Issue 4 by Trojan Times

MILILANI TIMES MILILANI HIGH SCHOOL ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 13, 2018

Holiday season With Christmas songs playing and gingerbread cookies baking, the holiday season is officially here. Beyond Christmas, there are many interesting and meaningful holidays celebrated by other cultures and countries. The holiday season is also known as a season for giving. But do these presents represent good will or our tendency towards materialism? Check out the pros and cons of Christmas and the feature on winter traditions inside.

inside 6 Sleep Deprivation 8 Hour of Code 12 Malia Estella

Hanagami’s students code first place app ChanelleCamero Camero Chanelle

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n Nov. 10, Seniors Tyler Birchard, Jimmie DiGiacinto, Riley Kennicott, Ava Lowell, Juniors Trey Amrich, Anthony Bragg, Kobe Uyeda and Sophomore Shane Parslow placed first in the Hawai’i Annual Code Challenge (HACC). HACC is a hackathon influenced competition designed to allow community members to innovate state functions and services. The team had to create an app that resolves the problem with energy usage. “The main purpose of our app was to give the user a simple and streamlined interface that they could use to display the energy data from UH Manoa. We gave them parameters to filter the data so that they could view the data for any time interval and any amount of buildings, allowing the user to actually look at the data and make judgements based upon the overall trend,” said Birchard. HACC provided the students with the opportunity to solve a real world problem. The point of creating this app was to visualize energy data in order to help reduce the massive usage of power. “The purpose was to take the energy usage data from the UH Manoa energy usage building trackers, and make a visual representation of the data that would be easy for people to

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understand. We met the goal by creating a line graph that displays the data, and a line graph can be easily read,” said Kennicott. Class of ‘18 alumnus Jason Godmere who mentored the team added, “The app starts by taking inventory of all available buildings and time intervals from the CSV file and loads each buildings on the interface automatically as its own button. This allows the user to simply toggle the button and click the graph button to access the data.” The database file was provided by the UH Office of Energy in CSV file; a spreadsheet format. Their app outputs this data onto a graph. “The user has control over the time range of the data displayed, the buildings for which this data is displayed, and the option to add markers denoting noon and midnight of each day. We decided to do it this way because we wanted to give them a simple solution to visualize the data, something better than staring at a massive sheet of data and deciding what to do with it. Users can also, with multiple instances of the program, compare energy outputs for the same buildings over different time periods, visualizing changes and anomalies that might happen with a building over the course of say, two separate years,” said Birchard.

The team created the app using the Python programming language due to their familiarity with it and its easy usage. Junior Anthony Bragg helped work on reading the database file and enabling the app to interpret it. The team had three weeks to work on the app. They spent over 50 hours on it with the help of Godmere who participated in HACC as a senior. “Going into this project I knew that there were three key aspects that we needed to have a working concept in time. They were proper use of Python and the libraries we were using, a plan of action in the structure of the program and a cohesive knowledge of version control, in this case got, to work together and stay on the same page. Since the team had very different skill sets and knowledge, the first week was entirely on getting everyone up to speed on the plan of action and the software tools involved,” said Godmere. The team split up into three subteams who worked on user interface, reading the database file and allowing the app to interpret it and outputting interpreted data onto a graph. “During the development phase, which lasted about one and a half to two weeks, we would all come in every day after school and work for about three to four hours, each of us independently working on the separate aspects of our program,” said Birchard. “For much of that development period we would each work with our subteams to complete our assigned portion of the program. Personally, I broke up the user interface subteam into creating each of the individual components of the user interface.” After working in the three subteams, the team worked together to merge the three sections — user interface, database code and the outputted data onto a graph —

together, which proved to be the most challenging part. “However when we tried to integrate the database program with the user interface, this functionality completely crashed. We were all working tirelessly on this problem for these hours, breaking down each aspect of the code, from our user interface code to the other subteam’s database code. Eventually, we came to an epiphany, moving a chunk of code from one function to another, changing the way the program interpreted it and solving the problem,” said Birchard. Kennicott added, “It took a lot of work and effort, but after about 10 hours of work we finally got everything working smoothly.” The apps were judged in two parts: technical evaluation and the presentation of their demonstration. These two parts were both weighted 50 percent in judging. The team presented their app in a three minute long presentation, showing off the app’s features and how it provides a solution to the problem. “The judges were then given time to question us and bring up the shortcomings of our programs, much to the dismay of every team. During this period we were scored on many of the same aspects as the technical review, but new criteria was included, such as sustainability and team collaboration,” said Birchard. From this experience, the team learned the value of teamwork after collaborating to create their first place winning app. For more information about HACC and their challenges, you can go to http://hacc.hawaii.gov/

The user interface that was used was programmed with Kivy, a Python library that facilitated the creation of interface elements such as text inputs and buttons. The user interface saves the entries the user provides and parses the database for the range that the user provides.

Kivy provides the programmer with a series of methods that allow them to specify parameters to determine the specifics of the element.

Workin’ It: Not Your A

(L to R): Maysa Segovia, Kelsie Kuniyoshi, Lauren Ramos

Maya Hirano

n today’s society, many high school students work for various purposes; some want to get a headstart on their college funding, while others are looking for an opportunity to acquire more spending money. In 2017, about 20 percent of high school students had either a part-time or fulltime job, and while many students are employed at local fast-food joints, some students have jobs that are more unique to their personal skills. Juniors Maysa Segovia and Lauren Ramos along with Senior Kelsie Kuniyoshi all have

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jobs that are influenced by their own interests. “I decided to be a swim instructor because I grew up at the YMCA, I took swim lessons at a very young age and I was on the YMCA swim team, later prompting me to join club swim. I wanted to share my experiences as a swimmer and want to give back to my people,” said Segovia. Segovia, who is also part of the MHS swim and water polo team, is a swim team coach and an instructor at the Mililani YMCA. She works on Wednesdays and Fridays, teaching swim lessons to

kids that are of three years of age and older, as well as adults. “I love my job because working with kids is fun as well as working with my co-workers since we know how to have fun while making sure we do our jobs the right way,” said Segovia. “Swimming has always been a part of my life and my family. Both of my sisters who have graduated from Mililani High School swam since they were little, and has been something we bonded over for a long time.” Kuniyoshi’s jobs are also influenced by her childhood passion. She dances hula and Tahitian professionally and is a teaching assistant

Jenna Lee Bundalian

for ballet and hip hop with Na Maka O Pu’uwai Aloha. “I started dancing hula when I was three. I started dancing Tahitian and hip hop when I was 10 or nine. I started dancing jazz when I was 12, and I started dancing ballet and tap when I was 13. My whole life revolves around dance. Basically I’m always at the studio. I take dance here; I took hula my first two years of high school and I take dance now as a senior,” said Kuniyoshi. Being able to teach younger students gives high school students a feel of what it is like for their own teachers to teach

Average Student Job

them. They also learn responsibility in the form of time management skills, as they have to balance the demands of school work with their job. “This job teaches you patience, responsibility and teamwork because you can’t always do everything by yourself. Things happen that you may not expect and learning to be prepared for the unexpected and doing your best to overcome it is a great life skill to learn. It can be challenging at times because kids have a lot of energy and making sure they are safe at all times is our number one priority,” said Segovia. Kuniyoshi

added, “I love kids but sometimes they can test me. They have attitudes, I mean I have an attitude too, but ballet is really disciplinary; they have to have the correct form, they have to know how to dance and I don’t want to waste parents’ money.” Ramos, who has been playing piano since she was six, also knows the challenges of teaching children as she teaches piano lessons on Tuesdays and Fridays. “Sometimes I get frustrated because I’m a little impatient. I have to learn how to be more patient and to understand that they’re still young and they have a lot to learn,” said Ramos.

While working with kids is often difficult, it has its rewards. It makes students appreciate their own teachers and the effort that they put in to be able to educate the younger generations. “On all the holidays, they’re always giving me gifts, like chocolates, and it’s fun because I know they appreciate me. I always get to get hugs before they leave, and they’re like ‘Thank you Ms. Kelsie’ and I like it. Even if they’re naughty, they still say thank you and give me hugs,” said Kuniyoshi. Ramos added, “I think it’s nice to see how much they can learn and that I can be able to teach them that.” While students get jobs for

different reasons, many of them use their jobs to gain valuable work experience. For students like Ramos, having a job that is enjoyable and personal can also be a stepping stone in looking for the right career to pursue. Ramos hopes to maybe open her own piano business in the future. For Kuniyoshi and Segovia, their jobs expanded their experience in leadership roles which will help to guide them in whatever path they choose.

Malia Estella Chloe Kitsu

ince 2016, Junior Malia Boksanski has pursued a career in modeling with Renew Artists, one of Hawai‘i’s top modeling agencies. Boksanski has done an array of photoshoots and fashion shows, some of which include Honolulu Magazine and Velocity Honolulu. More commonly known as Malia Estella, Boksanski took an interest in modeling at first as a hobby, but over time her passion for it grew as she gained more experience. “I started it in 2016 so I was 14, I think, but I wasn’t really getting any opportunities, it was more for fun. But then over the summer of 2018 I started getting a lot more opportunities and things to do,” said Boksanski. Boksanski first took an interest in modeling in order to overcome her shyness. Boksanski’s name, Malia Estella, stems from her first and middle name — after being scouted by Renew Artists, this then became her name in her modeling career. “So before I started modeling — like in middle school and in my freshman year of high school — I was so introverted, I didn’t have a lot of friends, I stuck by myself and public speaking, even in class if one of my teachers pulled a stick and it was me I would like freak out.

Genevieve Mumma

Jenna Lee Bundalian

I’d have to stand up and I couldn’t speak, my voice was so shaky and it was just a terrible experience. And I don’t know what prompted me to get into modeling but I was like, ‘I don’t think this is good, I want to put myself out there more,’ and I got into it. And I feel like once I started modeling (it) just kinda flipped a switch inside me and I just started being more outgoing and more talkative,” said Boksanski. “So Estella is my middle name and that was just my Instagram username, Malia Estella. And I got scouted by an agency in Hawai’i called Renew Artists and they just got in touch with me and they started calling me Malia Estella. And I was like, ‘You know that sounds good, so I’ll just go with it.’” Through her experiences with modeling Boksanski has been able to connect and meet people within the industry. These opportunities have helped her to come out of her shell and allow her to enjoy the art of modeling. “I think it’s (that) I meet a lot of new people and everyone kind of in the modeling agency: other models, photographers, agents — they are genuinely nice people which is really great. So it’s good to network with a lot of people and a lot of people ask me if I do it to get paid. And I mean, that’s definitely a cool

aspect of it to me, but the main thing is really just — it’s like a risk for me (to) go out there, take a chance and have fun,” said Boksanski. Through her numerous experiences with modeling, she is able to participate in new opportunities that push her out of her comfort zone. “I did a shoot for Honolulu Magazine with two other girls, and that was so much fun. Because at first everyone told me it was gonna be for this small Kahala Mall magazine and all of a sudden one day a friend sent me a picture and was like, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re in this magazine,’ and I was like, ‘That’s so crazy.’ But then also, I did this really fun one where at this event for The Modern at Velocity Honolulu and it was basically an informal modeling thing where I just walked around wearing a designer’s clothes. And I think that was really memorable because again, modeling for me is getting out there and trying new things and that was a step forward in that,” said Boksanski. The average height for a model is between 5’8 and 5’11. Boksanski is 5’6 and faces some obstacles when it comes to her height and modeling, but doesn’t let her height stop her. “I think the biggest

challenge I face is my height because sometimes I’ll go to shoots and I’ll be with girls that are super skinny and almost six feet tall. And I’m a good half a foot shorter than them so it’s definitely — at first it made me feel really unsure about myself. I didn’t think it was something that I could pursue because of my height. But the more I thought about it, I was like, I need to have tough skin and my height is what makes me who I am and I love it, I wouldn’t change it now,” said Boksanski. Along with modeling Boksanski also has a passion for serving her community. In July 2018, she went to the Dominican Republic with Global Leadership Adventures where she worked with a nongovernmental organization called 7 Elements. “So I went to the Dominican Republic because I found this really cool program about going abroad and working on sustainable development in the Dominican Republic and that was super cool to me. It was what I was interested in — I’m really interested in the environment and engineering and I went there for about three weeks and it was such an eye opening experience. And actually when I came back I was like, I’m not gonna do

modeling, I’m gonna delete my Instagram — I just felt so grateful for all the opportunities that everyone was giving me and just being able to go to school and live in a nice house,” said Boksanski. Even though Boksanski has gained much experience in modeling, her humility for the opportunities she has gotten is her main focus. By being able to influence

“I’m just one person but even being one person, I can make a big difference.” those through not only modeling but also service work, her overall goal is to influence people to make a difference. “I think the biggest thing is being humble, I’m so thankful for every opportunity that I’ve received and I’m definitely — I still feel like I am the same person, I’m still the

introverted person, public speaking was the most terrifying thing ever. I feel like modeling doesn’t change that, it’s just a thing that I like to do, it’s a thing that’s fun for me and it doesn’t make me any less of a person than I was before,” said Boksanski. “I’ve learned that I’m just one person but even being one person, I can make a big difference. Either me going to a different country or even just going in my community and doing volunteer work, service work, or even just modeling — I have little cousins who are just like, ‘Oh my gosh we saw you in this magazine, that’s crazy.’ Just being a role model for them or even being a role model for other kids just by doing community service, that’s really cool to me.” In the future, Boksanski wants to attend college for civil engineering or environmental science. While focusing on school is her main priority, she hopes to continue modeling in the future. You can follow her on Instagram @maliaestella.

Model,

Humanitarian

Jacob Nakasone

Anika Ramos

behavioral regulation, growth, and anked as the no. 1 public cognitive functioning. If we do not school in Hawai’i in 2018 by get enough sleep, we are not as U.S. News, MHS excels as one productive as we can be, it affects of the top schools in the state. MHS our mood, which affects our welloffers various Advanced Placement being and relationships,” said Dr. (AP) courses, dozens of clubs, many Cathy Bell, a child and adolescent extracurricular activities and has Psychiatrist. MHS AP Psychology experienced great success in their teacher Doug athletic programs. However, the rigor If we do not get enough sleep, Muraoka added, “Sleep has of these activities we are not as productive as many functions, has its drawbacks — due to a combination we can be, it affects our mood, but the most is the of course load, which affects our well-being important regeneration of homework, sports, and relationships, cells necessary to extracurriculars, or fight off illness or even jobs, a great disease. The second (function) is the deal of the student population is enhancement of creative thought sleep deprived. and problem solving.” “Sleep is important in stress The negative effects of sleep management, emotional and

/slēp/ /dep·rih·vay·Shun/ noun the situation or condition of suffering from a lack of sleep. occurs when an individual gets less sleep than they need to feel awake and alert.

Junior Kosmo Wojack

Joie Agoo deprivation aren’t limited to only occurring during waking hours. When sleeping, the body undergoes several changes, which can be greatly reduced due to sleep deprivation. “Sleep enables memory consolidation — during sleep, the brain transfers short-term memories to become long-term memories. In fact, sleep experts say that a student can learn better after ‘sleepingon-it,’ particularly after learning a physical skill or something that requires higher level thinking like analyzing,” said Dr. Lynn Goya, a clinical Psychologist. “Of course, sleep replenishes our energy stores that we use while we are awake. Other research suggests that sleep contributes to the formation of new cells in the brain. Sleep may also reduce damage caused by oxidative stress. Molecules called free radical form naturally whenever the body metabolizes oxygen.” The effects of sleep deprivation varies in extremity, some may be minor effects, while others can have damaging effects on the human body. These effects also range from short-term to longterm periods of time. “Although sleep deprivation affects everyone,

research has shown that younger adults (including teens) are more negatively affected by sleep deprivation than older adults. Younger adults’ brains and bodies are still developing, and depriving it of rest and recuperation can be critical to future health,” said Goya. Bell added, “(Students may experience) depression, anxiety, psychosis, low self-esteem, (and) academic failure.” Sleep deprivation is not limited to affecting only the mental side of students. The physical appearances of students can also be affected by lack of sleep. “(Students may have) more hanging eyelids, red and swollen eyes, darker under-eye circles, paler skin, more wrinkles and more droopy corners of the mouth,” said Goya. In addition to these short term effects, long term problems may also arise due to continued sleep loss. These problems, while not visibly detectable when first beginning, may build up over time. “Studies have shown linkage between sleep deprivation to stroke and heart disease,” said Muraoka. Bell added, “(Students may experience) failure in college, poor relationships with family and friends, (and the inability to) reach one’s (full) potential.”

58.1 percent of MHS students s

Sleep Deprivation Facts The effects of sleep deprivation thought disturbances (e.g. paranoia, can affect not only one person, negative thinking, depressed but others around them. Many car thoughts, anxious thoughts); crashes or workplace accidents have and impairments in cognition been linked to sleep deprivation. (e.g. difficulty focusing, planning, “Although it may be difficult to organizing, memory problems).” untangle cause and effects, it’s These effects can contribute to likely that sleep deprivation and a student’s performance both in problems controlling impulses and and outside of school. They may emotion worsen each other, leading also lead to problems arising with to a ‘negative spiral’ of fatigue and student’s mental health. Goya sleepiness, poor decision-making added, “(People may have a) and risky behavior. Research shows weakened ability to deal with daythat staying up 17-19 consecutive to-day stressors (and) ramp up brain hours is akin areas that contribute to having a Studies have shown linkage to excessive worrying.” blood-alcohol Students vary in between sleep deprivation to their percentage over need for sleep stroke and heart disease, due to various genetic the legal limit. This doesn’t and environmental mean that the person actually has factors. Some may require six alcohol in their system – it means hours of sleep to function without that their thinking and emotions are tiredness, while others may need responding at the level of someone more than six to stay focused. who is legally drunk,” said Goya. Despite these variations, science There are various symptoms has found the average amount of that indicate an inability to get the sleep teens should get on a daily proper amount of sleep. While basis. “Most studies indicate a some signs are easily visible, number between six to nine hours others may remain unnoticed until as optimal,” said Muraoka. Dr. Goya sleep deprivation occurs over added, “Research shows that a long durations of time. “Some of quarter of teens get no more than the obvious symptoms are the 6.5 hours of sleep a night.” inability to stay awake during the For many students, these day, fatigue, changes in appetite, numbers cannot be met on a daily memory, or behavior,” said Muraoka. basis due to homework and other Bell added, “(Students may responsibilities. However, students experience) mood disturbances (e.g. can solve this loss of sleep through depression and anger outbursts); various solutions. “If academics are interfering with sleep, it’s best to increase academic support from teachers and parents, or reduce the academic demand. Sleep is one of the top three predictors of success

surveyed nap during the school week and 76.2 percent get less than 7 hours of sleep.

staying up 17-19 consecutive hours is akin to having a blood alcohol percentage over the legal limit - thinking and emotions are responding at the level of someone who is legally drunk.

If you move your cell phone away from your bed, turn off the TV, etc., you’ll find you get a better nights sleep.

Most studies indicate a number between six to nine hours as optimal, however Research shows that a quarter of teens get no more than 6.5 hours of sleep a night.

Naps can be beneficial as long as they are short in duration, around 15 to 20 minutes.

in adulthood,” said Dr. Bell. shows that exercise increases total Despite students’ tiredness sleep time, particularly the slowor desire to sleep, some still wave sleep that’s important for struggle with the ability to fall body repair and maintenance. But asleep or stay asleep. While some try to exercise at least four hours students may be diagnosed with before sleeping to give your body a sleeping disorder, others are time to wind down,” said Goya. simply unable to get a good night’s “Turn off your worried thinking. If rest. However, there are various you are feeling stressed or anxious, solutions to this problem. “In have a worry-journal where you today’s modern and technological write down all your worries (and world, the simplest imagine them way to get better Say ‘when’ and don’t seek being transported sleep is to eliminate from your mind to perfection. Perfection on the journal), just your distractions which mostly come before bed. Or homework or tests is from the use of download an app an artificial threshold electronics. If you with relaxing sleep that you set, move your cell music, or guided phone away from meditation.” your bed, turn off the TV, etc, you’ll One of the biggest factors in find you get a better nights sleep,” knowing when to sleep are the said Muraoka. Dr. Bell added, goals which students set for “Have a bedtime routine, ensure themselves. For many, high goals that (the) room is comfortable, may result in low amounts of cool, quiet, dark. Avoid caffeine late sleep for consecutive weeks. “Say in the evening (and) sometimes ‘when’ and don’t seek perfection. late baths can keep one awake. Use Perfection on homework or tests (the) bed just for sleeping and not is an artificial threshold that you for homework.” set – it is actually a continuum, for Additionally, sleep is affected by example, from 90 to 100 percent. the physical and mental health of Set a time to go to bed and study students. There are various ways diligently until then. Then get some in which pre-sleep routines can sleep. Seeking perfection robs you benefit a night’s rest. “Maintain a of (the) quality of life,” said Goya. regular exercise routine. Research In high school sports, the

60%

of mhs students experience fatigue/ tiredness during the school day

of mhs students think sleep deprivation affects their mental & physical capabilities to some degree

10607 mhs students surveyed 10

constant practices and games causes damage to a student athlete’s body. For athletes, sleep plays a beneficial role in recovery, both physically and mentally. “Sleep and rest assist with basic injury recovery, allowing for increased metabolism, cell turnover and injury recovery. Studies have (shown an) associated increased risk for injury such as ACL tears with mental and physical fatigue. This may be related to decreased reactionary response times, resulting in the small stabilizing musculature to have delayed responses to finite movements, resulting in decreased stability and increased risk of injury,” said Meghan Shaw, a Physical Therapist at Jaco Rehab. A common occurrence for students is to take a nap during free time; many times, this practice occurs at home but sometimes, students may choose to do this during school hours. However, there are various ideas pertaining

to this practice and many believe that it can damage our nightly sleep patterns. “Naps can be beneficial as long as they are short in duration, around 15 to 20 minutes,” said Muraoka. Many dangerous occurrences may happen due to a lack of sleep. One of the biggest dangers is an effect called microsleep. “Microsleep is a sudden onset of sleep lasting only seconds. They are uncontrollable and definitely dangerous if you are driving, operating machinery, or in any situation requiring your undivided attention,” said Muraoka. While school and other activities are an important part of student’s lives, there is a heavy cost for not compromising and finding time to sleep. Sleep is vital in shaping teenagers’ physical and mental health — both in the present and for their futures. To be healthy, students can look to find a balance between sleep and their daily activities.

hat are some improvements you think can be made to help students get more sleep during the school year?

It would be hard for the teachers to change like their course load. And I know they’re just trying to prepare us and teach us content at the same time, but yeah, it would be nice if they could lessen the load just a little. I don’t know how they would implement that. But yeah, or just being like a little more understanding of all the other things going on at the same time and understand that their class isn’t the only class that we’re taking.

-Senior Chloe Fong

So I think most teachers are pretty good at managing the workload and dealing out and appropriate amount of homework, but I think especially during finals weeks, they can lighten the load. That would help a lot. -Junior Hayley Labonte

I know that even with all the classes, I take way more than enough time to get it all done. Like even when kids start procrastinating, you can see the teachers making accommodations for the kids. So they definitely do consider it. -Senior Matthew Powell

Students have trouble staying awake in class — 78 percent of MHS students surveyed report impairments in cognition (e.g. difficulty focusing, planning, organizing, memory problems). Junior Kosmo Wojack

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VEX Robotics displayed their robot and allowed people to operate it at the community night. They could move the robot around, pick up a ball and throw it to someone of their choice.

First robotics host hour of code

The FIRST Robotics team’s counterpart at the middle school also participated in the Hour of Code Night, showing off their robots.

CaitlinBarbour Barbour Caitlin

n Dec. 5, the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) LEGO Robotics team, with the help of volunteers from VEX Robotics, National Honor Society, Video Game Club, Science Club and Mililani Middle School’s FIRST LEGO team, hosted a Hour of Code event in the MHS cafeteria. Hour of Code started as a one hour introduction to computer science by Code.org, held annually during Computer Science Education Week. Over the years, it has grown into a global event with millions of participants and has now made its way to Mililani. “It aligns with our mission as a FIRST team that we want to make sure that people know that STEM can be for everyone. It’s this big scary thing ‘cause it’s always a challenging course but in certain doses it’s very accessible to everyone and the skills that you develop by doing STEM and computer science is transferable to a lot of different professions, a lot of different subjects. It’s not just about the subject matter, it’s

One of the stations was a “Crack the Code” encription activity, in which students had to decrypt a message provided to them.

AnikaRamos Ramos Anika CaitlinBarbour Barbour Caitlin

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not just about the knowledge, it’s about developing the skills that go beyond just the STEM fields. So the overall goal of this is just to kinda show that like computer science can be for everyone in some shape or form,” said FIRST Robotics advisor Tyson Kikugawa. While not being the first Hour of Code event to be hosted in Mililani, it was the first of this scale. The FIRST Robotics team hosted not only the community event, but also went to Kipapa Elementary School three times in the week to lead different grade levels in a Dance Party programming activity. “This year’s theme is ‘creativity’ and for their Hour of Code Dance Party activity it’s meant to introduce them to the basics of coding and programming, but in a way that’s different from your normal classroom experience. It’s meant to be something that allows them to explore their creativity. So there are different animals that they can code, they got a whole bunch of different dance moves and songs that they can pick from to code the animals to dance those songs. So

it’s really up to them how much they want to do it,” said Kikugawa. Each year, Code.org provides different tutorials and programs that interested teachers can use if they want to host a Hour of Code. At the community night, there were programs offered by Code.org, in addition to original activities and stations provided by the different volunteers. “There will be a ‘programming playground’ in the cafe with fun unplugged and plugged activities — with or without computers. For example, one of the unplugged activities is ‘Conditional Statement Simon Says’ where students play Simon Says, but instead of the phrase ‘Simon says,’ it is some other statement like ‘if time less than three seconds,’” said Project Manager of FIRST Robotics Jasmine Chase. Assistant Project Manager of FIRST Robotics Evan Takushi added, “The breakout sessions will be LEGO Robotics, (using) EV3 robotics kits and programming them to do missions, dance party, using block coding to make a

program that has music and animals dancing, and Bloxels, a program that is used with little blocks to make a video game.” After the successful Hour of Code event, the FIRST Robotics team plans to take in the feedback they received and try for an even better event next year. “We can learn from it and try to do a little more in terms of making improvements and using whatever feedback we can get to run it again,” said Kikugawa. Chase added, “I think that from hosting the “Hour of Code” night for the first time, we will be more prepared for future years. I think that the kids had a lot of fun, in fact some of them didn’t want to leave some of the stations at all. In the future, I would probably either just do sessions or just do stations; it got too confusing and people fluctuated too much.” In the future the FIRST Robotics team hopes to continue to do more service projects to encourage students to take an interest in STEM, showing them that it can be fun and interesting.

It’s the Most

Wonderful ofTime the Year Caitlin Barbour Megan Schendel

Nice List

he sight of twinkling lights and shiny garland, the smell of freshly baked gingerbread and peppermint candy canes, the sound of jingling bells and Christmas carols, only one holiday can bring back such nostalgia. The holiday season, in all its forms, is arguably one of the best times of the year. From childhood, December just seems to hold a certain kind of magic. Picking out Christmas trees, baking cookies, writing letters to Santa, everyone may have their own traditions and memories for the holiday season but the wonder and excitement felt ties everyone together. No matter how old people may be, what background they might have, the “Christmas spirit” is contagious. As kids, the world becomes one of magic; a jolly old man in a red suit flies across the world in a sleigh pulled by reindeer, delivering presents around the world all in one night. From mall Santas to reply letters from the North Pole, adults go to such lengths to perpetuate the story; there is a general understanding that no one is to tell them that Santa isn’t real — a universal, but unspoken taboo. Because of this, children are able to experience magic outside of TV shows and movies, which in turn gives them the impression that anything can happen. Even if people may outgrow this belief, the holiday season is the one time of year that adults are able to once again look at the world with a childlike innocence and wonder. In contrast from the monotonous routine of adult life — full of work and responsibilities — people can wear silly hats or holiday sweaters, decorate their trees and houses, wrap presents in colorful wrapping paper and generally take part in the joyful (or dare I say, jolly) atmosphere. This sense of magic that is instilled in children, that even lasts into adulthood, promotes a feeling of goodwill that makes the holidays a season of giving. Whether it be giving presents to friends and family, donating to toy drives or giving spare change to the charity collectors outside of stores, there is an undeniable shift in attitude around the holidays. While the gifts themselves may often not hold much meaning beyond being the “it” toy of the year, the feelings behind the present remains. Each gift is given out of kindness to show that the giver cares for the receiver. (Afterall, why give a gift to someone you don’t care about?) When it comes down to it, Christmas is all about enjoying the holiday with people you love. The atmosphere that Christmas fosters offers a break from the normal everyday, encouraging people of all ages to give to others and spread good cheer each year.

Caitlin Barbour Caitlin Barbour Megan Schendel Megan Schendel

Caitlin Barbour MadisonMegan Kelly Schendel

Naughty List

hristmas is a time of love and giving; a time to celebrate family and friends; “it’s the most wonderful time of the year,” right? Wrong. The Christmas season officially begins on the third Friday of November — Black Friday. We spend an entire day declaring how thankful we are for everything and then proceed to spend the next 12 hours fighting over televisions that are 15 percent off. As if that isn’t bad enough, Black Friday continues to grow and grow every year, with sales now spanning an entire week and stores opening as early as 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving day — cutting into many people’s Thanksgiving dinner. Christmas itself is like a tumor, stretching further and further every year. This year, stores began selling Christmas supplies in October — nearly three months prior to Christmas. Department stores just skip right over Thanksgiving, going right from Halloween — a holiday centered around dressing up and eating candy — to Christmas — a holiday focused on celebrating worldly goods. Alongside the holiday, consumers’ expectations of gifts during the holiday season have also grown. Driven by the ideas presented by corporations, thousands of people fall for the image of Christmas morning and a tree with a couple dozen gifts wrapped neatly underneath. Thousands of consumers max out their credit cards during the holiday season, with the average consumer spending almost $1000 on gifts each Christmas. Gone is the time where a small present under the Christmas tree was the only thing needed to make your children happy. This holiday, once used to teach children the importance of giving to others, now instills the spirit of materialism in hundreds of thousands of children from an early age — ingraining the ‘if I don’t get this I’m going to die’ attitude in many. Furthermore, Christmas brings with it increased traffic and endless TSA lines with ‘over the river and through the woods’ usually involving delayed flights and dozens of people yelling at the help desk. If that’s not enough to deter you, the endless Christmas music is. Sure it’s great, until you’re forced to spend the next 340 days between Christmas and next December trying to get the songs out of your head just in time for it to start all over again. But, it’s okay because it’s all in the spirit of celebrating Jesus Christ’s birthday, right? Wrong, nobody really knows when he was born — he could’ve been born in the spring for all we know.

Winter Traditions

China

Philippines Mexico

For those in China, the holiday is mostly celebrated in major cities and known as the spring festival to those who are not Christians. People make family feasts with Chinese delicacies such as barbequed pork, chicken and soup with wood ears during the holiday.

In the Philippines, celebrations start as early as Dec. 16 and since 80 percent of the population is Christian, it is a major holiday. There are masses held before Christmas called “Misa De Gallo” and on the first Sunday of January the feast of three kings is celebrated.

People in Mexico decorate their homes with evergreen, moss and paper lanterns and children celebrate by performing posadas, where they reenact the days prior to Jesus’ birth.

Sasha Numazu-Fisher

Madison Kelly

Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa is a celebration made to honor African heritage and AfricanAmerican culture. It is celebrated from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1 and is not a religious holiday but rather a celebration that honors the values of ancient African cultures. On each of the seven days a different principle is honored and people light a candle on their kinara, a type of candle holder, to symbolize each principle. During the holiday week people are most likely found decorating their homes with Kwanzaa symbols and flags, creating large feasts for their families and giving gifts.

Christmas

Christmas is one of the most beloved holidays of all time, but it is not the only celebrated festivity during the winter season. In fact, there are many other cultures and people that have their own unique and special traditions that they celebrate as well. Christmas, which began as a celebration of Jesus’ birth, has now evolved into a universal time of giving, happiness and family.

Hanukkah

Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, where the Jews had risen against their GreekSyrian oppressors. The holiday is celebrated over a period of eight days at slightly different times each year, most commonly between Dec. 25 through Jan. 1. Each night people light candles on a menorah as a way to represent the eight days that the temple lantern blazed.

Home For the Holiday Parade McGwire Ishikawa McGwire Ishikawa

n Dec. 1, the Mililani community held their 33rd annual holiday parade. The parade featured over 1,500 marchers, comprising of groups such as the MHS Marching Band and Color Guard, MHS Army JROTC Unit, local businesses, organizations, community groups and other schools such as Hanalani Schools and Kamalani Academy. “It’s mostly local people that are from here in Mililani. It’s our companies that are here and our organizations over here. It’s good to see all these other organizations inside this one city all do something together to make it for the community,” said Freshman Malana Chatman-Neuhauser. The annual holiday parade was founded in 1986 by the Mililani Lions Club. The organization goes through extensive planning with other groups to make sure the Christmas event runs as smoothly as possible. “Some of the Lions have shared experiences of driving a truck through the community

Faustine Faustine MiuraMiura sharing candies. The community was smaller then so they drove throughout the community,” said Lions Club Parade Coordinator Roberta Jenkins. “We begin with a debriefing within a month after the parade. We want to address what we can do to improve the parade for the next one. We meet during the summer and begin the permitting process before September.” The MHS Marching Band and Color Guard and MHS JROTC played a large role in the parade. The simplicity of the event provided a change in pace compared to their latest competitions. “The most difficult part was definitely getting the rookies into it, because they haven’t done a parade since Homecoming, and this is one of their first Christmas parades, so we have to definitely get them ready for it,” said Junior Aaron Puchalski. “It’s just not as serious as other times during the seasons like during competitions, and we get to have fun with it.” Different types of organizations

Madison Madison Kelly Kelly and companies participated in the parade and were proud to contribute to the event. Despite dealing with some difficult preparations and hardships, the groups enjoyed and were proud of the outcome. “It was a little hectic. We didn’t know how many participants we were going to have. I was hoping for more. But with the kids that came out, it was a great experience and we loved it, and hopefully we’ll come back again next year,” said American Youth Soccer Organization participant Melisa Au. Chatman-Neuhauser also added, “It was really fun being able to see the different types of people that did come to the parade, and also taking part and probably making a lot of people’s day.” The parade attracted hundreds of residents hoping to see friends and family members participating. “(I liked) watching the band, and seeing all of the people from the different communities and groups that are part of Mililani,” said spectator Tracey Villeza. Junior

Kylie Nitta added, “(I knew) all of the people in marching band, I knew someone in JROTC, and a few people were with the church groups and the dance groups.” The holiday parade itself has become an event that a lot of people spend with their friends and families. Whether it’s watching the parade or marching in it, members of the community see it as a fun holiday tradition for all ages. “(It was great) seeing all the smiles of people. Not only the walkers, but the people that our kids were high-fiving. Everybody’s joyful and cheering, and it was really good,” said Au. Jenkins added, “(I liked) seeing everyone enjoying the parade. The participants and spectators, sharing stories and memories about prior parades, seeing old friends, making new ones, seeing the different generations enjoying the parade.” As for the future, community members of Mililani will continue to plan out many other upcoming events for the everyone to enjoy.

The Lions Club worked closely with Mililani Shopping Center, Town Center of Mililani, HPD and MHS Band Boosters while planning the parade.