Class of 2013 encouraged to ‘Step Up’ with new diploma program By Noah Perales-Estoesta [email protected]In response to the heightened requirements for the class of 2013 to graduate, the Department of Education (DOE) is introducing a new diploma program – the Step Up program – which will enable those who successfully participate to become eligible for numerous incentives upon graduation. Curriculum Coordinator Lisa Kaneko elaborated upon the three types of diplomas that, after the Step Up program’s implementa- tion, will become available to the class of 2013 and on. “There’s go- ing to be the high school diploma, there’s going to be the Board of Education Step Up diploma and there’s going to be the Board of Ed- ucation Step Up diploma with hon- ors,” Kaneko said. “For the Step Up diplomas, you would have needed SEE STEP UP, PAGE 2 Students to receive rewards with successful completion of program By Caitlin Kelly and Cheyenne Young [email protected][email protected]At this time of the year, many seniors are waiting to be ac- cepted into college af- ter spending countless hours getting teacher recommendations and filling out applications. Six MHS seniors no longer have to worry about that process be- Selected athletes commit to college opportunities cause their outstand- ing athletic ability has allowed them to sign or verbally commit to the colleges of their choice. These students are Seniors Rebecca Lee, Sasha Moscatello, Kris- ti Oshiro, Courtney Se- nas, Maryssa Shigesato and Dalaunte Steven- son. Softball players SEE COMMITMENT, PAGE 5 Trojan Life | 6 Project Grad fundraises under a “New Moon” Humor compensates for Christmas gifts ... almost Freshman iSearch: The life of a lawyer INSIDE Editorial | 3 Features | 7 Students to embrace technology, Internet for science fair projects By Michelle Choe [email protected]As most students know, the completion of any major project entails a lot of work and a lot of money. Students have to splurge on ink, paper, poster boards, construction paper and rubber cement. This year, three MHS science teachers are trying to relieve some of the burden by hav- ing their students post their science fair projects as web- sites rather than as poster boards. Science Teachers Chris- topher Johnson, Mary Jean Fischer and Nel Venzon ... GO ONLINE www.trojantimes.org See the rest of this story and more on our website. 0 nline WWW.TROJANTIMES.ORG Page 6 Japan Day Winter Wonderland on Maiaohe Place Page 8 Trojan Times Volume XXXVII, No. 4 www.trojantimes.org December 10, 2009
Transcript
Class of 2013 encouraged to ‘Step Up’ with new diploma program
In response to the heightened requirements for the class of 2013 to graduate, the Department of Education (DOE) is introducing a new diploma program – the Step Up program – which will enable those who successfully participate to become eligible for numerous
incentives upon graduation. Curriculum Coordinator Lisa Kaneko elaborated upon the three types of diplomas that, after the Step Up program’s implementa-tion, will become available to the class of 2013 and on. “There’s go-ing to be the high school diploma, there’s going to be the Board of Education Step Up diploma and there’s going to be the Board of Ed-ucation Step Up diploma with hon-ors,” Kaneko said. “For the Step Up diplomas, you would have needed
SEE STEP UP, PAGE 2
Students to receive rewards with successful completion of program
At this time of the year, many seniors are waiting to be ac-cepted into college af-ter spending countless hours getting teacher recommendations and filling out applications. Six MHS seniors no longer have to worry about that process be-
Selected athletes commit to college opportunities
cause their outstand-ing athletic ability has allowed them to sign or verbally commit to the colleges of their choice.
These students are Seniors Rebecca Lee, Sasha Moscatello, Kris-ti Oshiro, Courtney Se-nas, Maryssa Shigesato and Dalaunte Steven-son. Softball players
SEE COMMITMENT,
PAGE 5
Trojan Life | 6
Project Grad fundraises under a “New Moon”
Humor compensates for
Christmas gifts ... almost
Freshman iSearch: The life of a lawyer
INSIDEEditorial | 3
Features | 7
Students to embrace technology, Internet for science fair projectsBy Michelle [email protected]
As most students know, the completion of any major project entails a lot of work and a lot of
money. Students have to splurge on ink, paper, poster boards, construction paper and rubber cement. This year, three MHS science teachers are trying to relieve some of the burden by hav-
ing their students post their science fair projects as web-sites rather than as poster boards. Science Teachers Chris-topher Johnson, Mary Jean Fischer and Nel Venzon ... G
OONLINEwww.trojantimes.org
See the rest of this story and more on our website.0nline
The Christmas season is here, which means most people’s schedules will be-come busy while preparing for the holidays and other events that take place in De-cember. One festivity some MHS students will be get-ting ready for is Winterball, an event that was planned and prepared months in advance by the Winterball Committee and is sure to have some fun surprises for those attending. Winterball will be held at Pacific Beach Hotel’s Grand Ballroom on Thursday, Dec. 17.
Since it’s Christmastime, the committee decided on a Christmas-themed Winter-ball. “Well, our theme this year is The Night Before Christmas. The colors are red and gold with touches of green, so ... it should be spar-kly. It should be decorative,” said Winterball Adviser Jeni Nishimura.
Approximately five hundred students will be attending Winterball this year, which meets Pacific Beach Hotel’s requirement of at least four hundred fifty students to make the event possible; good news for the committee, whose hard work would have otherwise been wasted.
The committee has dedi-cated time since September to prepare for this event. Meetings started off being once a week for half an hour, but now that it’s coming down to the final weeks, the committee members have been meeting whenever they can. “It’s been very stress-ful, but it has been fun. And then I’m really excited to see the outcome and I think all the dedication will pay off when we see the end result,” commented Junior Marissa Yamamoto, a member of the committee.
Although it’s a lot of work preparing for Winter-ball, Nishimura is satisfied with the committee’s hard work. “We’re working really hard this year, about double the time we did last year. So proud of them. They’re
working really hard, but we still have a lot more to do,” she said.
For all the work the committee has put into this event, students attending will have much to enjoy and since this is one of the only dances students of all class-es can attend, everyone can see what the committee has in store for them. “They can look forward to fun decora-tions, multiple favors, stu-dent-selected music, good food (and) a surprise des-sert,” said Nishimura. The decorations include new centerpieces and balloons. Music will be provided by DJ Jason Akiona of Exquisite Entertainment.
While the committee is busy with final touches on decorations and favors, stu-dents attending are getting ready for this anticipated event. Senior Elizabeth Spal-la is excited for Winterball, because it will be her first and last year attending it. “I thought it would be a good experience to go and see what it’s actually all about because I’ve never gone be-fore,” she said.
Senior James John IV
Winterball: December’s anticipated social event
to complete Senior Proj-ect and the difference be-tween the diploma “with honors” and the regular Step Up diploma is that the honors would be re-quiring the GPA and, in both cases, there’s certain classes that you need to take,” she continued. In addition to the acquisi-tion of the requisite 24 credits, students from the class of 2013 and after will need four credits of math (including Algebra II) and a half credit from an ex-pository writing course, which will be compen-sated for with Advanced Placement (AP) English. Before pursuit of a Step Up diploma can begin, students must take a pledge of commit-ment to the requirements involved. Kaneko ex-plained, “Basically, it’s a pledge saying that you’re going to work hard and try to achieve while you’re in high school. It’s always good to get more informa-tion versus less. So that’s why we’re encouraging everyone to turn in their form and hopefully be a Step Up graduate.” Stu-dents will only be allowed to take the pledge in their freshman year. The students who participate will receive numerous incentives
Step Up throughout the course of their high school careers and upon graduation as well. During high school, students will receive infor-mation about colleges and scholarships and upon graduating, students will also become eligible for admission to select Ha-waii colleges, scholarships and test exam waivers at certain jobs. Even more incentives are likely to be announced as the Step Up program is developed fur-ther, though. Kaneko said, “They’re still working with different institutions, different trades, organiza-tions … so there’s probably going to be more to come. We just don’t know exact-ly what or who they’re ap-proaching, specifically.” According to Kaneko, the Step Up program, along with the Personal Transition Program (PTP) and Senior Project, is one of several components re-lated to the Department of Education’s vision for Ha-waii students. “The whole point or the overall idea is to prepare everyone better for college. Part of the rea-son being is that in discus-sions with the UH system and different universities and colleges, they’re no-ticing a trend: that Hawaii students … could be better prepared,” Kaneko said. Pledges from the class of 2013 are due Thursday, Dec. 31.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
will be attending Winterball for the second and final time. As for what he anticipates about Winterball, he said, “I guess just like hanging out with friends at a fancy din-ner.” Whatever students are looking forward to, the Win-terball committee hopes to make it an enjoyable night for everyone attending. “I hope that they’ll have a great time and when we see how it all came together, they’ll be just like ‘Wow!’” said Ya-mamoto. Nishimura has similar hopes for the students and wishes for them to remem-ber to follow the rules. “I hope they have a good time. I hope they’re safe. I hope they enjoy the favors and the music. I hope everybody obeys the rules and obeys dress code and then every-body will be happy,” she stated. After all the hard work the Winterball committee has put into the event, students have much to look forward to, like the fun Christmas theme and the fun surprises throughout the night.
NewsDec. 10, 2009
2
Winterball 2009Where: Pacific Beach HotelWhen: Thursday, Dec. 17Time: 6:30 p.m. - 10 p.m.Theme: The Night Before Christmas
Don’t Forget:- Your I.D.- Ticket to get in- Stay in dress code- Be on time!
EditorialDec. 10, 2009
3
The mission of the Trojan Times is to publicize events,
share in the successes of students, promote the hard
work of the faculty andcapture the dedication of
organizations.
Editor in ChiefKelli-Anne Ho
Assistant EditorCyrus Takahashi
Sports EditorKellie Kawamoto
Copy EditorNoah Perales-Estoesta
Business ManagerLexi Kaneshiro
AdviserMr. Christopher Sato
PrincipalDr. John Brummel
StaffMatthew Ambrosecchio
Caitlin BasilioMichelle ChoeJames George
Leelynn HarrisCaitlin Kelly
Jaclyn KnitterCamille MarsdenLanden Muasau
Ryan RustynFarah Schumacher
Bianca SewakeCheyenne Young
To voice an opinion or any concerns, feel free to submit a letter to L205 or to [email protected]. The Trojan Times re-serves the right to edit let-ters as they see fit. Please type your let-ter and clearly state your name, grade level and pe-riod one class.
Too often have I relied on humor alone to pick up the slack for my gift-giving shortcomings. Two years ago, my grandparents in South Carolina issued a George-wide Christmas call; before one could even think “road trip,” my father and each of his scattered-across-the-continental-United-States siblings were dragging their families out to the boonies for another extended-fami-ly-get-together holiday sea-son. Don’t get me wrong, I was sincerely ecstatic, pri-marily for the reunion with my cousins, the “Virginia Georges”: three wild boys all within four years of my age. I thought about our tra-ditional, extra-violent pillow fights during the 15-hour-
long drive; after hours of receiving pillows to the face, someone would always give up and cry until either the parents came down and scolded us or the grandpar-ents called us up for dinner. Unfortunately, along with the fun and games came the looming unspoken obli-gation to give some sort of a gift to at least most of the 16 people who would be there. I always hated the idea of giving something to some-one who knew it was com-ing. It seemed that each time I would go out shopping for someone’s gift, I would try to guess what they might ex-pect from me and do a little better. But when people get Playstations and iPods and cars and ponies for Christ-mas, how could I afford to live up to such expectations? Even more important, when did Christmas expand from
a gift-giving season to a gift-giving-and-expecting sea-son? I think about kids who don’t have anything, kids who get socks for Christmas, who wouldn’t even dare to dream about getting the newest, hottest video game. First of all, they couldn’t af-ford the newest, hottest vid-eo game system in a million years, much less a $60 disc to put in such a system. Sec-ondly, they realize that per-haps others have even less, that some family could use that $60 for clothing or rent or a decent meal on Christ-mas Eve. And when all is said and done, I would love to give to people in these situations; it would make my day to hand pick a gift that I know isn’t expected, something that would make some child somewhere truly overjoyed to receive, even if it would be considered in-
significant to some. So when it came down to shopping for my 16 rela-tives, I gave up trying and fell back on pure humor. For my grandfather, the handy-man, I bought some assort-ed screws, a little wooden dowel and a door hinge. For my grandmother, I bought some brownie mix and hair clips. And to each other per-son, I gave something cheap and random that seemed to fit their personality. After Christmas, we had a family meeting, all 16 of us, about how we would go about gift giving for the next year. Given the many cheap, useless gifts and the few expensive, well-thought gifts, we all decided that we would draw names to de-cide who we would give a gift to the following year. Wow. Suck all the fun out of it why don’t you.
A few dollars, a few useless items: Christmas shopping completed
I must have been in el-ementary school when I stopped believing in Santa Claus. It started when I questioned how he would fit down our non-existent chim-ney and when I compared the similarity between his handwriting and my moth-er’s. My peers seemed to have the same breakthrough as me, which lead us to agree on a very disappointing fact: Santa is not real. This was the news of the century and it spread like disease. If anyone still admitted faith in the old fat man, they were promptly
brainwashed, subjected to hear everyone else provide reasoning as to why it wasn’t cool to believe in Santa. Christmases after this revelation seemed bland. The air of mystery was gone and there was no point in attempting to stay up the whole night and wait for a rustle by the tree. And there was certainly no point in leaving cookies out when they would just be seized by roaches. While I was grateful to have gifts, the “magic of Christmas” came from the unknown and the only sur-prises left were the inside of the presents laying around the tree. Santa, or the lack
Delighted reaction proves to be best gift of all of Santa, became a “known” and soon, the presents fol-lowed. If the box was squishy and soft, the item was more than likely clothing; enve-lopes represented the obvi-ous gift card or monetary gift. And thus, the sentiment was lost to this predictabil-ity. I remember feeling scared during the holidays a few years ago when it oc-curred to me that I must be growing up since I no longer felt the “magic of Christ-mas.” Was this how my par-ents felt? Apathetic to the holidays, and simply going through the motions? The thought was depressing – tragic even.
But again, I “grew up” even more during the Christmases that followed. I don’t remember what sort of revelation transpired in my head, but my outlook on Christmas changed again last year when I discovered a newfound satisfaction. Santa may not exist, but the element of surprise still does. I found that the thrilled reaction of someone you care about brings quite a pleasant feeling and cer-tainly brings the old saying to light: ‘tis better to give than to receive. And perhaps this is how my parents feel, as they are the true rustle of movement around the Christmas tree.
SportsDec. 10, 2009
4JV Softball defeats Waianae for OIA title
Varsity Girls Volleyball Team places fifth at OIA playoffsBy Farah [email protected] The MHS Varsity Girls Volleyball Team bumped, set and spiked their way to the Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) playoffs. Despite a difficult and long season, they placed fifth in the White Division against Waiakea High School. This year, those obsta-cles included a smaller team and rigorous practices. “(We practiced) every day except Sunday … this year, we were a small team and re-ally short. There was eleven of us, but compared to the other teams, we were really tiny,” said Defense Special-ist Anne Uruu, senior. “That was our biggest challenge, I think,” she said. The girls placed third in the West Red Division, fol-lowing Pearl City and Aiea.
After endless practices through rain and shine, nu-merous defensive drills and countless batting practices, the MHS JV Softball Team pulled through as the Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) champions on Oct. 23, defeating Waianae with a score of 13-0 in only five in-nings. Being one of MHS’ only losses this past season, Wai-anae’s performance took MHS by surprise. “We played them four times be-fore … and lost to them once,” shared Head Coach Jamie Ludwig. This astonishment even showed throughout the players. “We had a double-header against them during regular season and we lost a game so that kind of set us back,” explained Sopho-more Alysia Maddison. “I was really surprised by the outcome of the game only because we won them by so much. In regular sea-son, Waianae was one of the only two teams that de-
feated us. But in the cham-pionship game, we were all hitting and it seemed like we were a completely differ-ent team. We were all on our ‘A game’ and it was clear that we were not the same team that stepped on the field nearly two months ear-lier,” expressed Sophomore Chesarey Silva. In preparation for this
game, players stuck to their routine practices which, ac-cording to Ludwig, include “running, hitting and just trying to get them to be com-fortable.” Ludwig and her staff wanted their players to be comfortable and confi-dent on the field. “Our last practice was kind of a fun practice because we wanted them to have fun and relax
and want to play because we know they play better like that rather than being so uptight,” she said. After, she expressed the importance of her players’ mental skills being greater than their physical skills. “They’re very talented to begin with, so we just want-ed to make sure that they understood what we were
trying to teach them and to take charge on their own,” explained Ludwig. “Another thing the team did to prepare was discuss different situations and how we would approach them,” said Silva. Playing time was also limited for the play-ers because they had such a large team. “Practice was a competition to see who wanted it more and who de-served to get a spot on the field,” shared Silva. Being a returnee to the team, Silva knew more of what to ex-pect from her coaches. Overall, MHS’ hard work and dedication all paid off at the end of their season. Their practices and relationships with one an-other is what mentally and physically prepared them for the championship game. “The team was really close and the chemistry was really good and I think that’s one of the reasons why we were so successful,” said Silva. The girls’ improvements showed through their aggression on the field, proving how badly they wanted to succeed.
They ended a spectacular season with eight wins and four losses. The girls went on to compete in the OIAs Division I volleyball cham-pionships for first place. Aiea, Farrington, Kahuku, Moanalua, and Roosevelt High School also competed in the OIA playoffs, which took place at McKinley High School. The schools that par-ticipated in the Division II volleyball championships included Castle, Kailua and Kaiser High Schools. It last-ed from Wednesday, Oct. 28 to Saturday, Oct. 31. In order to advance to the successive rounds in playoffs, the volleyball teams had to win at least two out of the three sets played. The winner would then ad-vance to the next round and compete in this manner un-til they lost against another team or won first place. If
the team lost and had more wins than the competing team, they would go on to the consolation semifinals. In the first round of league playoffs, Mililani began strong by defeating Baldwin 25-15, 25-20 and 25-17. With high spirits, they advanced to the next round for quarterfinals against Ka-huku. However, the girls lost against them with a fi-nal score of 25-16, 25-8 and 25-18. They then went on to the consolation semifinals. They challenged Waiakea High School and competed for fourth place, but they lost 25-20 and 25-30. MHS placed fifth overall in play-offs. Kamehameha won the title game against Punahou, which was played at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Photo courtesy of Freshman Jordan Schmerbauch
Place: Mililani High School Cafeteria 95-1200 Meheula Pkwy Mililani, HITime: Saturday, December 12, 2009 6:00 p.m. Phone: (808) 625-0155
“Beyond the Dream” is the inspiring and biographical documentary movie of legendary professional surfer, Joey Buran.
Calvary Chapel Central Oahu presents:
Row 1: (Left to right) Kacie Oshiro, Mari Kajiwara, Tihani Palomares, Kylen Rodrigues. Row 2: Lauren Ishii, Shayna Shon, Tori Kaya, Jordan Schmerbauch, Kanani Lanias. Row 3: Megan Mura-moto, Alysia Maddison, Joen Baker, Chesarey Silva, Nashea Carlos, Rayna Malina, Cheyenne Koki, Caitlin Millwood, Ariel Beaudoin Gambol.
This year the number one bowler at the OIAs and second in the state was MHS Sophomore Wayne Miyashiro, who placed first individually at the OIAs with a score of 1,219 pins and second at states with 1,669 pins. But Miyashiro’s skills off the lane are just as im-portant as his skills on. “(Miyashiro) can rattle the team,” said Bowling Coach Kellen Inafuku. “He helps them keep together, espe-cially when they’re doing bad, he brings them out of it,” he said.
As for school, Miyashi-ro puts his academics be-fore his bowling. “When we have high school prac-tice, it was late at night, like at six, so I would hurry home and finish my homework so I could go to practice,” he said. But he found the two easy to balance once his work was prioritized. The drive to get better is what keeps Miyashiro bowling. “I just want to keep on improving and show people that you still can improve and at no point you can stop prac-ticing because you think you’re so good,” said Mi-yashiro. And while Miyashiro works hard to better him-self, the best part of bowl-ing is simply “having fun and being successful, and doing it with your friends.” Taking this to heart, Mi-yashiro strives to better himself while never sacri-ficing the other important aspects of his life.
Bowling recognized in OIAs, states
Lee and Oshiro have both signed with East Carolina University (ECU) and Senas has signed with Florida State University (FSU). Shigesato is a golfer who has signed with the University of Ha-waii at Manoa (UH) and soccer player Moscatello and football player Steven-son have made verbal com-mitments, Moscatello to the University of the Pacific (UOP) and Stevenson to the University of Washington (UW).
The softball players be-lieve that the college they chose is right for them. “When I went to visit, the people were really nice … and to go for free, that’s like, what I really wanted,” said Lee. Oshiro said, “I guess it was a good offer, and there’s Hawaii girls already there … it seemed like it was a pretty good place.” Both Lee and Oshiro received offers from other schools besides ECU, but Lee decided that the amount of scholarship mon-ey being given to her was “rare” and Oshiro thought ECU was the best school out of all her choices. Senasalso received of-fers from different schools including University of Ne-vada, Las Vegas and East Carolina. “It’s pretty big time … good opportunities
On Oct. 15, MHS’ Boys Bowling Team competed in the Oahu Interscholastic As-sociation (OIA) champion-ships at the Kaneohe Marine Corp Base. Four individuals from the Girls Bowling Team also participated in OIAs and were successful in both areas. MHS Boys Team beat Pearl City High School 5,419 pins to 5,193 pins and claimed the title of OIA champions. “In OIAs, we beat Pearl City, which is like our rivals. They were supposed to be the better team and we were the un-derdogs,” said Junior Kyle Ortiz, one of the team cap-tains.
and happy (when I signed) because at least now I don’t have to worry about college and apps and stuff,” stated Oshiro. Shigesato began golfing as a freshman. She felt that
Seniors Rebecca Lee, Courtney Senas and Kristi Oshiro are all smiles as they sign their letters of commitment. This means that they no longer have to worry about college applications.
CommitmentCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
to become successful,” she said about FSU. All three girls are excited that their college choices are set and they do not have to worry about which one to choose anymore. “I felt relieved
Photo courtesy of Senior Rebecca Lee
UH was the best fit for her for various reasons. “I’m close to home and I really like the coach; he’s really nice. And I know a few of the other players on the team,” she said. Because of her athletic talent, she will receive a partial schol-arship to UH. “(I’m) really excited, excited to go and kind of relieved because I don’t have to worry too much about turning in my applications and stuff,” Shigesato said. Since signing to a school is an important decision, Moscatello and Stevenson have only ver-bally committed to uni-versities of their choice for now. Verbally commit-ting differs from signing in that players can still change their minds if they wish, but usually don’t. Moscatello also received offers from Pepperdine University and Loyola Marymount University, while Stevenson received offers from seven dif-ferent schools including Utah, Colorado and San Diego State. While most seniors are still going through the application process, these six seniors can rest a little easier. Their extraordinary athletic abilities have giv-en them the opportunity to attend the universities of their choice.
MT R O J A N
of the month
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Kell
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afuk
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Sasha Moscatello
RebeccaLee
MaryssaShigesato
Kristi Oshiro
CourtneySenas
DalaunteStevenson
Several members also placed high individually. Sophomore Wayne Miyashi-ro placed first, Ortiz placed second and Freshman Cody Wilcher placed fourteenth among the top fifteen boys. Junior Leihulunani Siafuafu placed third among the top fifteen girls in OIAs. After the OIAs, the team also competed in the Hawaii High School Athletic Asso-ciation (HHSAA) Champi-onship Tournament where the Boys Team placed third overall, Miyashiro placed second and Siafuafu placed twelfth in the individual competition. The season’s prepara-tions took a lot of practice as described by Ortiz. “... We practiced on our mental game … Like how to read
the lane and when the lanes change,” he said. Senior Kylie Tao attrib-uted the help from their coaches to their success. “… They help a lot. Like they practice with us or even they videotape us sometimes to go step-by-step like what we could do to improve our game and everything. And it wasn’t like set on score, it was basically just to im-prove so that helped a lot, ” she said. She also explained that since there was only one head coach for both the boys and girls teams, teamwork helped lead them to suc-cess. “… It kind of brought the whole team together, not just like boys on this side, and it’s just like one big team because just like being together, it’s more like work-
ing as a team and helping each other out,” Tao said. Head Coach Kellen In-afuku also found success because of the team’s abil-ity to work together. “We stayed together as a team. People label bowling as an individual sport. But you bowl as a five-man team,” he said. Inafuku continued, “I just try to make sure they kept their heads clear, they weren’t thinking too hard … For me, it was keeping them excited, keeping them happy and if we won, hey that’s great, but we had fun anyway.” The MHS Bowling Team ended the season successfully thanks to the hard work and dedication the members put into it.
On Nov. 18, Tokai Uni-versity in Honolulu hosted Japan Day, an annual edu-cational event and bonding experience for those inter-ested in learning more about Japan. Students from MHS and several other schools participated in various tra-ditional Japanese activities. “Japan Day let you see the culture of Japan in an easy and inviting way,” said Senior Niki Maeda. She had decided to participate in the event after Japanese Teacher Claire Ichiyama had ex-plained the event’s signifi-cance. “She mentioned that it had been a while since (MHS) had been invited to participate. I knew that this was my last year to get to do anything, so I decided on it,” said Maeda. The event included ac-
tivities such as calligraphy, bonsai pruning, ikebana (the Japanese art of flower ar-ranging), an abacus class (soroban), origami, kimono weaving, bon dance and a tea ceremony. When asked what his fa-vorite activity, Sophomore Ryan Houser said, “The tea ceremony because it made me feel as though I was actu-ally feeling tranquility.” On the other hand, Senior Jason Okamoto preferred taking part in the traditional bon dance. “I enjoyed the bon dance one because I actually sort of knew what I was do-ing and I’m pretty sure ev-eryone had a smile on their face,” he said. At the end of the day, all of the students left with new knowledge about traditional Japanese events. “When you think about the actual trip of going to Japan as compared to just experiencing a Japan Day, there really is no com-
(Left to right) Juniors Brianne Tottori and Nicole Preston, Senior Sean Nakayama and Junior Joseph Butindaro imitate a sample of calligraphy to sharpen their writing skills.
Vampires, werewolves and students support Project Grad
Hey Trojans! The holiday season is here! Didn’t I tell you this year was going to go by super fast? I hope all of you had a great Thanks-giving and enjoyed eat-ing very good food and going shopping the next day. Well, I hope you’re ready for the New Year, because I know I am! So far we’ve had Kaiyo High School come and visit us and they had a very good time touring our school and meeting students. Something we learned was that even with a language barrier, we could still communicate through games and cul-tural art. Overall both schools had a great time and made memories that will be cherished for a lifetime. On Dec. 1, we had our World AIDS Aware-ness Day and every person should have re-ceived a small red ribbon to wear in recognition of this day. ASMHS, work-ing with the Office of Curriculum, Instruction and Student Services in hopes that this small gesture will remind ev-eryone to be safe. It’s that time of year again where we all get dressed up and are ready to have fun! It’s Winterball! I’m ready to have fun and hang out with my friends in a safe and healthy environ-ment. Winterball will be at the Pacific Beach Ho-tel on Thursday, Dec. 17 and this year the theme is “The Night Before Christmas.” See you there! Well it’s time for me to go. I hope you all have a great Winter Break with friends and family. Remember to cherish these times in your life because these are the best times! Be safe and have a fun Christmas and New Year. See you in 2010!
ASMHS President Matthew
Lai
parison. But for those who have never been (there), I feel that Japan Day gave a good dose of an insight to what awaits you in the coun-try,” said Maeda. Because the activities were taught by skillful Japa-
Tokai University hosts annual Japan Day
Leelynn Harris | Na Mana o Poina ole
Aloha Tower Marketplace
Spend your day off with us.And if you spend your money...
Whether it was attended to see Kristen Stewart fall off of a motorcycle or to support Project Grad, the Midnight Movie Madness fundraiser for Project Grad was attend-ed by more than seven hun-dred. “New Moon” had been highly anticipated for weeks and based on the large turn-out, connecting Project Grad with the movie proved to be a good idea.
To allow the large num-ber of students a place to sit, MHS rented screens from the Mililani Stadium 14 The-ater.
The $18 ticket not only gave students a pass into the movie theater, but also provided them with refresh-ments and opportunities to win prizes from costume and trivia contests.
Project Grad Coordina-tor Lori Wright said of the trivia contest, “Well, they all came from the book and they had to be technical; like people came up afterwards and said that they didn’t know this fact or that name, but we had to make them
technical or else everyone would get them.”
Luckily, the costume contest was a bit easier to get a prize for. “Basically every-one who showed up in cos-tume got a prize because no characters were repeated,” said Wright.
“New Moon” was met by excitement everywhere. Ju-nior Nicole Umphress said,
“‘New Moon’ was great! It was really smart to do fundraising for Project Grad through ‘New Moon,’ be-cause so many people were going to go to it anyway; so it was like killing two birds with one stone.”
Wright was pleased by the event’s turnout. “It was definitely a success. I know the kids had fun, and I had
fun. Actually, kids are al-ready coming up to me and asking when they can buy tickets for ‘Eclipse’ – serious-ly. It was just a good night all around,” said Wright.
It was evident by the end of the night, that connecting “New Moon” with Project Grad proved to be, as Wright said, a success.
nese mentors, Japan Day was more memorable for the stu-dents and teachers who par-ticipated and also sparked their interest in traveling to Japan.
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Freshman Kelly Kuroda wrote an iSearch paper on a career for English Teacher Steven Schick’s
English 9 GT class.
By Kelly Kuroda
Ever heard the saying “It’s all about the journey?” That saying fits my uncle, Mark Miyahira, to a T. He floated around all his life. While his sisters had a clear idea of what they wanted, he had none whatsoever. However, going into college, he began to think about the possibility of becoming a lawyer. Now he is current-ly handling a major case in which a man’s house was burglarized. When the man went downstairs to stop them, he was hit in the head with a wooden statue and nearly killed. From floater to federal prosecutor, Miya-hira has made great strides in his pursuit for his dream job and justice. Do you think that you have what it takes to be a lawyer? Miyahira says, “You have to be willing to learn. I’ve been a lawyer for
seventeen years and I’m still learning new things. The law is constantly changing because of how things are decided. You have to learn to adapt … If you are a per-son who figures that ‘I went to law school and I don’t have to learn anything new,’ then it’s going to be hard.” It is also essential for aspir-ing lawyers to be analytical, personable and ethical. One must be able to manage oth-ers in high-stress situations and debate persuasively in discussion. Still think that you have what it takes? Being accepted into a law school is considered the first of many challenges that aspiring lawyers face. Mi-yahira said, “When I went to law school, the people in my law class came from a lot of different areas. There was a wide variety of people – people coming from other fields and prior jobs.” Once you get accepted, it only gets harder. The minimum educa-tion required is four years of liberal arts, then three years of law school, followed by a bar examination. Luckily for
locals like us, the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Wil-liam S. Richardson School of Law is among the top ranked law schools in the country. It is the only law school in the Pacific-Asia region accredit-ed by the American Bar As-sociation Going from the college classroom to the office of an attorney is a huge leap. To make the jump not so intim-idating, legal internships are definitely an option. How-ever, if leaving the islands is too big a jump, try applying for internships here, such as a position at the U.S. Attor-ney’s Office. If being accepted into a law school is considered one of the most challenging parts of becoming a lawyer, then actually finding a job would be a close second. Seventy- five to eighty-five percent of attorney job openings aren’t advertised, but for Miyahira that wasn’t the case. “At the time, there was a good mar-ket, a lot of jobs for lawyers. There was a better market in 1992 of jobs than there prob-ably is now.” The employ-
ment opportunities in this career are growing about as fast as other careers. A day in the life of one of these devoted workers would give you a migraine if you were not a seasoned lawyer. Their day consists of gathering evidence in law li-braries, meeting with clients, witnesses and authorities and, of course, making their appearance in court as they try to coax the jury to agree with them. Miyahira says, “Most of my week is boring; it’s a lot of office work, a lot of writing.” However, the courtroom is a whole other story. He also comments, “One of the most interesting experiences of being a law-yer is probably the first time you ever do a trial in front of a jury. It’s a different experi-ence … It’s like a different world.” Lawyers play a ma-jor role in connecting society to the legal system. Most lawyers will tell you that money isn’t enough to keep you in this profes-sion, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 37% of
lawyers work fifty or more hours per week. Miyahira says, “For most lawyers in-cluding myself, when we are successful in our job and what we are doing leads to a good conclusion, a good re-sult, that is the best part of the job. It also is not bad that we get paid well.” In 2007 the mean annual earnings were $118,280. The life of a lawyer can be a draining one. Some lawyers can’t handle the immense stress that comes with the job. Miyahira says, “The hardest part of the job, the worst part is when I lose knowing that the person I am prosecuting is guilty, but I don’t succeed in convicting them. And when the crime I believe they committed is really bad, that’s the worst part. Sometimes I have to go to the victim or the vic-tim’s family and tell them that we’ve lost and the per-son that hurt their family is not going to jail and will be free.” Contrary to all the nega-tives of this, most lawyers will tell you that it’s a very satisfying career. The pluses include constantly helping others, being able to chal-lenge ourselves and making a good living. Miyahira says, “For me it’s knowing that in my job I do get a result that makes people feel bet-ter. When we are successful in our job, and what we are doing leads to a good con-clusion, that is the best part of the job.” Ask any lawyer and they will tell you that it was a good place to end up. No one ever said that life would be easy. But it seems that ending up as a lawyer makes a lot of sense. Miyahira says, “It depends on what you want in life. It can be a very satisfying job. There are times when I have almost quit my job because I have lost big cases that I felt very strongly about. Then you have to pick yourself up and remind yourself that to-morrow is another day. For the right people, any job is good. You don’t know until you get there. It’s good for the right people.” Of course, not everyone is meant for this career, but it surely is a door of opportunity. It is one that I might consider open-ing and experiencing.
The practice of Law: A full-time job in learningFeatures
Movies and TV shows portray a Winter Wonderland to be snowy and white, but an equally breathtaking sight – though without the snow – is found at Maiaohe Place, home of the Mililani version known as “Maiaohe Wonderland.” Twinkling from roof to ground, this cul-de-sac is decked with bright lights and lively adornments, a marvel for its many visitors during the Christmas season. Behind this awing spectacle are several families who dedicate weeks’ worth of time to prepare their decorations, and on the Sunday following Thanksgiving, make it a neighborhood tradition to host their annual Light-up party, a time to bond with other neighbors and a time to light the entire street at once. Terry Spencer, whose family is one of the originals on this street, explained the event, “What we do is we do a block party and we do potluck and at a certain time, we send everyone to their houses and say, ‘Turn on your lights!’ and that’s it!” Thus, igniting one of the brightest neighborhoods in the community for the holidays. For over twenty years, Maiaohe Place has undoubtedly attract-ed kids from one to ninety-two, bringing family, friends and even strangers together. “I say every year we get closer, we just create a better bond, because we just get to know each other and especially this time of the year, all of us just are bubbly and happy. If we could leave (the decorations) up all year, we probably would,” said Gerald Tomosawa, whose family is also a long-time participant. Throughout the past two decades, a few other streets surround-ing Maiaohe Wonderland have joined them in putting on a show, il-luminating the entire block. The displays that these families set up each year give way to a sentimental atmosphere, bringing a sense of childhood nostalgia for those who have “grown up,” and creating that magical impression for those who have not. “I think the biggest factor is when we decorate the garage and people come and they just stand there and they listen to the music and they do all that and to look in the eyes of the young kids and the excitement that they have, just that alone makes it worth it,” re-marked Dennis Kim. He and his family were the first homeowners on the street to start what would later become a huge attraction. And now, over twenty years later, for many families, visiting Ma-iaohe Street during the holidays has become a long-standing tradi-tion for them. “Christmas is all about family and love and sharing and giving gifts and things like that. So I look forward to this, where we can give (the children) a special time,” said Tomosawa. “And to me, I hope that it’ll stay with them because we hear teenagers that come by now that say they’ve been coming to this cul-de-sac since they were really little.” Whether you grew up visiting this street, or have yet to go, step-ping into this wonderland will certainly be enjoyable, and will make the holidays feel how they should: joyous.
Holiday spirit shines through Maiaohe Wonderland
Maiaohe Place devotes weeks of hardwork to create their annual hol-iday cul-de-sac display, giving this eye-pleasing gift to the public. “(The Spencers) got ‘Winter Wonderland,’ took the music and they had little words changed and all that so they call it ‘Maiaohe Won-derland,’” said Dennis Kim, a homeowner on this street.
