T HE P INI
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Vol. 98 / No. 2 December 2019
The student-run newspaper of McKinley High School
The Lady Tigers battled this volleyball season and made it to states. Read more about the girls volleyball season on page 14. Photo by Shileen Lafaele.
RS 20-0710 December 2019
Editors Alexandria Buchanan Ryan Vanairsdale Head Reporters Nyler Acasio Thai Bui An Vo Reporters Joesph Brown Nickolas Castillo Kelly Cheng Wynn Dang Jesse Faapale Rodney Fano Cheng Hong He Shileen Lafaele Julia Linn Mark Ontolan Cherisa Skinny Sairin Skinny Adviser Cynthia Reves
Mission The Pinion staff strives to provide and maintain accurate, entertaining and informative news for the students, staff and alumni of McKinley High School. We strive to show diligence in creating all our content so we can make a positive contribution to the public.
Publication Information The Pinion is published by the Newswriting class and printed by Reprographics Learning Center.
The Pinion McKinley High School 1039 South King Street Honolulu, HI 96814
Email comments or questions to pinion@mckinleyhs.k12.hi.us THE PINION / 2
Photo by Cherisa Skinny.
GUY RETURNS TO MCKINLEY by Cherisa Skinny, reporter
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e’Laine Guy is a returning science teacher at McKinley High School. She looks forward to learn new things and seeing her students grow each year. “I look forward to learning new and exciting skills through professional development and sharing, motivating, and encouraging students,” she said. “I look forward to learning new things from my students because every year brings new experiences.” She expects her students to grow into successful people and academically and socially. “I expect my students to be motivated to learn and express an eagerness, passion, and determination to learn and not give up on themselves when they meet challenges in their academic journey,” she said. “I expect students to become lifetime learners because life does not stop teaching you something new every day.”
Did you know? Some of Guy’s favorite quotes are: “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” – Henry Ford
FEATURES
BRITOS WANTS BEST FOR HER STUDENTS by Rodney Fano, reporter
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rin Britos (aka Ms. Lynn) is a teacher at McKinley High School. She is looking forward to being able to teach the same grade levels this year as last year, and having a great school year. She wants students to try their best and their hardest to be successful in school. Britos has been teaching for 32 years, but joined McKinley’s teaching staff in 2015. Britos feels strong about the McKinley community and loves coming to work every day. She loves teaching because she loves the students. It gives her the opportunity to learn and to do her own thing. In high school, Britos was a swimmer and won some awards for it. Britos likes playing with her cat and watching television during her free time. She also likes spending time with her family and reading books. Berlin, Japan, and Egypt are some of the places she has traveled. She often thinks of places she would like to live one day.
Photo by Rodney Fano.
TEACHER BY DAY, ACTIVIST BY NIGHT by Sairin Skinny, reporter
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averne Moore has been teaching at McKinley High School since 2001. She has 50 years of teaching experience. She became a teacher because her mother wouldn’t sign a consent form for her to be a pilot in the Air Force. Born on the day of the first sugar strike, Laverne Moore spent her early years dancing hula, cheerleading, and being a commander of her civil air patrol unit in high school. Moore’s dream was to be the first female general in the Air Force or to dance at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. She was the first female to join ROTC at Colorado State College. Moore is not only a teacher, she is a social activist. She fights for the rights of Native Hawaiians, the poor, immigrants, women’s rights, labor union issues, and anyone who needs a strong voice to advocate on their behalf.
FEATURES
THE PINION / 3
by An Vo, head reporter
PILA BEGINS NEW CHAPTER Photo by Magnolia Basoc, Photography 1. THEPINION PINION//44 THE
David Pila joined McKinley High School’s ohana as a vice principal in August. Principal Ron Okamura said Pila comes with a wealth of experience. “Mr. Pila’s a very nice, smart man, and an easy guy to talk to. If you have problems or concerns, he’s the guy to see,” Okamura said. Pila likes that he is being able to expand his social circle and meet people from different walks of life. He wants to avoid punishing students. “[My] favorite part is interacting with the students and faculty and getting to learn and to know new people,” he said. “[I don’t like] disciplining students and having to deal with adult situations.” Pila enjoys learning about the school’s history and traditions. “I like the students,” he said. “Walking through building A and seeing the Hall of Honor of McKinley graduates. It shows a lot of pride and tradition. The Lighting of the M, the crossing of the oval, all of these different things.” Pila said he looks forward to attending various McKinley events this year. “I’ve enjoyed seeing the football games, going to athletic events,” he said. “This is a new chapter in my career and I’d like to experience different things.” Pila said he enjoys spending time with his family in his free time. He said his parents inspired him to help others. “My mother as well as my father managed a club called Kalakaua AC,” he said. “It was very important for me to give back to help students.” Pila has a daughter in college in Nebraska. She is minoring in dance. “I enjoy [watching] live performances,” he said. “My daughter is a ballet dancer, so I’ve gone to many of the plays she’s in.” Pila said he likes to be active. “I’ve played football, basketball, and baseball all my life. Being active and working out is something I like to do.” Pila also said he wants to travel and try a variety of culinary arts. “Looking at different shows and documentaries on different places, [I] really want to experience it myself.” Pila said he wants to travel to Asia, such as Okinawa, Japan, China, and Europe. He said he has never been to a foreign country. “I’ve been to different parts of the mainland but never to an international country,” he said. Pila said he’s grateful to McKinley and hopes to make the school a better place. “I’m grateful and happy to be here as the vice principal of McKinley High School,” he said. “I’d like to support all the students and staff here and make this a place that is great to be at as a student or staff member.” NEWS FEATURES
Photo by Armando Nebres, Photography 2.
NIP RETIRES AFTER 47 YEARS OF TEACHING
by Ryan Vanairsdale, editor If you walk into Chinese teacher Alvin Nip’s room, the first thing you may notice are all the fans he has. These aren’t new fans; they were broken. One thing Nip is known for is how he fixes these fans and gets them back in working order for teachers “I like to tinker with things. … When I was growing up, my nickname at home was the Broke-anic; a mechanic who broke things,” Nip said. “You learn when you do stuff, so for me a lot of the stuff I’ve been doing like fixing fans, it came as taking it apart [and] trying to figure out what was wrong.” After 47 years of teaching, Nip will be leaving his fans and McKinley for a life of retirement. When he retires, Nip doesn’t plan on getting rid of the fans in his room. Many of them work fine. Instead, he plans on giving them to teachers. “I’m not going to just dump them. … Teachers want the fans,” Nip said. Outside of his student teaching, which was done in Taiwan, Nip has only taught at McKinley. In addition to Chinese, he has taught business, social studies, math, art, and photography. He was even the science olympiad cocoach. He also advised student council. One of the major ways McKinley has changed since Nip started teaching is the use of computers. Today, computFEATURES
ers can be found in almost every classroom. “When I came to McKinley, there were no computers. … The first time I went into student council, computers started to come in,” Nip said. In retirement, Nip is looking forward to caring for his second granddaughter. Even after Nip retires in December, he still plans to visit the campus. “On certain days when I don’t have to watch the baby, I may come back here,” he said. He clarifies, though, that it will just be to visit. “Some teachers retire and they come back to substitute; I don’t plan to do that,” Nip said. Photo by Ryan Vanairsdale.
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GAME CLUB
UNITES STUDENTS
Art by Stacey Cabatic.
by Thai Bui, head reporter The Game Club, which has replaced the eSports Club holds meetings on Friday. They play any type of games, whether it’s board games, video games, or other games. The club communicates through the Discord app. They also do movie nights, watch eSports games live, and hang out. Jason Yadao, a math teacher, advises the Game club and Leo club. He chose to be an adviser for the game club because he’s passionate about games. He enjoys playing Smash Bros Ultimate, Dance Dance Revolution and other rhythm games. He also enjoys games that you can pick up quickly, like mobile games. He got into games through his parents; his dad introduced him to games and then his mom provided him with games to play. “I think it’s fun to explore this world that you know is outside of real life,” Yadao said. His favorite part of being an adviser is seeing students out of school and his least favorite part is the paperwork. “I want everyone to have a good time… I want to get more equipment for the room, more monitors to play on, more things to play on, and just offer my room as an area to hang out on a Friday afternoon,” Yadao said. Todd Ganzorig, a junior and vice president of Game
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Club, started the club with president Jun Hyung Lee because he wanted to have more people to play games with. He also wanted to get more equipment for the room so he decided to make the club with his friends. He enjoys playing games such as Super Smash Bros Ultimate, League of Legends, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, and Rocket League. He wants to make a competitive Smash Bros team or a team for competitive games. When not playing games, he enjoys playing soccer. Jun Hyung Lee, a senior and the president of Game Club, started the club to provide a safe space for McKinley students to hang out and make new friends based on their passion. He plays Rivals of Aether, Minecraft, League of Legends, Super Smash Bros Ultimate, and Team Fortress 2. He enjoys making his own games and plans to release his game on Steam. He got into gaming through a Nintendo DS Lite and Pokemon Diamond as a gift from his mom. He wants to do more fun events like movie nights, tournaments, and plans to form a competitive League of Legends team. “There was something about it that was really powerful, to be transported into a completely different world with a complete set of rules,” he said.
NEWS
NEWS
Art by Levona Rdechor. Check out mhspinion.com for more art by Eren Padilla’s students.
TEENS WORRY ABOUT
CLIMATE CHANGE by Cheng Hong He, reporter Teens are starting to speak out about climate change. Freshman Nicole Durango said climate change is one of the biggest problems facing the world today and it is caused by people. “It’s not something that we should sweep under the rug,” she said. “We should take it seriously and act quickly.” She said the signs of climate change are all around us. Studies have shown that ice on rivers is melting faster than average, we are having more intense heat waves, and sea levels are rising. Long-term effects of climate change are hurricane becoming stronger and longer, sea level will rise about one to four feet, and the north and south pole ice will be gone. Durango said all of these will happen in the long term but it has already started. Freshman Danielle Castro said there are a lot of companies who contribute to climate change and people are in NEWS
denial. She said time is running out before these changes are irreversible. “Yet the only thing most people do is talk about it. We don’t act on it,” she said. “We are all suffering because of this and this problem will not solve itself.” Freshman Mariel Tadena said she believes climate change is real and people should start acting fast. “We should come to the realization that we need to do something now, or else we’ll lose this beautiful world that we call home,” she said.
“We should take it seriously and act quickly.”
- Nicole Durango, freshman
Visit mhspinion.com to read an editorial about climate change by Cheng Hong He. THE PINION / 7
Visit mhspinion.com to read profiles on freshmen Mariel Tadena and My Que Ly and seniors Damien Chang and Berri Freeman.
STUDENT
BAJA SHARES MEMORY by Nyler Acasio, head reporter
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uring your time here in McKinley High School, you will find your “moment.” Something you will remember as the most memorable thing you have done. Sophomore Hoku Baja is creating lots of high school memories. Baja loves clothes and fashion and finding creative ways to dress. At school, he keeps it simple. “I find shorts, a shirt, and a hoodie depending on the weather,” he said. Baja likes to make people laugh, and the way he likes to express himself is through his clothing. During Baja’s freshman year he attended his Ignition group’s Halloween FUEL session and it was the annual dress-up competition. One member in each group was the model, and the other team members had to dress them up. Baja volunteered to be the model. He decided to have
fun and suggested his team dress him in a skirt. As his teammates were trying to wrap a skirt made of paper around him, heads turn from other groups. “We couldn’t stop laughing at how ridiculous that outfit was,” said Baja. Then it was time for the fashion show and Baja took the stage. “I posed like a girl and people couldn’t stop laughing,” he said. The judges liked it too and Baja was announced the winner of the contest! He was stunned at first and claimed the award with grace and laughs all around the auditorium. “Everywhere I looked, people were looking at me, mainly giggling, which made me giggle on how bizarre this whole contest outcome was,” he said.
RATONEL HOSTS VOTER DRIVE by Thai Bui, head reporter
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unior Priscilla Perey Ratonel organized a voter registration drive. Ratonel organized the drive because she wanted to give back to the community and help people create a society that they want to live in. The voter registration drive was held in September. About 40 students were registered. Ratonel said it was fun and she created connections that will help her in the future. She found out she had to use a multitudes of connections in the school and in her life to get advice and support in setting up a time and place, and to rally the support of teachers. It was a long process, getting everything approved and constantly checking in to make sure everything ran smoothly. “It was worth it to even get one registration and encourage others to let their voices be heard,” said Ratonel. Ratonel said the most fun part of the voter registration drive was finding out the amount of impact she could make and how the staff supported her. The least fun part was setting up the booth because she had only lunch time to do it, so it was stressful. “It taught me to be more open to social interaction than I was initially comfortable with, but if you truly believe in an idea, you should advocate for it and do what you can to make it a reality,” she said. “I found that also reaching THE PINION / 8
out to others to support you is a great idea and I wish I had done it more to spread the influence I was trying to create.” Reading, creative writing, and playing music are Ratonel’s hobbies. She developed these hobbies at a young age since was exposed to books which led to her wanting to write her imagination down on paper to see what she could make. Music was encouraged by her parents since preschool. She started off by playing rhythm games into playing the violin from elementary to middle school. She’s in band and plays percussion instruments since moving here to Hawaii from California in seventh grade. “It’s interesting to see how the fine arts affect the world and the individuals. It also helps me to know the struggle of artists of any kind as well as fully appreciate their art,” said Ratonel. Ratonel’s proudest achievements are finding her close friends who stay with her through rough times and maintaining her grades when she has a lot of things going on in her personal life. “It’s better to just be open as a person and let your personality be free so that people who want to get to know you will make the effort on their own terms,” she said.
FEATURES
SPOTLIGHT LAFAVE LIKES HELPING OTHERS by An Vo, head reporter
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enior Kaia LaFave is band president and drum major. LaFave said she first began her journey as a musician on the flute. “I just really did not like playing the flute,” she said. “An opportunity came about where I could play the oboe so I took it and decided to just play it since I also thought it sounded nicer than a flute.” LaFave said she was excited to become a musician because it was rare for people to study music. “When I saw that we had the opportunity to learn an instrument, I was excited because it’s something not a lot of people do,” she said. “Not a lot of people can say they played an instrument which is why I continued and it’s something that I can excel at.” LaFave also said her friends were musicians. They encouraged her to study music. “My friends were doing it as well. The atmosphere and the vibe of being a musician and being in a band made me want to stay and keep doing it,” she said. LaFave said she views the band as a second home. “Seeing the people every day for the past four years, the band has become a family to me,” she said. “We grow closer that I can trust them with almost anything.” LaFave said her favorite concert band piece is “Italian in Algiers.” “I like the piece because it has very nice contrasting melodic lines that highlight the woodwinds,” she said. “The solos throughout the piece are nice to listen to.” LaFave is also the drum major in McKinley’s marching band. She FEATURES
started as a banner in her first year, a color guard in her second year, and was supposed to be a color guard for her third year until she was allowed to become the drum major. “After a lot of consideration and thinking, I decided that I would take up the challenge of becoming a drum major and it just stuck till now,” she said. LaFave said she enjoys being a drum major but has to deal with responsibilities of the position. “You’re guiding an entire band and whatever you do affects everyone behind you,” she said. “There’s this sense of pride when you’re walking like ‘yeah, that’s my band behind me.’ Along with enjoying it, there’s also challenges that I face.” Music is not the only interest that LaFave has. She said she enjoys reading books about romance. “It’s something that you don’t normally see on a daily basis,” she said. “I want to be put into a world that I’m not actually in but I can read about.” LaFave said her best days are when she’s with her friends. “When I’m surrounded by people and more social, I become a happier and lighter person, she said. “Any day with my friends is my best days because we genuinely bring out the best in each other.” One of LaFave’s goals that she failed before succeeding was having to play a solo, a passage of music played by one person, in Symphony Orchestra. “I kept telling Mrs. Hesch that I didn’t think I can do it and [that] I think we should pass it on to the next person but she wouldn’t let me do that,” she said. “I had to keep practic-
ing it and eventually, at the Spring concert, I practically played it without messing up. I succeeded in the end.” LaFave’s life goal is to do something in the healthcare field and to provide community service for others. “I want to help people, volunteer wise,” she said. “We’re presented with so many opportunities, financially and resourcefully. LaFave said her defining moment will happen once she graduates. “Everything that has led up to it has shaped me to be who I am,” she said. “Once I graduate, it’s like ‘I did it’ despite everything that’s gone on in my life, I made it to this point.” Empathy is a trait a leader needs. LaFave said she describes herself as an empathetic person. “Whenever they’re going through something or they’re strongly feeling something, I kind of feel it with them,” she said. “If they’re sad, it makes me sad and I just want to help them and make them feel better.”
Photo by Iain Tucker, Photography 3. THE PINION / 9
HAS A PROBLEM by Thai Bui, head reporter League of Legends is an awful game and Riot Games needs to fix it. The game has so many problems and they just ignore it. It’s like they don’t care and are mocking us with each patch note (updates for the game, making the character stronger or weaker). It’s so sad for the players who play League of Legends for entertainment or competitively. The balance changes are absurd with each patch note. There are so many bugs in the game and they just turn a blind eye like they don’t exist. In patch note 9.19, they buffed (made it stronger) Ekko again. He was perfectly balanced before but then they buffed him twice in a row in patch 9.17 and 9.18. Most players were expecting a nerf (making him weaker) in patch 9.18. Ekko is considered an S+ (ranking of how good the character is, S+ being the best and D being the worst) tier jungler (a position in the game) with a 52.17% winrate with over a 10.3% pick rate, making him one of the best junglers in the game with little to no counterplay (a way to beat it) which can be frustrating on the receiving end. The new champions (characters) that Riot Games recently released are overpowered. For example, the Irelia rework (changing the character), Akali rework, Pyke, Aatrox rework, Sylas, Kai’Sa, Neeko, and Yuumi are constantly picked in competitive play. You can see them every THE PINION / 10
game either banned ( or picked, Neeko and Yuumi aren’t picked as much anymore. There are so many bugs in the game that have existed for a long time. For example, Nunu goes invisible sometimes while rolling his snowball. The glitch existed since he was released but it hasn’t been fixed yet. Shaco has a ton of bugs; one of them is that his clone sometimes stands still when he’s dead with nearby targets. You can probably search up “Shaco bugs” and find more, but there’s too many so I will just list one. Rek’Sai has a bug where his “w” makes the enemy disappear. It was a bug since his released and is still a bug today. Some people might argue that the game is fine and it’s amazing. For example, one person might say that the art team is great. They are making skins that look amazing and just the visual of the game looks nice. However, people who are looking to play the game competitively don’t care much about the visuals compare to the game play. The game isn’t fun to play and I would not suggest the game to any of my friends. If you don’t enjoy the game, quitting the game entirely would be the best for you and there are lots of other games that are better than League of Legends.
EDITORIALS
NUCLEAR POWER: A STEP IN RIGHT DIRECTION
Infographic by Ryan Vanairsdale.
EDITORIALS FEATURES
by Ryan Vanairsdale, editor In the past few decades, the dangers of climate change have become apparent. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we need to cut our carbon emissions by 45 percent by 2030 to prevent global temperatures from rising over 1.5°C, which would cause extreme temperature and weather changes, even more than the ones we currently see. The effects of climate change and carbon emissions have been well observed and there is a need for change. Renewable energies, such as solar, wind, and geothermal, are great in that they provide zero emissions, but I don’t think we can power our planet on these zero emission energies alone. In my opinion, nuclear power is the right way to go. Nuclear power tends to have a bad reputation, as most people think about the radioactive byproducts and the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident. However, nuclear energy is very efficient and clean compared to the energy sources we have today, such as coal. Nuclear energy has a very high capacity factor compared to other renewable energy sources, which is the average power generated divided by the rated peak power. In 2018, nuclear energy had a capacity factor of 92.6 percent according to a report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Wind had a capacity factor of 37.4 percent, and solar photovoltaic was 26.1 percent. These figures make sense when you consider what they depend on. While nuclear power will work almost any day of the year, there are days without wind for wind power and cloudy days/nights to get in the way of solar power. In addition to being efficient, nuclear power is clean and saves space. Wind farms require up to 360 times the land area that nuclear power plants would take up to produce the same amount of electricity. It produces a surprisingly low amount of waste, with all of the used fuel produced since the 1950’s from the commercial nuclear industry would only fill up a football field with a depth of around 10 yards. The coal industry produces that amount every hour. In conclusion, nuclear energy is probably one of the most promising forms of energy in our future. It’s efficient, clean, and saves space despite its bad reputation. It operates reliably and has a high capacity factor, and the fuel required is very little. Incidents such as the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown may give people the wrong idea about nuclear power, but it is actually a safe way to generate electricity. Nuclear power is a step in the right direction, and it’s important that we move toward it.
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NEW BELL SCHEDULE NEEDS ADJUSTMENT by Qing An Chou, guest writer The returning students of McKinley High School may find the new schedule a little funky. That’s because it is. Occasionally having two consecutive odd days are quite a bother. Odd days have four class periods and therefore longer school days. More periods a day means it’s more likely there will be more homework. Since the school days are also longer, students have less time to complete their homework. This makes it stressful to get homework done since it is due the next day. That means students rush to get an entire day of homework done on those tragic Thursday nights. There will almost always be an even day that precedes the two consecutive odd days. This means there will be at least four days until the next even day. This extended break from even periods could cause students to forget what was learned in class, making it harder to learn the material needed. This lengthy period also tempts students to procrastinate on their even day schoolwork. When a matador waves his cape at a bull, they can’t blame the bull for charging at them. Likewise, when the schedule gives a student four days to procrastinate on work, don’t expect them not to take that opportunity to do so. The consecutive odd days limit students’ focus to odd day work only; this could possibly prevent students from even getting started on even day homework. So even if they wanted to be a good student and not procrastinate, they will still have setbacks they can’t control. One problem is teachers have set meetings, but even days aren’t going to disappear, so meetings can be moved to accommodate the switch as well. If the whole point of the new schedule was to help students have a consistent weekly schedule, then starting the week with odd days wouldn’t defeat the point. By shifting things and starting the week on an odd day will give students an adequate time to get their work done for their first day back from the weekend. There still will be a four day gap, but since it is an odd day, there probably will be more work to get done which solves the procrastination problem. It also helps you get more time to do three classes worth of homework due the next day. This way, students are less stressed and would have more time to complete homework assignments and study.
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EDITORIALS
BAND A GOOD ELECTIVE
by An Vo, head reporter
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ifferent organizations in McKinley High School allow students to try something new or improve a skill. If you want to be part of a music group, you should join the MHS band and orchestra program. This elective course will enhance your ability to play an instrument. Working hard to practice your instrument will improve your skills and make you feel accomplished. The music program requires you to participate in afterschool activities such as rehearsals and concerts. Everyone’s role is important, so you must dedicate time to improving your musicianship. Being in a band or orchestra will help you learn how to manage your schedule. High school is harder than middle school. and managing this will prepare you for adulthood. Participating in a music program also enhances academics. Reading music requires learning how to keep time and learning to separate beats in a song into ½ or ¼ is related to using fractions. If you’re playing an instrument that requires air to function, then you’re learning physical science. Being in a music group will also expand your social circle. You will be put in an instrument section. Playing music together will help you bond as you perform your tasks and take responsibility to show up whenever possible. EDITORIALS
The conductors, Thomas Hesch and Donna Hesch, have been working with MHS for almost 20 years. The teachers and band officers, students that were chosen by the teachers to perform band-related tasks, organize monthly activities throughout the year which are meant to bond the community. Unique traditions for bus rides, include a clapping and chanting game that challenges people not to break rhythm or get tongue-tied and singing the school’s “Alma Mater” and “Black and Gold” on the way back to campus. During football season, the band cheers for the team and plays music to raise the spirits of the spectators and players and occasionally performs movements passed on by alumni as a tradition. When I was a student at Central Middle School, I remember playing with the McKinley band in two football games. The high school students helped me understand what it was like playing in a high school band. They even allowed me to play some of their football music. This was when I thought: “I want to do the same things that the McKinley Band does,” which was why I continued band -- because I want to play music with the band and share it with other people. Members of the band and orchestra play different styles of music throughout the year. The band
plays full pieces of music at the M.M. Scott Auditorium or for other schools or charities. There are many other events such as the Winter Concert, Band/Orchestra Booster Craft Fair, and the Parade of Jazz Bands. These events will challenge your capabilities as a musician and allows you to improve while still having fun playing your instrument. Finally, the band holds fundraisers for instrument care and activities such as band/orchestra trips. The band travels to popular areas other than Hawaii such as Disneyland in Anaheim, California in 2012 (See mhspinion.com for more information - “Band and Orchestra spend a fun week in California touring sites” by Natalie Own) every three years. It’s a time when the band and orchestra can show their musical talents to people from different parts of the world. They can also make memories and new connections from around the world. The band is proud to have been invited to play at Carnegie Hall in 2016. If you have had a year or more of experience on your chosen instrument, you should join the McKinley band or orchestra. You will gain benefits from studying music and understanding more of McKinley’s traditions.
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The Lady Tigers huddle up during their Oct. 23 game against Konawaena. The Tigers pulled off a win with 15-11 in the fifth set. Photo by Shileen Lafaele.
LADY TIGERS END SEASON STRONG
Photo by Shileen Lafaele.
by Alexandria Buchanan, editor In 2018, McKinley High School’s varsity girls volleyball team made it to playoffs, but lost in the semifinals. The Lady Tigers played with a chip on their shoulder the following ßseason and made it to the DII OIA quarterfinals and placed fifth in states. Senior Arianna Llamas has been on the varsity squad since her freshman year. Her first season, the Lady Tigers went 0-11, but steady improvements were made since. She said that this year the team set goals during preseason and worked harder than ever to reach them. “Being a part of this team that helped the McKinley volleyball program back to the top where it belongs is very special to me,” Llamas said. “The girls and I worked 10 times harder in practice and always focused on reaching the goals we set together… We wanted to come back fired up our senior year because it was our last chance to go all out, and we did.” THE PINION / 14 THE PINION / 14
The Tigers finished 12-5 overall this year, beating every DII team they challenged. ScoringLive even featured Llamas and the rest of the team after their clutch win against the Kalaheo Mustangs. “Our key to success was to focus and stay relaxed while playing, and to have good chemistry with each other on and off the court,” four-year player Alyssa Martin said. The team says they are excited for next season, and are determined to keep McKinley at the top. The chase for a new championship banner continues, but these senior athletes are proud of their accomplishments. “Looking back, my four years playing for McKinley definitely went by fast, but I wouldn’t want to have written a different story,” Llamas said. “The memories, tears, girls - past and current, the coaches and our families will forever hold a place in my heart and I’m beyond proud to have represented McKinley.” SPORTS SPORTS
A NEW ERA IN THE NBA by Nyler Acasio, reporter
This NBA offseason has been a real game changer for the 20192020 season. With players moving and teams making changes, it is safe to say that this is the beginning of a new era without any “super teams” in the NBA, as well as fresh starts for star players changing teams. One big offseason move was the departure of Kevin Durant from the Golden State Warriors to the Brooklyn Nets. After losing the NBA finals and finishing his final year on his contract with the Warriors, Durant has decided to move to a new team to the east as a Net. He is not alone. NBA superstars Kyrie Irving as well as Deandre Jordan have also made the move to the Nets. Now, the “super team” in the Bay area is officially over and now there is no superior team in the NBA. In addition, teams around the league have been trading star players left and right. For example, former Grizzly star Mike Conley was traded for a package of average players and draft rights. Due to all of these moves, people are saying this league is the “duo” era; I completely agree and like this new era. What that means is teams have two players that are considered their stars players. Another trade example would be Chris Paul from the Houston Rockets who was traded to the Thunder for Russel Westbrook for Chris Paul, and four draft picks. Not everyone is happy with these changes to the NBA. Fans of their favorite teams could be negatively affected. For example, Warrior fans just lost their star player in Kevin Durant, who led Golden State to two NBA finals
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trophies. This to me is finally a wellbalanced league and with no teams having a big advantage due to having many superstar talent. We finally won’t be having the Cavaliers and Warriors in the finals every year. Only time will tell if this season will be a good one. So what are you waiting for? Tune in to some NBA games!
Previous Memphis star Mike Conley was traded to the Utah Jazz this season. Photo by Sean Davis, flickr
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