfelt thanks and appreciation to each and everyone of you for the amazing and heart-warming memories you have shared. She has read them all and savors each one. She adds, “Reading all the thoughts, remembrances, and concerns they’ve expressed for his family gives me such strength. I will share all of this with his wife, Christy, and their three children, ages 15, 10, and 8. As a mom, I may be partial, but yes, I, too, feel that Ronald was special...Bless his soul.”

ANTONIO J ANDAYA JR ‘84 is the sports coordinator at the Bulihan National High School, in the City of Malolos, Province of Bulacan, Phillipines.

MA KE KULA 29

JANENE VALDA MCMAHAN ‘86 is expecting her first child, a little boy, on November 10, 2012. Janene lives in Fairbanks, Alaska and works for UAF as an Instructional Designer.

Her website is: http://www.janenemcmahan. com/ CHRISTIAN KOHLER ’86 was on the Big Island this past October competing in the Ironman World Championships. He fulfilled a lifelong dream started while working the aid stations as an HPA middle schooler.

He had a great experience and saw former teacher, Matt Hughes at the Hawi turn around as well as good friend/alumna LIZ NOETZEL ’83 before and during the race.

MOLLY (KEITH) MACDONALD ’87 shares the following, “Greg, Lexie, pets and I are all moving aboard a sailboat in January. The sailboat currently is moored in Napa, CA. Greg and a friend will be flying to CA in early November to bring her home to HI. We all look forward to this new chapter in our lives.

Fingers crossed the pets will adjust well also.

We would love to connect with any other sailors on O’ahu. We would always welcome a hand or two and some great sailing friends. “

1990s MARC HANDL ’90 shares the following, “I moved to Seoul, Korea last August. Started a new job as general manager of The RitzCarlton, Seoul Hotel. If anyone plans a trip to Seoul, let me know!”

HEIDI HEMPLE ELDRIDGE ’93 shares: “Everything is going great, but it’s been a very busy year. First and foremost, my husband Mike and I welcomed our beautiful baby girl, Tyche (pronounced tie-key), on June 1. This picture is of the first time we took her swimming at about three months old. The other big news is that we have just moved to Las Vegas. I am still working as a forensic scientist in fingerprints, but I just moved to a bigger agency where I will have more opportunities for career growth. I’ve had a lot of success in my field and have been fortunate to become nationally recognized with teaching, publications, memberships on international committees, etc. I still think of HPA often and I’m bummed that so many of our teachers are retiring - I had always kind of hoped they’d be there forever to teach Tyche someday! I hope everyone in Class of ‘93 is doing great.”

into perfection. His presence was always a promise of good energy in and out of the water. He will be sorely missed. Achahn is survived by father Richard; brothers Dennis and Richard Schulze, and KANOA WITHINGTON ’97; and sister Helice.

COLLEEN GOLDBERG ’97: I had another baby born 10-10-12! Charles Archie Goldberg named after my grandfather - we call him Charlie and Amelia loves her baby brother.

SHANE KALANIOPIO ’97 and wife, Pua joyfully announce the birth of their daughter, Lihau June Kalaniopio on May 10, 2012. Lihau joins big brother, Kahiau.

DEVON MITCHELL ’97 recently opened the innovative Portland Child Art Studio, http:// portlandchildartstudio.org/.

Nicole Wilson ’88 and daughter, Faith.

NICOLE (Nik) WILSON ’88 shares the following, “ I left HPA after my freshman year to return to England but still keep in touch (sporadically) with a couple of people and look back very fondly on my time at HPA. I’ve just returned to work after a three year career break spent with my little girl, Faith, and completing a Literature Degree (First Class Honours - brain still functioning!). I’m also training as a teacher and lecturing parttime. A career change may be in the offering and I reckon my years in management have given me enough practice dealing with childish tantrums... I hope that the class of ‘88 are happy and healthy. All the best!”

30 MA KE KULA

IN MEMORIAM: ACHAHN SCHULZE ‘97 Achahn was an expert waterman and a passionate bodysurfer. Known for effortlessly conquering the largest shore break and for sneaking off to faraway realms to sample the world’s amazing waves, it was often reported that Ach had just spent a week, or a month mastering some magical wave in Indonesia or Nicaragua...Achahn was hero, and friend to many. We remember him through his smile, his larger than life personality, and his amazing ability to slide

DANA CSIGE MALDONADO ’98 shares the following, “Over the last three years, I have been planning (and saving!) to go to Africa, and this summer, I was finally able to realize my dream. Luis (my husband), my brother, PAUL CSIGE ’00, and I rented a jeep and spent 2 weeks driving around Namibia. It was the dead of winter, freezing, but we had an amazing adventure, ate zebra, wildebeest, warthog, and then went out to the Kalahari and spent 10 days at a wildlife refuge working with injured and orphaned animals. It was

Group in Minneapolis where I practice a wide variety of law, from family and civil to criminal and even some immigration law.”

the most exhilarating experience of my life, and not a week goes by where we don’t talk about the baboons stealing our things, waking up to the roars of lions, aiding in the birth of a horse, or having a lazy cheetah fall asleep on your lap. Namibia is off the beaten bath, but I highly recommend it!”

KEEGAN MAPLE ’98 married Robyn Ha and they are expecting a baby girl in February.

He is still flying for the Air Force stationed in Brisbane Australia for 2 more years then plans to raise his family on the Big Island.

ANTHONY BAYANI ’99 & KARA FUKUMOTO ’02 shared that, “our story began at HPA, so it was only fitting for us to take a Ma Ke Kula photo to commemorate our special day. “

Sandy Brody (‘02), Maile Roberts-Loring (‘02), Courtney Hastings (‘02), Neil Ozaki (‘88), Robert Yamasato (‘99), Mileka Lincoln (‘02), Christine Vana (‘02), Kevin Lao (‘02), Emi Tokita (‘02), Mihana Diaz (‘02), Bo Palacios (‘02), Kuni Matsumura (‘99), U’i Pimental (‘00), Paulina Oldmen (‘02), Jonathan Lin (‘00), Rory Ball (‘99), Kenji Matsumoto (‘98), George White (‘79), Carolyn White (‘79)

ERICA DAVIS ’99 recently had the pleasure of attending CANDACE SULLIVAN CHASE’S ’00 wedding in Puako in June 2012. Erica shared the following, “Guy and Jo Piltz were kind enough to host me and I got a chance to ride the HPA horses again with Judy Folk.

It was great being back in Waimea after 13 years!! I graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in May and was just admitted to the Minnesota Bar last week.

I am an associate attorney at Wilson Law

KIRA MCMANUS DEVITT ’03 is going to be completing her 200th skydive. SHELBY HOOTA ’03 recently spent a weekend with her in Napa and they went for a ride on her family’s Napa Valley Wine Train.

MANDY WOODWELL ’03 loves her job as a neonatal ICU nurse and is reporting on the Brysons recent move to Baltimore where Mandy and HPA schoolmates all had a minireunion!

Ali Ann Dirga ‘03 and John Buscher ‘98

Tyson Storm ‘92 at the Dallas Private School Preview

2000s MINDY TONEY- WILSON ‘00 welcomed a second daughter, Brennaleigh Wilson, who joins big sister, Addison Wilson, who just turned three.

Tito Jankowski ‘04, Jeff Mori ‘04, and Jeff’s wife, Rima

URA SHAMEL ’00 is currently in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania working for the US Embassy’s defense attache as an Army Foreign Area Officer. Ura shares the following link about cousin (and classmate) HEIVA KELLEY ‘99 during his last mission for the commemoration of US Army paratroopers jumping into Normandy during World War II. He was hand picked by his brigade to directly assist the commanding general while in France. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ usacapoc/7341629522/in/photostream/.

TITO JANKOWSKI ’04 just celebrated the Giants’ World Series win with JEFF MORI ‘04 and his wife, Rima, at their new downtown San Francisco apartment. Right after the game they wandered in the commotion down at Civic Center, right at the heart of 10,000 fans, lots of screaming, and fireworks.

GAVIN LEDSON ’01 opened a restaurant in Portland called Jamison. Please visit their website at jamisonpdx.com

MAX UNGER ’04 of the Seatle Seahawks was selected as Sports Illustrated Peter King’s AllPro Team as the offensive center. HPA Athletic Trainer, Scott Oshiro, recently travelled to watch Max play.

KALI STARTSMAN GARDEA ’03 is celebrating the one year anniversary of her restaurant in Kawaihae, Plantation Grill.

BURT BONK ’05 and wife, Sanae, welcomed their first baby boy, Aki Mahina Bonk, on October 2, 2012.

The Brysons with Mandy Woodwell ’03, Courtney Hastings ‘02, Chloe Ota ‘01, and Leonard Hyman ‘00.

MA KE KULA 31

EMILY COHEN ’05 is still loving the Pacific Northwest and getting set for a small trip to Canada. She had her play produced by a local company and was interviewed on a local TV station.

SKY FEUER ‘05 has been in San Francisco at UCSF. She has been there since last fall working on a PhD in biomedical science.

Before that, she was at the University of Cambridge for a year on a Gates Cambridge Scholarship.

BEN HONEY ‘05 received his “specialist” certification for ISS flight control which gives him even more responsibility. He saw CAYSON PETERSON ‘05 when he was in town with Iration and said he was doing well and will be heading back to Hawaii for the holidays. EVAN MONIZ ‘05 got promoted to an E-5 SSgt and gets his name on his new plane!

LUCIA POLAKOVA ’05 is in Chicago studying at Marquette University for graduate school.

Lucia works at the Baha’i National Center and sings in a choir.

CHRIS STRAHLE ‘05 recently graduated from the University of Hawai’i with a Doctor of Architecture degree.

Katie Case ’12 is at her first semester at the U.S. Air Academy.

EMILY HART ’06 embraced the alumni back to campus concept this summer as a summer school teacher in marine biology and aquaponics. Emily also conducted research for her master’s thesis in environmental conservation at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst on our campus.

Part of her research project on aquaponics systems can be viewed at the HPA’s Greenhouse & Garden Terrace.

BREEANI KOBAYASHI ’09 and family, KIM KIMI ’83, MARCH TAYLOR ’85, BRONSON KOBAYASHI ’10, and BROCK KOBAYASHI ’12, recently opened the Keaukaha General Store located at 11 Silva Street in Hilo .

TAYLOR ESAKI ’12 completed her first semester at Northeastern University in their NUin Australia Program. Highlights of Taylor’s experience are available at: http:// youtu.be/k0w31UKN-sQ

2010s

ROGER HANCOCK ’05 is graduating this year from Cal Poly with his BS in Electrical Engineering.

AKEMI HIATT ’05 recently launched her photography website www.akemihiatt.com.

She also co-curated an exhibit at the Center for Photography in Woodstock called ‘Surface Tension’.

LAURA LEITEL ‘05 is living in San Francisco and working as a catering manager for Kuleto’s Italian Restaurant.

CHELSEA MORRISS ‘05 is working in Oahu with Vasper, which is owned by SEBASTIAN WASOWSKI ’02’s father.

CLAIRE PARKER ‘05 continues her studies in the Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) program at the University of Western States in Portland, Oregon.

32 MA KE KULA

LEIOMALAMA TAMASESE-SOLOMON ‘12 recently won the solo hula performance competition of the 7th Annual Moku O Keawe International Hula Festival. ■ CHRISTIAN LEE ’11 entered the class of 2016 at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT and competed his 7 week Swab Summer including spending a week on the Coast Guard Barque Eagle, a 3 masted training ship sailing from Halifax Nova Scotia to Portland Maine. He received his Shoulder Boards to become a 4th Class Cadet on August 13, and started his academic school year on August 20. He spent last year completing the Coast Guard Academy Scholars program at Marion Military Institute in Alabama where he received an Academic Award for being in the Top 10% of his class.

On Stage at Gates Performing Arts Center

November 13, 2012 marked the 20th anniversary of Coach Karl Honma’s first boys cross-country state championship team at HPA. Honma recently shared his memories about the team with Ma Ke Kula:

I

went for a run on the gravel road just past the Waimea airport on the day I left Waimea to move to Honolulu. It’s a road that most of the boys on the HPA teams I coached know well. Easy run? Sure.

Long run? Sure. Fast run? That, too. They could all be done out there and we did them frequently. For many of the fellows, that road was the site of their first “double digit” run of 10 miles or more. On some days the theme was “catch me if you can” while on others it was “don’t let me catch you.” Many of them ran to the top of the “airport pu’u,” pausing at the top to enjoy the view looking toward HPA as the sun set. I remember standing very still near the base of that pu’u with one of the fellows as horses ran past us, swerving at the last minute to avoid trampling us. I remember listening with a group of the guys one cold, rainy, windy, day trying to find the source of some mysterious sounds emanating from that pu’u, finally seeing a group of goats on the side of the hill bleating into the wind. Sometimes I would run back to campus while Mr. Peterson, Ms. Donahue, Mr. Simpson, Mr. Weiser, Mr. Kamrow, Mrs. Yarawamai, or Mr. Diaz drove you back in the little yellow vans as you hurled good-natured taunts at me.

Those workouts resulted in good things for our team. Twenty years ago, those efforts helped produce a state championship. Those miles produced quite a few championships but some of my fondest memories of those times came before and after the season when someone would come to room 13 during the day and ask if I was going for a run that day.

The answer was always the same, the company was always welcome, and the route was often out by the airport pu’u. On the run that day I left Waimea for O’ahu, I went to the top of that pu’u and shouted my thanks to all of the fellows, now young men, who ran with me out there over the years. We were all part of one great team. The miles were run by all of us, and the championships were earned by all of us.

Fellows, give me a call if you ever want to go for a run. The answer will be the same and the company will be welcome. ■ Team captain Thane Hancock went on to run cross-country and track at Amherst College, setting a school record for the 10,000 meter track event. He is currently an MD practicing in Micronesia. Robert Olson went on to run at Brandeis College and was an NCAA Division III All-American in cross-country after placing fifth in the national championship meet. He is currently an attorney practicing with his brother, Peter, and father, John. Leif Nelson is a professor at the University of California-Berkeley. Kam Von Holt retired from the Marine Corps.

Editor’s Note: Karl Honma is an assistant coach with the women’s crosscountry team at Hawai‘i Pacific University. He grades AP Psychology exams during the summer and rushes home from work to be with his wife, Elsa, and little girl, Nada Elaine. Photos courtesy Karl Honma.

MA KE KULA 33

[alumni] profile

Emmanuelle “Manu” Mangalle ’10 Story > Andrew Perala ‘72

Mataruka to Rochester and Back Manu’s Voyage Continues

S

ome HPA graduates travel far after graduation. For Emmanuelle “Manu” Mangalle ‘10, that journey has taken him further than just about any other alum. But it’s not just an instance of a young man from a very rural Pacific island home surviving—and thriving—in upstate New York.

Manu’s journey has bridged gaps of space and time that would boggle Einstein.

After four years away, this summer Manu returned home for the first time. He had just completed his freshman year at the University of Rochester.

Manu’s home is the village of Mataruka, on the Tina River, deep in the uplands of Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.

“Most people I meet in the States do not know of Guadalcanal,” Mangalle told Ma Ke Kula. “Only old people—people older than 40— know about Guadalcanal.”

In World War II, Guadalcanal was the site of some of the fiercest combat between U.S. and Japanese forces. As on many Pacific islands that were unwitting hosts to the war, the wreckage of ships, tanks, fighter planes, live munitions, and more still can be found, buried on land or decaying amidst the coral heads.

Skiffs plying Guadalcanal’s coastal waters today tend to fly the U.S. flag and not their nation’s flag, Mangalle said. The people of Guadalcanal have a “very great respect for U.S. veterans of World War II.” When Mangalle was nine years old, his island of Guadalcanal became embroiled in a conflict with another Solomon island, Malaita.

“It was like a civil war,” Mangalle said of the turmoil from 1998 to 2003. “But political

34 MA KE KULA

analysts called it an “ethnic crisis”—people took the powders from the cartridges and dried them in the sun. They dug up grenades and bombs. We were living in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands at the time, so we were safe. When it ended, the warring parties signed a peace agreement known as the ‘Townsville Peace Agreement.’”

Located 8,500 miles from upstate New York, Mataruka is about as far away as one can get from the world of air travel, resort hotels, big cities, and giant U.S. universities.

There is no highway to Mangalle’s village, only a path that is, in many places, under the flowing waters of the Tina River.

There was a two-rut road, once.

“The government is building a new road,” Mangalle said. “It’s still under construction.”

Like the other the village in the Tina River valley, Mataruka is located near the water, where there is “rich alluvial soil for farming,” he said.

Mataruka has no electricity or running water; people collect water from springs and fountains. There are no stores—only mini canteens, no restaurants, no gas stations.

There is not a single cell phone in any home or pocket. There are no televisions, no iPads, no SUVs, no airfield, or even mopeds.

In Mataruka, people walk. At night, they talk. On Sunday, they rest. Christianity is the major religion in the region. Mangalle is a devout follower.

“I give thanks to Him for all my blessings,” he said. The church building also is Mataruka’s community center.

How did a 16-year-old boy from deep within the Solomon Islands end up at the University of Rochester via HPA? A recruiter in the Solomons from a now-defunct religious boarding school in Kona brought Mangalle to the Big Island. When the school abruptly closed its doors in 2009, Mangalle was stranded—a stranger in a strange land with no means to get home.

Mangalle’s father is a retired general practitioner in Mataruka and his sister works for Oxfam in the nation’s capital. Even with these significant career accomplishments, paying for round-trip airfare between the U.S. and the Solomon Islands is a monumental task in a barter economy.

“Before I went to HPA, someone said [to me], ‘It’s a very rich school, and the people might not be as friendly as you expected.’ So I was kind of expecting people to be more picky, stereotypical and all. But when I arrived that first day, I was surprised to see my dorm mates’ smiles and friendliness.”

Left top: Manu in his first snowfall, University of Rochester. Left bottom: Manu’s Mataruka schoolhouse.

Photos copyright 2012 Emmanuelle Mangalle ’10.

“My summer job was helping in the harvest,” Mangalle said. “If someone needed help, I helped. When I went back it was the low-crop season, so I cut weeds with a machete.”

The people of Mataruka “do not have formal or government jobs,” Mangalle said.

“But they work almost all the time” harvesting copra or cacao, or growing produce like yams on small farms. This produce is then traded or sold to other villagers, or carried to Port Marasa to wait a day or so for a 10-hour ferry ride to the capital city, Honiara.

The trail leading to Mataruka begins at Port Marasa’s beach. Port Marasa has no docks, no pier, no harbor, no buildings, no residents. Port Marasa is, in fact, just a beach where the Tina River flows into the sea. High hills covered in pristine rainforests surround the beach and river. The day before Mangalle arrived at Port Marasa, his father hiked down from Mataruka, and waited overnight for the return of his son. Then, with two other relatives, they all hiked back to the village.

Mataruka had 20 houses when Mangalle left. When he returned this summer, “there

Top left: Manu’s trail home, crossing the Tina River. Top right: Sunday study session with Bobz Kwarara ‘10 (left) and Manu (right), and two international friends from Nepal and Tibet. Photos copyright 2012 Emmanuelle Mangalle ‘10.

were several more homes,” Mangalle said.

Now halfway through his sophomore year at the University of Rochester, Mangalle has changed his intended major from Geology to International Relations.

“I want to go to graduate school, then maybe go back (to the Solomon Islands), maybe work in the Foreign Service,” he said.

In December 2011, Mangalle spent his first mainland winter break in New York City, as a guest of the Solomon Islands consulate to the United Nations. The Big Apple was a wonder to Mangalle, and was at first as far away from Mataruka as Mars.

But Mangalle handled the big city with ease. His experiences at HPA really helped him, he said.

“Before I went to HPA, someone said [to me], ‘It’s a very rich school, and the people might not be as friendly as you expected.’

So I was kind of expecting people to be more picky, stereotypical and all. But when I arrived that first day, I was surprised to see my dorm mates’ smiles and friendliness.

“From that moment I knew the person who told me that HPA is not a friendly school was wrong.”

Support for Mangalle from HPA’s teachers and staff was huge, he said.

“Too many to name, to thank, because I would certainly leave out some unintentionally,” he said. In his culture, forgetting someone would be “unfair,” almost unforgivable.

“I came to meet all these wonderful people who became part of my family abroad at HPA,” he said. “So, I would just like to say ‘Tagio Solaghan’—a profound way of saying ‘Thank you very much’ in my Poleo dialect of the Talise language, especially to Auntie Joanie [Brotman]. Thanks for her infinite

blessings and wonderful deeds. She really is my auntie away from home.”

These realizations, Mangalle said, have helped him grow, and be ready for challenges like New York City. And much more.

“I could not have made the trip home without the generous assistance of my Papua New Guinea family,” Mangalle said. “[Babaga “Bobz” Kwarara’s ‘10 parents] paid for everything and I extend my countless thanks to them.”

Brotman, an HPA college counselor, has kept in touch with Mangalle since he graduated, and has seen the change as well.

“He left as a boy and returned as a man,” Brotman said.

With his trademark Rasta hoodie, and confident walk, last winter’s visit to New York City was a snap. Walking is big in Mangalle’s culture. When he returned home this summer, his cousins would tell him, “You walk differently.” He no longer was a child.

Mangalle found those remarks amusing, yet there was something else, something he had missed deeply. Going home, he said, was almost overwhelming.

“It was very emotional—the moment of seeing my mom and dad.”

The return provoked a flood of memories for Mangalle, of the parts of his culture he had not experienced since he began his odyssey.

“I really missed the food, the people, the weather—the connections, the love I hadn’t been with for four years.”

Editor’s Note: Freelance writer and editor Andrew Perala ’72 lives in Waimea with his family. He is a co-winner of the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.

MA KE KULA 35

[alumni] voices

Bobz N. Kwarara ’10 / University Of Rochester ’15

Going Home

E

xcitement. Adrenaline. Thrill.

Adventure. It was like winning a million dollars, but even better. I was going home to my family in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

The last time I had seen my family was August 15, 2008. I was only 16 when I left, leaving behind everything I knew, was accustomed to, and loved. Now, almost four years later, I was returning.

It was about 6 p.m, on Thursday, May 10, 2012; I was sitting for my final exam of the year. I sat in that chair, calm and collected, blocked out the excitement and focused on what was at hand. But as soon as I proofread my answers and handed in my exam, I ran out and gave a big sigh. “What a relief!” I thought, all these years, I can finally take a break. When I got to my room, I laid down for a minute or so, not thinking, just smiling.

The first flight was about 12 hours away, but I was already done packing.

Manu [Mangalle ‘10] and I stayed up that whole night, just eager to get on that plane and get moving. It was about 2 a.m., May 11; we had on some Bob Marley and old school hip-hop jams playing, and chowed on two medium-sized Dominos pizzas. We talked about our homes and our people, how it was and how it might be. The wonder and anticipation had been building up for months, and now it was time.

36 MA KE KULA

I stared out the window every now and then, waiting for the sun to rise. As it rose, so did my spirit, which had been killed with finals and essays. It was 8:30 a.m., and my friend Yan came to take us to the Greater Rochester International Airport. We checked in at 9 and flew around 10. After an hour flight, we landed at JFK. First leg: Rochester to New York City (NYC), check. I forgot how big the airport was; it was like we were in a maze, trying to figure how to get to our terminal. Luckily, our next flight to Los Angeles wasn’t until 4:45 p.m.

When we got to the terminal for our flight to L.A., I remember we got our boarding passes and as we were about to pass through security, Manu all of a sudden misplaced his boarding pass. He told me to go ahead and so I did, but I was so nervous after waiting for him for almost an hour. I sat there wondering, thinking, “What is he doing? All he needs is to go get another pass, unless he’s misplaced his passport, we’re going to be here for awhile.” I was relieved when I saw him come through the security checkpoint. After the little mishap, we went to get some lunch.

Then we headed over to the waiting lounge, and I immediately fell asleep on the floor with my head on my bag while Manu used the free Wi-Fi. I got up almost an hour or two later and soon, the gate was open. Second leg: NYC

to L.A. Two big cities almost everyone outside of America dreams of visiting, we could finally say we were there. It didn’t matter if we were there for a minute or 10 minutes. We got there and the layover was only about 90 minutes. At 8:15 p.m., for the first time, we were leaving America, our home for the past four years.

Third Leg: L.A. to Auckland, New Zealand. It was longest flight of my life, 14 hours and then some. Because we crossed the International Date Line, we actually arrived in Auckland on Sunday, May 13. I slept for most of the flight, but I did get to watch a few movies that I always wanted to watch but couldn’t because of schoolwork. We were only in Auckland for about three hours before our next flight was called.

Fourth Leg: Auckland to Brisbane, Australia. As we got closer and closer to our destination, the excitement was (almost) uncontrollable. I felt like a kid trying to open his presents before Christmas day, you know you’re so close, yet still a little far. Once we landed, we got our bags and headed out the door. There, waiting outside, were my maternal grandmother, Boio, and my mother’s brother, Ira. We hugged, we smiled, and we laughed, and I found myself in a complete state of happiness. I was with family, people who took care of me as a kid growing up. We got home, we had a little bit of lunch and then

Far left: Bobz and his little brother in New Caledonia.

Top: Bobz and two of his “cousin brothers” outside the village of Gabagaba, PNG. Left: Bobz (left) and his uncle at a local produce market in New Caledonia.

I crashed on the couch. Tired is an understatement. After 23 hours of traveling, my body had finally given in.

The very next day, we went to see Manu off at the airport. He was returning home to the Solomon Islands. We waited until his flight was called, and for some reason, he had not left the security checkpoint yet. We were worried he would miss his flight, as they called his name not once, not twice, but three times. Then as we glanced down for a second, we saw Manu sprinting with his Duty-free bag. He made it at the very last second. Yet, another speed bump for Manu after the first one in NYC. Following Manu’s departure, we headed to the city to do some sightseeing. Brisbane was a beautiful place, up to the standards of American cities, and the best thing was, there were more Papua New Guineans and not just one. When we got home, I remember thinking, “One more night!” The next morning, I found myself on another journey to Noumea, New Caledonia. I thought I was the only one going there, but I later learned that my uncle and grandma were accompanying me to see my mother, Madi, and little brother, Emil, 7. My mother accepted a job in New Caledonia, which is why she was there with Emil.

We flew to Sydney from Brisbane and made the four-hour-long trip to the beauti-

ful island of New Caledonia (NC). My mother and little brother had no idea that uncle and grandma were coming along. It was a pleasant surprise for my mother and Emil. As I walked out to find my mother and Emil, my uncle hid in a corner with his camera to capture our reunion. I had mixed emotions as I hugged my mom and brother. I was happy and I was sad that it took this long to see them again; I was relieved that the day we waited for was here.

Noumea was different, more European; after all, it is a state of France. Pristine waters, golden beaches, and the typical European mini two-sided Fiat 500 cars summed up my whole trip in New Caledonia. It was very difficult to get by in NC because barely anyone spoke English and they laughed when we tried speaking in English to them. After a month in NC, I was off to Brisbane again, only this time, with my little brother and another uncle of mine (mom’s cousin, Mea). Mea came to New Caledonia to take care of my little brother and the house. My grandma and uncle left two weeks earlier so we young kids were by ourselves on that flight. (My mother would later go on to join my whole family and me in Papua New Guinea after three weeks).

After a couple days in Australia, it was finally time to head to Port Moresby (POM), Papua New Guinea. My grandma, Mea, Emil, and I were all heading to POM together. I

was the first one to walk out of the arrival gate, and not a second later, I felt someone tackling me, almost burying me in the ground. Yet, it wasn’t just one person, it was my sisters, (Nene, 22) and (Leli, 13). “What a greeting!” I said; as we laughed and continued on to meet my father, Parulu (or Paul).

We embraced each other, not so much like a small boy and his dad, but like men. There was a brief acknowledgement of each other, and an understanding we had built over the years that I was not a kid anymore, I came home an adult.

As we drove to the house from the airport, my eyes were glued to the scenery of the POM. I missed it, missed my family, everything there was about home. I would notice one or two differences and my family would be quick to tell me when and what it was made for. As we drove into the yard of the house, one after another, my family members, immediate and extended, kept coming out to greet me. It was the best feeling ever, indescribable.

I was home, I was in the moment, just taking it all in. I knew in a couple months’ time, I would be back in Rochester. I didn’t have an exact plan on what I wanted to do for the summer, I just “went with the flow.” In the first week, I had to understand the changes in my family, the city, villages, and most of all, myself, and had to make adjustments.

MA KE KULA 37

First, it started with my personality and the way I portrayed myself. Whether it was at home or out in the city or village, I took the “simple” look.

I did it because I wanted to “fit in,” or to feel accepted. This is because many Papua New Guineans feel that people who return from trips overseas tend to become snobs, or just “full of themselves.” When I meant “simple,” I meant going back to the way everything was, the “way” I was. I spoke my language, Motu, as fluently as if I had never left home. Everywhere I went, I carried with me a bilum (a string bag made from nylon).

A bilum is a significant part of cultural identity for us Papua New Guineans. I wore “slippers,” not flip-flops, and not once did I wear jeans because, well, that weather isn’t quite suited for it.

Everyone tried to treat me like I was a superior, even my elders. I forbade it, I told them I was a “simple” kid who just so happened to get an opportunity to go abroad, that I should be treated no different than my sisters, brother, or cousins. They might be in school here in PNG, but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve special attention.

I thought to myself, “What if I never left, would I have been treated so special?” That is why when my uncles or aunties would give their chair for me to sit on, or have me go first to eat, I would respectfully tell them, “You are my elders, this is our way of life, elders go first.” (Men actually go first in everything, then children, and then the women).

I spent one-third of my break in the villages of Gabagaba, my father’s home, and Boera, my mother’s home. I remember the first time we were heading out to Gabagaba, my dad pulled over on the side of the road and let me drive two-thirds of the way. My sisters and brother were joking how this would be their “last day on Earth” with me driving. It was new to them as well, to have me drive. I had my Hawai‘i driver’s license and my dad was thrilled that I had learned how to drive on my own. When we turned into the junction heading to the village, I was faced with a narrow road full of potholes and muddy road tracks. It was a rather fun experience.

We drove into the village and the whole place was full of people, there were election campaigns going on and camps set up everywhere, with food stands of all my favorite traditional foods. There was taro, tapioca, yam, sweet potato, bariva (traditional delicacy made from bananas), and all sorts of 38 MA KE KULA

fish, drenched in fresh coconut water. If anyone were to ask me what I missed the most apart from my family, it would have to be the food. People might say, “Oh, well many other places have taro.” I will tell them that it is how we make it that sets our food apart from the rest.

I went fishing a few times with my uncles, who are master fishermen, and who know their fishing hot spots by memory and heart. We pulled fish like no tomorrow, filling cooler after cooler with various types of fish ranging from the red emperor to the famous yellow tuna. As I sat on that boat, waiting for a nibble, I sat there watching my uncles and thought about their everyday life.

This is what they do to survive: fish, grow taro and tapioca. It made me think about my life; to appreciate everything I have now, and make use of the position I am in to make a difference.

We embraced each other, not so much like a small boy and his dad, but like men. There was a brief acknowledgement of each other, and an understanding we had built over the years that I was not a kid anymore, I came home an adult.

One person I never got to see was my paternal grandfather, bubu Renagi. He was more than just my grandfather; he was my friend, a really good one. He passed on only a week after I started my senior year at HPA. I was at lunch one day and Mr. Wawner (Dean of Student Life) came up to me and told me I had a phone call. I was surprised, for some reason, I felt like I already knew it was going to be bad news. When I picked up the phone, my dad told me the news, and it hit me hard.

I couldn’t fly back home to say goodbye, so that made it even worse. So one morning, while I was in the village, I gathered all my cousins, and we walked for 30 minutes inland into the forest to his grave. As we were approaching his grave, I knelt down beside his headstone and wept. With tears coming

down, we cleaned the area around it and beautified it with flowers that we could find.

I didn’t get a job over the summer; I spent most of my time with family. I helped out once in awhile with some carpentry, my grandmother has owned and run a kindergarten and pre-school for 20 years and just recently, while I was there, she had begun rebuilding classrooms. We all lived in the same house, my grandma, my parents, and siblings, and a bunch of my extended family. Pacific islanders are all about family, as inconvenient as it is, we to tend to live in bunches. I didn’t mind it at all, in fact, it’s been like that for ages and I loved having the company.

Every night after dinner, we gathered outside on the front porch, under the stars and cool wind. We sang popular Motuan songs and danced. This, I repeat, happened every single night. I loved it; I could feel so much love in my family. I had missed this, them, and the way of life. My people don’t find entertainment in Facebook and television, if anything; music is our ultimate way of entertainment.

I brought my computer and recording microphone with me, and after the first night, we sang songs, I had decided to record ourselves. We got lost into it, we found ourselves recording song after song. It sounded so pure, so rich of culture. As Motuans, we developed our own style of music with the ‘ukulele and guitar, and for so many years, we have carried on this way of music. I was fortunate enough to be a part of it, alongside my uncles, aunts, grandma, grandaunts, granduncles, cousins, sisters, brothers, and parents.

I listen to the recorded music every day and watch the videos I got of home when I think I about my family and my home. It had been awhile since I had last seen them, and I miss them every day. I am thankful that my parents were able to bring Manu and me to our respective homes. Going back home made me realize a lot of things and made me appreciate life in itself, my culture, and my heritage. At times, I might have gotten carried away while living here, but going back home sort of gave me a “kick in the butt,” that I have to wake up and go to work. I want to make a difference for my family, for my people, my country, and most of all, myself.

I know it’s easier said than done, but after returning and seeing the life of my people, I have the motivation and the sheer determination to keep moving forward. ■

[on campus] Nate Epenesa is Sodexo’s lead dinner cook responsible for creating the dinner menus for the week.

Epenesa came to HPA after working for six years at the Harbor Grill. When the restaurant closed, Epenesa’s friends who Nate Epenesa work for Sodexo at HPA Lead Dinner Cook told him, “This is a wonderful place to work.” Epenesa agrees.

“Everyone is so friendly here and I love seeing the smiles on the students’ faces,” he said. “I like seeing the students happy.”

Do the students have a favorite dinner?

“They LOVE breakfast foods for dinner, especially omelettes,” said Epenesa. “I flip omelettes for them at night”.

Epenesa kindly shared his mother’s recipe for Samoan Panikeke. “My mom is a great cook,” said Epenesa. “Growing up, she always made this for us just before we’d go to the beach.” Enjoy! ■ Epenesa’s Samoan Panikeke

3-1/2 c. all-purpose flour 1-1/3 cup white sugar 2 tsp. baking powder 2 very ripe bananas (or other favorite fruit) 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract 1-1/2 c. water 6 c. vegetable oil for frying Combine flour, sugar, and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly and stir in bananas, vanilla extract, and water to make a sticky dough. Heat a deep fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F. Oil should be deep enough to completely cover panikekes when frying. Scoop about ¼ c. of dough and drop into hot oil. Let one side cook for about two minutes (times might vary), then flip to finish cooking until golden brown. Remove from oil and place on napkins to drain excess oil. (Note: Epenesa likes to “stuff with melted chocolate—Nutella is a great substitute; coconut glaze also is great, or anything you prefer with bananas).

Lower School

Middle School

Upper School

January 7

K-12 Professional Development Day for teachers

K-12 Professional Development Day for teachers

K-12 Professional Development Day for teachers

Boarders return

Boarders return

January 8

Classes resume

Classes resume

Classes resume

‘Ohana Association Meeting, 6-8 p.m., VC Art Room Theme Week

February 4-7 February 5 February 8

‘Ohana Association Meeting, 6-8 p.m., VC Art Room Gr. K/1 Production, 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m., Gates Performing Arts Center

Theme Week Holiday

Grandparents Day, students dismissed at 12:15 p.m.

February 21-23

Winter Production

March 2

‘Ukulele Festival, 7-8 p.m., Gates Performing Arts Ctr. ‘Ohana Association Meeting, 6-8 p.m., VC Art Room

March 5 March 6

Student Led Conferences

Student Led Conferences

Olympics

March 7

Student Led Conferences

Student Led Conferences

Olympics

Spring Break Begins, 12:15 p.m.

Spring Break Begins, 12:30 p.m.

Spring Break begins, 2:45 p.m.

K-12 Professional Development Day for teachers (no classes)

K-12 Professional Development Day for teachers (no classes)

K-12 Professional Development Day for teachers (no classes)

Boarders return

Boarders return

Classes resume

Classes resume

March 8

March 24 March 25 April 2

Classes resume

‘Ohana Association Meeting, 6-8 p.m., VC Art Room

April 6

Prom

April 25-26

Spring Production

May 3

May Day, 9-11 a.m., Gates Performing Arts Center

May 7

‘Ohana Association Meeting, 6-8 p.m., VC Art Room

May 10

Grade 7 Performance, 7 p.m., Gates Performing Arts Center Awards Ceremony, 4:30 p.m.

May 13

Spring Concert

May 19 May 23

Summer begins, 12:15 p.m.

Eighth Grade Transition Ceremony, 9-11:30 a.m., Gates Performing Arts Ctr. Summer begins, noon

Commencement, 10 a.m., Castle Gym

May 24 June 24 - July 19

Summer begins Baccalaureate and celebration, 4:30 p.m.

Summer Session

Summer Session

Copy deadline for the Summer 2013 issue of Ma Ke Kula is May 31, 2013.

All dates are subject to change without notice. For the most current calendar, visit our website (www.hpa.edu).

MA KE KULA 39

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Members of the 1973-1974 cheerleading squad bring their school spirit to the game.