The emotionally charged poem left a cancer survivor dabbing at her eyes and the audience in solemn awe which slowly turned into a thunderous applause.  After the poem Mr. Mali auctioned off an unreleased copy of his soon to be published book What Teachers Make, promising to donate the proceeds to the American Cancer Society in Tony’s memory.

A wild bidding war erupted, which eventually narrowed down to two determined bidders who kept outbidding one another.  When the bid amount exceeded $250, Mr. Mali decided to give each of the bidders a book for $250 dollars.

Mr. Mali is also growing out his own hair as another way to honor his former student.  Mr. Mali planned on cutting his hair when it
reached ten inches to donate it to Locks of Love, a non-profit organization that makes wigs from real hair for children who are suffering from hair loss due to a medical condition.

Before his final poem Mr. Mali held a question and answer session.  During the session he revealed that his favorite poet was Billy Collins, a former ‘Iolani Keables chair himself.  He also talked about how it was his dad’s love for poetry that gave him his first interest in poetry.

The audience leapt to their feet in wild applause as Mr. Mali’s final poem concluded.
Mr. Mali’s unique style has opened up the eyes of many ‘Iolani students to the true boundless nature of poetry.  Mr. Mali can be easily found during the school day by simply listening for the sounds of students and faculty alike laughing and clapping.  His humor and life have absolutely invigorated the school during his performances and Mr. Mali has definitely set the bar high for the next Keables Chair!

Among the masters of Biology is Mrs. Holly Church. As she previously taught at Kalaheo High School for five years, this is now her sixth year of teaching. She describes our campus at ‘Iolani as “nice, friendly, and helpful.” One of the first things that caught her attention at this school was that everyone was “grateful and appreciative.”

Here are some fun facts about Mrs. Church:

1) Her favorite scientific name is Panthera onca, which is a jaguar (Yes, I remembered to italicize the whole word and to capitalize the genus, not the species).

2) If she discovered a new organism, she would name it Annabellae after her daughter.

3) She views dissections as useful educational tools because of its effectiveness to see tissues in class.

4) Between the plant and animal kingdoms, she definitely loves the animal kingdom better.

5) One of her favorite labs was one that she did in a Virginia laboratory, in which she looked at Pfisteria piscicida dinoflagellate, which are known to be toxic and eat fish tissue.

6) Her inspiration for becoming a Biology teacher was Mr. Gauchi, her high school teacher, who would always collect fun samples for her class to dissect and draw. Who knows? Maybe one of her students today will follow in her footsteps and become a Biology teacher here at Iolani as well.

7) Transformed from a student into a teacher, her advice for her students is to “take it one day at a time and smile.”

BEST FACT: Actually, we do not only have one new soul on campus. We have two. Yup, Mrs. Church is pregnant! This is her second child, and he/she is only 6 1/2 months old. She comments that one of the most interesting things about being pregnant is that she is able to relate her pregnancy to the topic of reproduction. Have fun, Biology students!

1. Black Like Me (Nonfiction) by John Howard Griffin

Black Like Me is the incredible, almost unbelievable account of John Howard Griffin, a Caucasian journalist from Mansfield, Texas. As an experiment, in 1959 he dyed himself black and went into the deep South (Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi) to attempt to experience life as an African American. The book is easy reading and brings insight on racism that most Hawaii children have not and hopefully will not experience. Georgia alone was a big culture shock for me and this book made me more aware of how racial diversity can breed such strong hatred in the world.

2. Ender’s Shadow (Fiction) by Orson Scott Card

I admit that I was not a big fan of Ender’s Game in ninth grade—I was not mature enough to understand it yet. However, after reading Ender’s Shadow, going back and reading Ender’s Game was eye opening. I really enjoyed reading both books, as Ender’s Shadow is another perspective of Ender’s Game through the eyes of Bean. It provoked thoughts of perspective, political science, and world events, strangely (or not so strangely) enough. I definitely recommend this book to anyone, whether you liked Ender’s Game or not.

3.  Stay With Me (Fiction) by Garret Freymann-Weyr

Leila Abranel is a 16-year-old living in New York, and her half sister, Rebecca, has just committed suicide. Her devastated parents move to Poland, leaving her with her other half sister, Clare. She and Clare always kept a distance, but now, they try to break down their walls.  After Leila learns that Rebecca planned her death for months, she looks for signs of how Rebecca said goodbye. She yearns to find why Rebecca took her life, and is upset that Rebecca said goodbye to everyone but her. Leila’s key interest is a 31-year-old writer, Eamon, a man who works in the film industry. Despite the age difference, it is surprisingly not creepy, and Leila is aware of herself and reality. This book sounds like a horrible teeny-bopper book, but it is written extremely well. The complexity of the book is simple to understand through Leila’s voice. I hope you’ll read the book for yourself; it will definitely be worth it.

4.  The Small Rain (Fiction) by Madeline L’Engle

This novel follows young, dark and truthful Katherine Forrester from when she is ten to her young adult years. She wants to be a concert pianist like her mother, whose career was ended by a car accident. Katherine experiences love, hurt, and betrayal, but somehow stays pure. Not sickeningly innocent, but rather an indescribable pure. I call Katherine truthful because that is what she is—she is always truthful without being painfully blunt. Nothing I say will completely capture how wonderful the writing or the story is. The Los Angeles Times called it “an unusual and beautiful book.”  I haven’t figured out why or how this book will benefit anyone, (or some deep, significant meaning) but I enjoy the style of writing. The calm quality of the novel is a bit nostalgic, and the setting of America and Europe gives a slight air of sophistication. It is different from L’Engle’s later books, such as A Ring of Endless Light, but there is definitely something worth grasping.

5.  The Handmaid’s Tale (Fiction) by Margaret Atwood

Set in the future, the United States is now the Republic of Gilead, a Christian theocracy. The United States government has been overthrown by religious totalitarians. Women have no power: they cannot own property or read, and must hide their bodies. Some, called Handmaids, are used by high-ranking men (Commanders) to bear children when their wives cannot. The protagonist is called Offred, although that is not her real name; Handmaids’ names are “of” and the last name of the Commander to whom they belong. However, corruption exists; underground prostitutes and escape networks are exposed at the end. Reading this book after taking Women in Literature provokes thoughts of sexism, as the novel incorporates aspects of fundamentalist Christian beliefs to sexism now.

Band 4 and the ‘Iolani Dramatic Players will be traveling to New York City during the spring break of 2012.

The Band 4 Wind Ensemble will be participating in the New York International Music Festival.  The festival, held in Carnegie Hall, consists of afternoon clinics and evening performances.

Meanwhile, IDP will visit several Broadway shows and museums. They may also get the chance to tour NBC studios and attend workshops with Broadway actors.

Orchestra 5 will be competing in the Midwest Clinic held in Chicago. After sending in an audition tape, Orchestra 5 became the first orchestra from the state to earn a place in the acclaimed program. In Chicago, the orchestra will have the opportunity to attend clinics and concerts by other ensembles.

“The selections and designing was entirely student-driven,” said Mrs. Otsu. “Starting from the submissions to the selecting process then to the designing [...] there were some bumps in the road, but the editors were very flexible and hard-working.”

Scribes and Scribbles magazine is an annual middle school literary magazine that receives many submissions every year. It has been going on for quite a while, longer, according to Mrs. Otsu, than the time she has been an advisor which is five years.

The ensemble had an impressive repertoire, with solos featuring many talented students.  Their technical skill and musicality were evident in their performance – one musician started playing the saxophone when he was 13.  In addition, nearly all of the students in the band practice their respective instruments for at least three hours per weekday, and even more on weekends.  As well as dedication, many members have high aspirations. Another musician in the ensemble wishes to study jazz in New York City after high school and hopes to become a professional jazz musician.  In the end, students and faculty alike were wowed by these talented young musicians.