March 2006 - Punahou School

The Case Middle School
COURIER
Volume 2
Issue 4
March
2006
Produced by the Students of Punahou School, 1601 Punahou Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822
House Burning;
Punahou Ohana
to the Rescue!
Mrs. JoLinda Susilo.
Photo from files
Literacy Advisory
Challenge
By Sarah Ota & Jennifer Laws
T
he horror started on Feb.
10, 2006 when Mrs. Susilo’s
family decided to go to the
opera but she felt sick
so she stayed home to
rest.
The rest of the
family returned
from the opera at
11:00 p.m. Everyone went to sleep
except for their
daughter Chandra
who went out with
friends.
Then Mrs. Susilo had
a dream that she was in
Bali, surrounded by incense.
“Something in me, around me,
guided me with, WAKE UP! I woke
up and saw something burning
on the floor next to the closet. It
was just a tiny scrap of cloth. As
I called for Sus [her husband] I
wondered why there was a fire
on my floor? I screamed for my
husband and went running to his
office and yelled that there was
a fire in the closet,” wrote Mrs.
Susilo in an email that went out
last week to the faculty and staff.
Luckily, Mrs. Susilo’s elderly
parents and her husband escaped
By Ronnie Kuwahara
B
ooks, books, and even more
books! This year’s Literacy
Advisory Challenge is in full swing.
Mrs. Priore-Kim (Mrs. P-K), an
advisor of the Impact Club, stated
that this year the club had two
goals for the Literacy Challenge.
One, collect as many books as
possible. And two, collect the kinds
of books that were specifically
needed for children.
Books that were needed included early childhood learning, easy readers, young adult
chapter books, and other books
that would encourage reading,
such as Dr. Seuss and Disney.
Books will be donated to the
Kokua Kalihi Valley Health Center
and the Project C.A.R.E. (Child
At Risk Evaluation) at the Boys
and Girls Club.
This year was the first time
running the advisory challenge and targeting specific
books. However, Luke Center
has always held an annual book
drive.
As you may have noticed, on
the bottom of each literacy flyer
was a puzzle. Each advisory needed to solve the puzzle, which then
told them how many books needed
the fire in the house, even though
most belongings were not saved.
Mrs. Susilo herself ran out the door
clutching her purse and violin.
Mrs. Susilo called the fire
department and they
came and put out the
fire, although she
had trouble getting
through to them
right away.
After the fire was
out, Mrs. Susilo
was standing by the
garage and saw a
second flame, which
led to another fire.
Mrs. Susilo’s parents
are now home safe with
her sister in Illinois and Mrs.
Susilo and family have now renting a house near Punahou and are
hoping to rebuild their old house
while staying there.
Chaplain Lauren Medeiros said
that Punahou faculty and staff
“have been very generous and
have donated many things such as
money, gift certificates, household
items, and even rebuilding plans”
to the Susilo family.
You, too, can donate items to
the Chapel office where they are
still collecting items for Mrs. Susilo
and her family.
to be collected to win a delicious
prize.
Mrs. P-K said that the kids in
Impact Club designed the project. She just told them to “think
of ways that would engage each
advisory.”
The first problem involved math,
which was related to the books
collected that cycle, counting and
ABC’s.
The second puzzle was based
on fairy tales: picture books, fairy
tales, and princess stories were
needed that cycle.
The latest puzzle concerns trivia
from several books, including
Holes and The Hostile Hospital.
The first three advisories to
win the first challenge were Lau,
Young-Kingsbury, and McKibbin.
For the second challenge, Nishimoto, Earle, and McDermott were the
first advisories to collect the total
number of books.
Many advisories brought in a
generous number of books, but did
not qualify for the prize. For their
efforts, the Impact Club decided to
award them consolation prizes.
At press time, at least 15 advisories had participated and close
to 1,500 books had been collected,
according to Mrs. P-K. The challenge continues until Mar. 8.
March 2006
The CMS Courier
Myspace, a Place
for Friends or
Predators?
By Avree Ito-Fujita, Jamie Yamashita
& Bria Lisehora
Study Halls and
Busy Schedules
By Rashelle Nagata & Megan Dung
Students in the 7X team study hall.
Photo by Rashelle Nagata & Megan Dung
M
yspace is a fast-growing cyber community with over 50
million members. With Myspace,
you can create your own Internet
site, chat with your friends and
make new ones, listen to music
and check out other people’s sites.
Myspace is supposed to bring
people from all around the world
together. After all, its motto is,
“Myspace, a place for friends.”
Myspace seems like one of those
other kid-friendly sites like Xanga,
but could there be more to this
“place for friends” as a recent assembly pointed out?
In 2000, a 16-year-old girl
was kidnapped and raped by a
26-year-old man. They had met
through Myspace, and started
communicating.
The man said that he had
wanted to meet the teen, so they
set up a meeting place. When they
met, he immediately grabbed the
teen and forced her into a car.
Myspace has become a haven for Internet predators. With
Myspace, they can access a
person’s profile without authorization. This is dangerous because a
stranger can find out everything
about you, where you live and
what you do.
In 2005, a local woman had
her identity stolen on Myspace.
She only found out when a family
member accessed the predator’s
web page.
We sent out a survey to the
members of 7th grade teams X
and W, asking them the following
“I
think there’s too much
homework at Punahou.”
Guess who we got this quote
from?
No, not one of your surrounding
students...but a teacher! We interviewed Mr. Dan Gaudiano (Team
7X) and asked him, “Do you think
some teams have more or less
projects and/or homework?”
He responded by saying, “I
think there’s a wide range of
homework from team to team. I
personally try to limit the amount
of homework in my classes to
a reasonable amount for all my
students.”
We talked to some students
about their opinions on the amount
of homework that they receive.
Jasmine Lai and Brian Lee, 7th
graders, both had the same opinion when it came to the quantity of
homework they receive. They both
said that there’s too much homework when the due dates for big
projects or assignments are close
together. “When this happens,
there’s too much pressure,“ said
Jasmine.
We also got some responses
from 8th graders. Ryne Sitar said
that he thinks the overall level of
Page 2
questions:
• Do your parents know you
have a Myspace?
• Have you added anyone that
you don’t know personally?
• Do you “talk” to them often?
• How much time do you spend
on Myspace?
• Does it interfere with schoolwork or homework?
• What is your opinion of what
has happened with the online
predators on Myspace?
• Looking at what has happened
recently, would you still want to
use Myspace?
Most of those who replied said
their parents don’t know that they
have Myspace.
Only two out of the 50 who
replied said they have added a
person they don’t know, but they
do not communicate with them.
The usual time that they spent
on Myspace was only 15 minutes
a day. According to the responses,
Myspace does not usually get
in the way with schoolwork or
homework. Also, even though our
respondents have heard about
the recent kidnaps that involve
Myspace, they still want to continue with the program.
How can students avoid being victims of Internet predators?
Many people who took the survey
suggested that users should turn
their settings to “private.” That
way, no one who isn’t added as
your friend can look at your profile.
Also, don’t add anyone you
don’t know to your “buddy list”
and absolutely do not communicate with anyone you don’t know.
homework that he receives is fine.
Michael Lim also thought that the
amount of homework that he got
was reasonable.
Next, we spoke to Mr. Lucas,
Grade 7 Supervisor, about his
thoughts on students’ schedules,
and their homework quantities. He
stated, “I think that busy schedules
are the product of the decisions
students make.”
We also asked what he thought
about the number of study halls
that students received, because of
the music class that they’re taking.
He answered, “We offer many
different choices to our middle
school students. It’s not a matter
of equality or fairness, it’s a matter
of choice.”
After we finished talking to Mr.
Lucas, he suggested that we talk
to Mrs. Tyau, because she was
the person in charge of arranging
students’ schedules.
Mrs. Tyau explained to us how
she designed the schedules. “I try
to balance it, so everyone gets at
least one BLC, and one team study
hall.”
A team study hall is a study hall
with almost everyone in the team,
split into the team core classes.
“It’s a question of choice and time
management,” said Mrs. Tyau.
The CMS Courier
March 2006
Behind the Books
in Bishop Library
A lot goes unseen behind the
scenes at the Bishop Library before
you pick up that book.
Photo by OJ Haugen
Employment:
It’s Closer than
You Think!
“A side from the
benefit of a little
bit of additional
income, we find
that many students
apply for student
work positions to
get the experience.”
—Mrs. Pauline Bailey
By Zach Fontanilla & OJ Haugen
E
ven though you may not see
it, the library is a very alive
and industrious place. Behind the
scenes, there are many people
that put together what you do see
in Bishop Library; the displays,
books, and all the plentiful and
never-ending new books.
These people are the librarians.
They are the ones that maintain
the books that come in and leave.
One of the librarians is Ms. Dita
Ramler. Her job is to choose the
right book for the Punahou students. Ms. Ramler has a annual
budget of $30,000 to use on the
books she buys.
She buys a whopping average of
30 books a week, and don’t forget
that books are expensive nowadays. A regular reading book costs
about $25, while a reference book
costs about $125.
For two to three hours every
week Ms. Ramler goes through
many book review magazines
like “School Library Journal” and
“Booklist.”
She goes through these magazines to find highly recommended
books, taking into account if they
are books interesting and helpful
to the students.
Then she looks for a second review of the chosen books again at
the “Title Source” web site. If she
likes thinks a book will be popular,
she buys two copies. Each book
By Alex Kam & Ali Martin
E
ducation can be work, but you
can also have work in education. Did you know…
• That many colleges in America
host student job opportunities?
• That having job experience is
added to your college application?
• And that right here, in
Punahou School, you may
qualify to apply for a cool
student job?
That’s right.
Punahou School offers job a variety of
student job opportunities. Anywhere
from 200 to 370
students apply
annually, seeking work in the
Junior School,
Tennis Department, Cafeteria, Visual Production Center
and the After School Elements of
Movement Program. These jobs
start during late summer or during
book days.
To be eligible for employment,
you must be at least 14 years
of age, be licensed to work as a
minor, have parental consent, and
have a motivated and enthusiastic
behavior.
So a handful of 7th graders,
and a majority of 8th graders are
already able to apply.
One of the many advantages
Page 3
takes around fifteen minutes to
half an hour to choose and verify.
Mrs. Wendy Brizdle, Mrs.
Hayashi, and Mrs. Kitamura,
Library Technicians, are key elements of the system. Mrs. Brizdle
processes the books for circulation, Mrs. Hayashi makes sure the
library is running smoothly and
that the books get returned, and
Mrs. Kitamura watches over the
computer/language labs.
How do they manage the space
with $30,000 worth of books being
added to the library every year?
The older books are usually
donated to fellow schools or to
causes that give books to the
book-less. That system is what the
librarians call “weeding.” The damaged or now inaccurate books are
just thrown away.
Librarians also help you when
you just can’t think of what you
want.
Or, they can help you find books
that you already know you want.
Librarians also do book talks to
classes, informing about the new
books.
The main librarian in this area is
Mrs. Carol Ohta, although she also
orders books and Ms. Ramler holds
classes.
If you want some help with
finding books or getting ideas for
projects, you can talk to either of
them. For more information, visit
their web site, www.punahou.edu/
libraries/bishop/.
of student jobs is, of course, the
additional income. Punahou School
pays $6.75 per hour for a student’s first year of employment.
The wages are raised to $7.25
per hour, if the student chooses to
work again the following year.
If the student continues to work
for any additional years, the pay is
raised to a max of $8.25 per
hour.
However, the financial benefits are
not the only reasons most youths
seek employment.
Four out of
five kids wish
to have a
student job just
because they
want to have
some authority, and show
that they can handle some
responsibility.
According to Mrs. Pauline Bailey,
Director of Human Resources,
“Aside from the benefit of a little
bit of additional income, we find
that many students apply for
student work positions to get the
experience.”
The experience they gain from
their student jobs can help them
make more marketable decisions
when they apply for positions elsewhere and also may assist them in
their college application process.
The CMS Courier
March 2006
You Can Get Your
Goodies Here
One of the new vending machines.
Photo art by Alex Kam & Photoshop
Kirsch Gallery
Is the Heart of
Art on Campus
Artwork by Jonathan Kim, Grade 2.
Photo by Jojo Schmidt
By Natasha Oxe, Kelsey Lee
& Rachel Inouye
A
t exactly 4:18 pm on a cloudy
Thursday afternoon, it’s pouring rain. You’re waiting for your
aunty to pick you up, but more
importantly, you’re hungry.
You would walk across Middle
Field (covered in mud) and head to
the snackbar, but there’s homework to do.
So you decide to wait for one
hour to pass when your aunty
picks you up, as you think, “If
there were some vending machines nearby, I wouldn’t have to
worry about being hungry after
school.” You wish that you could
find something to eat, something
small so it can hold you over until
pick-up time.
For many Junior School students
at Punahou, this is the case. Even
if they are hungry while waiting to
be picked up, they aren’t allowed
to go to the snackbar because it’s
closed. And the 7-11 is too far
away and not permitted during the
school day.
These are some of the reasons
vending machines have arrived in
the 7th and 8th grade Case Middle
School CLCs. As of Tues., Feb. 21,
drink and snack machines have
By Jojo Schmidt
W
hen you hear the word “art,”
what do you think of? The Mona
Lisa and the Louvre? Macaroni
sculptures that your little brother
recently made (making a huge
mess in the kitchen in the process)? Or your great uncle Art who
always brings
you presents
when he visits?
Well, for me,
after I visited
the Kirsch Gallery, the display
room which
recently housed
the Grades K-5
art projects, I
now think of art
as perhaps a
clay sculpture
of a crouching
dog painted
with bright colors, or maybe
an abstract art
painting done
with watercolors.
Kirsch Gallery not only offers
shows of elementary school art,
but is also a way to show off work
from other grades, as well as
those of selected artists.
It is also a good place for a
visitor to Punahou, or even someone who is new to the campus to
stop and admire the most current
works of student art. It is found
next to the entrance of Cooke
Library, in the Academy.
“Kirsch Gallery” was created in
memory of Elizabeth Kirsch Bell,
Page 4
been placed inside the two CLCs.
Although this week has been
the “experimental week” for the
machines, it has shown great
convenience towards all 7th and
8th graders, due to not having to
walk to either the snackbar (if it is
open), or to 7-11.
According to 7th Grade Supervisor, Mr. Lucas, along with the
privilege of having indoor-snack
machines, there are rules. For
example, before, during, and after
school you have to keep your noise
to a minimum, and you must also
consume what you’ve purchased
outside the CLC, as well as throw
all trash away properly, and be
sure to be on time to class.
Said Mr. Lucas, “This is a neat
thing and I want to make it work.”
Ms. Leekley from Team 7W said,
“I hope that students take care of
it (the vending machine)and throw
away their trash.”
The machines are placed so
that supervisors and teachers can
keep an eye on the kids who are
buying the snacks and to make
sure they aren’t disturbing anyone.
During the first week of use,
however, one machine was out of
order and another was serving up
warm or even hot beverages.
a 1953 alumna, by her parents. It
is also an extension of the Art Department curriculum, so of course
the works come from there. The
teachers whose students worked
on this latest project were Mrs.
Finley, Mrs. Lau, and Mrs. Merritt.
From K to 5th grade, there were
many works of art. There were
clay-sculpted camels, decorated
masks, and paper plates with cool
designs.
There were several sculptures
of dogs, made just in time to
welcome the Chinese Year of the
Dog. There were abstract paintings
(surrealistic) that could leave you
wondering, as well as computermade collages, generated out of
the designer’s first initial.
Also, there were drawn pictures
of the Hawaiian Garden.
When I asked Mrs. Finley about
how she chooses the art to be displayed in the gallery, she replied,
“The art is not chosen by who’s the
best artist, but who was the most
successful in creating a good idea,
then being successful in showing
the idea. Art is a work of process,
not product. You could be the best
artist in your class, but your idea
might not be workable.”
So, whether you’re young or
old, art appreciator, creator, or
even perhaps critic, I believe the
Kirsch Gallery is a great place to
go and marvel at the pieces of
work created by students you may
know, or get to know.
Even if it may not exactly be a
gift from great uncle Art.
Who knows, even if you may
not appreciate art, you may even
leave liking it after all!
March 2006
The CMS Courier
Life after
Tragedy
Picture of personally made memorials in Central Park.
Photo from www.jasonbaker.net
New Canteen
Music Idea… Is It
Gonna Happen?
Viewpoint by Emily Hawkins
O
n September 11th, 2001, New
Yorkers faced the greatest
tragedy many of them have ever
encountered. Two thousand, seven
hundred, forty-nine people died,
and for every person dead, a family
left behind in grief.
The World Trade
Center attacks, now
known simply as “9/11,”
were the cause of this
tremendous suffering.
Families were broken,
friends were lost, and
the dignity of the city of
Manhattan was slowly
but surely dwindling.
The day started
out as any day in New
York City. The regular
hustle and bustle of city
streets, people pushing
their way through the
crowds on their way to work.
At 8:46 a.m., by the time most
adults are dutifully working, and
most children are attentively learning, they were attacked. The first of
the towers was hit, and in the blink
of an eye, life changed forever.
Hordes of people could be seen
running frantically through the
streets, trying to escape the smoke
and the debris waiting to suffocate
them. Those who were not hurt
physically, were scarred mentally
by the pain and death of loved
ones.
Though people’s hearts were
broken, and others were in deep
despair, the city held together, as
a community of equals. Families
mourned together at the loss of
their husbands, wives, brothers,
sisters, parents and even children.
Love and sympathy were evident
and surrounded the city.
Now, four and a half years later,
By Alexis Szigeti
T
he 7th Grade Student Council proposed a novel idea to
improve the 7th grade canteen
music. The plan, however, has
been tabled for now.
Most of the seventh graders
that go to the canteen request
music.
Unfortunately, there is not
enough time to play all the requests. The DJ can’t play all of
the student requests in only two
hours.
The idea was to have a member
of the Student Council email all
of the seventh graders before the
canteen, requesting that if they
wanted to, they could email back
with a list of songs they wanted
to hear.
The requirements were that the
songs would have to be appropriate and there should be no offensive material in the songs.
Also, if there were a clean
version, then the student would
have to specify that. If someone
emailed a list of songs and any
Page 5
no one can be completely cured
of the sadness they encountered.
And now, the question that needs
answering is what to do with the
space we call “Ground Zero”?
The ongoing debate between
the government and the victims of
9/11’s relatives and friends is getting a little out of hand.
The victim’s families want the
space to be used as a memorial, a
graveyard to honor the deaths of
September 11th. The government
is responding with the idea that
this memorial should be dedicated
to peace on a whole. They say
it should honor the deaths of all
terrorist attacks, past present and
future.
Everyone has an opinion on
this topic, especially New Yorkers,
and would like to put in their two
cents, but few really can. People
who lost someone have the right
to do whatever possible to make
their pain go away and to honor
the tragedy they’ve been through.
Those who did not lose a loved one
cannot, without sounding insensitive, tell those who did that their
pain is not credible.
I agree with the government
when they say that there will never
be an end to terrorism. Making
Ground Zero into a specific memorial of those 2,749 deaths would
satisfy some, but leave others to
mourn over their own loss. Making the memorial commemorate all
who died in such deaths would be
sufficient and meaningful.
As we live in a world of uncertainty, this debate is useless in
every use of the word. It seems the
only thing everyone agrees upon is
that there needs to be a memorial,
whatever form it may take. But this
has only become yet another thing
for our nation to fight over and another uncertainty in our lives.
were inappropriate, the Student
Council would not be allowed to
use them.
With these songs, the Council
would then make a CD with those
songs on it. Then, when it came
time for the canteen, the DJ would
already have a CD ready to play.
There was a problem, though,
with the idea of making a CD with
the requested songs. As, the 7th
grade school year has only one
canteen left, coming up on April
22, an idea like this would take a
lot of effort and time.
It would be hard to make the
CD when the Student Council only
meets once or twice a month,
making it hard to follow through
with this idea.
Also, canteen music isn’t one
of the biggest concerns of the
Council, although there have been
some complaints.
At the meetings, student representatives propose ideas to put
into effect. Current concerns include dress code, students receiving more time to get to classes
like band, and the snack bars.
March 2006
The CMS Courier
Are Your Backpacks
Weighing You
Down?
Above, one “ginormous” backpack
can leave a geek impression. Too
big a bag, and even a kitty gets
squashed.
Photo by Iris Pak, graphic by Jojo Schmidt
How Was Carnival
for You this Year?
By Iris Pak
H
ave you ever noticed the
new 5th graders look slightly
shorter than you were
in 5th grade? Or
that each new
generation
is getting
smaller?
This may
be the effect of heavy
backpacks.
In Case
Middle
School, the
average
backpack carries
multiple binders, a planner, a few
books to read, a wallet, cell phone,
pencil case, and maybe your language text book. That’s already
about 17 pounds.
Then there’s those extra things
to carry: your laptop, PE stuff,
lunch box, maybe your soccer bag,
and your trumpet. Altogether, that
can equal up to 21 pounds.
A load of over 10% of your
weight is considered “heavy” by
medical research. Heavy loads
have numerous effects on your
growing body.
Considering the vast campus
of Punahou, fatigue will easily
overcome you, having to carry
your backpack amongst a 76-acre
school. Sometimes your shoulders
are weak with the weight, and
By Alexis Szigeti & Erika Kahle
T
he 2006 Carnival had the
theme, Carnivalot this year.
For a dollar, you got just four
scrip but ride coupons cost five
scrip, including rides like the Zipper and the Music Express.
To get an idea about how students spent their scrip, we asked
some 7th graders.
CMS: “What was your favorite ride at Carnival?” or “What
food did you like the most?”
Sarah Ota, 13: “My favorite
ride was the Pharaoh’s Fury.
The music was too soft on
the Music Express, that’s
why it wasn’t that fun.”
Jennifer Laws, 13: “I
loved the cheeseburgers.”
Shirley Siu, 12: “My favorite
thing at the Carnival was the
rides. They were so much fun!!
I think the Carnival prices were
a little high but I don’t think
Punahou School would be able to
make a lot of profit if they charged
less. I don’t know if this year’s
Carnival is better than the other
ones because I’m new, but I think
I had a better time at this one.”
Asia Novak, 13: “I didn’t think
the carnival was as fun as everyone says. The prices were too high
for the amount of time you actually ride them.”
Colin Johnson, 13: “Well my favorite thing at carnival would have
Page 6
your posture becomes more and
more distorted.
The weight of your heavy backpacks can cause your growth to
be stunted, which leads
to middle school shortness.
All sorts of backpacks can carry a load
with convenient versatility, but others
can result in a
worse situation.
Side
backpacks
exert an
uneven
weight on one shoulder. In
this case, you tend to lean one
way causing your spine to become
crooked. Regular backpacks should
impose a even weight, but might
cause your back to slump.
Then there is the rolling backpack that converts from suitcase
to backpack. It can be efficient yet
heavier to carry up stairs.
These backpacks are also difficult to roll across Middle Field
grass and other bumpy surfaces.
It also makes you do more work to
avoid obstacles such as people and
poles.
Having laptops also can have
cons such as its heavy weight.
The load on your back may possibly be much lighter if the laptops
replaced some of our heavy school
supplies.
to be the food. The prices were not
high at all, until like after five and
the rides went up. It was not better because they did not use the
theme enough. It didn’t feel too
Middle Ages.”
Adelina Manaut, 13: “My favorite thing was the Zipper! No,
I don’t think the prices were too
high. This Carnival was better because I was with more friends!”
Iris Pak, 13: “My favorite thing
at Carnival was the Zipper. Well, it
was fun just being there with my
friends.”
Brittni Kam, 13: “My favorite
food was Portuguese bean soup. I
thought the prices at Carnival were
okay.”
Kylie Bungcayou, 12: “I enjoyed
riding the Zipper most. I didn’t really care about the prices.”
Chrissy Chow, 13: “My favorite
ride at Carnival was bumper cars.
My favorite food was teri burger.”
Nick Suzuki, 12: “My favorite
ride was the Zipper. The prices ...
were too expensive.”
Ryan Kam, 13: “My favorite ride
was the Pharaoh’s fury. I thought
the prices were too high.”
Natasha Oxe, 12: “My favorite
food at Carnival was popcorn and
my favorite ride was the Zipper.”
Most people said Carnival was
fun this year. Although the prices
were high, in the end people said
that they enjoyed it and it was
worth it.
March 2006
The CMS Courier
The VPC and
What It Does
Mrs. Michele Morikami, VPC
Coordinator, and the new Xerox
Nuvera.
Photo by Kamden Segawa
To Ask or
Not to Ask?
Charged
Carts
By Kamden Segawa
M
any people do a lot for this
school, but somehow never
get noticed.
One group that deserves recognition is the Visual Production
Center (VPC) staff of about 49
people, led by Mrs. Michele Morikami. The VPC comprises five full
time workers, nine adult volunteers, and 35 student workers.
According to Mrs. Morikami,
every one of these people contributes to the success of the VPC.
The VPC provides support to the
entire school in duplication and
media design services. Although
there are many things they will do,
the VPC will not handle personal
items that are commercial or political in any way.
Mrs. Morikami herself handles
everything from managing her
work staff to ordering in supplies
and materials so that the VPC can
run smoothly.
The staff and students on the
other hand operate the machines
and handle deliveries to various
locations. And some of the lucky
ones are even able to drive the
cart around.
Currently the VPC is working
with the IT dept. to develop a VPC
By Ashley Nabeshima
S
adie Hawkins Day is not well
known in the islands. Sadie
Hawkins Day started out as an
episode in the “Li’l Abner” cartoon strip.
In the cartoon, Sadie
Hawkins Day was a special day
where unmarried girls would
chase the unmarried men. If
they were caught, the men
would have to marry the girl
who caught him.
Now, Sadie Hawkins
Day is usually celebrated as a dance
where girls ask the
guys out.
This last canteen, on February
By Phillip Wong & Dylan Hudson
T
he vehicle that the workers
here at Punahou School use is
the “club cart” which look like, and
is often used elsewhere as, a golf
cart. This handy car is how many
of our workers get around school.
But we wondered, what makes
it fast? Is it nature friendly? How
much do they cost? We interviewed Rita Ruiz, Transportation
Coordinator for the Physical Plant,
to get the answers.
What do the club carts usually run on? Most of the club
carts we have on campus are run
on 12-volt batteries. There are six
batteries per car. There are also
some gas carts on campus also.
Page 7
informational site, so people will
know what they offer in services
and equipment.
The VPC has various types of
equipment such as paper cutters,
hole-drilling equipment, laminators, and of course copy machines.
That includes the newest member
of the copy machine family, the
Xerox Nuvera. As a top-of-the-line
multi-functional printer that can
produce 120 prints per minute,
it can also fold, staple and much
more....
The VPC is also interested in
sustainibility. They do this by...
• Encouraging two-sided copying;
• Printing multiple pages on one
side of the paper;
• Electronic printing;
• Recycling plastic bags used for
delivery;
• Regularly saving paper, cardboard boxes, and paper wraps.
The VPC facilities are also open
to anyone who needs a place to
work on projects. They have many
supplies available for purchase.
If you are ever in the VPC picking up a package for a teacher,
stop by and just say thanks to the
people working there, because
for people who do so much, they
deserve a lot of thanks.
18, 2006 was on the weekend after Valentine’s Day. I was wondering if Punahou should have a Sadie
Hawkins Day Dance and if they
would ask someone to it.
Leilani Facun said, “Yes
they should have a Sadie
Hawkins Day. Yeah, I
would ask someone out
to it.”
“Yes, they should.
I would not mind if a girl
asked me out,” said Evan
Sakai.
In conclusion, Punahou
should have a Sadie
Hawkins Day Dance. Girls
and guys would not mind
asking someone out or
being asked out.
Using these electrical batteries is
environmentally friendly.
Who usually uses these club
carts? People who use the carts
include security, plumbers, electricians and other maintenance staff.
How much do the carts usually cost? All the golf carts we get
are second-hand, some are donations, or we buy a whole bunch
and get a discount. That’s why we
can get them for $600. They can
go all the way up to $1,000.
What are they used for?
The carts are used for transport
of staff, transport of handicapped
people and students.
How long does the battery
usually last? A fully charged battery lasts about 10 hours.
March 2006
The CMS Courier
Keep It Paradise
Recycle bins have appeared in
rooms around CMS (above) and
there are signs of environmental
awareness everywhere (at right).
Photos by Arlynne Criste & Leah Kim
Beef Is from Cows,
Pork from Pigs and
SPAM Is from...?
By Arlynne Criste & Leah Kim
H
ave you seen those new recycling bins recently? Have you
ever wondered
where they
came from?
Unbeknownst
to you, a special
group of concerned people
have banded
together to address the problems concerning
our school’s
sustainability
issues.
Ever since October 2005, a
group called the Sustainability
Summit have met together and
brought forward new ideas as how
to deal with sustainability.
This group is made up of about
30 or so people including teachers,
administrators, parents, and even
some students.
Some of these people are Mr.
Koshiba, Mr. Lucas, Mr. White, Dr.
Scott, Mr. Walker, CMS student
Daniel Dangaran, and our very
own Vice President Colby Sato.
Each individual is on equal footing, even Dr. Scott. They are all
able to bring ideas to the table.
By Leilani Facun
S
PAM, SPAM, and more SPAM!
I’m not talking about the
annoying mail we get everyday but
the food!
We eat it almost everyday as
SPAM musubis,
sandwiches, and even
soups and pies.
Hormel’s SPAM
has become so
famously eaten
that “SPAM fans”
like Shawn Radford have created a SPAM
Museum.
Radford is
the director
of the SPAM
Museum
located
in Austin,
Minnesota.
This summer, she is
planning to have a
circusthemed family event
called SPAM JAM to celebrate the
sesquicentennial (150 years) of
the founding of Austin.
According to Radford, “it is a
celebration for SPAM fans.”
There will be entertainment
from the Smothers Brothers (a
comedy duo from back in the
60s), and lots of food (SPAM, of
course!).
Here in Hawaii we are known to
be the #1 consumers per person
of SPAM (about 5.5 cans per second!), although Ms. Radford states
that Guam is the #1 country in
SPAM consumption.
Page 8
In regular meetings, they collaborate on ideas and see which
ones come up the most often.
Once they find out what comes
up the most, they
form committees
on it.
Mostly, they are
focusing on recycling, water use,
traffic, food service, and energy.
Although they
haven’t done much
yet, one product
of their efforts has
already appeared.
Mrs. Peiterson,
teacher and one of the caretakers
of Rocky Hill, got together with
some of the Summit and brought
out the new recycling bins.
Every once in a while, her students in the Academy come over
to empty them out.
But why are they doing this?
According to Mr. Tam, 6th grade
teacher and member of the Summit, their goal is develop models
of sustainabiliy at Punahou School
that could be copied by other
members of the larger community.
Currently, their main concern
is to inform the students of what
they are doing.
The SPAM museum has guides
known as “SPAMbassadors”. Others SPAMbassadors drive the three
SPAM mobiles around the United
States (one even came here).
With all these fans, do they ever
wonder what is in SPAM? From
much research I have found that
there are many meanings for the
word “SPAM.” Some believe that it means
Specially Processed Artificial Meat,
others
say Super
Pink Artficial
Meat, even
Some Parts
Are Meat.
SPAM is actually ground
pork shoulder
and ground ham
mixed with salt,
water, sugar, and
sodium nitrite
(used for preservation).
Here in Hawaii we
also have “SPAM fans” like famous
musician Keola Beamer. He collects SPAM Haiku poetry. Here are
some:
Little slab of meat
In a wash of clear jelly
Now I heat the pan
I put my shoes on
But remembered far too late
My secret SPAM stash
You can find more haiku poetry
on SPAM at kbeamer.com
March 2006
The CMS Courier
I Scream,
You Scream
We All Scream for…
Boo! Spirits
Haunting
Punahou?
“I didn’t feel any
fear or panic as we
passed. She seemed,
to me, to be an older
woman, dressed in a
white robe, walking
across campus with
a definite purpose.”
By Erika Kahle
O
n a hot day what do you like
to eat? Maybe a smoothie,
shaved ice or even ice cream!
In my opinion, the best place
for ice cream is Cold Stone Creamery because the workers there are
very friendly and their ice cream
is freshly made everyday.
There is even a new flavor
created monthly.
When you walk into
Cold Stone the first thing
they ask you is “Have
you been to Cold Stone
before?”
Then they ask you what
flavored ice cream you
would like. Then you can
choose what you want to
mix into it, like hot fudge,
brownies, Oreos, etc.
After that they mix it on a
frozen granite stone.
I interviewed two of the workers
at Cold Stone, Marissa Tybor and
Tasha Castro.
CMS: Do you enjoy working at
Cold Stone?
By Kelli-Ann Oku & Kalia Schuster
P
unahou School, like many
other places in Hawaii, has
its own set of ghosts, spirits and
haunted areas. Most of these
places and ghosts are widely
known throughout the school and
its students and staff.
One of the more famous and
frequently spotted spirits on
Punahou is The Lady Dressed in
White. This spirit has been
spotted by maintenance and
security members along
with former Academy choir
director, Dee Romines.
A letter from Mr. Romines now in the Punahou
School archives states that
he first noticed the spirit as
he passed between Castle
and Winne on the way to his
campus apartment on a fall night
in 1989.
“We passed each other just
above the basketball courts in
between the Lily Pond and Bishop
Hall, the distance between us
couldn’t have been more than 10
or 15 feet. As we passed I remember looking at her and thinking,
‘Why is a lady out walking around
after midnight?’ She never turned
or acknowledged me in any way,”
wrote Mr. Romines. The woman
then vanished in a shadow at the
end of Middle Field.
News of this sighting quickly
spread throughout the school. That
was when Mr. Romines found out
about the multiple sightings of The
Lady in White. The woman was
said to have no feet nor eyes. Her
face is covered by the hood of her
white robe which drifts down past
her feet.
Although her identity is not
known, it is rumored that she is
the spirit of Mrs. Hiram Bingham.
Page 9
Cold Stone Workers (CSW):
Yes, because of the customer service involved and fun co-workers.
CMS: What makes Cold Stone
different from other ice cream
stores?
CSW: Definitely the ice cream.
No other shop mixes fresh ice
cream together.
CMS: What is your favorite
flavor?
CSW: My favorite flavor is the
Sweet Cream Birthday Cake Remix
which includes cake batter ice
cream, rainbow sprinkles, brownies, and fudge. We get to take
home free ice cream everyday.
CMS: What kind of qualities do
you need to work at Cold Stone?
CSW: Outgoing personality,
lively, friendly, vivid and you have
good people skills.
CMS: What is the youngest age
you can work here?
CSW: 16 with a parent signature. Or 18 or older.
Cold Stone Ice Cream tastes so
good it will cure a hot day. Maybe
one day you will go to Cold Stone
and make your ice own cream mix.
Another famous story that lingers around Punahou is the tale of
the Night Marchers in Castle Hall.
When Castle was still a women’s
dormitory, Ermine Crocket Gartley and some of her roommates
encountered Night Marchers.
According to Mrs. Gartley, “We
were slowly roused by the soft
sound of drum beats. We assumed
at first that someone in the faculty
homes below us was having a late
night party. But, as we listened,
the drumming got louder and louder. And now seemed to be coming
from inside our building. Then,
though the transom (windows),
we saw flickering lights reflecting
on the hall ceiling — approaching from the Ewa end and getting
brighter and brighter. They looked
like torches.”
As one of the girls went to
discover the origin of the sounds
and lights, she touched the door
leading to the halls. Suddenly, her
piercing scream echoed through
the rooms. And the lights and
sounds disappeared.
One thing Ermine Gartley discovered was that Castle was built
over or near to an ancient Hawaiian
heiau; also that the former Castle
building had mysteriously burned
down in 1911. In another version
of this story, it is told that one of
the girls got her hand burned when
she touched the doorknob.
These are only two of the many
ghost stories of Punahou School
and only a fraction of the stories
of these islands. The Obake Files
written by the late Glen Grant
tells many other Hawaiian ghost
stories, the good ones and the bad
ones.
So next time something seems
weird or you notice unusual things,
you’d better look out. One could
be right behind you … BOO!!
March 2006
The CMS Courier
Foreigners in
the Land of the
Rising Sun
At right, Christianne Ono (7), Zoë
Gilmour (7), Amanda Sakai (8)
. and Katie Yanagi (7) get ready
to put on their ski boots the first
morning at Bandai Ski Resort in
Japan.
Photos courtesy of Mr. Tim Lucas
Team Spaces are
Needing Team Care
Page 10
or the last few years, Punahou
students have been going on
an exchange trip with Tamagawa
School in Japan. For the Punahou
students, this happens in February
and involves going with Tamagawa
School’s students on their annual
The amount of English they
speak varies, but you generally
have to communicate with what
little Japanese you learned in
class, or with gestures and Japanese you’ve heard.
Your host family could take you
anywhere from Tokyo Disneyland,
to a department store, to an an-
ski trip to the Bandai area.
Mr. Tim Lucas, 7th grade supervisor, recently returned from the
trip, along with a group of 15 Case
Middle 7th and 8th graders.
Having gone on the trip myself,
and judging from the opinions
of others who have gone, it’s an
amazing experience. Not only do
you get to ski, but you can ski in
Japan. It can be a culture shock at
first with the completely different
ways people live there, but eventually you adapt.
Skiing is only the first part of
the trip! Once you come back
from the ski lodge, you live with
your host family in Japan for a few
days.
cient Japanese castle.
Most of them only want to see
you have a good time, and choose
their destination based on that.
I interviewed Mr. Woody, coordinator of the trip.
Mr. Woody thinks students learn
a lot from visiting other countries
and witnessing their cultures.
He said, once, when he and the
students on the trip were in Narita
International Airport, he thought
they had left their passports,
return tickets, everything somewhere and couldn’t find it.
For a few hours, he searched
the airport looking for the belongings. Then an airline worker
returned them to him.
By Max Sunoo & Soobin Kang
Nature affects the space by blowing food and other trash out of the
overfilled trash cans. This trash
flies into the team space and halls,
and onto the streets below.
As a final result, the janitors
take responsibility in cleaning
up the trash. Mr. Earle and other
teachers in charge of the team
space have been receiving regular
complaints from the CMS custodians.
For Team 7W, the punishment
for kids caught leaving trash
around and being irresponsible is
detention.
Kids in detention have to clean
the team spaces during lunch or
after school.
Ball playing has also become a
repetitive problem.
Over the last few years, there
have been some unfortunate incidents due to ball playing.
For example, one girl was hit
in the eye by a football. She was
lucky not to be blinded, but she
had been permanently injured.
Any student caught playing ball
in the team spaces will get their
equipment taken away.
Mr. Earle reminds students on
every team, “If everyone takes responsibility, we can keep the team
spaces clean.”
By Stuart Giles
F
F
our team spaces were established in the seventh grade
buildings. The idea was to create a
spot where kids can get together
and hang out comfortably.
Two years after the construction
of the seventh grade team spaces,
some people are questioning the
use of these spaces.
The team space is a large rectangular-shaped area with benches
lining two of its sides. The team
space also includes recycle bins,
trash cans, water fountains, a sink,
two separate bathrooms for ladies
and gentlemen, and a fire escape.
According to Team 7W leader
Mr. Tom Earle, there are two major
problems taking place in the team
spaces.
One, he said, is that kids are
being sloppy and irresponsible. For
example, kids gather in the team
space and eat lunch while doing
homework. However, instead of
cleaning up after themselves, they
leave their trash and leftovers all
over the team space. Similarly,
kids are often found spilling drinks,
overfilling trash cans, and not
recycling.
The other problem, according
to Mr. Earle, comes from Nature.
March 2006
The CMS Courier
Summer School:
Interesting Classes
By Marissa Kwong
Summer classes give you the
chance to experiment with life.
Take a trip through America
with the foods you make. Learn
about Teddy Bears, and how to put
them together. Experience part of
the Japanese culture, with Taiko
drumming.
Or, make yourself famous
through a rock band. Discover the
haunted history of historical happenings in Ghosts, Guns, and Gus
Chickadee.
If you think that the aformentioned classes are interesting, well,
those are just a few of the many
classes you can take this summer!
Interested in traveling this summer? Cooking Your Way Across
America will allow you to travel
without even leaving your class-
Photo courtesy of Mrs. Maureen MacLeod
Ride Away with
Aladdin this
Summer Session
T
here is a buzz in the air! The
summer season is drawing
nearer and Punahou students are
excitedly deciding which summer
classes they plan to take.
An array of classes awaits students this summer:
By Audrey Higa
Y
ou all have seen this Disney
movie when you were younger.
It is about a poor boy named
Aladdin. He is a “street rat,” but
his luck changes when he finds a
magic lamp in an unknown cave.
He meets a genie, falls in love with
a princess, and tackles an evil villain.
This summer, a musical produc-
Page 11
room. Create different foods made
in the area that students plan to
visit. Travel locations include the
West Coast, Southwest, Midwest,
South, and Northwest. Then finally, returning back home to Hawaii.
Are you a Teddy Bear lover?
How cuddly! If you are, then you
are in luck this summer. There are
two Teddy Bear classes. The first
one is The Bear Making Class, and
second, Teddy and Friends PM.
The Bear Making Class lets students practice sewing skills such
as fur cutting, attaching parts of
the bear, and many techniques to
making a bear. Teddy and Friends
PM will give techniques on making
a bear, needle sculpturing, wiring,
and coloring the bear. Students
may even have the chance of
copyrighting their bears too!
Drum your way through the
summer with Japanese Taiko
Drumming. Students will get to
work with instructors from the
Taiko Center of the Pacific. Students will learn about the rhythms,
drumming form and techniques.
Also, students will get to make
their very own practice drums! The
Japanese culture will be integrated
in the taiko drumming lessons.
Remember School of Rock and
Dewey Finn? Ever dreamed of
being part of a rock band? Well,
here is your chance. Learn to be a
rock band member in the class The
School of Rock: Beat the Blues.
Students will get the chance to
learn new instruments and give a
performance with props and everything! Cool!
This summer, you can discover
the haunted stories behind the
Civil War, the White House is being haunted, and many more in
the class Ghosts, Guns, and Gus
Huckabee. This class will take students on an adventure through the
past with food, songs to sing, and
stories to tell. You will also get to
fight the battles of the past! Care
to be confederate or join the Union
Army? So take a trip to the past!
tion of that show, is part of a class
called Musical Theater and Mrs.
Patton and Mr. Ogilvie are directing it.
“I think that the students will
think that this will be an awesome
play,” said Mrs. Patton. In this
production, there are no parts already taken, so feel free to sign up
and join (the parts will be decided
when the program has started).
The program involves singing
and dancing. You will learn awesome dancing tricks and you play
games that are absolutely fun.
Now boys, this doesn’t mean
that you are not included, because
everyone is. There are many parts
that involve you, for example,
there is the part of Aladdin and the
part of the evil villain Jafar.
It may sound very awkward to
see guys singing and dancing, but
there are many famous men that
…continued on page 19
March 2006
The CMS Courier
The Fill-In
Math Teachers
Page 12
hat has become apparent to
many students and faculty
around Case Middle School (CMS)
is that Mr. Lovingfoss and Dr.
Chow-Hoy are temporarily filling
in for Mrs. Lee, the Team 8X math
teacher.
students], and there’s a period of
adjustment for me.”
He also said that teaching
math to eighth graders is nice.
“I work with others, and it’s
wonderful in the eighth grade
how the other teachers are so
helpful,” he said.
Mr. Lovingfoss has really com-
She has taken personal leave
and has been out of school for a
couple of months now, therefore
our CMS Courier reporters went
and interviewed the two teachers now substituting for her to see
what it’s like for them.
Practically everyone at Punahou
knows, or should know, who Mr.
Jed Lovingfoss is. He’s known as a
super cool, eco-friendly substitute
teacher who also teaches Asian
History in the summer, plus works
as an SAT and AP test supervisor
in the Academy.
No one has ever heard anything
negative about this kind-hearted
and laidback sub.
Did you know that he can speak
Japanese, and he used to ride
his bike to school and back? The
trademark bike ride across campus
is now only a fond memory for Mr.
Lovingfoss because of his change
in residences. He now has to drive
to school, and must walk from the
Academy to Case and back.
He has been an occasional substitute for Mrs. Lee for about seven
years. “I know her style of teaching,” Mr. Lovingfoss said, “I know
the way she uses the computers
for her tutorials, I know how she
checks homework. I’ve worked
with her for a long time now...”
Since he has been a full-time
sub for about eight years, Punahou
found him to be the best man for
the job of covering her regular
math classes.
This year, Mr. Lovingfoss has
been mainly subbing for middle
school classes, making him accustomed to the teaching materials and style of CMS, as well as
the differences between it and the
Academy.
Mr. Lovingfoss explained that,
“...when I’m in the Academy for
a long time, then I come back to
the middle school, there is a bit
of a difference in the attitude and
behavior of the students [between
the Academy and the eighth grade
mitted to this current teaching
role, doing much more than ordinary substitutes.
“I grade the work, and Mrs.
Lee’s main responsibilities are to
take care of the lesson plans and
make the tests — but I will teach
and do the grading,” he siad.
According to his students, he’s
great at explaining confusing concepts and helps them to be prepared for any test.
Even outside of the math classroom, Mr. Lovingfoss has helped
out Team 8X by participating in a
religion vs. science debate for Mr.
Tsujimoto. For this topic, he’s completely qualified, being a Jehovah’s
Witness with two science degrees,
one of which is biology.
Once the AP exams begin in the
Academy, Mr. Lovingfoss will leave
the Case math classroom, but
meanwhile they auditioning other
replacement teachers for Mrs. Lee.
Mr. Lovingfoss is currently
teaching all three sections of
regular math in Team 8X, but
Dr. Chow-Hoy of Team 8Z has
agreed to teach Team 8X’s Honors
Mathematics kids during his free
periods.
According to Dr. Chow-Hoy, “...all
core teachers have four classes, but
now I have five; in Bishop, there
was a time when teachers used to
have five classes, so it’s like going
back to that point.”
Every teacher has his or her
own style of teaching. Dr. ChowHoy and Mrs. Lee’s styles are different, but, according to Dr. ChowHoy, “Algebra is Algebra.”
He continued, “Mrs. Lee and I
have different methods of teaching. Hers is more high-tech with
PowerPoint while mine is more of
a blend. Her students had to adapt
slightly to my style of teaching,
but they adjusted very quickly.”
The honor students, however,
do feel like Dr. Chow-Hoy is their
teacher, even referring to him by
his nickname, “Doc.”
By Jaclyn Khil & Heather Miura
W
“I work with others,
and it’s wonderful in
the eighth grade how
the other teachers
are so helpful,”
—Mr. Jed Lovingfoss
From l. to r., Mr. Lovingfoss &
Dr. Chow-Hoy
Photos by Heather Miura
The CMS Courier
March 2006
Living through
a Hurricane
We went to bed
that night assuming
that we were going
to go back to New
Orleans, back to
our jobs, back to
our homes, back
to our lives...
At right, Mrs. Carroll.
Photo by Heather Miura
New Science
Teacher Loves
the Outdoors
I actually aspired
NOT to be a
teacher, because I
did not want to
follow in my parents’
footsteps. Yet, after
college, I realized
that no job even
interested me unless
it involved kids.
At right, Ms. Vaughan.
Photo by Lauren Haruno
By Heather Miura & Jaclyn Khil
M
rs. Carroll, the eighth grade
science teacher in Team
8Y, stepped in to substitute for
Mrs. James after she took
personal leave in mid
October.
Many of us now
know her as the
new science
teacher, but
some of you
may not know
that after Hurricane Katrina,
Ms. Carroll and
her husband’s
lives took a
detour.
Before moving to Hawaii,
she was a sixth
grade science
teacher at a private school in New
Orleans, very similar
to Punahou.
Two days before the
Hurricane was estimated to hit,
there was a voluntary evacuation,
and the Carrolls, with their two
cats, left New Orleans along with
the thousands living in that area.
Hurricanes are a fact of life in the
By Elise Minkin & Lauren Haruno
S
he teaches and she paddles.
She’s lived everywhere from
Hawaii to San Diego to New York.
She’s the new seventh grade
science teacher, Ms. Catharine
“Katie” Vaughan!
We asked her some questions to get to know the
newest edition to the
Punahou seventh
grade family.
CMS COURIER:
Can you tell us
some background
about yourself?
MS.
VAUGHAN(K.
V.): I’m from
Chicago, and
went to a school
very much like
Punahou, but
smaller. For
undergraduate
school I went to
Colorado College
(Major-Geology).
For Graduate School
I went to Stanford (Major-Science Education).
I felt like Colorado College
was a summer camp. It runs on
a block plan, so you take one
class at a time for 3.5 weeks,
then have a 4 day break. All
classes (except labs) are finished
by noon so you have the afternoon free. We had hard classes,
but everyone worked hard which
was really motivating. We were
also situated in the mountains
and had plenty of time to explore
outdoors.
Page 13
gulf coast. Mrs. Carroll and her
family have been through many
evacuations and they handled this
one like any other.
While staying in a hotel in
Houston for a few days, the
couple learned that the
Hurricane missed New
Orleans by 90 miles.
“We all sighed a
breath of relief,”
she explained.
“We went to bed
that night assuming that we
were going to
go back to New
Orleans, back
to our jobs,
back to our
homes, back to
our lives....”
Later, however,
they learned that
the levees had unexpectedly broken,
drowning the city in 20
feet of water.
No one was going back
home after all.
Up to that point, the Carrolls
had been staying at a hotel.
They knew they wouldn’t be
able to go home for quite a while,
…continued on page 14
CMS: What do you do in your
spare time?
K.V: Anything outdoors. I
paddle during outrigger season,
and surf a few times a week.
I also occasionally do triathlons.
CMS: When you were little did
you aspire to be a teacher
or did you just happen
upon it?
K.V: I actually
aspired NOT to be
a teacher, because I did not
want to follow
in my parents’
footsteps.
Yet, after
college, I
realized that
no job even
interested
me unless it
involved kids.
CMS: What
did you want to
be?
K.V: I wanted
to be a marine
biologist.
CMS: What other
jobs did you have before
you became a teacher?
K.V: I was a marine biology
instructor at an ocean camp,
swim/hockey coach and an environmental education leader.
CMS: Where else have you
worked as a teacher?
K.V: Chicago, San Francisco.
CMS: What’s your impression
of Punahou?
K.V: I love it. I couldn’t be
happier anywhere else!
March 2006
The CMS Courier
4Mrs. Carroll
…continued from page 13
Above, the devastation of Katrina
is shown here by Mrs. Carroll’s living room after the floods receded.
Photo courtesy of Mrs. Carroll
Just a Few Facts
about JROTC
Spring camp for JROTC.
Photo courtesy of Lt. Col. Bob Takao
so they decided to go and stay
with Mrs. Carroll’s brother in Atlanta, Georgia until they gathered
further information on what was
going to happen.
They ended up staying in Atlanta for about a month, along with
Mrs. Carroll’s mother, father, sister
and her sister’s boyfriend — basically the entire family.
Mrs. Carroll’s in-laws are missionaries who, at the time the
hurricane struck, were serving in
Ireland.
So Mrs. Carroll and the rest of
her family stayed in their house,
which happened to be a spacious
By Nick Mattson & Alex Onopa
A
lot of you have heard of
JROTC as a course offered in
high school, but few people actually know the whole truth about
the program itself.
Many people think that taking
JROTC in high school means that
you will be required to join the
military after graduation, when in
fact there is no obligation to join
the military involved.
However, you can receive PE
and general elective credit from
joining JROTC, as well as ROTC
scholarships for college.
JROTC cadets in high school
meet three times a cycle, with two
45 minute classes and a one hour
drill.
By just showing up for classes
and doing everything required,
you can receive an A in the
course. That will bring up your
GPA and looks good on a job
resume.
You can learn new leadership
skills in JROTC and there is no
homework you have to do.
There is also a Ranger (Outdoor
Adventure) Club, Color Guard,
Drill Team, and Rifle Team in the
program.
For trigger-happy people, air
rifle training and marksmanship
are part of the class as well.
As you can see, there are many
benefits to joining JROTC in high
school.
Page 14
two-story house.
As time went on, they learned
the extent of all the damage. Only
Mrs. Carroll and her sister’s home
were severely damaged.
“There was nothing to go home
to, no job to go home to, no home
to go home to... so we had to figure out what we were going to do.
We were starting from scratch,”
Mrs. Carroll said.
They found a website called
hurricanehousing.org giving housing opportunities to hurricane
victims.
It ended up with Mrs. Carroll and her husband finding out
a lot about Hawaii. They learned
enough to decide to live here with
Chuck and Penny Gregorio. “They
are very kind, generous people,”
Mrs. Carroll remarked.
She then started posting her resumes. “Fortunately for me,” said
Mrs. Carroll, “and unfortunately for
Mrs. James, she had to go out on a
medical leave and they were looking for somebody here at Punahou,
that could competently teach an
eighth grade science class.”
The administrators here at
Punahou gave Mrs. Carroll something that was difficult for her to
find after Hurricane Katrina: a
sense of normality, with a staff and
student body very similar to back
home in New Orleans.
She is enjoying her stay here in
Hawaii, although she doesn’t know
yet what lies in her future.
Punahou’s JROTC program was
first created in 1916 at the suggestion of Lorren Thurston, a
member of the Board of Trustees
at Punahou.
In the fall of that year, 88 of the
115 boys in the upper school petitioned that JROTC be included in
the curriculum. The program was
completely sponsored by Punahou.
Originally, all boys in the 10th
and 11th grade were required to
enroll in JROTC, and senior boys
could choose whether or not to
join.
The program at Punahou was
suspended twice, during World
War I and again during World War
II. In 1971, the program reached
another milestone, accepting its
first female cadet.
JROTC is a program that helps
build confidence, life skills, and
leadership through a variety of
ways. You can learn useful tips to
succeed in other classes.
JROTC is involved in a variety of
community service projects, and
its main focus is to help people become better, more aware citizens
in their community.
If you want to learn these new
skills and values, you should join
JROTC in high school.
If you don’t like it, you can drop
out after one year.
There are many things you may
learn from taking JROTC, so if you
want to, you can try it as a course
in 9th grade.
March 2006
Jasmine’s Journey
to Stardom
The CMS Courier
By Iris Pak & Brittni Kam
S
he went from an average
17 year-old kid, to an 18
year-old pop star with the help of
Hawaii’s aloha.
She’s been on one of the top
shows in the nation and has put
Hawaii on the map.
But she hasn’t stopped there.
She even recorded her first
solo album.
Her album has
been available
to purchase in
all 50 states.
Her debut CD
is called, naturally enough,
“Jasmine Trias”
and is also being sold in the
Philippines.
It is showing potential
to become a
huge hit. Her
CD includes
the songs,
Excuses, All I
Need, Watcha
Gon Do, DJ
Don’t Quit, I
Still Luv You,
Don’t Go, and
much more.
Since its
release her
album sold
5,000 copies
in a week and
registered at
number 11 on
the Billboard’s
new artist
charts.
On February 20th, Jasmine
started an international monthlong tour in the Philippines. This
tour will stop by at Japan, Australia, and Indonesia.
She is also having a 10 U.S.
city concert soon in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New
York, Washington D.C., Seattle,
Houston, and Orlando.
We had a personal interview
with this upcoming pop star—and
here it is.
CMS: How does it feel putting
Hawaii on the map?
Jasmine: Definitely a great
feeling to have Hawaii supporting
me throughout the whole time on
American Idol. It was a rewarding
experience to take Hawaii with
me wherever I go, representing
Hawaii.
CMS: How did it feel to record
your first solo album?
Jasmine: It was a wonderful
experience to accomplish one of
my biggest goals in life. American
Idol gave an opportunity to be a
solo artist.
CMS: I know that you go to a
lot of places in Hawaii to sign autographs and take pictures with
fans–why do you do it?
Jasmine: I love to do it.
During American Idol only cameras were in front of us and we
couldn’t see the fans. I thought
Page 15
it would be a good idea to meet
all the people and viewers that
voted for me and supported me.
It was a very rewarding experience.
CMS: Are you currently in college? If so, which one?
Jasmine: I’m not currently
in college, but I would love to
go back to school. American Idol
completely turned my life around
and I still want to go back to
school, but right now singing is
my first priority.
CMS: How does it feel to become an idol for many people as
well as Hawaii?
Jasmine: Wonderful feeling
to have my dreams come true
and to be an inspiration for many
people. It’s awesome having a
whole state behind you.
CMS: Who was your inspiration to sing?
Jasmine: A lot of inspiration
from Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Whitney Houston, fans and
family knowing that they would
support me and I would not lose
hope.
CMS: Are you planning on
having any more albums coming
out anytime soon?
Jasmine: I am planning to
have a new album this year.
CMS: What was the most
interesting reaction that you got
from a fan?
Jasmine: They’re extremely
happy and they cry. Which means
a lot because that shows how
much that they support me.
CMS: How was it like being on
tour with American Idol?
Jasmine: It was very fun, we
got to travel all over the US in
three months going on a 50-city
tour. We got to perform 3-4 times
a week and there was nothing to
worry about because there were
no judges. We didn’t have to
worry about competition. We got
to bond together.
CMS: Do you have time in
your busy schedule for a love
life?
Jasmine: No, unfortunately.
I am very busy and I don’t get a
chance to date anyone right now.
I don’t have time for a love life
but I’ve met many people, but
haven’t had time to pursue it.
CMS: What kind of celebrities
do you meet?
Jasmine: I went to the kid’s
choice awards so I got to meet
a lot of Disney stars, like Raven
and Hilary Duff. I also got to
meet Jim Carey, Jennifer Lopez,
Cameron Dias, Gwen Stefani,
Toby McGuire, Alicia Keys and
Lindsay Lohan. They’re all normal
people like you and me.
CMS: Are you planning to be
in any TV shows or movies?
Jasmine: Yes, I want to expand my career so I’m looking
into acting, but my main focus
is singing right now. Later, I will
push my acting career, because I
want to be a well-rounded person.
As you can see, Jasmine’s career will flourish very quickly, and
Hawaii will always be with her.
March 2006
The CMS Courier
Ooklah
News
Viewpoint by Phillip Wong
O
oklah fans, get ready to be
blown away. Ooklah the Mocs’
new album is their best yet.
The album is named KOKO
Meets Ooklah: Struggling Soldier.
“KOKO” is a singer from the island
of Maui that is featured on lead
vocals with the band. His voice and
style with the band backing him
sends positive vibes to everyone
who hears it.
The band is not your typical
reggae band. They play in a roots
dub style that sounds like none
other. The band is definitely on
their way to becoming reggae
stars, and this new album will help
them get there.
The group has opened for such
famous musicians such as Midnite,
Bambu Station, Gregory Isaacs,
Slightly Stoopid, Steel Pulse,
Groundation and The Big Island’s
own reggae/punk band Pepper.
KOKO Meets Ooklah the Moc:
Struggling Soldier is my new
favorite album. The brand-new
sound mixed with the Ooklah
everyone is used to makes the
perfect combo. I give this album a
10 out of 10, it’s simply amazing.
I asked Tony Bush, the trombone player for Ooklah The Moc, a
few questions.
1. Where does the name
Ooklah the Moc come from?
The drummer, bass, and guitar
players started the band in the
mid-1990s and they were a reggae
and punk/metal band back then.
They got the name from an early
1970’s cartoon called Thundarr
Unmasking the
Makers of the
Music of the Night
At right, famous Phantom Chris
Groenendaal and CMS 7th grader,
Kendra Rask.
Photo courtesy of Kendra Rask
Review by Kendra Rask
L
et the dream begin, let your
darker side give in. To the
power of the music that I write. The
power of the music of the night....
Where could you have found
Phantom of the Opera, Kiss Me
Kate, Guys and Dolls, Jubilee,
Company, And the World Goes
‘Round, Paint Your Wagon, Jekyll
and Hyde, How to Succeed in Business, Most Happy Fella, Nine, The
Secret Garden, Man of La Mancha,
Sweeney Todd, Miss Saigon, and
Les Misérables all compacted into
2 and a half hours?
The 3 phantoms concert! This
concert starred singers Kevin Gray,
Cris Groenendaal, and Craig Schulman, all of whom have played the
Phantom of the Opera on Broadway in the past.
All three men joined together in
this rare concert to show us who
the past makers of the music of
the night really were.
Every “Phantom” at this special
concert had a unique character
and an essence all his own.
I cannot say which Phantom
was my favorite because they all
had their own rendition of the
Phantom of the Opera.
While one might be good at
Page 16
the Barbarian. Ookla the Mok was
Thundarr’s sidekick. But we spell it
a little different, to avoid copyright
infringement.
2. Who is ‘KOKO’ who is
featured on the newest album?
KOKO is Cody Nemet, a Mauiborn singer with the Maui band,
Innavision. Cody and our bass
player Ryan came up with the idea
for the Struggling Soldier album
and Cody became KOKO on the
album, one of his stage names.
3. What do you think about
the new album Struggling
Soldier?
The Struggling Soldier album is
nice, because as a band, Ooklah
The Moc has built their own music
studio, and the Struggling album
is the first full-length album from
the new studio. We hope everyone
likes the roots dub reggae sound.
4. Can fans expect more
albums in the future from
Ooklah the Moc?
If you are a fan of our music, you will love to hear that the
Ooklah #3 album (not named yet)
is over half done and may be out
by June ‘06. Also, got two other
projects in the works. Please check
our webpage any time for updates
on the band and new material and
upcoming shows, etc. at ooklahthemoc.com.
So readers, be on the lookout
for this great band and pick up the
new album. I guarantee that you
will enjoy it as much as I have.
singing the beginning of “Music of
the Night” another might be better
at the middle of the song.
Overall the concert was exciting and a pleasure to watch. It is
one thing just to have heard them
sing, but the fact that they shared
personal stories made me feel like
I knew them.
They brought their talents
together and gave the Phantom
“phans” of Hawaii a taste of the
Phantom’s Broadway — a taste us
“phans” enjoy but rarely ever get.
March 2006
The CMS Courier
Ten Dollars
Worth the Trip
through Time
The aliens arrive at Punahou. From
left to right, seniors Emma Candon,
Joseph Lee, & Greg Ching.
Photo courtesy of Mrs. Sharon Lucien
Movie Review:
The Pink Panther
Review by Rachel Oyama
O
n Carnival day, the senior
class debuted this year’s
Variety Show, entitled “Clothes Encounters, or, Ready to Wear?” The
show played three times on over
Carnival, Feb. 3 & 4, at 11 a.m.,
2:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
As the tickets sold
out rapidly and anticipation built up to watch it,
here’s a review in case
you missed it.
The 2006 Variety
Show was excellent.
It showed that the
senior class had great
spirit and over 250
participated in the show,
even though it was
optional.
Yes, as much as
people tend to think
that you “have” to
do the show, it’s optional. You should do
it, though, because it will be one
of the highlights of your time at
Punahou. (You do have to pay a
$30 fee which pays for a T-shirt,
one day of free lunch, and helps
cover costuming costs.)
Anyways, on with the review.
The show was about aliens who act
as “fashion police”, and who come
down to Punahou to check out
what the students are wearing in
the beginning of the school year.
Obviously, the “fashion police”
are not quite happy with what
the students are wearing. They
then use a “transmorphigator”
to change the students’ clothes
around in a variety of ways, in-
Review by Danielle Chung
T
his movie was a hysterical
comedy about a detective,
played by Steve Martin, trying
to solve a murder case and he
also has to find the famous Pink
Panther diamond that always is on
his hand.
This movie was based on an
original film made in 1964 starring Peter Sellars.
In this version, a famous soccer coach is murdered with a dart
that had Chinese poison in it and
the Pink Panther diamond ring
that was on his finger has gone
missing.
This diamond was one of the
world’s most valuable jewels and
the pubic wants to see it back in
safe hands.
The police were going to put
one of their best men on the case
so they would get a job well done
but a not-so-great detective,
Inspector Clouseau gets the case
instead.
So Clouseau has to go through
the whole city interviewing people
who they think could be suspects,
all with his partner, Gendarme
Gilbert Ponton, by his side. The
two have to go all over following
clues because they have to find
Page 17
cluding Japanese wear to medieval
times.
If you didn’t know, the aliens try
to change things around because
of the new dress code in the Academy.
There were a total of six scenes
in the show. The first scene was
called “A Streetcar Named Attire,”
then came “Plaid to the Bone,” “A
Whiter Shade of Beige,” “Memoirs
of a Ninja,” “The Fashion and the
Furious,” and “Boogie Knights.” All
in all, it was a great show, very
well done by the seniors, and very
entertaining. It definitely showed
how the seniors felt about the new
dress code in a good, humorous
way.
“If you went to the last show on
the 4th, then you got lucky because that was the best one,” said
Derrek Oyama, a singer/dancer in
“Boogie Knights.”
If you didn’t get to see it, then
maybe this review gave you an
idea of what it was, with aliens
moving around in an “iPod” hosting the show, to seeing your future
9th grade dean in… outfits. Or, if
you have a sibling in 12th grade,
then maybe they’ll let you see the
show they did for the Juniors on
the 2nd on tape. Trust me; it was
definitely worth $10 a ticket if you
went to watch it.
Some Case Middle people you
may know participated in doing
the Variety Show:
•Lauren Riford ’10 – Stage Crew
•Andre Spitzer ’11 – Stage Crew
•Mrs. Marlene Patton – Choral
Director
•Mr. Steve Wagenseller – Creative Team/Script
the murderer and get the diamond back.
In my opinion this may not
have been the best story but it
was however very funny. If this
movie weren’t so hysterical, I
think it would be a little boring
because since it had a story line
that isn’t so good, it’s good that
there were many funny parts.
March 2006
The CMS Courier
Movie Review:
Harry Potter and
the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter is a
Cool, Magical Teen
Famous
Hogwarts
Students
Gryffindor
• Harry Potter
• James Potter (deceased)
• Lily Potter (deceased)
• Hermione Granger
• The Weasley clan (Ronald,
Ginny, Fred and George)
Hufflepuff
• Cedric Diggory (deceased)
Ravenclaw
• Cho Chang
• Luna Lovegood
Slytherin
• Vincent Crabbe
• Gregory Goyle
• Draco Malfoy
• “He Who Must Not Be
Named.”
Crest graphics courtesy of
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogwarts_Houses.
Hogwart’s crest courtesy of
www.geocities.com/pawsitively_katz/
Review by Lance Miller
P
robably the most anticipated
movie of the year, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, came
out with a bang, and will be soon
on DVD (Mar. 7).
The excitement made you sit on
the edge of your seat, or lean back
as far as you could, if you sait in
the first row like I did, so you can
see the entire screen.
“The drama had all of my
friends tearing. It was so good
that I saw it three times,” said one
student. Even though the movie
left out some of the book, it was
still gripping.
In comparison to the other
Harry Potter movies, News Journalism and Movie Makers teacher
Mr. Wagenseller thought that there
could have been more scenes with
Hagrid, with whom he identifies.
He thinks this movie was better
than some of the others, though,
because of the skills emphasized in
the movie making.
According to him, in the other
movies the characters seem to be
By Ryan Catalani & Evan Sakai
A
re you a Harry Potter fan?
Well, if you aren’t, and even
if you are, then this is the article
for you.
One of the basic facts that all
Harry Potter fans should know is
what kind of wand he carries. His
wand is 11.5 inches long,
made out of holly,
with a phoenix
feather inside (from
Fawkes,
Dumbledore’s
phoenix).
It’s the
phoenix
feather that
gives the wand
its magic.
(Voldemort’s
wand has the
twin feather.)
Also, the form
of Dumbledore’s
“patronus” is a phoenix. A patronus is a
protector being brought
about by thinking a very
happy memory, and the incantation “Expecto Patronum.”
A little known fact is that a Patronus’ form is determined by the
wizard or witch’s personality.
Harry’s patronus is a stag. The
reason it is a patronus is because
Harry’s dad’s “animagus” form was
a stag. An animagus is a wizard
or witch that can turn himself or
herself into an animal. James Potter (Harry’s dad) could turn into a
stag, or a male deer.
There are four sections, or
“houses”: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff,
Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.
First Year students’ houses are
determined by the Sorting Hat,
Page 18
the great heroes of the book, but
in this movie it made the characters seem like real people with
attitudes and personality.
We also asked other people and
they thought the same way as Mr.
Wagenseller. They all thought that
this movie had better theme and
a more character action than the
other movies.
One of the things that they
left out is the elves. In the book,
Dobby is the one who gives Harry
Potter the gillyweed, a magical
plant, but in the movie it is Neville
Longbottom.
When Harry is in the maze he is
supposed to meet a riddling sphinx
but in the movie it wasn’t there.
I would have liked more action
and I hope in the next movie the
scenes aren’t so rushed.
The books, too, are big but look
at Lord of The Rings. The books
were long but the movies were
long too.
The makers of the movie could
have thought about making it longer to stick some more meaning to
the movie.
which calls out their placement
once they put it on.
(In his school days at Hogwarts,
James Potter was in Gryffindor
house, as is Harry.)
Students of Gryffindor also include Harry’s close friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley.
One student of Hufflepuff was
Cedric Diggory, who
was killed by Peter
Pettigrew on
Voldemort’s
command.
Students
of Ravenclaw include
Cho Chang
and Luna
Lovegood.
Finally,
students of
Slytherin innclude Vincent
Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and
Draco Malfoy.
All of these
students are the
main characters that
you will probably see
in upcoming movies (except
for Cedric, who is deceased).
There are all sorts of creatures
that lurk in and out of the Hogwarts grounds. These creatures
include house elves, centaurs
and many others. One very basic
house elf is Dobby, who was freed
by Harry from Lucius Malfoy. Centaurs are mythical creatures that
live in the Dark Forest. These centaurs include Rowan and Firenze.
Other creatures include Aragog,
Hagrid’s gigantic spider, Fawkes,
Dumbledore’s phoenix, the Basilisk that lurks in the Chamber of
Secrets and the Monster Book of
Monsters, a book whose name
speaks for itself.
March 2006
The CMS Courier
Big Momma
is Back!
Image from http://media.movieweb.
com/galleries/2821/posters/poster1.jpg
Curious George
is Upside Down!
Graphic from www.curiousgeorgemovie.com
4Aladdin
…continued from page 11
Review by Blaine Bolibol
M
artin Lawrence stars in Big
Momma’s House 2, a sequel
to the 2000 hit movie, Big Momma’s House.
It runs 99 minutes and came
out on January 27, 2006.
This movie starts off with Malcolm Turner (Lawrence), a retired
field cop, going to a school giving
a speech about fire safety as a
talking bird.
He realizes that he needs more
action in his life. He finds out that
his old partner and mentor dies.
He decides to investigate behind
his bosses’ and his family’s back.
The only way he can get close
to the man suspected of killing his
partner is to apply for a nanny job.
So he brings out his Big Momma
costume.
Malcolm lands the nanny job
as Hattie Mae Pierce, otherwise
known as Big Momma.
The man’s name suspected of
killing his partner is Tom Fuller. He
has three kids, one boy and two
girls.
The oldest kid, Molly, is a recently turned Goth that is hanging around the wrong crowds. The
middle kid, Carrie, is a girl that is
obsessed with cheer leading.
Page 19
And the youngest child, Andrew,
is a boy who can’t talk yet and
spends his free time jumping off
various objects, such as tables,
beds, and cabinets. The weird
thing is that he never gets hurt.
Throughout the movie, Malcolm
spends his time looking for evidence and taking care of the kids.
This movie was extremely
funny. There were many funny
moments in this movie and Martin
Lawrence was great.
He made the movie hilarious
with his funny antics.
Martin Lawrence wasn’t the only
funny character. I really liked the
little boy. He made me laugh every
time he jumped off something and
landed on his face.
But, I didn’t really understand
the plot line. It was confusing at
times and didn’t make sense.
I would recommend seeing
the original movie, Big Momma’s
House, before you see this.
I did not see the original, so in
the beginning, I didn’t know who
the characters were and I also
didn’t know that Malcolm was married.
Since this movie was really
funny, but it didn’t have a great
plot, I think it deserves 3 stars out
of 5.
hen you first see the name
“Curious George” on the box
office you think, “Man, I’m not going to see that movie!” But let me
tell you this: Curious George is a
childish movie, but I liked it a lot
and I’m sure you would like it too.
One of the main things about
this movie is that almost the whole
soundtrack was written and/or
performed by the well known Jack
Johnson.
His main single “Upside Down”
was a hit right when it came out
and made the movie even better
than it already was.
Voices in the movie included Will
Ferrell, Eugene Levy, David Cross,
and Drew Barrymore. This cast
did a good job on this movie even
though for most of them they are
used to being in front of a camera.
This movie is about a man who
works at a museum and they have
to make an exhibit that would get
enough money to save the museum and keep it running. This man
“Will Ferrell” was no explorer, but
he still goes to the middle of Africa
to find a mythical figurine that was
supposed to be forty feet tall.
When he gets there he finds a
young, little monkey that starts to
follow him everywhere. Instead of
finding the forty foot figurine they
find a four inch little artifact. They
go back to America but Curious
George follows the man in the yellow hat all the way back.
When they are in America they
have a huge adventure and you
have to see the movie yourself to
get the great excitement.
I would recommend this movie
to all ages because of its cute
charm and adventure. I liked Curious George and would see it again
any day.
become popular and worldly know.
And maybe you will be the next
celebrities to make the cover.
For those people who love music
and dancing this is the program
for you. For example people who
loved the movie The Phantom of
the Opera or Annie, then this is
the best possible choice you could
ever want because it is fun, enjoyable, and great exercise.
One student who loves the
Phantom of the Opera has already
signed up to be in the musical
production. This student said, “I
like the musical Aladdin and I am
happy to be able to participate in
it, but I think that they could have
picked a better musical with more
parts for people, especially for
females.”
People with stage fright should
sign up immediately as theater can
help people with that fear of talking in front of people. For current
6th graders, taking this course
could help you be more comfortable when you do your Damon
Speech, maybe help you get a
good grade or become a finalist.
Review by Dylan Hudson
W
March 2006
The CMS Courier
Whatever You Do,
Don’t Answer
the Phone
Review by Brittni Kam
Movie Review:
Eight Below
Review by Courtney Chun
R
ing, ring, ring, “hello?” “Have
you checked the children
lately?”
When a Stranger Calls is an
intense, thrilling, terror movie that
is based on the urban legend, “The
Baby-sitter and the Man Upstairs.”
This movie stars Camilla Belle,
as Jill Johnson, and Tommy Flanagan, as the stranger.
This movie begins with Jill Johnson, a high school student, taking
a baby-sitting gig to pay off for her
high cell phone bill. She ends up in
a huge, beautiful home, watching
after two children who are up in
bed, with the flu.
The kind parents make sure that
she is comfortable and safe. Then,
they leave and enter their code for
the security alarm. “Click.”
“The security alarm is set,
remember to call if you have any
problems,” say the parents who
are going out to dinner and a
movie.
Jill roams throughout the home,
and is awed by the huge glass
windows, and the extravagant
indoor lily pond. The whole home
is so silent
that you could
hear a paper
clip drop. Jill
is now on the
couch relaxing—doing her
homework,
when she
receives a
phone call.
“Ring, ring,
ring.” This is
one of the
many phone
calls that Jill
receives during the night.
T
he movie Eight Below is about
eight dogs and a man named
Jerry Shepard. Shepard is played
by Paul Walker, whose other films
include The Skulls, The Fast and
the Furious, Into the Blue, Timeline and Running Scared.
Due to one of
the most dangerous winters
they have seen
in years, Shepard
and the rest of
his crew must
leave Antarctica
and the dogs behind.
Once back
in civilization,
Shepard tries
whatever he can
to get back to
Antarctica and
save his dogs.
But with the
winter weather
so harsh, people
are not allowed
Page 20
She answers the phone, but there
is no answer on the other side of
the phone, only breathing— deep
breathing.
So Jill decides to hang up. Suddenly, another call. “Ring, ring,
ring.” Jill answers again, but again,
only breathing, but this time, she
stays on the line. And then, a deep
voice says, “Have you checked the
children lately?”
Jill asks, “What do you want
from me?” “Your blood,” replies
the stranger. Jill is terrified by the
stranger and in a panic, calls the
police. They asked that she stay
on the phone with the stranger for
at least one-minute, so that they
can track the call.
So, he calls again, and she is
able to keep him on the line for
one-minute. The police call back,
“Jill, we traced the call, it’s coming
from inside the house, you’ve got
to get out of there immediately!”
Critics call When a Stranger
Calls, “One of the premier horror
films of recent years!” This movie
is rated PG-13, so if you are 13, go
and find out who is calling, and if
the children, or Jill, can survive a
night in this mysterious house.
to enter into Antarctica.
This means that the dogs’ only
chance of survival is on their own.
They break free and wander
around the icy plains for all that is
necessary to survive.
Over six months must pass till
Shepard is finally able to get back
into Antarctica and search for his
dogs, not sure of what he’ll find.
One exciting moment in Eight
Below was when the dogs spotted a dead whale carcass and just
when they got close enough to eat
it, a big seal popped out!
As a result, a dog gets bitten,
so one of the younger dogs has to
step up and fight off the seal.
Throughout the movie, I
couldn’t help but feel sorry for
those dogs for what they went
through.
And the fact that they’re all big
cute fluffy hairballs doesn’t make
it easier.
Walker played his part correctly
and seemed to know all the dogs
well.
Overall, I would give this movie
a 7/10.
March 2006
The CMS Courier
White Wins Gold
at the 2006
Winter Olympics
Shaun White flies high above the
pipe in his winning run at Bardonnechia.
Photo from www.nbcolympics.com/snowboarding
Boys Track ‘06
Coach and teacher,
Mr. Tom Earle.
Photo by Alex Kurashige
By Jackson Cusick
R
edhead Shaun White smashed
all the competition at the
Men’s Halfpipe in Bardonecchia, Italy, winning the Gold that
everyone had expected him to
get. His teammate Danny Kass
came in with Silver, while Finnish
snowboarder Markku
Koski finished with the
Bronze.
Unfortunately, the
U.S. team was not
able to sweep the
podium like they did at
the Salt Lake Olympics
in 2002. U.S. rider
Mason Aguirre, at 18,
just missed third place
at his first Olympics
ever.
On his first run,
Shaun White stumbled
on one of his tricks,
something that no
one had seen him do
in the whole week of
practice. The mistake
almost cost him his
chance for a medal.
On his next run, White
went a bit conservative, but confirmed
his place in the final
rounds with a score of
45.3.
Without the stress
of having to make the
finals, Shaun White
was able to throw out
an amazing set of
tricks in his first run of
the finals.
With AC/DC’s “Back
In Black” playing out
over the crowd, Shaun
White flew about 25 feet above
the pipe, then followed it by two
1080s, where he grabbed his
By Alex Kurashige & Kamden Segawa
T
hough Mr. Earle may be known
to most as a 7th grade English
teacher, he is also a track coach.
He’s new this year as the boys
track coach but he says he’s more
than ready.
One reason he’s ready is the
team itself. It doesn’t hurt to
know, he says, that he’ll be coaching a lot of talent.
“I wasn’t there yesterday when
they started testing, but the
coaches saw a bunch of potential!”
said Mr. Earle.
Right now, there are 64 guys
enrolled in track.
Being in track isn’t without responsibilities. In fact, each member had to sign a contract stating
they will...
1) Attend 85% of team practices and meets prior to the limited
entry meets commencing with
Spring Break.
With 27 practices and four
meets prior to Spring Break, this
would mean being present at 27
practices or meets out of the 31
Page 21
board on both, earning him huge
points.
He ended his run with two consecutive 900s, which were landed
perfectly.
In the finals, the riders get two
runs and the best score counts.
After his 46.8 point run, Shaun
White waited as the 11 other riders tried and failed to best his
score. When his top competitor,
Markku Koski, fell on his last run,
White knew he had won the gold.
Now, not worrying about putting
on an amazing show, White just
threw in a couple of tricks, kicked
off the side of the pipe, and glided
down to the bottom of the run.
He wrapped himself in the
American flag that was waiting,
and ran his fingers through his
famous red hair.
Shaun White competed in the
Olympics just after winning gold at
the X Games in Aspen, Colorado.
This year, Burton was the official outerwear provider for the
US Olympic snowboarding team.
They got together a group of riders to help them design the new
uniforms.
What they came up with was a
uniform that resembled the vintage American baseball uniforms,
white with blue and red pinstripes.
The uniforms also included the
Burton AudexTM jacket, which integrates wireless Bluetooth® technology from Motorola and iPod®
controls inside the sleeve.
Shaun White is originally from
Carlsbad, CA. He started snowboarding when he was about six
years old at June Mountain.
Shaun isn’t only a professional snowboarder, he is also a
pro skateboarder. He is mainly
sponsored by Burton Snowboards
but also companies like Adio and
Mountain Dew.
opportunities available over the
season.
2) Actively compete in a minimum of two meets.
You can also jeopardize your
position on the team by having
more than four unexcused tardies
to any practices or meets, missing
a practice or meet without prior
notification, dishonesty or misinterpretation, or behavior reflecting
poorly on the team or school.
The first track meet was Feb. 25
at 1:00, with a meet every Thurs.
afterward with the occasional Sat.
meet. Championships will be held
at Punahou on April 6th and 8th.
Track isn’t just for those who
can beat light in a foot race, jump
over the Pacific Ocean, or throw
something to outer space, for
there aren’t too many who can.
However, if you are willing to
try, there’s always high jump, long
jump, triple jump, pole vault, shot
put, discus, and hurdles.
That’s the best reason you
might want to try track; as long
as you try your best talent doesn’t
matter.
The CMS Courier
March 2006
Punahou’s
Weight Room
Wrestling
Season
By Max Sunoo, Soobin Kang
& Zach Fontanilla
P
unahou, you may not know,
has an extremely reliable
weight room. Located across from
the cafeteria by the basketball
gym, the weight room is available
to faculty, staff, and students.
It is open from 7:30 am
– 2:30 pm for recreation
classes. Later, it is open
to everyone from 2:30
– 4:30 pm, and from 4:30
– 6:30 pm for athletic
teams. Usually the weight
room is busiest from 3:30
to 5:00 pm.
The weight room was
re-done three years ago,
and has more than 10
tons of weight and exercise equipment.
On average, a student
that comes to the weight
room three to four times
a week will work out for
about 30 to 60 minutes each day.
Outside of the weight room
are ladders and dots, available to
everyone, to improve footwork and
agility. If you get thirsty or need
to use the bathroom from working out too hard, there are water
fountains both inside and outside
By Kelli Ann Oku & Kalia Schuster
T
Kainoa Bostock pins Alex Keeno
during wrestling practice.
Photo by Kalia Schuster
Water Polo
Is Back
he Intermediate Wrestling
team ended the season at the
ILH Championships with a victory.
After all the practices they have
had, they were ready for anything.
Every day, between Nov. and
Feb., the kids and coaches dedicated their time to this sport.
From conditioning to live wrestling,
from 3-4:45 p.m., with sweat and
perseverance, they gave it all they
got, with help from the Punahou
coaches.
There are three main coaches
for the Intermediate team: Jack
Belli, Kena Heffernan, and Brandon
Fernandez. According to Coach
Belli, who coaches the Pumas, the
By Chris Buto & Christian de Quevedo
T
he beginning of the new
trimester brings many new
things for the students of our
school. Report cards are sent out,
grades received, and new electives
started. But the new trimester, it
brings something else.
New sports.
So many sports are now open
to the student body. Track has
started again with the cleaning of
the track and repair of the high
jump.
There is also girls water polo.
Water polo, for those who don’t
know, is a sport played in the
pool. There is one water polo ball
which is used to score against your
Page 22
the room and a restroom is right
outside of the weight room.
Many different people come to
our weight room instead of using
others. If we can get the threetime defending champions in the
NCAA, the Minnesota Gophers, to
come to our weight room and train
here for two weeks, our weight
room has got to be worth something.
We interviewed one of the team
captains, Nate, from the Minnesota
Gophers swim team. We asked him
why he picked our weight room,
and he replied, “It is clean, fairly
new, and most of us really liked
the bumper pads and the Olympic
weights.”
Nate and the team will usually
warm up by doing legs squats with
no weights and about five minutes
on the bike. Then they use the
power lifts with no weights before
starting into their regular workout
routine.
If you have any questions
concerning the equipment or the
weight room in all, you can try
and get hold of one of the three
weight-training supervisors.
The writers would like to thank
the Minnesota Gophers, their team
captain, Nate, and Mr. Meister for
helping them on their story.
Intermediate and JV/Varsity, the
attitudes he wanted from the team
were dedication and resiliency.
Coach Belli started wrestling as
a kid and loved it and now wants
to give his love of the sport back.
In addition to the practices,
there was a tournament nearly every weekend, running from dawn
to mid-day, or mid-day to evening,
and even that went until midnight.
These tournaments were held at
different schools, and the championship at Saint Louis.
From practice after school to
carrying mats from Bishop to the
gym at 7 a.m., the team worked
together and had courage and will,
and as Coach Belli said, “You leave
it on the mat.”
opponent’s team. It’s like soccer,
but in the water.
It is a very trying sport. You
have to be a very good swimmer,
and you have to have a good arm
to throw the ball all the way across
the pool.
First cuts for girls water polo
were just made recently, selecting
the best of the people that tried
out.
Last year’s girls team took
1st place in the ILH water polo
champs. All the 8th grade girls
that tried out this year made the
team.
We can only hope that this
year’s team will have the edge,
speed, and capabilities that last
year’s team had.
March 2006
The CMS Courier
2006 All-Star
Weekend
Nate sails high over Spud.
Photo from nba.com/allstar2006/gallery/
‘In Memory of
Eddie Aikau’
By Devon Wong
T
he NBA All-Star Weekend was
a blast as usual.
To start off the weekend was
the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge
where once again the Sophomores
dominated the game.
76ers Andre Igoudala was on
the sophomore team and had a
game high 30 points on 9 dunks.
That earned him the Game MVP,
and the Sophomores to win for the
third year in a row.
The first contest was the Sprite
Rising Stars Shooting contest,
where it features a player from the
current NBA team, a player from
the WNBA and a legend from their
own team.
There were four teams and they
were the Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets and
Las Angeles Lakers.
The San Antonio Spurs won that
contest with Tony Parker, Kendra
Wecker and Steve Kerr.
Second was the Playstation
Skills challenge where MVP candidate Steve Nash tried to defend
his crown. Also in this contest
were LeBron James, Steve Nash,
Dwyane Wade and Rookie Chris
Paul.
LeBron James and Dwyane
Wade moved on to the finals leaving Nash and Paul behind. Dwyane
Wade won the contest by at least
10 seconds before LeBron James.
Third was the Footlocker Three-
By Torrey Seabolt & Raina Saragoza
T
he unforgettable year of 1978,
a big-wave rider was the
victim of tragic incident that has
been held in memory with a surf
competition out on Waimea Bay, a
competition meant to be annual,
but is rarely so.
Eddie Aikau was a
talented surfer who
was on voyage on
the Hokule‘a along
with other crew
members. While
on the Hokule‘a, a
strong storm occurred, turning the
boat upside-down.
Eddie, accustomed to saving
lives as a lifeguard,
decided to swim to
the island of Lana‘i
which was around
20 miles away from
the accident.
The fellow crew
members of Eddie on the boat
(including our own Mrs. LymanMersereau), kept their hopes up
for him, but were crushed to hear
the news after rescue that there
had been no sign of him on shore
or anywhere nearby.
In 1985, “The Quiksilver, Big
Wave Invitational In Memory of
Eddie Aikau” competition was created in memory of this legendary
hero who not only was a big-wave
Page 23
Point shootout. This featured Dirk
Nowitzki, Ray Allen, Chauncey
Billups, Gilbert Arenas, Jason Terry
and last year’s winner Quentin
Richardson. Gilbert Arenas, Dirk
Nowitzki and Ray Allen all made
it to the second round but Dirk,
ended up winning it by two points.
Fourth was the Sprite Rising
Stars Dunk Contest. This featured
Memphis Grizzlie Hakim Warrick,
New York Knick Nate Robinson,
76ers Andre Igoudala and last
year’s winner Josh Smith.
Josh Smith was disappointing this year not making it to the
second round. But the 5’9” rookie
dominated the first round. Although Igoudala also dominated
they both advanced to the final
round.
Where Nate Robinson Jumped
over his Idol Spud Webb. Who is
about the same height as Nate
Robinson.
Nate Robinson topped off
Igoudala with a between-the-leg
off-the-backboard dunk.
To top off the weekend was the
All-Star Game. East again won
122-120 over Tracy McGrady and
the West. LeBron James finished
with 29 points and game MVP.
He became the youngest player
to win the MVP.
With 20 seconds left Dwyane
Wade hit the game winning lay-up
to put the East up two. But Tracy
McGrady could not make a shot to
send it into overtime.
surfer but also sacrificed his life to
save his fellow crew members.
This one-day competition usually takes place sometime in the
period between Dec. 1st and Feb.
28th. The times that the competition runs is from 8:00 am - 5:00
pm.
The Invitational is always held
at Waimea Bay,
where Eddie worked
as the Bay’s first
lifeguard, saving
countless lives.
The competition
takes place only
when the waves are
at a minimum of 20
feet, but they can often surpass 30 feet.
As a result of its
high standard, this
event only has been
completed seven
times since the year
it was created in,
1984.
Twenty-four select
big-wave surfers participate in the
competition. Each rider is permitted to ride three to four waves per
heat in each round.
After two rounds, their scores
are totalled up.
The first place winner takes
home $55,000, second $10,000,
third $5,000, fourth $3,000, fifth
$2,000, sixth $1,000, and seventh through twenty-fourth each
receives $600.
March 2006
The Super Bowl:
The Past, Present,
and Future
The CMS Courier
By Trevor Lee
C
ongratulations, Pittsburgh
Steelers! You are the Super
Bowl XL champions!
After winning their most recent
Super Bowl title, the Pittsburgh
Steelers have engraved their mark
in history as the third team ever
to win 5 Super Bowls (the feat was
accomplished by the San Francisco
49ers and Dallas Cowboys).
After 40 years and 40 Super
Bowls, the Super Bowl
has shown us
many special
events in
the world
of football.
Let’s take a
look back
into the
past,
and see
how
the
Super
Bowl
has
evolved
over time...
Super Bowl I: Bart
Starr led the NFL champion Green Bay Packers
to a 35-10 win over the
AFL champion Kansas City
Chiefs. The Packers continued
their dynasty for one more Super
Bowl, under the direction of
Vince Lombardi, the prestigious coach for which the Super Bowl trophy was named.
Super Bowl III: Joe
Namath and the New York Jets
were heavy underdogs in the
1969 AFL-NFL championship.
Namath, however, was confident
that they would defeat the heavily favored Baltimore Colts, so he
spoke out publicly that the Jets
were “guaranteed” a win. So, in
one of the biggest upsets in Super
Bowl history, the New York Jets
won, 16-7, in the first AFL victory
ever.
Super Bowl V: Johnny Unitas
and Earl Morrall led the Baltimore
Colts to a victory over the Dallas Cowboys in the first AFC-NFC
championship. Chuck Howley,
a linebacker on the Cowboys,
received the first and only MVP
award to be given to a player on
the losing team.
Super Bowl VI: The Dallas
Cowboys won their first Super
Bowl under the leadership of Roger
Staubach, one of the Cowboys’
most memorable quarterbacks.
Super Bowl VII: The Miami
Dolphins squared off against the
Washington Redskins in Super
Bowl VII. The Dolphins, who had
a perfect season, defeated the
Redskins in a 14-7 championship
title. For the first and only time
ever, a team had a perfect season
in the NFL.
Super Bowl IX: The Pittsburgh Steelers made their first
Super Bowl debut up against Fran
Tarkenton of the Minnesota Vikings. The Steelers won, and then
won three more titles in Super
Bowls X, XIII, and XIV under the
Page 24
direction of Terry Bradshaw and
the coaching of Chuck Noll.
Super Bowl XVI: A new team
was coming to town, the steadily
growing San Francisco 49ers. Under the direction of star quarterback Joe Montana, the 49ers won
their first championship against
the Cincinatti Bengals, 26-21.
Joe Montana led the 49ers to 3
more victories in Super Bowls XIX,
XXIII, and XXIV.
Super Bowl XXI: Phil Simms
led the New York Giants to their
first Super Bowl victory defeating
the Denver Broncos, 39-20.
Super Bowl XXVII: Troy Aikman led the Dallas Cowboys to
their third Super Bowl title. The
Cowboys then won two more titles
in Super Bowls XXVIII and XXX,
marking their place as an NFL
dynasty.
Super Bowl XXIX: The San
Francisco 49ers made their last
Super Bowl win under the leadership of Steve Young. They won
over the San Diego Chargers,
49-26.
Super Bowls XXXII and
XXXIII: Denver makes back-toback Super Bowl wins under the
direction of John Elway. Terrell Davis, running back for the Broncos,
rushed three touchdowns, making
him MVP for Super Bowl XXXII.
Super Bowl XXXV: The Baltimore Ravens win their first and
only Super Bowl in a 34-7 win over
the New York Giants.
Super Bowl XXXVI: The
New England Patriots win a stunning Super Bowl title over the St.
Louis Rams under the leadership
of quarterback Tom Brady. Adam
Vinatieri’s amazing kick as time
expired led to a 20-17 win.
Super Bowl XXXVII: The
Tampa Bay Buccaneers win their
first and only Super Bowl title over
the Oakland Raiders in a great
match. The Bucs’ defense played
well, intercepting five passes and
returning three for touchdowns.
Super Bowl XXXVIII: The
New England Patriots make their
second Super Bowl appearance,
defeating the Carolina Panthers
by three points. This is also the
first Super Bowl ever to be held in
February!
Super Bowl XXXIX: The New
England Patriots make it to their
third and final Super Bowl, defeating the Philadelphia Eagles by,
once again, three points.
Super Bowl XL: The Pittsburgh
Steelers win their 5th Super Bowl
title. They managed to avoid the
predicted AFC champion Indianapolis Colts or New England Patriots,
and they defeated the strong Seattle Seahawks. Hines Ward, wide
receiver for the Steelers, got the
MVP award. The final score was
21-10.
Some Super Bowl Facts: Did
you know that Americans eat more
food on Super Bowl Sunday than
any other day in the year other
than Thanksgiving?
The Super Bowl is broadcast in
approx. 182 countries. Fans spend
more than $50 million on buy…continued on page 25
March 2006
The CMS Courier
The Joy of the Wind
and the Water
Time for Sailing
to Come to CMS
4Super Bowl
…continued from page 24
by Lance Miller
D
o you ever wonder what is
like to be on a boat? One
that is 13 feet long? Off of Waikiki
sailing?
Well, it is what I do just about
every Sunday. Sailing in Hawaii
is about the best it can get. I sail
from the Waikiki
Yacht Club. There
are races that go
just about year
round. This allows
me to compete
with my friends
as well as people
that I don’t know.
The boat that
I sail is called
a Laser. It is a
one-man boat
but it can carry
a maximum of
three. My dad has
a sailboat and it
is a catamaran, a
two-hulled boat,
which is 33 feet
long. There are
other boats about
the same size that he sails with.
One of the races that my dad
tries to do is the Maui return. This
is a race from Maui back to Oahu.
Page 25
Last year, my dad finished first.
Of the boats racing, there was
a high number of boats that did
not finish because of their masts
breaking and other problematic
failures.
At one time on one of my dad’s
wind instruments, the recorded
speed was 36 knots or 42 miles
per hour. Our main competition
broke his mast but that didn’t stop
my dad from racing the hardest he
could.
Another one of the races my
dad tries to do is the race around
Oahu. This race is broken up into
three segments and into three
days.
The first day is a race from
Waikiki to Kaneohe. The second
day is from Kaneohe to Ko’olina.
The third day is from Ko‘olina to
Waikiki.
Overall my dad got first.
In November of 2005, there was
a race that I competed in on my
Laser. I managed to beat my friend
on his Laser and win a 26-ounce
bottle of Mount Gay Rum.
My dad is going to let me put
it in my room with a little plaque
that says what it was for.
My sailing experiences have
been great and I know there are
others who would like to sail.
ailing should not only be a
high school sport.
There are other sports like football, soccer, volleyball, swimming,
and water polo — all of these
sports are both high school sports
and middle school sports.
Sailing
should also
be one of the
middle school
sports because
it is just about
as physically
demanding as
all of the others.
Also, it
takes more
brains. You
need to know
where to tack
or jibe. You
need to know
how to read the
wind, sail trim and boat handling
skills while working with a partner.
This also boosts teamwork skills.
There is also a kind of sailing
called team racing. This where
teams use the rules to the edge
to block, roll, round, and foul the
other boats to help your teammates to finish first.
I asked 8th grader and fellow sailing enthusiast Brock
Wooldridge about sailing in the
middle school. He said, “ I like the
idea but there are not enough experienced sailors here. There are
about four experienced sailors of
the 420, a sailboat.”
Also there are lots of people
who think they know how to sail
because they sailed in the Punahou
summer program. A number of
us have sailed about four to eight
years compared to the summer
sailors of about six weeks.
One of the other problems is
what to do with these semi sailors.
We could have a beginner class
to help the summer people get
ready for the high school sailing. This would improve our high
school sailing performance and
would help people like Brock and I
to have a sport at Punahou.
ing food for Super Bowl weekend.
Approx. 1,500 vendors sell 5,000
pounds of hot dogs and 24,000
cans of soda. That’s a lot of food!
The Super Bowl has been held
in New Orleans for nine years,
but next year, Miami will tie that
record and eventually beat it in
2010. Other future Super Bowl
sites include Glendale, Arizona in
2008 and Tampa, Florida in 2009.
The Super Bowl ranks as one
of the largest televised/attended
events in the history of sports. And
with football season at an end,
we’ll have to concentrate on baseball or basketball.
But, everyone is waiting for next
year, to see who will be attending
Super Bowl XLI!
Viewpoint by Lance Miller
S