EDITORIAL
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| se pt e m be r 6, 2 0 1 8
Yet Another Pep Talk for the New Year by caitlin barbour Design by joie agoo
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ow here is where I could give my whole spiel about new year’s and new you’s. I could pretend that I could someday become a motivational speaker for the masses (though I can’t say I would ever want to be). I could pretend that I have lived a fulfilling life with tons of wisdom to give out, and at only seventeen years of age. However, that is not me — and this letter is going to be about me. After coming back to school a few short weeks ago, I suddenly came to the realization that I am on top. I am now part of the senior class — the top dogs of MHS. Yet, it’s not just that. Here I am writing to you as the Editor-in-Chief of Mililani Times, in charge of an entire staff and eight publications this school year. How did I get here? I myself don’t know. All I do know is that I was such a nerdy kid. From the moment I learned to read, I loved it. Then that love for reading turned into a love for
writing. I eventually found my way to journalism two years ago, and after many stressful deadlines and becoming a mini stalker while tracking down interviews, I now find myself here. I can’t say I’m anything special. I merely followed where my love for writing took me. For these past three years of high school I have met so many extraordinary people who have, like me, found their own path. Whether it be in clubs, or councils, or classes, I have witnessed so much change in the people around me, and in the best way possible. Everyday it is a simple joy of mine to watch people happily live their lives (but not in a creepy way). I have been able to watch people follow their interests and achieve their goals both in and out of school, and I hope to see this continue in the coming year. As the year progresses, this paper will continue to be for both the school and community. It will feature people — from students, to teachers, to community members — as they follow their various
Mililani Times’ mission is to inform the community of news, people, and issues of concern. Community. Responsibility. Dependability.
Editor-in-Chief Caitlin Barbour
Alexander Ink | Mililani Times passions. After our success last year, we hope to continue widening our audience by setting up newsstands around the community, in addition to our April issue. Some of you may read it, and some of you may not, but this is me sharing my passion with you. I truly hope you enjoy this year’s Mililani Times.
Community Editor Jenna Nakanishi
Vlog Editor Jasmine Casaña
School Editor Megan Schendel
Social Media Editor Kaitlin Hirasa
Online Editor Chanelle Camero
Director of Sales Aidyn Aradanas
Head Photographer Anika Ramos
Managing Editor Alexander Ink
Copy Editor Chloe Kitsu
Adviser Mr. Christopher Sato Staff
Joie Agoo Tatiana Ala Jenna Lee Bundalian Shantel Gongob Henry Hawes Tonie Herrera Daisy Ann Hipolito Maya Hirano McGwire Ishikawa Hope Ishizaka Madison Kelly
Faustine Miura Genevieve Mumma Jacob Nakasone Sasha Numazu-Fisher Mina Pecoraro Hailey Shoda Charles Tothina Trey Yamamoto
Produced at 95-1200 Meheula Pkwy., Mililani HI 96789 To voice an opinion or concern, feel free to send a letter to L205 or to 2019barbourc@mililanihs.k12.hi.us
NEWS
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Drum Rolls for Marching Band Alumni at DCI Competition By Chanelle CaMero | design by Madison Kelly
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his summer from Aug. 6 to 11, MHS alumnus Akoni Pasoquen-Castillo and alumna Alina Kalani participated in Drum Corps International (DCI) World Championships in Indianapolis, Ind. Pasoquen-Castillo placed sixth in World Class with The Cavaliers and Kalani placed ninth in World Class with the Blue Knights. Individuals are selected to be in competing corps through auditions, each corp having their own audition process and technical requirements. DCI is a non-profit organization that brings together all of the high leveled marching bands to compete. “I think that’s a very big accomplishment for them primarily, but (I’m) very proud to see students that come from Mililani to perform in groups like that and to perform at such a high level,” said Concert Band and Marching Band Director Derek Ka‘apana. Just like at MHS, participants had to go through intense training and difficulties not only physically but mentally as well. “The Cavaliers, like any other corp, practices everyday. During the first month and a half, we stayed at Adrian, Mich. at Adrian College. We did our technique training and also learn(ed) our entire show. A typical day would have three four hour blocks with meal breaks in between and repeat until we head onto tour to perform around the country,” said PasoquenCastillo. “One challenge that I faced leading up to DCI championships was self-confidence. This activity encourages people to push out of their comfort zones to help them grow as performers.” Pasoquen-Castillo and Kalani had gained prior experience through their time in marching band under the direction of Ka‘apana. “I feel like that’s our job as a high school program anyways — is to really
instill in students a sense of pride in what they’re doing but also having them understand that basic techniques and fundamentals are important to becoming better,” said Ka‘apana. “So I was able to see them at (DCI) Championships and watch their rehearsals and get to support them as well so it made me feel really good and I’m happy that they’re taking what they learned in high school, further.” Pasoquen-Castillo added, “They helped by teaching me and giving me as much knowledge in the activity as they can, even till this day they are still teaching me more about the activity. Kpan (Ka‘apana) and Susan (Segawa) also go to DCI championships every year to support us, so it is very nice to see their faces after three months of being away from home.” Both Pasoquen-Castillo and Kalani took what they learned from Ka‘apana and applied it to their training and preparation. “So both Alina and Akoni were part of our program for four years and they went through a very rigorous program in the fall semester and spring semester, every year of their four years of technique and training and doing different shows so that kind of helped prepare them a little bit,” said Ka‘apana. Kalani added, “Performing a show like it means something, is something Mr. Ka‘apana really taught me in high school. All our shows had emotion in them and he always told us that we had the eyes of fire and heart of gold and we weren’t just marching and spinning on a field but we had something more to give.” During preparation for DCI, Blue Knight’s head designer and drill writer quit at the beginning of the year. “Writing a show takes a year for a drum corps and what we did was make a show on the road for the entirety of the summer. Hence
Trey Yamamoto | Mililani Times This was Pasoquen-Castillo’s first year of drum corp while it was Kalani’s last. the writing and rewriting and restaging and learning new work every other day of the summer,” said Kalani. “But how we as a drum corp and as world class performers handled our show and delivered it to the judges and audience as best as we could showed our talents and strive to be great.” The Cavaliers placed with a score of 93.213 and an average of 93.146 over the past three years; they won fifth in Color Guard, seventh in Visual Analysis and Brass and placed sixth in all other captions. “This was my first time doing drum corp and to be able to perform in finals and in front of that crowd was a mind-blowing experience. Of course, the placement does not matter entirely, it shows all the hard work that we have done during the summer. The blood, sweat, and tears that we all endured has paid off once you hit the final set and the final count of the show for the
last time,” said Pasoquen-Castillo. “Mr. Ka‘apana or Kpan and Susan Segawa helped me prepare for DCI as a student when I first joined their program when I was a freshman. I joined as a replacement and after that fell in love with the marching band program.” Blue Knights placed with a score of 88.925 and an average of 88.558 over the past three years; they won eighth in Percussion, ninth in the other two Music captions and General Effect, tenth in Visual Proficiency and Color Guard, and 11th in Visual Analysis. “We have our backs and we love each other. And by the end of the season I can say I have family all over the mainland, wherever I decide to go I have people there who I can call if I need something,” said Kalani. After his first year of drum corps, Pasoquen-Castillo plans to continue in DCI, while this was Kalani’s fifth and last year.
New Teachers 2018-2019
Design By Jenna Lee Bundalian
Malia Brown
Daniella Reyes
Lara DeGuzman
“Every situation in life is temporary, so when life is good make sure you enjoy it and receive it fully. And when life is not good, remember that it doesn’t last forever, and better days are on the way.”
Kathryn Macaraig
Andie Chen
Dorilyn Oka
Matthew Calica
“Before I was a teacher I was a radio announcer, I was mostly a news guy. I worked 10 years in local radio. The last place I worked for was KSSK.”
Steve Stinefelt
Courtney Senas
Aaron Cook
Bryson Terazono
Hank LePage
“I cosplay, I play video games, I like to make things. I etch glass, do vinyl work, I’m into making stuff.”
Holland Theis
“You’re young, there’s a lot of time to be serious and stressed, and for the rest of your life, you’re going to have a lot of responsibilities, so take time to enjoy it.”
Malika Nahina
Traci Berger
Marie Carbone
Kimberly Tangaro
Eri Yamamoto
Marcia George
Kathleen Baker
Kyler Hood
Lorieen Henry
Kimberly Lauzon
Elizabeth Haley Williams
Micah Turell
NEWS
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| Sept e m be r 6, 2 0 1 8
Rascals Make it to Duel Round on World of Dance by Megan Schendel | Design by hailey shoda
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his summer, the 12 Rascals, selected based on skill, how well an O’ahu based dance group, they can handle choreo or how fast competed on season two of they can pick up choreo and stuff the reality competition television like that.” series NBC’s World of Dance Having been selected by where they went up against some the director and instructors of of the world’s top dancers in the Hypersquad Dance Company, the competition for $1 million. The 12 Rascals had to decide whether group is composed of a variety of or not they would enter into the dancers from Hypersquad Dance competition. “All of us saw and Company including three students watched the first season of World from MHS: Junior Bailey Lagua, of Dance and it kind of put us into Junior Caitlin Ebia and Freshman an awe because a lot of crews Lauren Ebia. from different countries were “Being able to experience a showcased on the show and we dream that many other kids may were like if they could do that we dream, truly made me appreciate could do that. For instance, The every little moment that I could’ve Lab, they have the same exact age possibly group as enjoyed us and we “World of Dance while on the were like, has changed my life show. It was if they can and is never especially because I was make it super about clout, far in able to take a hobby, a duper followers the show, and all of passion, and a love of we can too,” that, but Caitlin mine to higher heights.” said rather the Ebia. Lagua opportunity added, “Once to showcase hardwork and passion we all knew that we were going for viewers that may one day to be on the show, there was no aspire to pursue their own dreams. if’s, and’s, or but’s — it was an World of Dance has changed my immediate go for us. Essentially, we life especially because I was able to decided to compete because great take a hobby, a passion and a love of opportunities like this do not come mine to higher heights,” said Lagua. easily. Especially in Hawai’i, huge The 12 Rascals began training opportunities are difficult to grasp, together in the summer of 2017, so we took this one with Hawai’i giving them almost a year to on our backs and our family and prepare for the competition. friends in our hearts.” “The 12 Rascals formed after our In preparation for the intense director, Josh Ulep, was contacted competition that they were to face, by the producers of NBC’s World the 12 Rascals conditioned their of Dance asking if he could put bodies and their minds to be able to together a team of dancers to handle the stress of long days and essentially compete in the show,” performances. “We trained very said Lagua. Caitlin Ebia added, often before competing in World “They had an eye on a few kids and, of Dance. Our rehearsals would basically, just a few kids were hand range from 8 p.m. until 12 a.m. on
Shantel Gongob | Mililani Times (L-R) Lauren Ebia (9), Bailey Lagua (11), Caitlin Ebia (11) weekdays to 12 p.m. until 10 p.m. on weekends,” said Lauren Ebia. World of Dance gave the 12 Rascals countless opportunities and experiences that many dancers can only dream of. “World of Dance changed my life because it showed me that I am capable of achieving my dreams if I just put my faith and hard work into it. I absolutely did not think I was ever gonna be on one of those dancing shows, but here I am. World of Dance has only motivated me to do better and never settle for less,” said Lauren Ebia. Lagua added, “It is definitely an experience that changed our lives. We made new friends, we met influential figures that we all look up to, we strengthened our bond as a team, we did our best to represent Hawai’i, and so on. It was a crazy beginning for us because we’re just kids from the islands with big dreams, dreams that literally
became a living and breathing moment.” The 12 Rascals made it through Qualifiers however, when it came to Duels, the Fabulous Sisters, the team they went head-to-head with, moved forward with an overall score of 95.7 while the 12 Rascals were cut with an overall score of 94.3. “Although we didn’t make it as far as we wanted to, we are still grateful to have made it all the way to The Duels round. This only motivates us to work harder and strive for more for not only this competition, but the competitions to come,” said Lauren Ebia. The 12 Rascals are grateful for the chance they were given to compete on NBC’s World of Dance and hope to continue dancing and maybe even return to the television series for season three. You can follow the 12 Rascals journey on their Instagram account @12ascals.
NEWS
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Female Vocalist Chatters Reaches WCOPA Semifinals
Alexander Ink | Mililani Times Chatters was judged by a range of managers, agents and music producers at WCOPA, giving her the chance to meet and learn from industry professionals. by chloe Kitsu design by Genevieve Mumma
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or as long as she can remember, Junior Kailee Chatters has had a fond love for the performing arts. At the age of eight she began to take lessons with Pas De Deux Hawai‘i and also began performing in local competitions and community theater. On July 6 to 15, her passion took her to Los Angeles, Calif. where she was one of three people from Hawai‘i to compete in the World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA) as a female vocalist representative of the United States. “I don’t remember a time that I didn’t want to go into performing arts. I would watch movies, TV shows, music videos, concerts and I would just think about how I want to do that. At three years old I talked about singing on stage and would do little performances,” said Chatters. WCOPA was something completely new to Chatters, but
after a lot of research on the competition and encouragement from friends, she decided to audition. “My friend actually found out about this competition and she’s like, ‘Oh, I found this and do you want to audition?’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, let me check this out. Is this legit? I don’t want to be paying money just to be scammed.’ So my friend just kinda got me to audition,” said Chatters. An application and audition video must be submitted online and then the contestant must wait for a response. “You go through multiple rounds and they tell you if you moved up or not, and then eventually they’ll let you know, ‘Oh yeah, you can come to L.A. — you can come to California to compete live,’” said Chatters. When Chatters arrived at WCOPA, the atmosphere of the competition gave her a new outlook on the entertainment industry. “I feel like it opened my eyes to figure
out that there is a lot more to the whole industry instead of just being, ‘Oh, I’m the famous one,’ or ‘I’m the lead singer.’ There’s a lot more to it. And how many talented people are out there, oh my gosh, I’ve never seen so much talent in one place. (It) really helped me see different walks of life, cultures, how badly some people wanted it and how willing they’re able to work at everything — it was definitely eye opening,” said Chatters. WCOPA prides itself on being the only “Olympic-style” competition where people from all around the world can come together to compete in multiple categories based around the entertainment industry. “It was pretty cool, the hard part was you couldn’t really talk to anyone about what’s going to happen and everything until you got there. Meeting your team, it feels really last minute just because you meet your team a day before you start competing. Some teams, like Team Philippines, they live by each other for the whole year and they all train together and everything — Team U.S. you meet them a day before,” said Chatters. WCOPA not only puts on a competition for the contestants, they also host different events for the teams. “When you get there it’s really hard to stay healthy and keep your singing voice really good because there’s a lot of activities and parades — cultural parades — and you’re trying to meet all these people from different countries and everything. So, you’re starting to lose your voice, so you gotta save that ‘cause you’re there for a competition too, not just for pure fun,” said Chatters. The competition not only gave her the opportunity to compete against people around the world, but also gave her the chance to meet and work with industry professionals. “All of the judges are either agents, managers, some
are producers or it might be an assistant to the manager. But your judges, they’ll give you a list (and) if anybody wants to see you again, you go in and you talk to them. So I had to do a lot of interviews and you have to go out of your way to get your appointments and everything; so that makes your week really busy, but it’s worth it,” said Chatters. “And another highlight was the bootcamp day. So we got to listen to all these teachers that tell you how to make money in the music industry, or it depends on what you want to do. So there was a dance class, a modeling class and there was a couple of schools like New York Film Academy and the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts. You could go audition for scholarships for them while you’re there or you can just learn about the school.” The experience Chatters gained from WCOPA has given her the opportunity to broaden her skills not only in performing arts, but in life. “So whether I do go into music or not, I feel like (I) definitely (learned) time management skills, a lot of time management skills. I also learned just how to interact with people that I wouldn’t normally interact with. I feel like I became more confident. Just because you have to make all these friends that you’ve never actually even think about talking to if you saw them at school. (I learned) how to be aggressive, but not too aggressive when you meet industry professionals to show, ‘Hey I really want you to hire me,’ or ‘I really want you to sign me,’ so just figuring out how to show them how passionate you are,” said Chatters. Chatters placed as a semifinalist in the female vocalist category. Team U.S. took home 29 gold medals, 30 silver, 16 bronze, 19 overall category winners, 17 semifinalists, seven finalists and three Grand Champions.
September Event Calendar sept. 1
Cross country
@ MILILANI HIGH SCHOOL 8:30 a.m.-11:00 a.m.
sat
Soft tennis
@ PEARL CITY HIGH SCHOOL 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
no school!
sept. 4 Bowling
@ SCHOFIELD 4:30 P.m.-7:30 P.m.
sept. 6 girls volleyball
@ waialua high school 5:30 P.m.-8:30 P.m.
@ waianae high school 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
@ mililani high school 5:00 P.m.
jv softball
labor day!
tue
girls volleyball
mililani complex band & orchestra festival
@ KAPOLEI HIGH SCHOOL 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
sept. 3
sept. 11
sept. 12 jv softball
mon
tue
girls volleyball
@ mililani high school 5:30 P.m.-8:30 P.m. vs. kapolei
sept. 15 thu
Cross country
sept. 22
cross country
thu
SOFT TENNIS
@ LEILEHUA HIGH SCHOOL 2:00 P.m.-5:30 P.m.
sat
@ kalani HIGH SCHOOL 8:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m.
homecoming parade 9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.
sat
CROSS COUNTRY
@ MILILANI HIGH SCHOOL 3:00 P.m.-5:00 p.m. VS. LEILEHUA
sept. 17
FOOTBALL
@ MILILANI HIGH SCHOOL 4:00 P.M.-10:00 p.m. VS. punahou
Bowling
live at mta
sept. 10 Bowling
@ SCHOFIELD 4:30 P.m.-7:30 P.m.
girls volleyball
mon
@ leilehua high school 5:30 P.m.-8:30 P.m.
sat
@ rec 5 4:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
Bowling
@ mililani high schoo l 5:30 P.m.-8:30 P.m. vs. campbell
mon
sept. sept 28 “Rent” school edition @ pearl city cultural center showtime 7:30 p.m.
tue
“Rent” school edition
sept. 30 “Rent” school edition
mon
@ SCHOFIELD 4:30 P.m.-7:30 P.m.
girls volleyball
@ kahuku HIGH SCHOOL 4:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. @ Pearl city cultural center showtimes 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
fall craft fair
sept. 27
@ rec 7 5:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
sept. 18
football
tue
@ mililani HIGH SCHOOL 5:30 p. P m.
@ SCHOFIELD 4:30 P.m.-7:30 P.m.
@ pearl city high school 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. @ mililani HIGH SCHOOL 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. vs. waianae
fall pops concert
@ mililani HIGH SCHOOL 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. vs. kapolei
soft tennis oia doubles jv softball
@ pearl city high school 5:30 P.m.-8:30 P.m.
@ mililani HIGH SCHOOL 4:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. vs. campbell
jv softball
thu
girls volleyball
jv softball
sat
@ corp 8:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m.
sept. 25
@mililani high school 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. vs. aiea high school
football
@ AIEA HIGH SCHOOL 3:00 P.M.-5:00 p.m.
@ kaiser high school 8:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m.
cheer preseason
Cross country division meet
sept. 24
soft tennis
sept. 8
@ mililani high school 5:30 P.m.-8:30 P.m. vs. aiea
sept. 29 @ radford HIGH SCHOOL 8:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
@mhs cafe 5:00 P. m.-8:00 P.m.
girls volleyball
wed
wed
college fair & senior parent night
sept. 20
@ leilehua high school 3:00 P.m.-5:00 P.m.
sept. 13
sept. 19
thu
fri
@ pearl city cultural center showtime 2:00 p.m.
sun