THE PINION Vol. 89, No. 6
McKINLEY HIGH SCHOOL’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER
Plan hopes to teach financial literacy by Peiru Lu
Have you thought about how to pay for your college education, how to make a down payment on a house or a car? Do you want to live a reasonable life and not struggle financially? Do you want enough money to retire later on in life? The earlier you start preparing, the better. To help students on the path to savings, McKinley High School is tak-
“Young people who do not take advantage of the time that they have to save earlier in life are missing a very important opportunity to put in place a plan for their future.” --Dr. Michael Cheang ing part in Earn and Learn Savings Plan, a financial program first created by Dr. Michael Cheang of the UH School of Family and Consumer Science. He did research on financial literacy. Financial literacy means the ability to understand about savings and money. “National studies on financial literacy over the past 20 years show yet again that the high school graduates are ill informed about and are lacking serious skills in personal finance,” he said. “Young people who do not take advantage of the time that they have to save earlier on in life are missing a very important opportunity to put in place a plan for their future.” Another important reason to start saving early is the benefit of compound interest. When you start saving early, your
February 11, 2011
savings will grow over time. If you are 15 years old and save $20 every month, at four percent interest, by the age of 65, you will have more than $38,000. To help students become more financially responsible, Cheang started to educate the youth about financial security and money saving. He first started this savings plan with the pupils in Kamuela Elementary School, and the results came Illustration by Feng Jun Liang (10) out good, so he decided to do it in high So far at MHS, 57 students have signed schools. up for the saving plan this year, but only Ron Okamura, MHS Principal, said the two of them came to make a deposit. goal is to help students become “more Since September 2008, 1,100 elemenfinancially responsible and to save money tary school students have saved close to to participate in school activities.” $100,000 while the high school students All MHS students are welcome to open have saved less than $10,000. Cheang accounts with $25. The accounts are with said, “Somehow, the high school students Hawaii School Federal Credit Union, and seem less interested to save their money... interest rates of about 4% - the same as not knowing how important this is for other banks. HSFCU will be on campus their future, and how much it can make a every first Wednesday to collect deposits significant difference in their future.” for the Earn & Learn Savings Program in Student Activities during lunchtime.
Strive for balance in brain
By Shaira Mae Agcaoili (9)
Left or right brain? Your brain is very beneficial by helping you see/view things, think logically, generate ideas, solve problems, and think creatively. Even without knowing it, we’re all using our brains. You don’t even have to be smart to use your brain. A small part of a person’s thoughts are kept in the conscious level of the mind. Most of it is held in the “subconscious” part of the person’s brain. The “subconscious” part is the part of brain
that keeps our deep thoughts. We need to know how to control our thoughts. The brain resembles a shelled walnut when looked at from the top view. The brain is divided into two halves: the left half and the right half. The left half of the brain controls or handles the nerve impulses to the right side of the body. The right half of the brain controls the left side of the body. The left brain is called the “splitter” because it splits thoughts into logical parts. The right brain is called the Continued on p. 4
2 THE PINION February 11, 2011
To: Franie W. Franie, you’ve been such a great friend to me. I hope we can continue to have fun and learn from each other until we’re old and wrinkly! As Daisaku Ikeda once wrote, “To encourage another is an intense task of inspiration, of rekindling their life energy and calling forth their indomitable spirit.” I don’t know how many times you’ve rekindled my spirit, but I appreciate it so much. I appreciate everything! Love, Clarisse L. To: Jayna W. You’re awesome and I’m always thinking about you. ;D With love, John V. To: Richard L. Jr. Hey Richard I cannot tell you who this is but I can give you a hint. It is somebody that you love =D. And we go to Paddling practice together and I just got my fishing level to 61. Secret Name: ChinaPow-wah To: Ms. Angela Powers I love you Ms.Powers, You’re the best teacher ever! From: Kurtis Martin
To: Ross You’re close to me, yet so far. You’re the person I least expected to be in my dreams, 3 times in a row. To me, your carefree and adorably lazy, yet nice personality is definitely something I admire. I find it sweet how you always lay out everyone’s books in History. When you walk funny some times, it makes my day. When you make the most retarded jokes and laugh, it makes me want to laugh too. Honestly, this is pretty hard to write since we’ve never actually spo ken to each other. I hope I remain a stranger through this. And I guess this is just my own way of greeting you a Happy Valentine’s Day. ^_^ Well, I hope to see you again very soon. Sincerely Yours, Miasry To: Jason C. Happy Valentines hunny buns! wink ;D Love, D. Y. To: Nikki Happy Valentines Day Love U-Know Yunho Thank you =]
To: Sherry Happy Valentine’s day! (8 From : JAE
Valentines Day Shout-outs! To: Cruz O. You are my only. Tu es mon amour. Warm regards, Me
To: Ciena Y. I hope that you are having a wonderful Valentine. I want you to know that I Love You and care about you. Thank you for going to winter ball and saying yes to the dance because that made my night. I can say that night was “A Tale As Old As Time.” I would never forget how beautiful you look that night and everyday that I see you. I am so happy that you are my girlfriend. I wouldn’t want anyone else but you. Its been a month and about a half when you read this. And go ing to be two months on the 25. I just want to know Will you be my Valentine? Love always, Kevin K. To: William R. Happy Valentine’s Day (: I think you’re really cute -D To: John H. Happy valentines day. I think I like you (: -A
To: My Everything Else Happy Valentine’s Babe! This is my first Valentine’s with someone special and I’m so happy that someone is you. Being with you is everything I thought it’d be -I love you! <3 Love, Your Forever
To: Jon Furukawa If you were the new burger at McDonalds you would be the Mcgorgeous. I wish you were sin^2(x) and I was cos^2(x), because together, we would be 1. My name: W. N. To: Julie I love you, Happy Valentines Day! From: Hero To: Gumiho If I never met you, I wouldn’t like you. If I didn’t like you I wouldn’t fall for you. If I didn’t fall for you I wouldn’t miss you, but I did, I do and I will for the rest of my life. From: Mickey Mouse
February 11, 2011 THE PINION 3
Don’t be lonely on Valentine’s Day
Foodland Education Scholarship Program
by Stacia Mahi Valentine’s Day is a day for showering your other half with presents, like jewelry, chocolate, flowers, and indulging their every need. But what if you don’t have a significant other? What do you do then? Don’t fret. Basically, Valentine’s Day is a day about love, but it doesn’t only have to be about couples. The day is meant to be spent with those you love, family, friends, and even pets. Spending time with them when you don’t have a boyfriend/girlfriend would fill the void of loneliness. Instead of shelling out money to buy your Valentine a present, you can get together with your friends and cruise. Boys can call up their buddies, order pizza and crowd around the TV taking turns playing Madden ‘11. Or, if you’re a
girl and prefer to be alone, you can slip into your pajamas, nestle into your couch with a bowl of ice cream, and watch chick flicks all night. You can even do some career exploring or cook dinner for your family to show your appreciation. Chef Rachel Ray, has a cooking show on channel 9 that broadcasts at 3 p.m. The program shows how to cook fast, money saving, delicious meals. So don’t waste your Valentine’s Day feeling depressed! There are so many things to do! Go to nursing home and volunteer. Remember, there are other people besides you who might be lonely. Valentine’s Day can still be special -even if you don’t have a significant other to experience it with.
From February 16 to March 29, you can help MHS by using your Maika’i card at Foodland. The more Maika’i points the school earns, the more scholarships they receive. McKinley’s school code is 7571. Tell family and friends to support the MHS Tigers by designating our school when they shop at Foodland.
Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas -A CD with you and your other half’s favorite song -A picture frame with a photo of the two of you -A day out with you to the movies or the park or just cruise to your house and have a movie date in your living room. -The traditional red roses -The traditional chocolate (Don’t buy Hershey’s or they’ll for sure leave you.) -Perfume (anything that smells good) or Cologne (guys like Axe or Bod) -Jewelry -Sing them a song to show them how much you love them
What celebrity would you take out for Valentine’s Day? Why? “Garrett Hedlund, ‘cause he’s cute in Tron Legacy.” -Anonymous “Alex Gaskarth, from All Time Low because he can sing, play the guitar and is hot.” -Shea Demecilio(11)
Illustration by Amanda Muramoto (10)
“Megan Fox because she’s hot.” - Tuan Vo (10) “Oprah Winfrey ‘cause she’s rich and would buy me a good dinner on our date.” - Anonymous “Chewbacca. ‘Cause he’s a RAWR!” - Douglas Young (12)
4 THE PINION February 11, 2011
Students use new vocabulary in writing
In Sophomore Pingting He’s class, students had to write a short story using idioms. Here is her story. One night, a little girl’s mother told her to hit the hay. When she was in bed, she felt hungry and got up to grab a bite. She found a cake. Suddenly, she heard the sound of breaking glass. Then she opened the door to find out what had happened outside. She saw an old woman searching for food to eat in the garbage bin. The old woman found half a sandwich to eat but it was so dirty. The little girl ran to the old woman and stopped her from eating it. She said, “It is dirty. You will get sick after you eat the sandwich.” The old woman said, “I’m so hungry!” The little girl ran back to the house and brought out the cake that she had planned to eat and gave it to the old woman. The old woman cried and said, “Thank you!”
Please, lend someone a hand if they need your help. Freshman Yunqi (Wiky) Han also had to write a short story using idioms. One day a boy was sitting under a tree. He was eating an apple. A poor man saw him and asked him, “What are you doing here? Are you skipping class?” “Yes!” the boy said. The man said, “Do you believe that I used to be rich?” The boy said, “I don’t believe you.” Then the man said, “Two years ago, I was the boss of a factory. Every day, I kept an eye on my work. Then business began getting better every day. I began to get lazy. I took it easy every day, so the products in the factory were more poor and I owed a lot of money.” The boy began to worry about his own future. He thanked the man and went to school. Allonalynn Allen (10) wrote a short story using new words from her DEAR
reading. Last week, I went to Ala Moana Center for shopping. As I walked on the sidewalk, there was a beggar on the sidewalk, who asked me to give him money. My sister told me to give him $20.00 for food and anything he wanted to buy. The beggar was ancient. I gave him the money. I told him to use his wisdom and to give me an oath that he would buy something to eat but not to smoke. So, I hope that he will keep the promise that he gave me that day. Here are two good idiom websites • http://www.eslcafe.com/idioms/idmngs.html • http://a4esl.org/q/h/idioms.html
Using right, left brain can strengthen thinking Continued from p. 1 “lumper” because it controls “whole” thoughts. The right half of the brain thinks with creativity by using imagery, analogies, emotions, and rhythms. The left half thinks with information, analysis, details, rules, logic, language, and words. Gabriele Lusser Rico is a researcher and writer who says that children experience 3 major phases that help develop their minds: the Innocent Phase, the Conventional Phase, and the Cultured Phase. During the Innocent Phase, children that are aged 2-7 years mostly use their right brain. They think with emotion, wonder, curiosity, and delight. During the Conventional Phase, children and teens that are aged 8-16 years mostly use their left brain. They think by using rules, routines, conventional patterns. During the Cultured Phase, teens that are aged 17 years and up balance out both the right and left brains. They start to regain parts from the right brain. You should try to balance out your left and right brain usage so that you do not create many weaknesses in either half.
Right Brain: * Identifies wholes; recognizes items simultaneously (Ex. Forest) * Thinks with analogies, or equivalence and comparisons * Observes, or view designs as a whole; uses emotions * Very open, not bounded by rules * Remembers complex steps of imagery * Uses pictures; uses words in a rhythmic pattern
Left Brain: * Identifies parts of something; sorts out items one at a time (Ex. Tree) * Thinks logically * Observes, or view details; holds on to information * Restricted, or bounded by rules * Remembers complex steps of actions * Uses language (Ex. “Apple”)
Pinion Staff
OPINION POLL Are you satisfied with your Quarter 3 One-on-One’s?
Vote at myhsj.org/pinion Check for final results after Feb. 28
Adviser: Cynthia Reves, Editor: Oliver Lam Reporters: Peiru Lu, Stacia Mahi, Amanda Muramoto
Publication Information
THE PINION is published by the Newswriting Staff and printed by the Reprographics Learning Center. The Pinion McKinley High School 1039 South King Street Honolulu, HI 96814 Email comments or questions to mhspinion@gmail.com