Imua Iolani

Raiders fall to Warriors, 1-0, girls state soccer championships

imuasport — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 06:24:41 +0000

Kawaiualani Makue of Kamehameha scored the winning goal in the 32nd minute and the Warriors would go on to beat the Raiders, 1-0, in the HHSAA Division I Girls Soccer State Championships.

Girls soccer advances to state championship with win over Moanalua, 1-0

imuasport — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:10:51 +0000

The Raiders girls soccer team took a 1-0 lead over the Moanalua Na Menehune in the HHSAA Division I State Championship Semifinals on Twyla Hamasaki’s goal in the 39th minute. The team’s stout defense would fend off the Na Menehune throughout the second half and a point-blank, diving save by ‘Iolani keeper Lexi Felix in stoppage time would preserve the Raiders’ win.

Twyla Hamasaki's goal (39') was the deciding score in the Raiders' 1-0 victory over the Moanalua Na Menehune. (Photo art is a stitched sequence of Hamasaki's goal)

Raiders boys soccer qualifies for states with victory over Punahou, 3-0

imuasport — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:03:26 +0000

The boys soccer team qualified for the HHSAA Division I Boys Soccer State Championship with their 3-0 win over the Punahou Buffanblu, Friday afternoon at Kapiolani Park. Jordan Lee (’12) scored in the 1st and 37th minutes to take a 2-0 halftime lead during the Raiders’ regular-season finale. Lee’s second goal came off Spencer Ho’s (’14) corner kick late in the half. Later, the Raiders would take a 3-0 lead over the Punahou Buffanblu on KJ Ahlo’s goal in the 70th minute from Andy McCoy. The boys soccer team, who were in a win-or-go-home situation, have now secured a berth in the state championship tournament at Waipio Soccer Complex in two weeks.

Featured Athlete

imuasport — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:43:26 +0000

No Internet? Big Problem!

imualite — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:51:51 +0000

What would the world be like without the internet? The idea isn’t that outrageous when you examine recent events. The Egyptian government shut down the internet in an attempt to stifle opposition protests. Most recently, several websites, including Wikipedia, went “dark” for 24 hours to protest two pieces of proposed U.S. legislation, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). The protestors claim the legislation, which would allow the U.S. government to shut down foreign companies that sell or distribute counterfeit or pirated digital goods, could also affect U.S.-based companies if their websites have links leading to the illegal websites and could result in censorship.
Ironically, I feel that these protests have highlighted not so much the legislation being proposed, but our dependence on the internet. When these websites shut down for 24 hours it garnered international attention, and for good reason. I personally went to Wikipedia four times that day looking for information, only to be met with a drab dark screen and then to remember that Wikipedia was down for the day. Then when I wanted to learn about the SOPA/PIPA Acts, I found myself turning to the internet to find the information. This sequence of events was undoubtedly repeated by millions of people across the world and is a perfect example of the far-reaching effects of the internet.
Our very own school library highlights this internet dependence. The computers in the library will fill up quickly each period with students hungrily searching, perusing those bright pixels for the information they need as thousands of untouched books look on from their shelves. It is a rare sight to see a student searching for a book in the library, but the sight of a student searching Google has become so commonplace it barely registers in our minds.
Is this internet dependence a bad thing though? It undoubtedly makes access to information much easier and centralizes huge amounts of information into one place. However, in some ways it makes it much harder for students to accomplish tasks. I often sit down to do work on the computer, but end up scrolling through Facebook or other non-work related sites. I’m not the only one though; just ask any of the other millions of students on Facebook on a school night.
While the internet offers many distractions, without it we would definitely not be able to learn nearly as much as we do with it. So, as these SOPA/PIPA protests highlight our internet dependence we should come to appreciate that dependence even more and realize a world without the internet would definitely be a dark one.

Keables Chair Performs for Public

imualite — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:50:56 +0000

Taylor Mali, ‘Iolani School’s 25th Keables Chair and world renown poet, held a public slam poetry performance on Wednesday January 31 in Seto Hall. Kealoha, a local poet who was ranked among the top ten poets in the nation in 2007, accompanied Mr. Mali.
The lists of accomplishments and achievements by these two poets are extensive. Mr. Mali has won the national poetry slam championship four times; he has published two books of poetry (and one more is being published), and was briefly the voice of Burger King. Kealoha is a four time National Slam poetry finalist, founder of HawaiiSlam, and has served as Hawii’s SlamMaster since 2003.
Kealoha opened the event with a poem entitled “Recess.” His insightful quips warmed the audience up and everyone quickly became infected with his warm smile. Kealoha then turned the microphone over to Mr. Mali.
From the outset of Mr. Mali’s performance, he captivated the crowd. His hands were a blur of motion as he energetically strode across the stage.
Interspersed throughout his poems Mr. Mali would take the time to talk about his life experiences, his career as a poet, and his true passion, teaching.
Mr. Mali stopped teaching in a traditional classroom in June of 2000. He says that although he loved teaching he felt he could do more good by using poetry to inspire others to become teachers as well; and thus began Mr. Mali’s quest to create 1,000 new teachers through his poetry and speeches. Those who were inspired to become teachers by Mr. Mali could contact him through his website (TaylorMali.com) and he would then add them to the list.
As of his performance, his list contained 925 names.
One of the most interesting aspects of Mr. Mali’s poetry is that it does not follow the traditional standards that are normally taught in school. He commented on this by saying that everyone’s definition of poetry is different, but by putting many restrictions on how students write poetry, the focus on the meaning of their own poetry becomes lost.
Mr. Mali’s poetry definitely did not reflect the standards that are normally taught in school. His poetry is a lyrical story that captivatesthe listener and keeps them off guard and enchanted with its sudden shifts in rhyme scheme and tempo.
One of the most poignant moments of the evening was Mr. Mali’s performance of his poem that originated from his experience while teaching seventh grade.
The poem, “Tony Steinberg: Brave Seventh Grade Viking Warrior,” is about one of his students who was diagnosed with cancer. The class was working on building a Viking ship and Tony stopped showing up for class during his cancer treatment. When the boys in the class learned that Tony had lost his hair due to his chemotherapy treatments and was coming for a visit the next day, the boys all showed up the next day with their heads shaved as well. Tony Steinberg died of cancer. After learning of this news the class burned their Viking ship as the Vikings had done with their ships to honor their deceased warriors.

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!

Poet Taylor Mali Melds Wisdom and Humor

ayumit — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 05:34:42 +0000

“Oooowaaaaa, ooooooowaaaaaa…..”

Taylor Mali’s guttural monk chants and wisdom echoed through St. Alban’s Chapel Thursday as he skated on the boundaries of ‘Iolani’s Episcopalian beliefs with his chapel speech.

He melded wisdom and an unapologetic sense of humor fresh to the campus, tying in his jokes to religious theme.

Alerted by a stream of camera clicks to the presence of yearbook staffer taking his picture, he struck a comic pose and implored the yearbook staffer, “Take it already!”, taking his audience in stride as only true masters of performance can.

Irreverent of routine but imparting the serious message that in faith, “It’s the intention that counts,” and “Miracles don’t always come in the form you expect,” he added a wild and freer spirit of hilarity to the usual routine of chapel.

Taylor Mali will be holding a free poetry reading, “Bringing Poetry to the Boxing Room,” from 7p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 31st in Seto Hall. More information can be found here.

Hollywood Holidays

kswanson — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 23:36:18 +0000

The most anticipated event of the season is drawing near! The winter version of prom, `Iolani’s WinterBall, will be held on Dec. 20.
Winterball is like a prom. The word “prom”is short for promenade, meaning a march of guests into a ballroom to announce the beginning of a formal event or ball.
Though promenades have been a part of society since at least the mid-1800s, the earliest recorded high school prom was in the 1930s and merely included Sunday’s Best Dress and dancing.
It wasn’t until the 1950s that they became more formal events and were moved from high school gyms and cafeterias to fancy country clubs and hotels.
How long has Winterball been a part of `Iolani tradition? Well, Mr. Kirk Uejio ‘98, director of student activities, says WinterBall was around even when he was in high school, although it wasn’t as elaborate.
In planning a WinterBall, there’s much to be considered. The preparation is so extensive that Siena Simmons ‘12, Stephanie Tanaka ‘12, Sophia Asing-Yuen ‘12, Alyssa Lam ‘14, and Jeremy Bautista ‘12 have been making arrangements for the DJ, decorations, food, photography, and location, amongst other things, since summer and are still not finished! Their hard work will soon be displayed at the Sheraton Waikiki.
And what is the price for all of these lavish details? Bids are $45 for `Iolani students and $55 for out-of-school students.
But, while it’s true that those are the prices paid, they do not reflect the actual value of each bid; ask a wedding planner or event coordinator and they’ll say that $45 is a steal. Why?
As realtors say, “Location, location, location!” And while some may argue that our WinterBall doesn’t have to be held at the Sheraton, the options are pretty scarce for a place that can accommodate 800-900 people.
Unlike shopping, where buying in bulk saves money, the more people that attend an event, the more money lost.
Yes, it’s big financial burden, but Mr. U says, “If you want to go, I want you to be able to go.” It is for this reason that the SAO strives to keep the ticket prices low, even though they’ll take a hit.
All in all, it’s a debatable statement to say that Winterball is all fun and games.
Simmons, one of the co-chairs, said “[It’s] fun, yet stressful. . .very fulfilling when I see, or will see, the end result. It’s going to be all worth it.” With a stern face, Mr. U added, “WinterBall is a big deal.”

Going it alone

kswanson — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 23:34:28 +0000

“Who are you going with to WinterBall?” This question, or variations of it, is popular around the Upper School campus as the event of the season approaches. A common response seems to be, “I’m only going if the right person asks me,” or, “I’m staying home because I don’t want to go stag.”
Romance, however, is not at all the purpose of WinterBall. Unfortunately, few students recognize this; most misread this all-high school bonding event as a night that simply determines whether or not you are cool enough to land a date.
“All my friends have dates, so it won’t be any fun if I go. I think I’ll just stay home and catch up on Glee,” one student said.
Even a few Facebook statuses revealed the pressures of finding dates, and the humiliation several students felt in having to buy a single $45 ticket. A recent status read, “45: the number of loneliness.”
Thankfully, a new ninth grader appears to grasp what Winter Ball is all about. “I was asked to WinterBall, but I’m going stag by choice, because I know it will be a great time with my friends and I really don’t need a date to make the night awesome.”
“It’s so much better to go stag to WinterBall, and be with your friends, than to end up going with someone you’re not super close to or don’t know that well,” one senior said.
Forty-five is not the number of loneliness. Rather, it is the number of independency. If someone is strong enough to attend WinterBall dateless it says so much about his or her character and self worth. WinterBall is not meant to humiliate students who are not asked by their crush, or to be a night focused around teenage romance.
From another senior, “It is just a night when it doesn’t matter if you’re a freshman or a senior, everyone just parties together and has a great time.”

APEC essay winner pretends to be Secret Service

kswanson — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 23:30:42 +0000

Ben Chao (’13) was one of five students who won the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit sustainability essay contest. His essay answered the question, “Why is sustainability important to you, Hawaii and APEC?” After he visited APEC I had the chance to ask him some questions about his experience. — Matthew Callahan

MC: What were some of your main points in your essay?

BC: First, the importance of balancing sustainable development with the growth of the world economy. As the global economy continues to grow, the world’s natural resources are slowly exhausted. Sustainable development is the concept of maintaining growth in order to meet the needs of the present “without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Second, the potential that Hawaii has in developing sustainable technologies. Looking at the statistics, Hawaii is the most oil-dependent state in the United States. However, our location over a hotspot allows us to also harness geothermal energy sources, which has massive potential. Wave power and biofuel growth are also potential energy sources. We just need to invest in these technologies to wean our islands off of the oil.

Third, the moral responsibility we have as people. Sustainability is not merely about preserving the environment. It is also about protecting the human legacy for future generations. We cannot sit around idle anymore, hoping that others will take the stand for us.

MC: What did you receive as being a winner of the contest?

BC: The main attraction was the chance to attend the CEO Summit at the Waikiki Sheraton. The other essay contest winners and I had the opportunity to hear from President Hu Jintao of China, President Barack Obama, and we were also invited to attend lectures by the President of Vietnam and the Prime Minister of Malaysia at the East-West Center. Of course, there was the 64 GB iPad2.

MC: Of all the world leaders at APEC which one do you want to meet the most? Why?

BC: This might be a surprise, but probably Hu Jintao. As President of China, he is the leader of all Chinese people, and it would be an honor to meet the leader of my people.

MC: If you had the opportunity, what would be some questions you would like to ask the world leaders?

BC: There is probably only one question I would have liked to ask – others exist, but they are often asked and no doubt often answered by world leaders.

I do not know if you know about this, but a couple weeks ago, a toddler, a little girl, was killed in two successive hit-and-run attacks in China. People passed by and did not help. It took ten minutes before one lady saw the injustice and moved to help the little toddler. This led to a massive public outcry about what people saw as a “loss of morality.”

To President Hu Jintao – “What will you do about the ‘loss of morality’ in the Chinese people? As China continues to grow economically, becoming one of the largest economies in the world, will we forget about what it means to live in a community, to be human?”

MC: What can Iolani students do to help support and promote sustainability?

BC: We have to start somewhere and all of us know the little things that we can do in the house to help out. Recycle. Change out incandescent for CFL’s. Encourage our family members to do so. Encourage our neighbors. Little things done by many people make a huge difference.

It’s important to remember that that the issues in our world, from global climate change to the world economy, from human trafficking to genocide, do not belong to any one person. Nor do they belong to any one nation. These are human issues and they belong to every person, every nation. These are the problems that our generation will be facing.

MC: What were some highlights at APEC?

BC: The main highlight would certainly be the opportunity to witness a supposedly historic event not only for the world, but for Hawaii.

It was also very cool to have my question on the South China Sea answered by the President of Vietnam.

At one point, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Sri Najib Razak, declared that China was a “threat,” and then moved on to compare China to a “six hundred pound gorilla.” To me, that was not only hilarious, but also very shocking. Of course, Prime Minister Razak continued, stating that if all the people of China bought one kilogram of palm oil, then Malaysia could sell over one billion kilograms of palm oil to China – making a reference to the need for economic cooperation between the two nations. He finished by saying that “if you pet the gorilla and you give it a banana, I’m sure it will turn out to be a very friendly gorilla.” By this time, I was ready to fall off of my chair from laughing.
MC: Were you able to participate in anything or only observe?

BC: I was allowed to observe parts of the CEO Summit. Though it would have been very awesome if the other winners and I were allowed to participate, that would have been expecting too much. Regardless, it was an honor to be seated in the White House section of the audience during President Obama’s speech (we were considered members of the White House and US delegation). According to a White House aide, seats at the CEO Summit were worth up to and even over $3,000. And we were in for free. Well, besides the essay….

It was a very good experience – I definitely learned a lot. The fun part was wearing a suit and walking around Waikiki during APEC week. People, particularly tourists, would turn to watch us as the other essay winners and I passed by in our fancy suits. We must have either looked like delegates or even better, Secret Service. It was very amusing to see the reactions of tourists when I placed my hand on my ear as if I was listening to a transmission.