Issue 5

MILILANI TIMES MILILANI HIGH SCHOOL | COMMUNITY ISSUE | FEBRUARY 2019

the carnival is coming

On Feb. 15 to 17 the fourth annual MHS Carnival is back in town with both new and returning attractions provided

by E.K. Fernandez. Along with the return of rides and food, a Character Counts Fair, which promotes character and life skills amongst the Mililani complex schools, and a petting zoo have been added. This year’s carnival promises to bring more family fun and joy.

A word from one of our sponsors:

As the chair of the Senate Committee on Education, I am always looking for ways to support our students in creative and innovative ways. Nothing makes me prouder than celebrating the achievements of the students from my district and I couldn’t be more pleased to support this next year of the Mililani Times.

Congratulations to the student writers, editors, and staff for another great year of the Mililani Times!

Guess Who’s Back, Back Again MILILANI TIM Caitlin Barbour

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his year has been flying by; as you read this, it’s already February and I am well into my last semester of high school. I feel as though the end is simultaneously coming too soon, yet too slowly; I want to finish, yet I don’t want adult responsibilities.

As cliche as it sounds, I can still remember my first days as a lowly freshman. I was absolutely terrified of everyone around me, whether it was warranted or not. And honestly, I’m still scared (albeit for a different reason). As I entered my senior year I was anxious of what awaited me, not just in anticipation of the last moments of my childhood, but of what could possibly come after. I was so concerned with making the “right” decisions — with ensuring that I wouldn’t have any regrets or missed opportunities.

After two years in journalism, first as a reporter and then copy editor, I took on the role of editorin-chief at the start of my third and final year. I have always tried to live up to those who came before me;

Anika Ramos

with all the past editors (my older sister included) in mind, I knew there was a high standard to meet.

The last thing I wanted was to go down as that editor. I have spent this year trying to contribute to this legacy — to raise the expectations.

I have never been one to stand out (and I’m quite comfortable with that fact). But I have always tried to ensure that my presence is felt: I want to have an impact.

Entering this year, I knew I wanted to make the most of my time left.

I wanted each page published to be something that my staff and I could be proud of. Towards this end, I can’t pretend I magically knew what to do, or say that it happened without a struggle. It came with a lot of stress, and at best I can hope to say that it didn’t show on my face too much.

Through the issues, we came to find our voice — one that is unique to this year and to this staff. To you we may just be faceless names on a page, but I assure you, my staff has put their time and effort into bringing you this issue. We

MILILANIMILILANI TIMES TIM MILILANIMILILANI TIMES TIM

Madison Kelly

Mililani Times’ mission is to inform the community of news, people, and issues of concern.

Discover. Understanding.

Together.

MILILANIMILILANI TIMES TIM MILILANI TIMES Editor-in-Chief Caitlin Barbour

have chosen to feature people from Mililani with a wide range of interests and experiences. While I’m not so optimistic as to believe everyone who receives this paper will read it cover to cover, I do hope that within you will find at least one story that interests you — that you may learn more about someone (maybe your friend, classmate, teacher, neighbor) and of the remarkable things they have done.

I truly hope you enjoy the second community issue of Mililani Times.

Community Editor Jenna Nakanishi

Copy Editor Chloe Kitsu

School Editor Megan Schendel

Vlog Editor Jasmine Casana

Online Editor Chanelle Camero

Social Media Editor Kaitlin Hirasa

Design Manager Joie Agoo

Director of Sales Aidyn Aradanas

Head Photographer Managing Editor Anika Ramos Alexander Ink Adviser Mr. Christopher Sato Staff Tatiana Ala Jenna Lee Bundalian Shantel Gongob Henry Hawes Daisy Ann Hipolito Maya Hirano McGwire Ishizaka Hope Ishizaka Madison Kelly

Faustine Miura Genevieve Mumma Jacob Nakasome 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.

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AND THE Social Media Rise of Modern Day Money Makers Maya Hirano

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ith the ability to freely access information and instantly connect with others from around the globe, social media platforms such as Instagram and Youtube give newer generations entertainment while also giving them an opportunity to make money. Social media’s large influence on everyone from teenagers to adults makes it a perfect tool for advertising, whether it be to promote a product or a business.

“Honestly social media I think is more impactful because, especially among teens which are more susceptible to advertisements and stuff, we don’t really watch TV as much anymore. Like YouTube, it’s social media. Instagram — we’re always on our phones; Twitter, everything is all constantly reinforced.

So I don’t really think that TV and print ads are as effective anymore,” said entrepreneur Senior Sidney Liu. Liu started her jewelry business in August 2017, where she sells dainty handmade necklaces and earrings. The bulk of her customers come from social media, as the business is primarily promoted through her Instagram @splendorjewelry. While originally creating her business for fun, Liu made approximately $3,000 in sales in 2018.

“I think social media’s very impactful on small businesses. It makes a really big difference to get your name out there and you can start selling before you even go out and do craft fairs and stuff,” said Liu. “I asked my friends to promote ads like craft fairs. I ask them to post on

Charles Tothina Genevieve Mumma their Instagram stories and stuff and they’re happy to do it so it’s good to reach a bigger audience.”

Along with businesses and entrepreneurs, social media also plays a big role in the music industry. Today’s artists have the ability to advertise their music to an increasingly diverse audience. “Nowadays, social media has been — its role in music promotion for artists and stuff has been growing because now you can have artists that aren’t with any record label. They can just be an independent artist that they just put their music on social media and if it blows up there then they’re famous and they don’t even have to go and make their music with a recording studio or anything. They can just do it at home now,” said Senior Evan Imata, an aspiring artist under the moniker of Evan Kepler. “I feel like social media is a bigger part of a musician’s success than it was before and now people can cut straight to that success without having to go through the process of finding other people to help them.”

Imata promotes himself primarily through his YouTube channel which can be found under the name Evan Kepler.

With three albums currently available on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon and Google Play, Imata hopes to expand his following on his channel as he plans to soon release new music that he’s been working on since March 2018. “Starting my YouTube channel a long time ago and putting myself on social media, I mean I kinda cared how much followers

Jenna Lee Bundalian I had but not really. That wasn’t really something I thought about. Now I’m trying to get external help, so in the past few months I’ve been trying to work on contacting people and asking people to help me make actual videos — people who have experience making those sort of things so that I can put much more quality content on my channel rather than something I just filmed at home,” said Imata.

While unknown to most of the public, local TikTok, Instagram and YouTube star Hali’a Beamer also plans to get involved in the music industry. TikTok, formerly known as Musical.ly, is an app that enables users to share videos of themselves lip-syncing to songs or voiceovers. “We’re going back up in LA on Friday. She has three songs already recorded up there with a producer and then a fourth one she’s gonna finish recording when we go on our trip,” said Hali’a Beamer’s mother Beth Beamer.

“She’s a little shy about telling people.

Very few of her friends even know.

When she comes home to Hawai’i, she’s very lowkey and she doesn’t — even at school and stuff, she doesn’t talk about it with her friends.”

Hali’a Beamer’s large following on platforms like Instagram enable her to make a profit by promoting specific products. Products that she is requested to advertise range from skincare to fashion. “Sometimes they’ll send her products. Sometimes they’ll send her clothing, bathing suits ‘cause she lives in Hawai’i so she gets a lot of swim suit

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Photo courtesy: Alumna Camille Navarez-Hernandez Sidney Liu

Photo courtesy: Beth Beamer

Hali’a Beamer

Evan Imata

Ava Jules

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companies, clothing companies. She can select and choose what she wants to promote,” said Beth Beamer.

A majority of the profit allows Hali’a Beamer to travel; she has visited New York, Chicago, Oregon, Los Angeles and soon Japan. Additionally, a lot of it also goes toward video production and saving for school. “I’ve been to VidCon and then a bunch of meet and greets where I met a lot of people and that was really exciting,” said Hali’a Beamer.

“I want to be a model and I want to go to college — to see if modeling doesn’t work, I can be like a lawyer or something.” Beth Beamer added, “It’s expensive to travel, so she does it so she can get her music and her production stuff done. Once she gets into her music, hopefully she won’t have to do so many promos and things.”

However, social media also has downsides when it comes to fame and popularity. Cyberbullying is commonly found among teenagers and has negative effects on self-esteem. “She gets a lot of — you know with social media — a lot of the bullying and the nasty comments from people. She gets a lot of really good nice positive stuff, but you know it just takes one or two kinds of nasty people to get to you,” said Beth Beamer. “Sometimes doing the promos and stuff — people don’t always like the promos on her YouTube and sometimes she gets a lot of heat for doing promos.”

Another popular social media influencer is Senior Ava Moniz, commonly known as Ava Jules. Moniz has over 900,000 subscribers on YouTube and over 400,000 followers

on Instagram. The social media icon is currently on a month long trip to Los Angeles, where she is filming a new web series for the popular YouTube channel Brat. Brat features original shows starring mainly younger actors and actresses. For Moniz, this is her first show and she is excited to be playing a lead role in their up-andcoming series.

Making money from social media platforms takes dedication that is often not seen by the eye of the public.

Videos and photoshoots along with advertisements all take time and money in the process of preparation and ultimately putting ideas in motion.

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Mother, Teacher, Cheer C

Jasmine Casaña

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s of Oct. 8, 2018 MHS Cheerleading coach Renesha Kierstedt has been clear of cancer. On Dec. 26, 2017, Kierstedt was diagnosed with stomach cancer and completed all chemotherapy sessions on Aug. 31, 2018. Kierstedt didn’t want to worry her cheer team and did not tell the cheerleaders about her condition until after she had finished her ten month long battle with cancer. This was not her first encounter with cancer, Kierstedt had also been diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2004.

“I just look at life as this wonderful thing. Just be positive, be around positivity, enjoy life to its fullest.

And just make sure that I’m able to influence others and I can leave something behind, you know what I mean? Just enjoy it and get as much

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Genevieve Mumma memories as I can with my babies and so forth,” said Kierstedt.

Before getting diagnosed, Kierstedt had been experiencing stomach pains which led to her visiting the hospital. By doing an endoscopy — a procedure that involves sending a tube down the throat and into the stomach — the doctors were able to find that the cause of her pain was cancerous cells.

“I basically shut down. I had to go take blood at that moment so they made me walk from the office to take my blood so I could start everything and I found myself — I was like in a little ball in the hallway. I didn’t know what was going to happen because I’m like the carrier of my family,” said Kierstedt. “(I’m) the main person in my family that kind of holds my family together. I’m the fighter, I’m the one

Jenna Lee Bundalian that is active and so forth and to know that now that I had this — what am I going to do? What’s going to happen to my kids? What’s going to happen to my family?”

Kierstedt lives in a single parent household with a daughter at home.

Her oldest daughter, Sakari Kierstedt, is currently enrolled in college at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and her youngest, Zakiya Kierstedt, is a Junior at MHS. With two daughters, she worried about how the cancer could change their lives and how it would impact them if she were no longer able to be with them. “So they basically really rely on me. And then my family relies on me and then everything started coming to play — like my cheerleaders rely on me,” said Kierstedt. “They’re athletes, it’s not just a sport, we’re a family, you

know what I mean? If I wasn’t here what would happen? And I thought basically the world would end.”

Kierstedt had decided to keep the cancer a secret from many people in her life to prevent worrying them — this included school administration and her cheerleading team.

However, Kierstedt was able to rely on immediate family such as her boyfriend, mom and daughters to help her get through the disease.

“They were all the ones that kind of just stepped in and really helped me. I tried to keep it, I kept it from my cheer girls and so forth. I kept it from them until I had my surgery, because I didn’t want them to worry ‘cause they’re worrywarts,” said Kierstedt. “They think of Coach as being the Superwoman and I didn’t want them to see me or have that

Coach, Cancer Survivor emotional scar or worry about me because they have enough to worry about as teenagers. So I tried to keep it away as (much as) possible but I did have my — how we call it, my ‘A-Team,’ my ‘walls’ that kept me going.”

When Kierstedt was diagnosed, the doctors told her that they had suspected that the cancer had been caused by an ulcer she had developed overtime from stress.

Because her oldest daughter was home for the holidays when Kierstedt was first been diagnosed with cancer, she was able to sit down with her close family and tell them the news together. She had been concerned that her oldest daughter would be too worried about her health and would not want to return to college but Kierstedt encouraged her daughter to go back to school after the holiday break ended. “(It was) extremely sad, especially because they were always like, ‘Well you're the active one, you're the one that does more. How did you get it? Why did you get it? What was it from?’ And I still don’t — to this day — know,” said Kierstedt. “And then everyone turned from the sad mode into the fighting mode.”

Throughout the treatment process, Kierstedt’s daughters were her driving force. Her daughters gave her little boosts of encouragement everyday before and after her recovery. “In the beginning, I was okay. I was like ‘I can do this.’

The chemo in the very beginning — I was able to deal with the chemo, the hair falling out, I felt a little slower, but I was fighting. I could do this, no problem,” said Kierstedt. “By the third cycle of chemo then it really started to hit my body. It hit me so I wasn’t able to be as active as how I am now or used to be. They call me ‘Crazy Camel’ because I was always doing something I couldn’t

do and that affected me really bad. I felt like I wasn’t able to be there for everybody, like how I used to be but they understood.”

Kierstedt’s treatment process included seven sessions of chemotherapy which had her bring bags of chemo home and to school as well. She was attached to a chemo bag for the entire week before her surgery. Her surgery required the doctors to remove half of her stomach. “When they told me about it they didn’t know how bad the cancer was gonna be. So they did tell me that I had a 50-50 chance of actually losing my entire stomach and having to use a plastic bag for the rest of my life but it all depends once they went in,” said Kierstedt. “So I went into surgery feeling ‘Oh my god,’ I’m actually thinking the worst, that I would come out with no stomach. But I’m still alive but came to find out they didn’t have to take my whole stomach so it’s just partial stomach.”

Recovery from the surgery was difficult as Kierstedt needed to continue with three more sessions of chemotherapy. This prevented her from eating solid foods, and required her to drink liquids for three months. Kierstedt showed decreasing improvement in health as she continued with chemotherapy which brought the doctors to stop the chemotherapy, believing it was only weakening her immune system.

“My tongue was swollen, my body was swollen, it was very hard to the point that I got more depressed.

But it was — it was more off season; I wasn’t in school. So it was more the summertime and everything,” said Kierstedt. “But then after that, I was able to recover and my doctor saw how I was doing and he realized that I was getting worse. Now all my symptoms are getting worse; they went in, they took the cancer out, I was on chemo but these last

treatments made me worse. So he cut me off the chemo.”

Kierstedt didn’t told people about her cancer until after she had gone through surgery and completed chemotherapy. Some cheer girls found out after she had been diagnosed with cancer but Kierstedt had suspected that some girls had known about her cancer before she officially announced her recovery.

“So they didn’t really know until I posted ‘Congratulations I am chemo free,’ and then I told everybody on a Facebook post because everyone knew something wasn’t right about me. And then they were like ‘What?

Wow I didn’t know.’ I didn’t really want to interfere with other people and have them worry about me.

That’s the last thing I really wanted,” said Kierstedt.

Now recovered, Kierstedt has been working towards lowering her stress levels. She watches what she eats, stays active and keeps her stress amount in mind to prevent any possibility of future ulcers.

“Every single day I cherish with my daughters, with my friends. I don’t take nothing for granted. I’m only around positives. I can’t be around the negatives,” said Kierstedt. “But basically taking everything — I don’t take nothing for granted. I mean if I’m able to walk from here (portable five) to the office without breathing hard cause at one point I wasn’t able to, I had to get security to take me ‘cause I was on new chemo and so forth and my body was just drained.

I celebrate those things, I celebrate every small thing possible.”

Kierstedt looks up to the people who had beat cancer as well. These were the people she talked to if she needed to speak about what she was experiencing or to receive advice. Kierstedt believe that these experiences should be shared and she makes sure to let people know

that they can come to her if they need to talk as well.“ Just fight. Keep fighting, I know it gets hard. And it’s still, to this day I’m still fighting.

It could be, as I said, it can always come back. But just fight, but you gotta make sure you’re happy.

‘Cause chemo’s no joke. Cancer is no joke. And don’t give up,” said Kierstedt. “Have your circle of friends, don’t give up, but share your story so that other people are aware so that they find someone they can talk to or anything.”

Throughout her treatment, Kierstedt continued coaching her cheerleading team and was able to have a successful cheer season with the help of her assistant coaches and cheer moms. In the 2018 cheer season, Kierstedt coached the team to OIAs, earning them the title of OIA Champions and also second in it. “It was hard because I’m so used to going full out. I’m so used to screaming and yelling and getting really into it so that they can into the routine and then I had to control that cause I didn’t want to pass out or anything like that. So that was hard for me because I couldn’t go full out for them,” said Kierstedt.

“But my athletes are just all around athletes so they knew when to turn it on. They made it easier for me because they’re just a goofy group of athletes.”

Kierstedt is now recovered and continues to be a role model for her daughters and students. She will soon begin preparing and having tryouts for the 2019 cheer season.

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cindy tsou the science gal exploring the world of science Megan Schendel

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enior Min-Hua “Cindy” Tsou developed a love for science at a young age.

Since then, she has participated in many extracurricular activities ranging from Science Club to the Hawai’i STEM Convention, winning numerous awards. Tsou has received her college acceptances and will be attending Columbia University on a full ride scholarship for her first four years of college.

“Cindy is a very intelligent young woman and she is far advanced compared to her peers in terms of intellectual capacity; she is very mature, she is responsible, she asks good questions, she asks questions that will challenge the teacher to think critically — outside of the box,” said AP Biology teacher Nel Venzon.

Tsou joined Science

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Anika Ramos

Olympiad in middle school, often competing in the Anatomy and Physiology event. It was only after she began participating in Science Olympiad that Tsou discovered her passion for science. “I studied human organs while designing mousetrap vehicles, building robot arms and constructing intricate balsa wood bridges. When I got to high school, my interest in science continued when I participated in the Science Fair. I found an unexplainable excitement for the nitty-gritty details of human physiology, and for the inquisitive, handson aspect of research,” said Tsou. “I really like science because I can ask questions about things that is fascinating to me and science allows me to investigate the issues that I

Joie Agoo

Tsou’s favorite branch of science is biology, which stemmed from a love of anatomy and physiology.

am passionate about and find my own answers. It enables me to develop a fascination with how everything works — why things are the way things are.

I feel like I am also interested in science because there is so much potential for it in the future where I can find discoveries, help people invent things and pursue my curiosity in such a way that is limitless (and) boundless.”

In her four years at MHS, Tsou has seen a lot of success, winning a multitude of awards. Last year, Tsou participated in Science Olympiad competitions, attended the International Science Engineering Fair (ISEF), competed at the Pacific Symposium for Science & Sustainability and took Biochemistry 341, a second

semester class, at UH Manoa over the summer as a part of their Summer Scholars program. “She attended the International Science Engineering Fair in her Sophomore (and Junior) year and then she won the Texaco Student Research Award at the State Science Fair. Not only that, she is very well rounded, she won the Toyota car diffuser contest. She is not only good at science, she is very good at art too — she is really well balanced. The Zippy’s anti-drug drawing contest, she won that too. I think just overall, she is a very successful student,” said Honors and AP Chemistry teacher Namthip Sitachitta.

On Jan. 19 and 20, Tsou competed against students from across Hawai’i, American Samoa and Micronesia at the

Pacific Symposium for Science and Sustainability. At the competition, students present their original research projects in hopes of placing in the top five so that they can move on to the national competition, the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium. This is the second year that Tsou has participated in the symposium, winning an honorable mention at last year’s competition. Tsou presented her Science Fair project from last year, taking 5th place and winning a slot in the national competition. She will be going on an all-expenses paid trip to the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium in Albuquerque, NM from April 24 until April 27. There she will compete against 229 other students from high schools across the nation for numerous undergraduate tuition scholarships and cash awards.

Tsou asks for work and projects to do ahead of time in many of her classes. She also engages in activities that will help her learn outside the scope of the classroom. “On my free time, I like to read research papers. I like to browse to see new topics, especially in the medical field where they’re doing a lot of research that you never imagined to be possible before. It’s really inspiring, especially during my own research project, it’s really inspiring to see what other people are doing in this field to get an idea on how they’re using existing methods and technology and making it better and improving it. It is really interesting to see how the same concepts and the same technology can be

improved so that it’s a lot more efficient,” said Tsou. Venzon added, “This is what I admire about Cindy — she doesn’t just do the work because I tell her to do it, she does the work because she wants to do it.”

Tsou ensures that she has an academically rigorous schedule, including a wide array of college level classes ranging from Calculus 3 to AP Literature and Composition.

Outside of classes, Tsou also has a full plate, holding leadership positions in multiple clubs. “I am the President of the Art Club and I plan activities, art projects and art-related service projects for our club. I am the Vice-President of the Science Club. Science Club entails studying for Science Olympiad events like anatomy and genetics and building prototypes like mousetrap vehicles. I am the treasurer for the National Honor Society; the other officers and I work together to plan club-wide activities for NHS. Lastly, I am the Spirit Chairperson for the student council, and I am in charge of leading the banner building committee and building a parade float for our school’s annual homecoming parade,” said Tsou. “Sometimes it gets intense, it can get overwhelming. There are times when I feel overwhelmed, but I always remind myself to take a step back and focus on things at hand.”

With her senior year almost over, Tsou will be going off to college in less than a year.

Having applied to over a dozen colleges, Tsou was ecstatic when she received an acceptance letter and a full

ride scholarship to Columbia University. “When she found out, she ran here and she was like, ‘Ahhh,’ and she gave me a hug,” said Sitachitta. “I think her greatest accomplishment would be getting into Columbia. I think that’s her biggest accomplishment because that’s part of her ultimate goal.”

Aside from being intelligent, Tsou is also a very upbeat and outgoing person. She participates in service projects and is always willing to help other people. “As a person, she is very kind. She is very smart, you know, but she also has that human-level aspect of her that, during class, she makes sure that her group members understand what they are talking about and even though she may be ahead, she is not impatient about being ahead — she cares about others, she will explain the things well.

It is nice to have that kind of person where, even though she is ahead in learning and skills, she contributes to the growth of others. She is caring, she is kind, she is very positive,” said Venzon. Sitachitta added, “She is motivated and you can see that in how much she has accomplished. She is just a very pleasant person but, at the same time, she is not just a doormat — if she thinks it is not right, she has a very pleasant way of talking to you, trying to make her point why what you think doesn’t agree with her thinking.

She always shows gratitude. She always appreciates friends, appreciates teachers,

appreciates everything that she has. She is not arrogant and she thinks that good things happen to her because of people around her.”

Tsou plans on pursuing a degree in biomedical engineering at Columbia University. She hopes to eventually work somewhere in medical research, finding treatments and cures and developing technology to help treat patients.

Aside from science and art, Tsou is also very passionate about chickens. She began raising chickens when she entered high school and has been raising them ever since. Their names are Pecky, Bob the Wise Chicken, Hen-Ry and Unnamed.

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W ired for Sound

‘92 Alumnus Taglianetti Produces Radio Show Caitlin Barbour

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rom a young age, Class of ‘92 alumnus and Multimedia Production Manager at Hawai’i Public Radio (HPR) Jason Taglianetti has been interested in sound and recording. This interest has led him to pursue work as a sound engineer in theatre and radio, as well as pursue music, playing guitar, bass and, most recently, drums. Throughout the years, his interest has led him to use sound as a storytelling medium, helping to evoke emotion within an audience, while also changing his own perspective of the world.

“I don’t really use my eyes a whole lot when I’m in the world. I tend to focus more on the sound of things, which I think is an interesting way to experience the world. It means that I can close my eyes and I can see the pictures, or I can make pictures in my head, of what the sound is telling me is going on,” said Taglianetti.

From the age of 10, Taglianetti’s interest in sound began to grow into what would eventually become

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Megan Schendel

a lifelong passion. His curiosity originally led him to play with tape recorders and microphones he found around the house, attempting to figure out how they worked.

“My parents had this stereo that came apart and you had to, you know, put it together again. And I kinda figured out how the pieces went together and I remember unplugging the record player from the main stereo, plugging it into a different thing so I could record off of the records. That’s kinda where it started, just started playing around with that,” said Taglianetti.

After graduating from MHS, he decided to move to Seattle in 1995. Taglianetti attended the Art Institute of Seattle and studied to be a sound engineer, before moving back to Hawai’i in 1998.

“We were micing up guitar amps and the guitar player was the guitar player from Soundgarden, (Kim Thayil), and he was in the room just noodling, playing around, just jamming and the whole class was in the control room listening to

I don’t really use my eyes a whole lot when I’m in the world. I tend to focus more on the sound of things, which I think is an interesting way to experience the world,

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Madison Kelly

him. And one by one we each got a chance to go into the room, put the mic where we thought we wanted it to be, and then we’d come back into the control room to listen to it and the teacher would give us feedback.

And it was kinda in that moment when I’m looking through the glass at this amazing, legendary guitar player and I’m going, ‘This is so cool, this is what I want to be, this is what it is, this is what I want to do,’” said Taglianetti.

While living in Seattle, Taglianetti had the opportunity to meet artists from famous rock bands around at the time. He was able to experience the unique music scene there, affirming his decision to pursue a career working with sound.

“There was a night where I walked into a nightclub and there were members of famous bands playing but they weren’t playing with their famous bands, they were just kinda jamming. So I’ve seen Krist Novoselic play from Nirvana, I’ve seen Dave Grohl play, I got to hear Chris Cornell sing with a band that wasn’t Soundgarden; it was kinda a neat music scene,” said Taglianetti.

Growing up backstage, Taglianetti’s parents were actively involved in theatre; his mother was a stage manager, costumer, makeup artist and performer.

After returning home from Seattle, he started his professional sound career in theatre at Army Community Theatre at Fort Shafter, after his mother opened the door.

“There was a day when someone had called my mom to complain about the sound at some theatre that my mom’s company was doing a show at, but it wasn’t the show that my mom’s company was doing. But this person called to complain about the sound and my mom took the complaint and then she called the lady who runs that theatre and said, ‘My son’s a sound engineer. Would it be okay if he helped you out? I know you guys are having problems.’ And so the lady said, ‘Yeah, sure. Send him over.’ So then my mom said, ‘Go to this theatre tonight, go talk to this lady,’ and I talked to her and she sat me down in the back row of the theatre. I listened to the show and I came back later and told her what the problems were and how to fix them, and she was like, ‘Great do you want to do the next show, ‘cause I need someone to do the next show?’” said Taglianetti.

Taglianetti continued to work in theatres around the island before making the transition into radio at HPR. Originally hired as a soundboard operator, his current position as the Multimedia Production Manager entails various tasks, including those associated with being the main sound engineer, among other things. “I had a very strong foundation of running a soundboard and in hitting cues, and being able to hit marks whenever I needed to. So for example, if I needed to play a sound effect and I needed it to start at the beginning

I don’t really use my eyes a whole lot when I’m in the

Taglianetti’s job includes various tasks like ensuring the microphones and cables are functioning properly, recording and editing sound, as well as creating short promos. of a word or the end of the word, I could hit both of those marks depending on what the director wanted. It’s like the difference of pressing play on the ‘g’ of go or the ‘o’ of go — it’s like that level of precision. So I was able to do that, at the same time a friend had called me up and said, ‘I’m doing this radio play and I need someone to do live sound effects — folding sound effects’ — like shoes and plates and forks and what not,” said Taglianetti.

“And it turned out to be at Hawai’i Public Radio. We did 18 episodes of that show, and it was during one of those tapings where my friend, Jeff Illardi, was the producer and he said, ‘There’s a job opening here as a board op, you should apply.’”

Taglianetti started his own show called Applause in a Small Room, based on an idea he had originally been playing around with for about 10 years, while working at the

radio station. Featuring all genres of music, from classical piano to bluegrass to rock, the show focuses on recording local or visiting artists and their live performances. “The premise of the show is that it’s really about capturing the live performance with the audience because there’s nothing like a live performance. There’s something magical when an audience and a performer get together. You know, the performer walks this tightrope that they could fall at any moment, and they never really do, but they could, you know. And that’s where the magic lies because then if they make a mistake they have to recover from that mistake, and they have to do it quickly, and it’s in those, I call them ‘happy accidents,’ where you find you make a strange mistake that you’d never have made any other way and it ends up being wonderful. So that’s basically the

premise of the show: to capture these live performances that people are doing because they’re so amazing as well ‘cause they’re amazing performers and they need to be heard,” said Taglianetti.

Besides recording music, Taglianetti also plays music himself as a part of a cover band called Jeff Said No. The group plays songs from around the 60s to the 80s, drawing from rock artists like the Rolling Stones, Grateful Dead and Jimi Hendrix. “When I started working at Hawaii Public Radio there was a guy named Jeff Illardi who was working there also and he’s the one who kinda got me into the radio station and he happened to have this band, and I happened to be getting back to playing music again and I hadn’t played an instrument in like ten years at that point. I just picked up bass like, ‘Why not? Let’s see where it goes.’ And within a week Jeff said,

‘I heard you played bass,’ and I was like, ‘Well, I bought a bass, I don’t play it yet.’ He was like, ‘Well come jam with us, my band. Our bass player can’t make the practices so why don’t you come practice with us and you can learn how to play bass while you practice with us.’ So every Tuesday night I sat in with them and learned how to play bass; while we played they showed me their songs and then I figured out how to do it,” said Taglianetti.

Taglianetti continues to work on various projects in radio, theatre and music. He recently finished working on Manoa Valley Theatre’s Avenue Q, whose shows ran through January and early February. Next he is set to focus on creating a series of concerts for HPR this summer.

Note: This story was originally published in Issue 3.

11

T

ale As Old As Time:

McGwire Ishikawa

F

rom March 15 to 17 at the Pearl City Cultural Center, Central Theatre Arts Academy (CTAA) will be performing the musical “Beauty and the Beast.” The show will be performed by students from MHS, alongside students from Castle High School, Radford High School, Kalani High School, Mililani Middle School, Mililani Kipapa Elementary School, Mililani Mauka Elementary School, Mililani ‘Ike Elementary and Mililani Waena Elementary.

“Beauty and the Beast” follows Belle, an abnormal and beautiful townsperson, and the Beast, a cursed and heartless prince, who both fall in love.

“I’m sure we’ve all seen the animated film and most

CTAA Presents “Beauty and the Beast”

Belle

Amelie Valenzuela

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Faustine Miura Shantel Gongob McGwire Ishikawa

Beast Gaston Henry Hawes

Hunter Chock

Jenna Lee Bundalian

people have probably seen the live action version, but the story is still new, fresh and timeless. This musical centers around a girl named Belle and her quest to find love and adventure. The story opens with a run down of what is at stake and how this enchanted castle came to be cursed.

Ultimately, this musical communicates how love is blind and can overpower any evil,” said Junior Amelie Valenzuela who plays Belle.

Though the musical is being presented to feel more modern, the production team is still trying to mix it with a fairy tale aspect. Designs for the costumes take inspiration from a wide variety of adaptations for “Beauty and the Beast,” not just the Disney version. “So with the costume,

Le Fou

Kara Eto

I’m having the students dig into inspiration about how they would see dressing an actor into this. So we did a lot of research in time period, ‘What were they wearing back then,’ based on the play we’re doing, which is ‘Beauty and the Beast’,” said costume director Jennifer Fukino.

“I’ve seen different types of ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ different forms of it being done. I’ve taken inspiration from all of it and tried to meld it and see how it worked for us here.”

In Fall of 2018, CTAA presented “Rent: School Edition,” a musical that contained very mature topics.

The upcoming musical goes back to a more light-hearted and family friendly theme, with the hopes of inspiring a

Chip

Aya Fujioka

future generation to pursue theatre. “I think what I like about that is I feel like I’m giving the most opportunity to kids. With “Rent”, the idea behind that was that it was more of a play and a musical that high school kids could enjoy, and they would feel proud to be part of because of the mature themes and the style of the musical. For that, I was able to stretch them in that way. Now, switching it to a musical that’s family friendly, I’m giving a different kind of experience to families and to other kids, even young kids from ages of third grade, who can be a part of it as well.

I feel like I’m giving a lot of different kids opportunities because the drastic changes of styles of play or musical,” said director Carolyn Taira.

Valenzuela added, “Honestly, I love doing any type of show and I find value in both mature as well as fun-loving plays. It does feel great and I’m happy to be doing another Disney show since I love Disney so much. Also, I feel happy with getting to do a more kid friendly show because we’ll get to expose children into the theatre world. It’s exciting that we can maybe spark interest in younger audiences to try singing, acting, dancing, or all three.”

The cast and crew have been working hard to make sure everything comes together in the end. They are also looking forward to putting out an entertaining show for their community.

“I hope that they come out to support these students

in the show as they did for ‘Rent’ this past September.

We had great audiences in the fall for “Rent,” and I hope to see our house full again for “Beauty and the Beast,” said music director Kristi HiguchiDelos Santos. Fukino added, “I would say just come and support the talent that comes from not only Mililani High School, but the other schools from the actors and especially the kids who have put in a lot of hard work.”

There will be a 7:00 p.m. showing on March 15 and 16, as well as 2:00 p.m. showings on March 16 and 17. Student admission is currently set at $8, while general admission will be $18. Tickets will be available at the door or online at https://m.bpt.me/

Mrs. Potts Cogsworth Lumiere Kalyssa Smith

Justin Igawa

Marcus Otaka 13

Jacob Nakasone Jacob Nakasone Jacob Nakasone

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Junior Kosmo Wojack 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).

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Anika Ramos Anika Ramos Anika Ramos

Joie Agoo

anked as the No. 1 public after learning a physical skill or school in Hawai’i in 2018 by something that requires higher U.S. News, MHS excels as one level thinking like analyzing,” said of the top schools in the state. MHS clinical psychologist Dr. Lynn Goya. offers various Advanced Placement “Of course, sleep replenishes our (AP) courses, dozens of clubs, energy stores that we use while many extracurricular activities and we are awake. Other research has experienced great success in suggests that sleep contributes their athletic programs. However, to the formation of new cells in the rigor of these activities has its the brain. Sleep may also reduce drawbacks — due to a combination damage caused by oxidative stress. of course load, homework, sports, Molecules called free radical form extracurriculars or even jobs, a naturally whenever the body great deal of the student population metabolizes oxygen.” is sleep deprived.

The effects of “Sleep is sleep deprivation If we do not get enough sleep, varies in important in stress we are not as productive as extremity; some management, emotional and we can be, it affects our mood, may be minor behavioral effects while regulation, growth which affects our well-being others can have and cognitive damaging effects and relationships functioning. If we on the human do not get enough sleep, we are body. These effects also range not as productive as we can be, it from short term to long term affects our mood, which affects our periods of time. “Although sleep well-being and relationships,” said deprivation affects everyone, child and adolescent psychiatrist research has shown that younger Dr. Cathy Bell. MHS AP Psychology adults (including teens) are more teacher Doug Muraoka added, negatively affected by sleep “Sleep has many functions, but the deprivation than older adults. most important is the regeneration Younger adults’ brains and bodies of cells necessary to fight off illness are still developing, and depriving or disease. The second is the it of rest and recuperation can enhancement of creative thought be critical to future health,” said and problem solving.”

Goya. Bell added, “(Students may The negative effects of sleep experience) depression, anxiety, deprivation aren’t limited to only psychosis, low self-esteem (and) occurring during waking hours. academic failure.”

When sleeping, the body undergoes Sleep deprivation is not limited several changes, which can be to affecting only the mental side of greatly reduced due to sleep students. The physical appearances deprivation. “Sleep enables memory of students can also be affected consolidation — during sleep, by lack of sleep. “(Students may the brain transfers short-term have) more hanging eyelids, red memories to become long-term and swollen eyes, darker under-eye memories. In fact, sleep experts circles, paler skin, more wrinkles say that a student can learn better and more droopy corners of the after ‘sleeping-on-it,’ particularly mouth,” said Goya.

In addition to these short term effects, long term problems may Joie Agoo Joie Agoo occur 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) not reaching one’s potential.”

The effects of sleep deprivation can affect not only one person, but others around them. Many car crashes or workplace accidents have been linked to sleep deprivation. “Although it may be difficult to untangle cause and effects, it’s likely that sleep deprivation and problems controlling impulses and emotion worsen each other, leading to a ‘negative spiral’ of fatigue and sleepiness, poor decision-making and risky behavior. Research shows that staying up 17-19 consecutive hours is akin to having a bloodalcohol percentage over the legal limit. This doesn’t mean that the person actually has alcohol in their system — it means that their thinking and emotions are responding at the level of someone who is legally drunk,” said Goya.

There are various symptoms that indicate an inability to get a proper amount of sleep. While some signs are easily visible, others may remain unnoticed until sleep deprivation occurs over long periods of time.

“Some of the obvious symptoms are the inability to stay awake during the day, fatigue, changes in appetite, memory or behavior,” said Muraoka. Bell added, “(Students may experience) mood disturbances (e.g. depression, anxiety, anger outbursts); thought disturbances (e.g. paranoia, negative thinking, depressed thoughts, anxious thoughts), and impairments in cognition (e.g. difficulty focusing,

organizing, memory problems).”

Goya added, “(People may have a) weakened ability to deal with day-to-day stressors (and) ramp up brain areas that contribute to excessive worrying.”

Students vary in their need for sleep due to various genetic and environmental factors. Some may require six hours of sleep to function without tiredness, while others may need more than six

teachers and parents, or reduce the academic demand. Sleep is one of the top three predictors of success in adulthood,” said Bell.

Despite students’ tiredness or desire to sleep, some still struggle with the ability to fall asleep or stay asleep. While some students may be diagnosed with a sleeping disorder, others are simply unable to get a good night’s rest. However, there are various solutions to

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 607 mhs students surveyed

to stay focused. Despite these factors, scientists have found the recommended amount of sleep teens should get on a daily basis. “Most studies indicate a number between six to nine hours as optimal,” said Muraoka. Goya added, “Research shows that a quarter of teens get no more than 6.5 hours of sleep a night.”

For many students, these numbers cannot be met on a daily basis due to homework and other responsibilities. However, students can solve this loss of sleep through various solutions. “If academics are interfering with sleep, it’s best to increase academic support from

this problem. “In today’s modern and technological world, the simplest way to get better sleep is to eliminate your distractions which mostly come from the use of electronics. If you move your cell phone away from your bed, turn off the TV, etc, you’ll find you get a better nights sleep,” said Muraoka.

Bell added, “Have a bedtime routine, ensure that room is comfortable, cool, quiet, dark. Avoid caffeine late in the evening (and) sometimes late baths can keep one awake. Use (the) bed just for sleeping and not for homework.”

Additionally, sleep is affected by the physical and mental health of

students. There are various ways response times, resulting in the in which pre-sleep routines can small stabilizing musculature to benefit a night’s rest. “Maintain a have delayed responses to finite regular exercise routine. Research movements, resulting in decreased shows that exercise increases total stability and increased risk of injury,” sleep time, particularly the slowsaid physical therapist at Jaco wave sleep that’s important for Rehab Meghan Shaw. body repair and maintenance. But A common occurrence for try to exercise at least four hours students is to take a nap during before sleeping to give your body free time; many times, this practice time to wind down,” said Goya. occurs at home but sometimes, “Turn off your worried thinking. If students may choose to do this you are feeling stressed or anxious, during school hours. However, there have a worry-journal where you are various ideas pertaining to this write down all your worries and practice and many believe that it can imagine them being transported damage our nightly sleep patterns. from your mind to the journal, just “Naps can be beneficial as long as before bed. Or download an app they are short in duration, around with relaxing sleep music or guided 15 to 20 minutes,” said Muraoka. meditation.”

Many dangerous One of the occurrences Say ‘when’ and don’t seek happen due tomay biggest factors a perfection. Perfection on lack of sleep. One in knowing when to sleep are the of the biggest homework or tests is goals which dangers is an effect an artificial threshold called microsleep. students set for themselves.

“Microsleep is a that you set For many, high sudden onset of goals may sleep lasting only result in low amounts of sleep for seconds. They are uncontrollable consecutive weeks. “Say ‘when’ and and definitely dangerous if you don’t seek perfection. Perfection are driving, operating machinery, on homework or tests is an artificial or in any situation requiring your threshold that you set — it is undivided attention,” said Muraoka. actually a continuum, for example, While school and other activities from 90 to 100 percent. Set a time play an important part of student’s to go to bed and study diligently lives, there is a heavy cost for not until then. Then get some sleep. compromising and finding the time Seeking perfection robs you of (the) to sleep. Sleep is vital in shaping quality of life,” said Goya. teenagers’ physical and mental In high school sports, the health — both in the present and constant practices and games for their futures. To maximize the causes damage to a student health benefits of sleep, students athlete’s body. For athletes, sleep can look to find a balance between plays a beneficial role in recovery, sleep and their daily activities. both physically and mentally. “Sleep and rest assist with basic injury recovery, allowing for increased metabolism, cell turnover and Note: This story was originally injury recovery. Studies have published in Issue 4. associated increased risk for injury such as ACL tears with mental and physical fatigue. This may be 15 related to decreased reactionary

carnival makes a ne Hope Ishizaka

I

A popular ride at the MHS Carnival is the Wave Swinger. Decorated in venetian panels, it was originally from Germany before it was brought to Hawai’i.

16 16

Carlos Prado Timothy Won

n 2015, the MHS Carnival returned to the community for the first time in 20 years. Since then, it has become an annual event with this year’s carnival marking its fourth consecutive run. The carnival will run from Feb. 15 to 17 and will feature a variety of rides, games and foods. However, this year will also be introducing several new highlights, including a new layout for the carnival, a Character Counts Fair and a petting zoo.

“This year we are having a different floor plan, so the layout will be different. Usually we utilize the area between the admin building and the cafeteria, but this time it’s all going to be surrounded by the admin building. We also will have a petting zoo, which I think will be fun,” said educational assistant and carnival chairperson Ivy Ogawa.

Preparations for the carnival began in August of last year.

Coordinator Rabecca Makekau has been working with the carnival committee in order to make decisions and preparations for this year’s event. “The goal for this year’s carnival is to get everybody involved, everybody here, and everybody to have a good time,” said Makekau. Ogawa added, “We definitely want to increase the interest and excitement in the carnival. Definitely the first year was really busy, I

Joie Agoo

mean we had a better turn out than we even expected and we feel like we need to just kind of ramp it up a little to get people excited again. So that would explain why we’re doing something new like the petting zoo.”

At this year’s upcoming carnival, 20,000 people are expected to attend. Committee members are hoping that there will be more people coming with the addition of smaller, newer attractions to the carnival such as the Character Counts fair. All grade levels will participate by making posters, holding contests and having performances in order to promote character skills that Mililani schools emphasize. “We are also hosting a Character Count(s) Fair during the carnival. So we’re hoping that brings a few more people over since that’ll be down in the gym,” said Ogawa.

Most of the rides from previous years, such as the Magic Maze, Pharaoh’s Fury and Super Sizzler are expected to return. This year will be the first time that the carnival will be offering discounts on rides; the discounts will be available from 11:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. on Sunday.

“We will have things like the slide, the kiddie rides, the merry-go-round.

Of course, you know, we hope to see stuff like the Zipper and what not. Unfortunately, can’t say for sure what we will have. It all depended on, you know, the machines working, sometimes they go down a little bit before, but you know, the same ones as we usually have,” said Ogawa.

Food will be provided by different

ew, improved comeback vendors as well as MHS clubs and sports teams. So far, there are 15 confirmed booths signed up. “Mark’s Specialty is a hot one. He has lots of local grinds. And we have a shave ice vending machine, we have soup bowls, lots of different varieties; musubis, snacks,” said Makekau. Ogawa added, “Okay, so we have mostly our

school groups are filling up our food booths. For example, football and baseball, who have participated every year.

We’ve got our band; they’re gonna be doing their drinks and burgers like they usually do. Some of the CTE groups are gonna participate.”

This year, the carnival is expected to make about

friday, feb 15

$88,000 in script sales and anywhere from $20,000 to $25,000 on the rides. Majority of the money that is made will go back to the school.

“We use money for campus improvement. It’s flexible money for us,” said Ogawa.

The carnival will run from 5:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 15, 11:00 a.m.

until 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 16 and 11:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 17. There will be a talent show held on B building stage on Friday, a Character Counts fair at the gym with a performance starting at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday and a petting zoo on C/B lawn on Saturday and Sunday.

sunday, feb 17

Open from 5:00 P.M.-11:00 P.M.

Open from 11:00 A.M.-6:00 P.M.

Talent show held on B Stage

Discounted rides (all day) Petting Zoo on C/B Lawn

saturday, feb 16 Open from 11:00 A.M.-11:00 P.M. Character Counts Fair in Gym from 10:00 A.M.-1:00 P.M. Petting Zoo on C/B Lawn E.K. Fernandez’s Century Wheel is 65 feet tall and has computerized lights for riders and spectators below to watch.

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Mililani Uka Blue Ribbon Award

Photos courtesy of Lorene Park. (L-R) Jo-Ann Chang, Lorene Park and Heather Wilhelm of Mililani Uka; Dale Arakaki and Vicky Yama of Pauoa Elementary; Laura Ahn and Kristi Hsu of Kalihi Uka Elementary.

Jenna Nakanishi

M

ililani Uka Elementary School has recently been designated a Blue Ribbon School for the 2018 school year.

The Blue Ribbon Schools Program is meant to recognize public and private elementary, middle and high schools for academic excellence and progress in closing achievement gaps in students subgroups — needing to be in the top 15 percent of schools in the state in both categories in order to be eligible for nomination by Chief State School Officers (CSSO) — as well as looking at other factors of the school.

“Blue Ribbon is not just academic.

It actually looks at other criteria. It looks at whether a school is doing well with other kinds of factors like safety, like ethical issues, special education kinds of things. And if your school does well there, now academically do you meet the criteria. So that to me is even more special than just whether a school can meet the academic

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Madison Kelly piece, because (with) our school philosophy, you need to do both,” said former principal of Mililani Uka Heather Wilhelm, who recently retired in December 2018.

This past year’s recent win marks the second time Mililani Uka has won the Blue Ribbon Award, with the first being in 1992. Since then, the school has seen drastic changes. “I think our demographic has changed really tremendously.

I think that we have now close to 30 percent free and reduced lunch, whereas before when I came (in 2005) it was 12 percent.

So the needs of the students have changed. And so our response to how to help them and teach them has changed. We just want to be current to meet the needs of the children who come to our school, and the children that are coming are different from the children that were in the 1990s,” said Wilhelm.

Student Services Coordinator and counselor Lorene Park, who was with the school in 1992, added

“Our school is very different, the community demographics has changed, the majority of staff has changed, and the State Assessment the students participate in requires short and extended responses, unlike multiple choice in the past.”

Park attributes Uka’s success to the willingness of staff, students and parents. Teachers make supplemental videos, and parents attend activities with their kids.

“Mililani Uka is comprised of a school community who are lifelong learners who strive for excellence.

Not only do our students study, but our teachers and parents do too. Our teachers continually look forward to learning and improving their teaching craft and instructional strategies so they can meet the needs of each student.

Parents are provided with learning opportunities through workshops and parent or student activities,” said Park. Wilhelm added, “I think we believe in that lifelong learning.

We really believe in that. And so it’s not only our students, but our teachers. So at our school, our teachers are actually learners too, and so whatever they learn, they

actually implement. And because of that culture of supportive learning, I think that our teachers and our students have become risk takers, and that they are more open to trying different kinds of things because they know that they’re going to get support from other teachers, from our coaches, or even their own grade levels sit and discuss. So its a community of learners, everybody is trying to learn together.”

Wilhelm also capitalizes on the eagerness of the Uka community to help the students. She ensures teachers have necessary materials to meet the needs of students, and teachers in turn make sure they maintain contact with parents.

“I think that we’re a team. We’ve always felt like if we help our teachers be the best that they can be, and teach them with the best instructional practices and those kinds of things, then all children will do better. And so we’ve been doing that for many, many years,” said Wilhelm. “And so, now (what) I’ve asked all the teachers is that every teacher must have a way to be able to communicate with your

(L-R) Jo-Ann Chang, Heather Wilhelm, Aba S. Kumi, Lorene Park at the recognition ceremony, held in November 2018 in Washington D.C. Aside from Uka, Pauoa Elemntary and Kalihi Uka Elementary were the two other schools in the state to win the Blue Ribbon Award for 2018. parents on a regular basis. So now most of them are doing ClassDojo, or class websites, or they do this texting kinds of things. Some still do hard copy, that they’ll send home at least once a week, but a lot of them now are moving into more of those kinds of technology based things, because our parents have.

And so immediately, if something happens, then teachers can text out to our parents — say ‘okay this is happening’ — or you can remind your children that this is what needs to be done.”

To ensure better practices, the staff at Uka are always looking for ways to improve. Recently, they’ve been focusing on upgrading learning tools and increasing parent involvement. “There are curriculum programs for the students, and so right now we’re using the state curriculum, which is Wonders and Stepping Stones. But what we’ve found is that if you’re using Common Core curriculum, that they need to be supplemented pretty drastically. And so we’re looking more into online, we’re looking into Lexia, iReady, a lot of different programs that we feel would help

our students. So maybe moving away from KidBiz and IXL and some of the programs that our children have done before, into ones that are a little more thought-provoking and can move them to that next level,” said Wilhelm.

In regards to parent involvement, the school has made an effort to help parents learn the curriculum as well, to be able to better help their child. Parent classes include math and language arts, in addition to activities they can engage in with their child that focus on specific standards based areas. “One of the goals when I first came is to really bring our parents in as members of our team. We started what we call parent activities. So it’s a way for our parents to come and learn what the children are learning in the classroom, and learn alongside with them. So the children begin to see their parents as partners and the parents begin to understand what’s happening in the classroom, how different math is now than how they learned it before,” said Wilhelm. “So in those ways, we’ve been trying to reach out to our parents and help them understand what we’re doing

so that they can be our partners.

Really, a partner is what we’re striving for.”

Aside from academics, students are also taught how to behave properly through setting examples.

This is meant to help them past elementary school years, and also contributes to a healthy school atmosphere required to be a Blue Ribbon School. “Mililani Uka students embrace Uka Egret pride and spirit. They internalize the Character Counts Pillars in school and in the community. Character pillars are reinforced with students by all staff members, including the office and custodial staff,” said Park.

In working towards meeting school goals that helped them win the Blue Ribbon Award, Wilhelm focuses on reflection. In taking a step back and looking at what is being done, the staff works to constantly improve what is being done. “We do the programs with fidelity and then we’ll always look to see if it meets the needs of what we want to do, and if not, we will change it or we will add to it to make it a program that is going be useful to our students. So we just don’t

take a program, and what you see in one school is going to be exactly the same at our school. More likely not. Because the demographics at every school is different, and so the needs of the different schools are different. So we always have to take in mind—okay these are our students now, what do they need now, and do we need to supplement what we have? So our thinking is the first year we do it with fidelity, because then we’ll know if it works or not,” said Wilhelm.

Park, who has been with the school for over 26 years, has seen many of the changes that have taken place and ultimately helped the school win the Blue Ribbon Award again in 2018. “I am proud of the students for their perseverance to work hard, the parents or guardians for their support of the teachers and school, and the teachers for their tireless dedication to their students.

Our school focuses on student growth, socially, emotionally, and academically,” said Park.

Mililani Uka is one of only three schools in the state who received the 2018 Blue Ribbon Award.

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Model, Chloe Kitsu

S

Humanitarian

ince 2016, MHS 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

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Genevieve Mumma

name — after being scouted by Renew Artists, this then became her name in her modeling career. “So before I started modeling — 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. 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

Jenna Lee Bundalian

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,

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

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

“I’m just one person but even being one person, I can make a big difference.” is her main focus. By being able to influence 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

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

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.

Note: This story was originally published in Issue 4.

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one key at a time keyboard King miyahara Alexander Ink

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Charles Tothina

any people start a YouTube channel in hopes of one day making it big and creating a career out of internet stardom. Whether it’s singing covers or making commentary videos, users try to gain followers and generate some income. However, this was not the case with Junior Emmett Miyahara, who launched his YouTube channel on a whim and not in hopes of stardom. Today Miyahara operates a channel with about 8,300 subscribers and a total of 1,741,000 video views.

His channel features content ranging from videos on gaming and computer hardware to skits.

“I actually started making videos seriously I think around June of 2017,” said Miyahara. “It’s not really a career, I just do it for a hobby and (I’m) just making money off the site and not that much money.”

Miyahara launched his channel in November 2014, initially focusing on “Minecraft” related content under the moniker, Enderbrine3000. This was later shortened to EB3K, which is what he uses today. His channel experienced limited growth in the first few years of its existence, but when he transitioned from making “Minecraft” videos to creating videos about “osu!” a popular Japanese video game, his channel took off. “Mid-2017, I was like, ‘Okay, I’m gonna make a video. I’m gonna try and make a good video,’ and that video succeeded,” said Miyahara.

After going three years without having a single video break 1,000 views, his video “[osu!] My 2+ Years of Playing and improvement” managed to gain more than 200,000 views. After watching

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Joie Agoo

other creators make videos about their improvements in “osu!” he had decided to give it a go. “I made it because I saw it was a project that I just wanted to do just for the heck of it,” said Miyahira. “I saw everyone do it, and then it seemed pretty cool to make, to actually take time to make a good video on something and share it and upload it, so I just did it and then it apparently did well.”

In a few of his subsequent videos, he achieved similar success, one video even reaching more than 700,000 views.

However, despite this popularity on YouTube, he never considered it as a possible primary career. “I’ve thought of making YouTube a side job, just for my own spending and no(t) necessities. I would rather have a part time job. Again, I’m doing it for a hobby, so just getting money, that’s nice, but I don’t think of that as I’m going to make this my future career,” said Miyahara, “I would like to keep it as a hobby, nothing serious.”

Instead, Miyahara has found another passion to pursue — mechanical keyboards. Miyahara builds and collects all kinds of mechanical keyboards. He discovered his enthusiasm because of his interest in playing video games. “To be quite frank, I don’t know why I’m passionate about keyboards. It’s just (that) for some reason it kind of hit me,” said Miyahara. “Since I used to play a lot of video games I heard stuff about mechanical keyboards and how they’re apparently better for gaming and how they feel better and everything and I tried one and it was true. So I was like, ‘Oh, that’s interesting,’ and then I wanted to try a lot of varieties.”

Miyahara learned how to craft keyboards by researching it online and

Over time Miyahara has collected over fifteen keyboards.

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K From his computer, Miyahara creates and edits most of his content. on YouTube. Today he has little trouble building them. “It’s actually not really a difficult process,” said Miyahara, “I just buy the PCB (printed circuit board) with diodes pre-soldered, then the switches I want, the plate the switches mount on, the case and then keycaps. I solder the switches on myself.”

Miyahara has already made several custom keyboards for himself and his friends. Using the ad revenue he generates from YouTube, he pays for his own keyboards and his friends give him money to make theirs. “The thing is, I really don’t know why, I just really like making keyboards,” said Miyahara. “So I actually spend more on parts to building it than (on the) money I receive because I just like making keyboards so much. If I’m gonna make something, then I want to make something high quality.”

Miyahara is currently trying to transition the content on his channel from gaming to keyboards. Although his keyboard-related videos haven’t reached the same number of views as his “osu!” content, he wants to focus his channel on his passion and has slowly begun to switch his content.

“What I did was integrate keyboards into ‘osu!’ and (show) how certain keyboards help you do better (and) help you perform better in ‘osu!’” said Miyahara. “And now I’m trying to completely switch to keyboards because I’d rather do that as a hobby than ‘osu!’ right now — if I even have time to make a video, that is.”

Miyahara’s keyboard passion isn’t limited to his YouTube channel. In the future, he hopes to work in the keyboard industry. “It is a really specific thing I like. It is something really specific, unlike aerospace engineering or computer science or environmental science,” said Miyahara. “They’re kind of vague, but keyboards are really a focus and I kind of like that about it. And since I like making and collecting keyboards, if I can somehow integrate that into my future career then I think that would be great.”

Miyahara plans to continue his YouTube posts along with his keyboard construction, as long as he has the time.

His work can be found on the YouTube channel EB3K.

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videos with over

1,000 views

Osu! videos

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minecraft

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videos

videos

23

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Ramos vieve Mumma ne Miura

top 5 photo spots

in mililani Chanelle Camero

Anika Ramos Genevieve Mumma Faustine Miura

Joie Agoo

Joie Agoo

1. “ starstruck“ sculpture at town center The moon sculpture, “Starstruck” is a recent addition to Mililani Town Center as a symbol of new beginnings inspired by our ancient Hawaiian chiefs who came to Mililani to look up to the heavens. It creates a whole other aura to your photos by adding a magical effect when posed perched on the bronze and stainless steel sculpture.

1.

Junior Mina Pecoraro

2.

Junior Mina Pecoraro

2. mari ‘s garden Mari’s Gardens, located on Makapipipi St. is a great spot for pictures with greenery. The variety of color from the array of beautifully grown fruits and vegetables makes your pictures pop. Their different types of plants, ranging from succulents to flowers, give a vivid and attractive background for your photos.

3. “ sunset bridge “ The bridge over Kam Highway leading to Mililani Uka Elementary is the ideal spot to capture the sunset over Mililani. With a long road winding underneath the bridge, it makes it easy to take aesthetic pictures of the sunset.

3.

Junior Mina Pecoraro

4. eucalyptus trees by mcdonalds The colorful rainbow eucalyptus (Eucalyptus deglupta) trees at the Gateway at Mililani Mauka adds color naturally and effortlessly with the subtle colors aligning the tree bark. It gives the illusion of being in an enchanted forest while in the suburbs.

5. tunnel by mhs The rainbow tunnel that runs underneath Kam Highway is the perfect place to add a unique effect to your photos from the shadows casted on the rainbow rimmed walls. It adds a spontaneous burst of striking colors as a result of the graffiti along the sides and walkway.

4.

Junior Lauren Ramos

5.

First Grader Riona Miura

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castillo

JROTC Executive Officer, Future Pilot, STEM Scientist Jacob Nakasone Jacob NakasoneJacob Nakasone Shoda Hailey Shoda Charles Tothina Charles Tothina CharlesHailey Tothina

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hroughout his years in high school, Senior Ryan Castillo has had a love for aviation and science. He has spent all four of his years at MHS in Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) and continues to build his character. With progress made in his various interests, Castillo aims to reach high goals in the future. He currently attends George’s Aviations Services for flight school, has been in the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) for a few years and has worked on a project funded by the University of Hawai’i (UH) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA).

“The first time I flew a plane was (when) I was 12 years old. They (CAP) give us five free flights on a plane — they let you fly it. So I was 12 and (I had) no idea what to expect at all,” said Castillo.

Castillo’s passion for aviation emerged at an early age. Over the years, this love has only grown stronger as he progressed further into the field of aviation. “So (the) first time I knew I wanted to be a pilot was when I saw an air show. So I was probably like, three-years-old.

Somewhere around that age, I saw planes flying and I used to be really (inquisitive) about everything. So I was like, ‘How does that plane fly? How does a person fly the plane?’ and then I actually got to talk to one of the pilots after (the show) and then I was like, ‘Oh, this is really cool. I want to do that,’” said Castillo.

A current Battalion Commander for JROTC, Castillo spent much of his time in the program building his character. From second semester on, Castillo has served the role of Executive Officer.

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“So as the battalion commander, I had to oversee basically all the people that were on the staff, so I’ll have students (that are) cadets on there. And now as the executive officer, I basically have more of a managing role because, as the commander, (I have to) pretty much oversee to make sure nothing is going wrong. But as the Executive Officer I’m more like down doing the work with them as well. (I have to) make sure they’re getting everything done and helping them out,” said Castillo.

Castillo’s involvement with JROTC also played a key role in his aspiration to become a pilot. His interest in aviation and the military stemmed from a young age. “I realized that a lot of astronauts — because I want to be an astronaut — were military pilots. So around elementary school, I decided that I wanted to join the military so I can follow that path,” said Castillo.

Castillo began gaining experience in the field since the age of 12. He now actively attends flight school and CAP. “So CAP — my mom’s friend was actually a volunteer. So he’s not in the military, but he joined to help out with them because we do a lot of missions. So he told me, ‘Hey, if you want to be a pilot, you should join this program. It’s really good to build your leadership skills and everything else.’

So I joined when I was 12. And it’s pretty good.

Because I mean, you have to pay — there’s like a (renewable) membership, which is like 30 bucks a year. So it’s not that bad. But other than that, you just show up to a squadron and be like, ‘I want to join and get started.’ And then in terms of flight, all you have to do is call them and be like, ‘Hey I want to learn how to fly.’ They’re gonna set up dates for

Hailey Shoda

you to come in and practice,” said Castillo.

While they’re both associated with aviation, flight school and CAP are different from one another. However, the two have helped Castillo improve in different aspects of his character. “I’m part of the Civil Air Patrol, we are the auxiliary of the Air Force and this program has helped me in many ways. It has taught me leadership, responsibility, public speaking and how to be a better person.” I have learned about my true abilities and how to improve them. We also perform search or rescue duties for the Coast Guard and the disaster relief. For flight training, the current program I am in is at George’s Aviation Services, where I currently have academic classes,” said Castillo.

In addition to his aviation career, Castillo has found a special interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). Throughout his senior year, Castillo has worked intensely on a STEM Capstone project that started in 2018. “So first off, it’s a project that I’m working on at the UH. It’s a program that was funded by NASA. I’ve been working on it ever since summer 2018 and then I’m working on it as a Stem Capstone project.

So I had to make some modifications to make it fit as a capstone project,” said Castillo. “Since I want to be an astronaut, I was like, ‘Okay, I want to do something that has to do with Mars,’ which is a planet that a lot of space agencies want to go to and research. So I was thinking, ‘Okay, what are the problems with getting to Mars? One of it is having precision landing site.’ So like, let’s say, ‘Okay, I want the rocket with the astronauts or like a payload to

Besides aviation, Castillo’s dream goal in life is to become an astronaut and go to space. land like 100 meters from its intended target.’

Because in the past, basically, what you do is the thing goes into the atmosphere, like five kilometers per second, and then they basically (deploy an) airbag and (it) just bounces and it says, ‘Okay, it’s just going to land (in) this general area, we don’t know where it lands because it can bounce wherever.’ But what I want to do is focus on making the entry trajectories more accurate.

So it can be like, ‘Okay, we want here,’ and we know it’s gonna land and not just bounce around, like in the past. So I decided to do that.”

The process to become a pilot is long and challenging. For Castillo, he met various obstacles both in flight school and CAP. “For flight school, the amount of academics I have to put in is a lot. They gave us a textbook that’s like 800 pages; it’s like driver’s ed on steroids, basically. And then you’re gonna have to take a written test, which is kind of like your driver’s permit test, except really long. And then another (challenge) was, in order to promote in the CAP, you have to do written tests and you have to do a physical test. One of the biggest issues I had a couple years ago was that the physical test was pretty hard for me — the only part I could not do as good (on) was the running part because I had to run an eight minute mile but I was terrible at running before, and I’d get like eight and a half minutes. I was stuck on a rank for two years straight. I thought about quitting because I was like, ‘I can’t continue.’ But then eventually, what happened was that there was this Marine Corporal that joined our program — he basically

mentored me and helped me out.” said Castillo.

Throughout Castillo’s journey, he has experienced many hardships. However, the help of a strong support system has helped him push through the difficult times. “So in my life, first off, my mom basically helps me with everything. I mean, she’s really supportive (with everything) I want to do. She doesn’t be like, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t do that, because it’s really hard to do or anything. She’s really supportive. Because I mean, astronauts out of like 30,000 people, only 10 people get selected and — grandparents as well, because they’ve raised me for like, a lot of my childhood because my mom’s single so she had to work a lot. My grandparents helped me a lot and basically molded me into who I am today. And then I also have the mentors and CAP and JROTC that helped me out with a lot — like I’m finding the Air Force Academy and some people I know actually graduated from the academies and they’re helping me out with the process and writing me letters of recommendation all that,” said Castillo.

Castillo was nominated by Senator Mazie Hirono to attend the Air Force Academy. If he’s unable to get in, Castillo plans on attending its prep school; he also wants to further his explorations in science.

Castillo plans on becoming a military pilot instead of a commercial pilot so that he can serve his country and give back to his family.

27

Looking quite fetching mililani’s Gano family Returns To Dog Show arenas

Megan Schendel

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Anika Ramos

nspired by a love of dogs, MHS office assistant Irene Gano first began entering into dog shows with her husband Royd Gano in the 1990s. Now, after three kids and a decadelong break, Irene and Royd Gano have once again taken up dog handling.

“When my kids were born we kind of stopped, but along the way we kept our Samy (Samoyed) and then we got interested in Afghans (Afghan hounds) now — that’s our new thing. We’re back into it because our kids have gotten older — two of them are away — so we’re getting back into the dog show world,” said Irene Gano.

The Ganos began participating in dog shows after buying a female Samy — a large dog breed with a white, double-layered coat.

They initially bought her as a pet back in the ‘90s and, after being contacted by the breeder, decided to show her. “We started watching the Westminster show and, actually, we saw an Afghan that we loved and I said ‘wow,’ we never knew how to get one and we saw a Samy and got that. She (Irene) started going to shows and hooked up with the Samy handlers or exhibitioners and they said, ‘Hey, just bring your dog and try it out,’ and we liked it and got hooked for a while,” said Royd Gano. “We got a dog, showed it, got it titled and got hooked.”

In the beginning of 2018, Irene Gano and Royd Gano decided

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Hailey Shoda

to try and find an Afghan — the dog that had inspired them and led to them getting their first Samoyed. They now have a three year old Samoyed named Troy, as well as a male and female Afghan puppy named Macchiato and Daenerys, or Macca and Dany for short.

“We’re just getting back into (it) and we’re learning and with a new breed, it’s a totally new deal,” said Royd Gano.

To avoid the prejudices of judges from interfering with the scoring of the competition, judging for the competition is not based off of what each judge personally likes and is rather determined by the standards of organizations such as the American Kennel Club (AKC). The judging criteria varies by country as each has their own set of ideals for every dog breed.

“They don’t judge dog against dog, it’s your dog and how it matches up against breed standard and same with the other dogs. I guess they have a point system. What you basically do is run around the ring so that the judges can see the gait — see how the dog’s movement going away, coming towards, going around the ring looks (and) just standing, teeth — they’ll have you show their bite so they can see how the teeth are,” said Royd Gano.

In order to compete for the top award, the dog has to win the first two rounds of the competition. If your dog wins first in their breed and then in their group, they’ll move on to compete against six other dogs for the top award, Best in Show. “There’s seven groups in the AKC world, in American Kennel, so we’re in the hound group. You have to compete with all the different hounds — your breed first and then your group and then you get into the big show,” said Irene Gano.

The Ganos have high hopes for their Afghan, Macca, who has caught the eye of numerous judges for his unique coloring.

In each group, the top four dogs are awarded with only the first-place winner advancing to compete for the title of Best in Show.

AKC hosts a variety of matches and shows throughout the year, with matches being predominantly for fun. The main reason that most dogs are entered into AKC sanctioned shows is to be able to get enough points for the dog to earn their championship. “The championship is just a title. Say like our boy, Tachira Macchiato, so if you get championship you get the title ‘CH’ in front of your dog’s name and you get a certificate saying your dog’s got his championship points and now he can be called Champion Tachira Macchiato. It’s just bragging points,” said Royd Gano. “As far as points go towards your championship, each breed is different in that it all depends on how many dogs are entered in that competition.

Unfortunately for us, for the Afghan and the Samys, there’s not enough dogs to get what they call a Major — a three point Major — where you would need four dogs to get at least three points. It’s 15 points to get your championship, but of those 15 points, you need two majors. So, for us, where we don’t have enough dogs in the breed, we would need to place first in the group.”

The Ganos plan to breed their dogs and sell the puppies, building a bloodline

(Top Row L-R) Royd Gano, Irene Gano. (Bottom Row L-R) Macca, Troy, Dany. Due to the rarity of Samoyeds and Afghans in Hawai’i, the Ganos purchase their dogs from a breeder in Australia. representation. The kennel name is essentially the name that a breeder attaches to their dogs’ bloodlines in order to mark the puppies that they sell as a descendant of their dogs.

“The plan is to eventually get our own kennel going and, to get your name out there, you need to show your dogs and get them titles and hopefully that brings the money in — also the prestige. Just like horses, you want your horses to win so that when you stud them out you can get your money back at least.

That’s the goal is to try and get your money out,” said Royd Gano. Irene Gano added, “You have to show your dogs; you have to get your championships in order to build up your kennel name and that’s what our goal is — to build up our kennel.”

On Sept. 2, the Gano’s youngest Afghan, Macca, competed and placed fourth in his breed and won Best Match. This year, Macca and Dany will be continuing to compete in hopes of eventually winning enough points for a championship title. Ultimately, Irene and Royd Gano hope that continuing to show their dogs and building up their kennel will help promote dog handling and a raise in the amount of shows and dogs in Hawai’i.

dog group classifications Sporting: Gun dogs that were developed to assist the hunter, and generally have high energy and stable temperaments.

Hound: Hunters that bring down the game themselves, or hold it at bay until the hunter arrives, or locate the game by tracking its scent.

Working: Generally intelligent and powerfully built to perform a variety of tasks, including guarding homes and livestock and serving as police, military and service dogs.

Terrier: Determined and courageous dogs that were mainly developed in the U.K. to be small and agile enough to pursue rats, foxes, and other vermin.

Note: This story was originally published in Issue 2.

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Technology Takeover How Mililani Schools Use Technology

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hroughout the years, there have been many advances in technology, from Apple Macintosh computers to MacBook Airs, and from iPods to iPads, technology evolves everyday. These new technologies are being integrated into student’s curriculum . With new online reading, math, social studies and science learning programs, schools are able to utilize these programs to help aid student learning.

Chloe Kitsu

Anika Ramos Chloe Kitsu

Hailey Shoda Anika Ramos

Mililani Waena Elementary

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ililani Waena Elementary is one of the many schools across the state of Hawai’i to get the one to one pilot program grant providing the school with $1 million to purchase computers for each student. Waena also utilizes SmartBoards now known as “interactive whiteboards” that teachers can hook their computer up to. The board projects what’s on the teacher’s screen which then can be manipulated on the board, with a touch of a finger. There are also other online programs that are used as well.

KidBiz or Achieve 3000 is a web-based individualized reading and writing program that tracks student progress and reading lexile through different activities and assessments. IXL is a math and language arts practice website for students in kindergarten to twelfth grade that has numerous topics for students to study. “So all classrooms are equipped with MacBook computer carts, so there’s about 25 to 30 MacBooks in the classrooms — so all students have access to that as well. In addition, we do have iPads that teachers can check out. With the Mac computers we have a variety of digital tools that they can use,” said Vice Principal Sean Takashima.

“So we actually have a variety of digital — it’s actually like a digital menu, there’s iReady, a lot of schools including us use IXL, also very popular is Achieve 3000 or KidBiz is utilized, the students do use the host of Google apps, the primary ones that they use in elementary is just the Google Docs and the Google Slides, but with the computer the students use the PhotoBooth to take a lot of self-assessment videos and then they upload it to SeeSaw which is an online portfolio platform that they use to communicate with parents (on) their progress as well.”

Mililani High School

Mililani High School

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HS uses a wide variety of technology ranging from English classes having a one to one set of laptops, to each student having access to their own Google accounts. Each student is able to use Google Drive, Gmail, Google Classroom, and more. Google Classroom allows teachers to create and posts assignments that students can see anywhere regardless if they’re on a computer or a mobile device. Some classrooms are paperless as all studentwork is done online or on Google Drive.

Mililani uka Elementary

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t Mililani Uka Elementary students in grades two to five now have a one to one computer system. In their lower grades, they also utilize iPads during the school day. Along with KidBiz and IXL, Uka also uses Lexia and Typing Agent. Lexia is a reading literacy software that addresses the development of reading, spelling, oral language and writing skills. Typing Agent is a web-based program that allows teachers to monitor student typing lessons and curriculum. “Students have technology or computer classes every two weeks for curriculum integrated lessons using applications from Microsoft Office, Apple iWork, and Google Apps for Education,” said technology coordinator Bao Nguyen.

Mililani Middle School

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ince Mililani Middle School’s (MMS) opening in 1998, the technology within the school has changed. MMS went from having only four Compaq PCs with a 14 inch monitor in each classroom for students to use and one Apple Macintosh computer for the teacher to now having multiple computer labs and laptops for students to use. MMS also utilizes the Google Apps that include Google Docs, Drive, Slides and more. “There are two computer labs in the library, digital media labs in B and C buildings. Each grade level buildings have computer labs as well as several mobile labs for each grade level made up of iPads and ChromeBooks,” said Yearbook teacher Paul Stanley. “All of the MMS students have a Google account and use it daily.

This is very helpful because they can continue their work outside of the classroom using Google Docs, Drive, other apps, Gmail.

They can continue using other computers on campus, at home or even on their personal mobile devices.”

Mililani Ike Elementary

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ililani Ike Elementary uses an array of technology from SeeSaw to IXL. Ike also uses Google applications: Google Docs, Drive, Drawings and Slides. Their school documents, forms of communication and curriculum binders are all digital. They also utilize a program called Green Screen — it allows students to share what they learned in a unit, they can create a script, record their video and share it with others. “We are building a culture in our tech lab that the students can get up and help others. Not do it for others, but the students have to communicate to their peers how to do something. If the students discover something when they are using the technology, they can teach the class what they have learned,” said Principal Lynne Ajifu.

Mililani kipapa elementary

W Mililani mauka Elementary

ithin the past two months, 15 Mililani Kipapa Elementary classrooms received Promethean Boards from MMS. Along with Promethean Boards, Kipapa is a one to one computer school and utilizes technology in their performing arts programs. “About three to four years ago, we became a one to one school. Each student has access to a device throughout the school day. This allows for more flexibility, scheduling lessons and creating learning groups and stations, more opportunities for students to be creative and problem solve using these devices. For Technology class, we integrate a lot of the projects we do with performing arts. Students create backgrounds and sets for the grade level performance sets,” said technology coordinator Kacie Conner. “With this interactive whiteboard, it helps to enhance lessons and allows the students to become more engaged in the activities through touch or with the use of special pens.”

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Mililani mauka Elementary

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ililani Mauka Elementary has had a variety of changes in their technology since 1993.

Back then they only had four desktop computers in each classroom while today each student has access to a laptop computer. They also have moved on from using hardcover textbooks to E-books on the computer. Mauka also uses SMART boards and laptops to view videos or presentations instead of on a TV.

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MILILANI TIMES

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MILILANI TIMES

Lthen ook deep into nature, and you will understand everything better.

- Albert Einstein

Designed by Joie Agoo and Jenna Lee Bundalian Drawing by Shantel Gongob