La Pietra Days S U M M E R 2 017
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W W W. L A P I E T R A . E D U
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? ALSO INSIDE
HOOPLA
Pop Music! Pop Up Tents! Pops of Art Everywhere!
FAREWELL TO MAHINA ELENEKI HUGO
After 25 years of service, La Pietra’s 4th Head of School retires
SCIENCE OLYMPIAD TEAMS
One of the most difficult and time-consuming challenges a student can undertake
Board of Trustees Wendy B. Crabb Chair
Dr. Daniel E. White 1st Vice Chair Lauran Bromley ’76, 2nd Vice Chair Dawn MacNaughton Secretary Russell M. Gifford Treasurer Josh Watson, Ph.D. Head of School David L. Callies Calvert G. Chipchase, IV Randi Silleck Conway ’69 Sara Dudgeon Dr. Kent M. Keith Blair Kennedy Parry-Okeden ’68 Lynne Toyofuku, Esq. ’75 Debbie Weil-Manuma ’75
LA PIETRA’S HISTORY Founded by Lorraine Day Cooke and Barbara Cox Anthony, and under the leadership of Joseph H. Pynchon, the school opened in 1964 at Central Union Church. After five years, Hawaii School for Girls moved to its own campus, La Pietra, the former Dillingham estate on the slopes of Diamond Head. La Pietra – Hawaii School for Girls is now an independent school for young women in grades six through twelve. The program is college preparatory, and the overall student-teacher ratio is seven to one, assuring full attention to every girl’s needs and aims. La Pietra – Hawaii School for Girls is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. The school is a charter member of the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools and a member of the National Association of Independent Schools.
OUR VISION & VALUES Our Vision
We educate young women to lead a life of achievement. Our Values
To realize our vision, we believe that
Administration
• Confidence: Passion and Self-Confidence are as important as Ability
Anne Nakakura Business Manager
• Curiosity: Creativity is as important as Critical Thinking
Josh Watson, Ph.D. Head of School
Angie Dolan Academic Dean and College Counselor Gay Chinen Dean of Students Megan Meyer Director of Admissions
Outreach
Keala OʻSullivan Communications Coordinator Kanoe Vares Advancement and Alumnae Coordinator
Staff
Elaine Batacan Administrative Assistant Luciana Bishay Technology Assistant Stefanie Nomura Executive Coordinator
• Identity: Character is as important as Success
LA PIETRA’S ALMA MATER “La Pietra Days” Music by Nancy Hunt Lyrics by Helene Scatcherd ’92 (This song was composed as Helene’s Independent Project.)
Near to the heart of Honolulu And close to the azure sea, Stands a lady of great beauty, history, and integrity. She nurtures harmony and wisdom; She shares her love and grace. La Pietra, we will always cherish our La Pietra Days, Our precious La Pietra Days. Memories that will last a lifetime; The friendships we hold dear. Timeless lessons that we learned here, Will sustain us through the years. To our beloved alma mater, our voices now we raise. La Pietra, we will always cherish our La Pietra Days, Our precious La Pietra Days.
CREDITS Keala O‘Sullivan Editor
Kelli McGee MacDonald ’79 Class Notes
Stefanie Nomura and Patrick Bigold Design Asylum Contributing Editors Design and Layout
Cover: La Pietra graduate, Madison Tasaka ’16 receives her diploma at the 49th Commencement Ceremony La Pietra – Hawaii School for Girls 2933 Poni Moi Road, Honolulu HI 96815 www.LaPietra.edu
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Featured WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Also Inside
17 LEADING CHOICE IN ALL-GIRLS' EDUCATION
Learn where La Pietra graduates within the past six years are currently attending and or have recently graduated from.
22 SPECIAL GUEST DAY
SCIENCE OLYMPIAD TEAMS DEDICATE HOURS OF PREPARATION
31 PHILANTHROPY
One of the most difficult and time-consuming challenges a student can undertake outside the classroom is joining the Science Olympiad team.
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HOOPLA
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FAREWELL TO MAHINA ELENEKI HUGO
23 WAHINE FORUM 32 BRICK GARDEN 33 COLLEGE PROCESS 36 CLASS NOTES
Pop Music! Pop Up Tents! Pops of Art Everywhere!
After 25 years of service, La Pietra’s 4th Head of School retires. 02
2007–2017 Head of School Message Thank you for helping to educate young women to lead lives of achievement for over 50 years.”
Aloha!
pate in more than 16 sports and our 1:1 Chromebook program continues to be a success as students focus on As we continue our school’s legacy of academics through a new technoeducational excellence we would like logical landscape — Google Apps to extend our mahalo and deepest for Education, where they enjoy appreciation to the entire La Pietra ‘ohana, including our founders, trustees, Looking into the future, I am proud an increased collaborative learning alumnae, teachers, parents, students, to share two flagship programs that environment and are able to submit and friends. Thank you for helping to are essential to La Pietra’s curriculum: assignments with greater ease. educate young women to lead lives of our Women and Gender Studies We also continue to offer robust achievement for over 50 years. Program and our Leadership Acad- co-curricular experiences such as clubs, We are excited to revive the school emy. Over the next few years, new student government, peer leadership, magazine as it serves to help keep our curriculum will be incorporated with and real-world experiences through ‘ohana connected with one another elements from existing courses, and various leadership opportunities. and informed of what’s happening at we will bring in additional experts for As my time at La Pietra comes to La Pietra. Many exciting changes are our students to learn from, and also an end, I hope you enjoy reading taking place at the school, and we hope increase opportunities for mentoring. our stories and are inspired to take to keep all of you involved in making With this exciting, vibrant direction on the rest of the 2017 year with sure that La Pietra – Hawaii School of La Pietra, our commitment to an the same renewed sense of purpose for Girls continues to be the wonderful individualized education in an ex- that is filling our school as we work school that we all know and love. traordinary environment is stronger together toward our next milestone To recap, a couple summers ago we than ever! Over the last five years, anniversary. We look forward to crecompleted the renovation of our tra- 150 graduates were awarded more ating another 50 years of La Pietra ditional classrooms into cutting-edge than $22.6 million in merit schol- memories in our unique learning 21st century learning spaces equipped arships, and we have proudly sent environment where girls thrive, find with enhanced projection, newly in- our girls to colleges and universities their own unique voice, and where stalled magnetic white boards, and across the country. Our girls have their confidence soars. flexible furniture. The renovations gained entrance to: Stanford Unibrought new life to the classrooms, versity, University of California – Mahalo, making them more conducive to in- Berkeley, Columbia University, New York University, Scripps College and novative and collaborative learning. many other prestigious universities. Our vision statement and values More than 70% of students partici- Mahina Eleneki Hugo were also renewed with the help of the Board of Trustees, faculty, and staff to better align with the needs of our students and to clearly reflect La Pietra’s goals in educating young women, from academic success to self-defined achievement.
DR. JOSH WATSON Named New Head of School
In April, La Pietra announced Dr. Josh Watson as its next Head of School. Dr. Watson will take over at the beginning of the 2017–2018 school year for Mahina Eleneki Hugo, and will lead us as La Pietra’s 5th Head of School.
appreciate the time you invested in this process. It shows your commitment to students, and reinforces my belief that this is the community of educators whom I want to work with. I am honored by and grateful for this opportunity.”
After an extensive search process for the new Head of School, the Board of Trustees announced in April 2017 that Dr. Watson will be the new Head of School effective July 1, 2017.
The Board of Trustees stated, “We welcome Dr. Watson and look forward to his leadership in the continuation of excellence in education with a focus on 21st century learning and skills. We also want to thank current Head of School, Mahina Hugo, for her leadership and support.”
Upon accepting the position, Dr. Watson stated in a letter to faculty, staff, and administration, “I very much
Dr. Watson brings with him extensive experience in all aspects of school administration, teaching and counseling. Most recently, he served as the Assistant Principal for Student Life at Mid-Pacific Institute in Honolulu. The following is a summary of his experience in Hawaii, Colorado, and Florida: Assistant Principal for Student Life Mid-Pacific Institute Honolulu, Hawaii, 2013–2017 Assistant Head of School and Dean of Students Academy of the Pacific Honolulu, Hawaii, 2006–2013
College Counselor, Teacher and Testing Coordinator University Laboratory School Honolulu, Hawaii, 2004–2006
Teacher Lakeview Middle School Orange County Public Schools Orlando, Florida, 1999–2000
Teacher and Academic Advisor University of Denver High School Denver Colorado, 2001–2004
A brief summary of his education and professional activities includes: Doctor of Education: Professional Education Practice University of Hawaii, 2014
Latin Summer School in Rome with Vatican Latin Secretary Reginald Foster, 1998
Administrative Leadership Institute, Drs. R. Evans and M. Thompson Punahou School, 2015
Master of Education Educational Leadership University of Hawaii, 2010
Bachelor of Arts: Humanities University of Northern Iowa, 1996, Summa cum Laude
Presenter “National and International Perspectives on Education” EdD Colloquium Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK, 2014
Post Baccalaureate Certificate, Secondary Education University of Hawaii, 2006
Member and Chair, Board of Trustees, Hoaloha o ke Kai Montessori School, 2013–2016
Member WASC/HAIS Accreditation visiting teams 2012 and 2014
Master of Arts: Classics University of Colorado, 1999
Diversity Directors’ Institute Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning, 2016 04
3-TIME STATE BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Champions
In November of 2016, Peri Green ’17 and Jessica Akiona ’18 represented La Pietra in the state title match at the 4th Annual Hawaii Beach Volleyball Championships at Queen’s Beach in Waikiki. This unstoppable duo defeated Punahou School in a three game match, marking the win as the third state title for La Pietra. For Green this is her 3rd consecutive state title and for Akiona this is her 2nd consecutive title. For the past three years, La Pietra has faced and defeated Punahou School in each championship game. The surprisingly limited beach volleyball community in Hawaii has allowed these La Pietra girls to thoroughly evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each opponent. Both athletes remain focused throughout the match and capitalized on every opportunity presented. Green states, “The wins are a result of total commitment and lots of preparation. The training comes with ball control, passing, setting, and hitting. Then there’s also the mental game and strategy.” Green has no issue being motivated. She signed her letter of intent with the University of Southern California on a full ride athletic scholarship to play beach volleyball. University of Southern California has been ranked in the top 10 in beach volleyball for the past five years and has recently been ranked number one. Her goal after college is to play professional volleyball. As for Akiona, she has been elected Student Council President for her upcoming senior year in high school and has every intent to continue her volleyball career in college. She credits her work ethic, both on and off the court, to her mom and dad who support her in all she does. Left: Jessica Akiona ’18 spikes the ball. Center: Peri Green ’17 digs the ball. Right: Jessica Akiona ’18 and Peri Green ’17.
Congratulations to Peri Green and Jessica Akiona!
IMPLEMENTING CHROMEBOOKS & GOOGLE
for Education
Chromebooks are fast, user friendly, secure, and facilitate collaboration. These devices are specially engineered to provide access to Google Apps for Education also known as the “G Suite for Education”. The suite offers free productivity tools for classroom collaboration, like documents, file sharing, slides, websites, and more. Middle School Teacher, Lauren Gibson says, “Implementing technological tools such as one-to-one Chromebooks and Google for Education allow students to access daily lessons even beyond the classroom walls. I can easily post daily notes, record lesson videos, and a plethora of learning materials to extend, support and enrich my students’ learning experience.” The Chromebooks are versatile devices with dynamic content all built into one system. Business Manager, Anne Nakakura states, “The Google for Education applications installed on the Chromebooks allow for students to explore the world, easily collaborate, track their progress, and achieve more, together.” In addition to increased collaboration amongst peers and teachers, Nakakura also emphasizes that connectivity to Wi-Fi is key to the functionality of Chromebooks. “With all the tools offered on the Chromebook, it was also a priority to increase the Wi-Fi bandwidth to support the 1:1 student Chromebook program,” said Nakakura. The school updated its infrastructure to double the Wi-Fi bandwidth from 50 mbps to 100 mbps. Additional web filtering controls were also applied to monitor and create a safe web environment for students. Nakakura assures, “The increase in bandwidth and the web filtering ensures that our infrastructure is fully supporting each student and teacher with have unfettered access to the Internet.” The implementation of the Chromebook program has helped faculty save time, communicating and collaborating with students on projects, assignments, and homework.
Why Chromebooks? Educational use: The Chromebook is an educational device that supports the ways girls learn best. It encourages collaboration, teamwork, and facilitates the learning of critical skills needed in today’s workplace. Productivity: Student ease of producing essays and other written class assignments are boosted with the device’s keyboard. File storage: With Google tools such as Google Drive, students enjoy easier access to files, synchronized files across all devices, and increased file sharing capabilities. Applications: Google applications are easy to use and offer students the ability to create a variety of products to enhance their learning. Easy collaboration: Cloud-based collaboration allows students and teachers to easily share information.
Where Are Our Most Recent Graduates?
A
school is an institution that prepares people for the future. Its sole focus is to teach students to think critically, to instill in them a desire to do good for humanity, and to inspire them to forge a path to great achievements.
At La Pietra – Hawaii School for Girls, we fulfill these expectations. Girls attending the campus benefit from enthusiastic and knowledgeable faculty, a well-rounded curriculum, and engaging extracurricular activities. All of these resources and opportunities are meant to contribute to a full-spectrum educational experience that prepares La Pietra students for life in college and beyond.
ing themselves and their communities through college degrees and building fruitful careers. Alexandra Sidun, a La Pietra graduate from the Class of 2012, realized the value of her La Pietra experience early on.
“La Pietra prepared me for college through its rigorous academic challenges, attentive teachers, creative learning environments, and by encouraging me to be more than Alexandra Sidun ’12. a student,” said Sidun. “ExtraIn order to assess the efficacy of La Pietra’s educational curricular activities were always model, it follows that one should look to alumni. La Pietra has a graduate in every corner of the country, and a big part of my life, and that seemed to be a trend among some living internationally, all working towards better- my peers while we were attending La Pietra.”
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Sidun is now a graduate student, studying Environmental Science, with a focus in Renewable and Sustainable Energy at the University of Colorado – Boulder. Prior to her current studies, she graduated from Chapman University with a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and Policy and a minor in Nutrition.
Alexandra drew heavily upon the academic experiences she had at La Pietra while earning her undergraduate degree.
“My independent research was conducted in the Marine Invertebrate Biology Laboratory on campus,” said Sidun. “It allowed me to search (and sometimes struggle) for answers, ask critical questions, seek explanations, and Looking back on her time at La Pietra, Sidun credits the thoroughly analyze what was in front of me.” strong extracurricular programs the school offers with As at La Pietra, Alexandra Sidun’s hard work paid divsetting her up for success in the future. idends.“[My independent research] was a challenging
“The extracurricular activities didn’t just help our college applications,” said Sidun. “They also helped foster thinking skills that pushed my friends and me to grow into well-rounded young adults.”
experience, and it’s actually something I’m still working on,” said Sidun “I presented my research at the 100th meeting of the Western Society of Naturalists in November 2016, and am currently writing my manuThe academic rigor La Pietra students experience is an es- script for what will hopefully become a publication.” sential part of preparing them for the challenges they face Alexandra Sidun’s college career is indicative of her in institutions of higher learning. Alexandra Sidun is no passion for using earth science to develop solutions to exception. Not only was she inspired to contribute to the humanity’s energy needs. It should be the aim of every betterment of humanity, but she was not intimidated by school to expose its student body to a broad array of the trials of a degree in the sciences. academic disciplines in the hopes that each student finds “I decided to pursue [Environmental Science and Policy] a discourse community that fascinates her/him and halfway through my freshman year at Chapman Uni- makes her/him want to learn more about it.
Alexandra Sidun ’12 working in the lab at the University of Colorado — Boulder.
versity,” said Sidun. “I entered Chapman knowing I’d like to pursue something in the field of natural science, but couldn’t quite find a program that appealed to me until I saw the course catalog for the Environmental Science and Policy major.”
La Pietra alumna, Bianca Batten ’13, recently graduated from New York University’s Class of 2017. Batten originally pursued Chemical and Bio Molecular Engineering, but switched to business technology and finance. She stated, “I was in a lab coat everyday, and I missed wearing
Bianca Batten ’13.
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business suits. Technology and finance matched my per- La Pietra to never hold back a question. There was alsonality and interests so much better.” ways class discussion, and most everyone felt confident Batten admits that she is very grateful for her teachers at to contribute. That confidence really makes a difference La Pietra, “I’d say all of my teachers were very adamant in any college major or career field.” that I find a major that I really enjoy. I thought in high school I would be happy in the lab, but two weeks of non-stop lab work made my interest in finance and technology so much stronger.”
Batten adds, “The best part of college is living in New York City. The opportunity here and diverse cultures and interests make it the least boring place ever. Although I miss going to Sandy’s beach after school, I know when I visit home, I will cherish the moments.”
After living and studying in New York for over four years, she has been working full time as a Project Manager for It is the vision of La Pietra to see that Bianca Batten ’13 in the hustle of Global Markets Technology. “I love my students are exposed to a wide variety New York City. job. I work with such talented teamof academic subjects and extracurricmates from all over the world. My industry is constantly ular activities to educate them to lead a life of achievechanging, and it is exciting and I’m always learning some- ment. Each year, La Pietra graduates young women who lead positive changes in local, national, and internationthing new,” she recites. al communities. Crediting La Pietra for providing the confidence she needed for college, Batten insists, “I was taught at Below are the colleges and universities that students who graduated from La Pietra within the past six years (2011–2016) are currently attending and/or have recently graduated from: Academy of Art University
Gonzaga University
Reed College
University of Nevada at Las Vegas
American University
Goucher College
Saint Mary’s College of California
University of New Haven
American University of Paris
Grand Canyon University
Santa Barbara City College
University of Northern Colorado
American University of Rome
Grinnell College
Santa Clara University
University of Notre Dame
Appalachian State University
Hawaii Pacific University
Santa Monica Community College
University of Portland
Arizona State University
Humboldt State University
University of Puget Sound
Berkeley Community College
John Cabot University
Savannah College of Art and Design
Biola University
Kansas State University
Brandeis University
Kapiolani Community College
Brigham Young University – Hawaii
Linfield College
Brooks Institute of Photography
Linnbenton Community College
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Loyola University Chicago
Cambridge University International Business College Chaminade University Chapman University Clemson University Colby College Colorado State University – Pueblo
Maryland Institute College of Art Mills College Mount Saint Mary College New York University Northeastern University Northwestern University Old Dominion University Orange Coast College
Columbia College Chicago
Oregon State University
Columbia University
Pacific University
Concordia University Irvine
Pennsylvania State University
Creighton University
Pepperdine University
Curry College
School of the Museum of Fine Arts Scripps College Seattle University Sierra Nevada College Southern Oregon University Stanford University University at Albany – SUNY Syracuse University
University of Redlands University of San Diego University of San Francisco University of Technology Sydney University of Tennessee University of Victoria University of Washington University of Western Sydney University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee
University of California – Berkeley
Vassar College
University of California – Irvine
Washington State University
University of California – Los Angeles
Webster University – Switzerland
University of California – San Diego
Washington and Lee University
Western Oregon University Western Washington University
University of California – Santa Cruz
Westmont College
University of Chicago
Willamette University
Portland State University
University of Colorado – Denver
Windward Community College
Dominican University of California
Providence College
University of Hawai‘i at Hilo
Franklin College
Purdue University
University of Hawai‘i at Manoa University of Miami
Whitworth University
*Bold denotes top 100 colleges and universities according to U.S. News & World Report.
CHANNEL ONE NEWS COMES TO LA PIETRA! Channel One News, an educational news network that broadcasts to six million students across the nation, filmed a pop-quiz and interview segment about Pearl Harbor with La Pietra students in December of 2016 to commemorate the attack on Pearl Harbor 75 years ago. Various students participated in the pop-quiz, asking questions about Pearl Harbor for Channel One News viewers around the country to answer. Lauren Gibson, La Pietra’s middle school English teacher, incorporates Channel One News daily into her curriculum. Gibson assisted with coordinating the logistics of the shoot, selecting participants and ensuring a proper location for filming. In addition to shooting a pop-quiz segment, 6th and 7th graders from La Pietra also helped shoot a “Hello” segment. This segment was used to open the national broadcast.
After the opening and pop-quiz segments were filmed, Channel One News interviewed various La Pietra students. Among the students interviewed were Lanihuli Gilbert ’18 and Akemi Davies ’19. The interviews were intended to reflect on the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor and focused on the students’ perspectives gained by living on the same island as the historic site. La Pietra students took full advantage of the opportunity to participate in the creation of the special episode, reminding viewers of the important role the Pearl Harbor attack plays in our history and in our future. Top left: Middle School students shoot a “Hello” segment for Channel One News. Top Center: Heather Boggis ’23, Lanihuli Gilbert ’18, Akemi Davies ’19, and Jordan Namba ’19 speak to the reporter from Channel One News. Top Right: Lanihuli Gilbert ’18 interviews with the Channel One News reporter about Pearl Harbor. Bottom Center: Dynah Tuia’ana ’20 helps Channel One News hold the boom microphone to assist with recording the segment.
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Flight School AT PACIFIC AVIATION MUSEUM
As part of La Pietra’s middle school curriculum, 8th grade students participated in a three-day flight school training program at the Pacific Aviation Museum at Pearl Harbor. The flight school exposed students to scientific concepts and applications of aviation, consisting of instructional periods, hands-on experimentation, and tours of the Pacific Aviation Museum and the battleship USS Missouri. During instructional segments, students learned about the science behind aviation. They covered subjects such as atmospheric science, the forces of physics when an airplane is in flight, aerodynamic drag, how to read flight instruments, and much more. The experience offered students an in-depth look into the world of aviation. Student Sydney Akana ’21 stated, “The flight school field trip truly inspired me, and now I aspire to be a pilot.” In addition to learning about the science behind aviation, students had the opportunity to see the Pacific Aviation Museum’s historic aircrafts while touring the museum’s hangar. On the second day, they toured the Battleship USS Missouri. The tour exposed the students to what life was like for thousands of marines and Mighty Mo’s role in World War II, the Korean War, and Operation Desert Storm. On the third and final day of the Flight School, eighth graders tested their knowledge and skills at piloting a virtual aircraft through the program’s flight simulators. Students rose to the challenge and applied their newfound knowledge of aviation and atmospheric science to navigate the skies. At the conclusion of the program, students participated in a Winging Ceremony, in which each student was presented with a certificate and a pair of wings. Parents were invited to attend and meet the program instructors. The flight school program is an ongoing partnership between La Pietra and the Pacific Aviation Museum.
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Top: Eight graders, Sloane Shapiro, Hina Kurokawa, Madison Lee, Angelina Capobianco, Riley Jackes, and Yu Ishii take a picture in front of one of the Pacific Aviation Museum aircraft. Top Middle: The 8th grade class at the pinning ceremony on the last day of flight school. Bottom Middle: 8th grade participants enjoy the outdoor activity of aerodynamic drag. Bottom: Students test their knowledge using flight simulators.
GILBERT ’18 WINS THIRD STRAIGHT LA PIETRA
Shakespeare Title
La Pietra students gathered to watch their classmates perform in the school's Shakespeare Competition and the Poetry Out Loud Contest last Spring.
Middleton ’18 won the Poetry Out Loud contest with her performances of Mary Karr’s “All This and More” and Rodney Koeneke’s “Bug Psalm”.
Both competitions required participants to select, memorize, and perform monologues, sonnets, or poems before a panel of judges. Competing in the Shakespeare Competition were Kaya Heimowitz ’20, Lanihuli Gilbert ’18, Pumehana Uslan ’18, and Emily Richardson ’18. In addition, Ellen Hughes ’17 and Catherine Middleton ’18 performed in the Poetry Out Loud Contest.
Audience members also received a glimpse of La Pietra’s Middle School Theatre class while waiting for the results of the competition. Sixth Marylee Ingram, English Teacher graders, Zaffron Castagnaro, Katand Curriculum Coordinator, states, erina Araki, and Bella Zambuto “The Shakespeare and Poetry Out performed to Macbeth’s “Song of Loud Competition is a great oppor- The Witches”. tunity for our students to become Gilbert attended the English-Speaking more familiar with Shakespeare and Union State Shakespeare competition held in February and placed second. poetry in a performance mode.”
The judges and audience witnessed a series of performances that not only reflected the hard work and talent of La Pietra’s students, but also their enGilbert won the Shakespeare Compe- thusiasm for literature and the stage. tition for the third year in a row with “Hopefully the performances intrigue her performance as Aaron from “Titus other students and open the door for Andronicus”. Richardson was declared them to explore Shakespeare’s works runner-up after delivering a mono- and poetry,” said Ingram. logue as Ariel from “The Tempest”.
Top Left: Pumehana Uslan ’18, Emily Richardson ’18, Lanihuli Gilbert ’18, Catherine Middleton ’18, Kaya Heimowitz ’20, and Ellen Hughes’ 17 were all participants in the Shakespeare Competition and Poetry Out Loud competitions. Right: Ellen Hughes ’17 performs to the audiences during the Poetry Out Loud Contest. Bottom Right: Lanihuli Gilbert ’18, performs Aaron from “Titus Andronicus”. Zaffron Castagnaro ’23, Katerina Araki ’23, and Bella Zambuto ’23 perform as audience members wait for the results of the competition. W W W. L A PI E T R A . E D U | 12
National Honor Society Inductions I pledge to uphold the high purposes of the National Honor Society to which I have been accepted; and I will be true to the principles for which it stands; I will be loyal to my school; and will maintain and encourage high standards of scholarship, leadership, service and character.”
This was the oath that nine students took this past February as they were inducted into the La Pietra – Hawaii School for Girls chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS). The significance of the moment and accomplishment was reflected in the beaming faces of the girls as proud parents snapped photos. Outgoing La Pietra NHS President Holly Berwick ’17 was on hand to congratulate the inductees. “My role as president will be handed over to somebody else, and that person will continue the service, character, scholarship and leadership for next year,” said Berwick. The inductees were seniors Tracy Chuc and Mari Harwit, juniors Lanihuli Gilbert and Catherine Middleton, sophomores Arianna Bow, Kelsey Nakagawa, Jordan Namba, Emma Oshiro, and Arianna Radona. Elizabeth Ratzi, NHS advisor, said students were selected based on four major criteria. “These students were selected based on their track record of achievement in academics, as well as their service to the community, character and leadership.” 13 | W H ER E CO N FI D EN CE S OA R S
In remarks that preceded the inductions, four current NHS members took turns expressing their thoughts on these pillars of the NHS: Mahealani Daniels ’17 said scholarship comes down to curiosity: “Those who are being inducted into NHS today realize the answer to achieving scholarship does not lie in a single course or a single subject. The covenant answer rather lies in understanding the meaning of lessons and experiences that come up from the formal lessons we learn in the classroom, outside, and those that we learn through our dedication to pursue our intellectual curiosity.”
Top: SY 16-17 NHS members and SY 17-18 NHS members take a photo. Bottom: Kristi Radona, Arianna Radona ’19, and Marvin Radona take a photo to congratulate Arianna’s induction into the NHS.
Erika Lee ’17 defined leadership: “The pillar of leadership, which goes hand in hand with scholarship, is the dedication to intellectual curiosity, and that leaders are driven by their desire to share their scholarly acts with those in their surroundings. Each girl embraces her own style of persona, which is effortlessly woven into her exemplification of leadership.”
Georgina Rose D‘Sanson ’17 spoke about character: “The NHS final pillar is character. It distinguishes an individual from all her peers as it defines the mental and moral qualities distinctive to that individual. A student who personifies this quality Malaya Caligtan-Tran ’18 offered has a personal commitment to her this view of what service means: community along with her dedi“Service is the willingness to work cation to service and is willing to without recognition or compensa- advocate for fairness.” tion; something that is vital to the Berwick said the NHS has a higher NHS. NHS members help their purpose than just academics. “It’s school community with tutoring, beyond that,” she said. “The purpose putting together the school spelling of the National Honor Society is to bee, putting on annual penny drives recognize the character and leaderfor charitable organizations, and ship that young girls today have, to ushering at the Kennedy Theatre. help our peers with whatever they We, as a National Honor Society, not need, and to lead the world. We’re only contribute to the school but to young women taking control and the community as well.” making history.”
Third Annual
SPELLING BEE Last winter, La Pietra students competed in the third annual spelling bee hosted by the NHS at the Learning Center in front of a packed audience of students, staff, teachers, and families. The spelling bee, which took place after school, included a middle school and upper school division. Competing in the middle school division were Jade Heimowitz ’23, Bella Zambuto ’23, Nina Batacan ’23, Jaimie Lee ’22, Madison Lee ’21, Audrey Safi ’21, Holly Ogata ’21, and Lauren Gillespie ’23. The girls in the upper school division were Nathalie Tamman ’20, Kaya Heimowitz ’20, Ellen Hughes ’17, and Kaela Onerheim ’17. The NHS recruited spelling bee contestants in November, with a goal of finding one representative from each grade level. The spelling bee was accompanied by a bake sale, organized by NHS members, Claire Lee ’17 and Alexandra Araki ’17. Elizabeth Ratzi, NHS advisor, coordinated the logistics of the event with NHS members Holly Berwick ’17 (emcee of the event), Malaya Caligtan-Tran ’18, Erika Lee ’17, and Jocelyn Pham ’17. Ellen Hughes won the upper school competition with Kaya Heimowitz in second place. Bella Zambuto was declared winner of the middle school contestants with Madison Lee placing second. All participants received a special prize and certificate, with the winners also receiving gift cards presented by Dean of Students, Gay Chinen. Middle School Students, Zambuto and Lee represented La Pietra in the Honolulu District Spelling Bee.
Top: Bella Zambuto ’23 and Madison Lee ’21 represented La Pietra in the Honolulu District Spelling Bee. Middle: Jade Heimowitz ’23, Bella Zambuto ’23, Nina Batacan ’23, Jaime Lee ’22, Madison Lee ’21, Audrey Safi ’21, Holly Ogata, and Lauren Gillespie ’23 participated in the Middle School Division Spelling Bee. Bottom: Nathalie Tamman ’20, Kaya Heimowitz ’20, Ellen Hughes ’17, and Kaela Onerheim ’17 participated in the Upper School Division Spelling Bee.
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SCIENCE OLYMPIAD TEAMS Dedicate Hours of Preparation
event that draws students in and absorbs them. “It’s a testing event, and they are given a scenario like a breakout at a wedding reception,” said Strong. “They’re given the data on who got sick, who didn’t, what they ate, and all the other circumstances that might come into play. They Various all-day invitational competitions are held have to calculate the relative risk ratio, and then deterthroughout the year, and in order to qualify for States, mine what caused the outbreak.” teams must place in the top three at the regional tourna- But Strong says there are some events that confuse even ment. La Pietra has been competing in the Science Olym- her. “Astronomy is the hardest one,” she said. “It is so difpiad for four years, has never failed to qualify for States, ficult that the kids are allowed to bring in a laptop for their information. But when they have computers they and continues to be the only all-girls school participants. Science Olympiad tournaments require a high level of nim- do not have Internet access. They have all their notes on bleness on the part of each middle and high school student their computers, but they can not go online.” Being part of the Science Olympiad teams is one of the most difficult and time-consuming challenges a student can undertake outside the classroom. The Division B team consists of grades 6 through 9 and the Division C team is grades 9 through12.
representing La Pietra, and demands hours of preparation as events test both student intellect and building ability.
Unfamiliar terminology is one of the greatest obstacles in Astronomy, according to Strong.
Mahealani Daniels ’17 estimates the preparation for the STEMbased Science Olympiad requires about 140 hours from late September through early March.
“In Disease Detectives, you might have heard of Ebola. But in Astronomy, well, have you ever heard of NGC2390? So you either have to have a strong interest in this or the willingness to try and break through this information and make sense of it.”
Emily Pham ’19 and Mahealani Daniels ’17 receive their 2nd place award for the Helicopter competition.
Arisa Ching ’20 says the pressure is intense but bearable. “The pressure is not just on you; it’s the whole team,” she said. “You have a partner so that lessens the pressure, and you rely on each other.”
At the 2017 Windward Regional Tournament both La Pietra Division B and Division C teams won a total of 12 medals. The high school team came in first out of six teams and the middle school team placed fourth out of ten teams. While all events are challenging, activities such as Disease Detectives, Astronomy, and Electric Vehicles are particularly stimulating to the intellect. Students develop and rely on their passion for their projects to fuel them through the Science Olympiad marathon.
Kelsey Nakagawa ’19, who has been doing building events for three years, designs Electric Vehicles in the Science Olympiad. Nakagawa must engineer her vehicle to go from point A to point B without using a remote. “It has to turn out from a starting point and then back in to the finishing point and get as close as possible to that finishing point,” she said. While near impossible to be perfect, Nakagawa says, “It’s not about getting it right, but getting it as far from wrong as possible.” Meticulous effort goes into this event as she sets the vehicle on seven different distance paths between 9 and 12 meters and executes about 20 trials for each distance. The vehicle, which has to shoot a gap between two cans, even has a braking system Nakagawa designs.
“The vehicle has a motor that is spinning and propelling Science Teacher Mrs. Kim Strong, who advises the stu- the vehicle forward through a gear system, and it is powdents, describes Disease Detectives as an example of an ered by 9-volt batteries,” she said. “In the back wheels, I
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have a braking system. The system is basically a threaded rod, with a wingnut moving along the threaded rod. A board is holding the wing nut. As the wing nut hits the board it’s just sliding along as the wheels are moving forward. Then, at a fixed point, I have two nuts put together so that one turns left and the other turns right, so they’re pushing against each other. The wingnut slides toward the fixed point until it hits it and stops because it cannot turn anymore. That stops the wheels.” Strong said she relies on the parents of her students to be the coaches. It should be no surprise that Nakagawa’s dad, Steve, is an engineer. Together, they put in over a combined 200 hours of effort into her events. Steven Nakagawa said that even parents with no professional connection to specific events offer valuable assistance to their daughters. “Things like taking notes, documenting, how to prepare a crib sheet and fill that with as much information as you can. It helps the girls because they have not been exposed to it… We also help with the thought process; how to take and use data.” The Science Olympiad is meant to further interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) disciplines and to encourage careers in these areas. Daniels, whose Olympiad events include, working out the technicalities of vertically propelling a helicopter with a rubber band, wants to be a psychiatrist. While helicopters do not directly relate to psychiatry, she credits the experience to unlocking a bigger world. “Science Olympiad gives me the skills needed to be interested in the whole scientific discovery,” said Daniels. “It helps me to discover my intellectual curiosity.” Ching is young enough to be still weighing her career options, but she said Science Olympiad has given her a very important life skill: “It helped me learn time management. “ Nakagawa, who wants to enter the medical field, said that working with Electric Vehicles helps her toward her goal of becoming a doctor. “It helps my determination to make something successful,” she said. “It allows me to concentrate and focus the entire time.”
Below is the list of students who received medals at the Regional and State Tournaments. REGIONAL TOURNAMENT RESULTS DIVISION B (Middle School) Anatomy — 2nd place Ava Dodhi ’20 & Tehara Anata ’20 Scrambler — 2nd place Ami Evans ’22 and Dayna Nakagawa ’22 DIVISION C (High School) Disease Detectives — 1st place Brittany Antenorcruz ’17 and Erika Lee ’17 Anatomy — 2nd place Claire Lee ’17 and Kelsey Nakagawa ’19 Ecology — 1st place Daisy Daniels ’17 and Claire Lee ’17 Rocks and Minerals — 3rd place Akemi Davies ’19 and Meilani Wilkemeyer ’19 Game On — 2nd place Emily Pham ’19 and Savanna Ton ’19 Astronomy — 3rd place Brittany Antenorcruz ’17 and Daisy Daniels ’17 Towers — 2nd place Anela Donachie ’19 and Mae Sebastian ‘19 Helicopters — 2nd place Emily Pham ’19 and Mahealani Daniels ’17 Electric Vehicle — 3rd place Kelsey Nakagawa ’19 and Mei Wilkemeyer ’19 Invasive Species — 1st place Anela Donachie ’19 and Malaya Caligtan-Tran ’18
STATE TOURNAMENT RESULTS DIVISION B — Placed 8th out 17 schools Experimental Design — 2nd place Tiffany Taketa ’20, La Dayne Pascua ’22 and Ami Evans ’22 Anatomy — 3rd place Ava Dodhi ’20 and Tehara Anata ’20 DIVISION C — Placed 6th out of 16 schools Anatomy — 3rd place Claire Lee ’17 and Kelsey Nakagawa ’19 Ecology — 3rd place Daisy Daniels ’17 and Erika Lee ’17 Electric Vehicle — 3rd place Kelsey Nakagawa ’19 and Meilani Wilkemeyer ’19 Helicopters — 2nd place Emily Pham ’19 and Mahealani Daniels ’17
Left: Upper School Science Olympiad students prepare for an event. Right: The 2016–2017 Science Olympiad Division B and Division C members. 16
LEADING CHOICE IN
All-Girls Education A parent explains why La Pietra – Hawaii School for Girls is the perfect school for his daughter. For over 50 years, La Pietra – Hawaii School for Girls has continued to be the place where confidence soars for all girls. Joseph Gronwald, parent of La Pietra freshman Victoria, remembers his first impression of his initial visit to the school’s scenic campus located on the slopes of Diamond Head: “I realized that this was a special place. A place where I know my daughter could succeed.” The Gronwald family quickly discovered that La Pietra offered a uniquely sized learning environment. With a low 7:1 student:teacher ratio and small class sizes averaging 10–15 students, girls thrive academically and socially, benefitting from personalized attention, supportive teachers who understand each girl’s individuality and a school culture committed to how girls learn best. Prior to enrolling at La Pietra two years ago, Victoria applied and was accepted by many other outstanding private schools in Hawaii. Joseph shares, “Victoria knew right away that La Pietra was the right fit for her. Our family selected La Pietra because we knew that the school offered a learning environment designed to cultivate the best in each student. We felt that La Pietra set itself apart by inspiring girls to be brave, discover their passions, reach their academic and personal potential, and be comfortable in their own skin.” Joseph continues, “The small class size is like having a private tutor for each subject. Victoria has always been a good student, but now that she is at La Pietra, the difference shows, especially when she’s doing homework. Before she would ask questions for clarification, but now she understands the materials because she is able to get clarification in class. La Pietra’s unique block schedule and longer class meeting times seem to help her to gain a more focused, in-depth understanding of her course content, and this enables her to approach her studies with greater confidence.”
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Victoria Gronwald’20 and Joseph Gronwald.
As a single-gender school, La Pietra provides a nurturing atmosphere that empowers young women leaders, where girls can take risks, discuss issues pertinent to young women and develop positive self-confidence. It is a place where girls take center stage, are encouraged to blaze their own trail and become the architects of their own success stories. Like most proud dads, Joseph gets emotional when he shares that Victoria is his most prized possession: “Our family is grateful that Victoria is attending La Pietra. Since starting at the school, Victoria has blossomed with confidence, something that La Pietra does a wonderful job fostering in young women. Teachers genuinely care for her and because of this, she embraces her studies and learns better.”
Honoring Grandparents Students and their grandparents gathered to celebrate and “It’s nice to see the other girls and their grandparents too,” give thanks during the annual Grandparents’ Day event said Edith Horimoto, grandmother to Kelsey ’19 and prior to the Thanksgiving holiday this past November. Dayna ’22 Nakagawa. Several gifted singers and musicians treated grandparents Grandparents and students left the event grateful for and fellow students to a talent show at the beginning of the chance to spend quality time with each other as the the Co-Curr Assembly. Highlights of the show included Thanksgiving holiday break began. singing, piano playing, and a special hula performance by Kilohana Silve, grandparent of Bella Zambuto ’23. “I really enjoyed the piano playing,” said Herbert Nakagawa, grandfather to Kelsey ’19 and Dayna ’22 Nakagawa. After the talent show, students and their grandparents enjoyed a meal together. Many grandparents in attendance appreciate the annual event because it affords them an opportunity to visit with their grandchildren at the beginning of the holiday season.
Left: Kilohana Silve, grandmother of Bella Zambuto ’23 performs a special hula performance at the end of the talent show. Top Right: Herbert Nakagawa, Kelsey Nakagawa ’19, Dayna Nakagawa ’22, Edith Horimoto, and George Horimoto enjoy one another’s company at the Honoring Grandparents event. Bottom Middle: Rachel Hartenstein ’21 shows off her vocal talents. Bottom Right: Naomi Sano ’17 performs an upbeat song during the talent show.
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Riley Jackes ’21, Jillian Hackman ’17, Nalani Kaai ’17, Bella Zambuto ’23, Aleah Liilii ’21, and Nina Batacan ’23 enjoy the Big and Little Sister event on the Great Lawn.
BENEFITS OF ATTENDING AN ALL-GIRLS SCHOOL National research confirms what we at La Pietra have known since our inception — that girls thrive in a single gender-learning environment, especially during the impactful adolescence years of middle school and high school.
culating the best trajectory for their bottle rocket launch in a Science Olympiad competition; it is evident that at La Pietra girls occupy every role and feel empowered to participate and get involved. La Pietra’s all girls’ environment gives every girl the opportunity to showcase her person“Girls’ schools create a culture of achievement in which ality and explore her intellect and talents. Girls take risks, academic progress is of great importance and the discov- blossom as leaders, are not afraid to raise their hands in ery and development of girls’ individual potential is par- class to share their ideas, discuss issues that are importamount. Girls’ schools are a place where girls take center ant and pertinent to them, engage in their own learning, stage. And we think that is just where they belong. Sim- challenge themselves, and develop self-confidence. ply put, girls’ schools teach girls that there is tremendous La Pietra’s robust academic program and supportive, power and potential in being a girl. At a girls’ school, a close-knit all girls’ environment inspires girls to feel valgirl occupies every role: every part in the play, every seat ued and comfortable in their own skin; they are encouron the student government, every position on every team. aged to become the architects of their own success stories, Not only does she have a wealth of avenues for self-ex- to discover their voices, to value their individuality and ploration and development, she has a wealth of peer role self-determination, and to reach their full potential. La models.” (National Coalition of Girls’ Schools – NCGS) Pietra girls are educated to become the future leaders in st At La Pietra, we see the benefits of a girls’ school in action the rapidly changing 21 century world. Parents often every day. Whether it is watching girls shine on stage in a comment that their daughter’s confidence blossoms and production of “Annie, Jr.” or reciting their favorite poem soars once starting at La Pietra. College professors often or role from a play in front of the entire school for the remark that they can identify girls’ school graduates for Shakespearean Recitation Competition, athletes work- their poise and self-confidence. As one all girls’ school ing together to win the game, Big Sisters mentoring and student shares: “When I graduated, I felt like I could take bonding with Little Sisters at a special event, or girls cal- on the world.” (NCGS) 19 | W H ER E CO N FI D EN CE S OA R S
La Pietra is recognized for its innovative and dynamic college preparatory program focusing on how girls learn and grow best. Our teachers are positive role models who bring a special passion for mentoring and teaching in our all-girls’ culture. For more than 50 years, La Pietra has had a rich and deep history of working with middle and high school age girls and is uniquely positioned to help guide girls in their individual journey of personal discovery, social, emotional and life skills development to find success in college and in life.
include higher standardized test scores, higher rates of graduates attending college and graduate school, higher number of math, science, and engineering majors, and greater confidence and preparation for college. Also, they are more likely to pursue leadership opportunities in college and beyond, and exhibit a greater interest in political awareness and engagement. Graduates of girls’ schools are prepared with the skills, knowledge, and confidence needed to pursue personal and academic success in the larger coed arenas of college, work, community, and life.
Outstanding girls’ schools do not define themselves by To learn more about the advantages of attending an all the absence of boys. Rather, at La Pietra, our unique sin- girls’ school and La Pietra, call our Admissions office at gle-gender school culture and strong sense of community (808) 922-2744 or e-mail mmeyer@lapietra.edu. puts girls at the forefront where every day the focus is on girls blazing their own trail and celebrating girls’ accom- Top Left: Ms. Carole Ota’s math students present their findings to their peers and teachers. plishments, contributions, leadership, creativity, self-con- other Right: Student Council leads a team building activity on the Great Lawn. fidence, and ambition. As one girl reflects, “Sometimes I Bottom Center: Audrey Safi ’21 tests her Rube Goldberg project in Science. get this wild feeling that I could do almost anything I set Bottom: Girls in Art class work on their ceramic pieces. my mind to. Maybe because at my school, girls do everything.” (NCGS) Contrary to the common belief that all-girls’ schools create an “unrealistic environment” that do not prepare girls for the “real world”, national research continues to affirm the benefits and advantages of single gender education for girls. According to the NCGS, some of these benefits W W W. L A PI E T R A . E D U | 2 0
LETTER FROM the PFA President Aloha La Pietra ‘Ohana, The 2016–2017 La Pietra school year took off to a running start with Parent Faculty Association volunteers organizing even before the start of the school year. We begin with attending the New Student Orientation and then move full speed ahead with planning the first Big Sister & Little Sister event for the year, and our two main Mother/Daughter and Father/Daughter events. Don’t forget about the quarterly Exam breakfasts and the monthly Lunch By Moms and Dads. Both the Mother/Daughter and Father/Daughter Nights are designed to keep our daughters close to our hearts, and provide an opportunity for mothers and fathers to share a special evening with their daughters, as well as with other parents. The PFA takes pride in building the La Pietra ‘ohana, by offering many different avenues for parents and guardians to participate in enhancing our daughter’s experience at La Pietra. Volunteers range from picking up supplies for hospitality events, to decorating the courtyard and gym for our Holiday Program, to providing refreshments and light pupus at the post-graduation ceremony. Through participation with the PFA, we familiarize ourselves with the culture of La Pietra and share in our daughters’ experiences at school. Many volunteer hours are spent planning and running the various events, and we welcome all to join us. We are also thankful for the assistance we get for Special Guest Day, Sunset Jazz, and HOOPLA. The enthusiasm and experience shared at all events have enhanced the school experience of both students and parents.
Mahalo, Steven Nakagawa, 2016–17 PFA President
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PFA SPECIAL EVENTS Mother/Daughter Event The annual Mother/Daughter Event was a way of giving thanks to the many mothers who give so much of their time and energy to La Pietra. Held in the courtyard, this year’s theme was “Remember the 80’s?” Students and their moms dressed in their flashiest 80’s attire with bright and bold color combinations. Some girls struck a pose with layered chunky necklaces while others portrayed their vision of the 80’s wearing sweatbands. The highlight of the evening was the delicious meal prepared by La Pietra parent, Clare Ullrich. The menu featured a plethora of delicious treats, including a Passion Orange Guava punch, and ice cream bar. Guests were invited to the Great Lawn for a giant game of Twister and prizes were given to the last “standing” five girls and moms. As if the evening wasn’t complete with the fun themed event, seniors Jillian Hackman and Nalani Ka‘ai further entertained audience members with their enchanting voices.
Father/Daughter Event The Father/Daughter event was a fun filled theme that consisted of guests wearing Spanish-style clothing. The menu was prepared by parents, Dan Hartenstein, Jane Onoye, and Dusty Gruver. Hartenstein provided his homemade Spanish rice and fried tortilla chips, while Onoye prepared different types of beans and layering dip, and Gruver made homemade salsa for all to enjoy. Despite the hiccup of the line-dancing instructors making a mistake in the location of the event, guests danced the night away on the gym floor. On behalf of the PFA, a special thank you to the planning committee, the volunteers, student entertainers, teachers, staff members, and maintenance crew.
Over 100 Students Attend Special Guest Day It was a warm and fuzzy pre-Valentines Day card from La Pietra – Hawaii School for Girls to some very special children on Friday, February 10, as 174 special needs keiki from around Oahu gathered on the Great Lawn.
The event was also made possible by La Pietra parents who volunteered their time to assist with the games and activities. Parent, Janet Harris, has been organizing the event for the past ten years. Harris and Chinen worked Ten elementary DOE schools bused their children to the Di- alongside one another to ensure all logistics ran smoothly. amond Head campus: Lincoln, Ma‘ema‘e, Manoa, Salt Lake, Harris has been covering the event since her first daughHaleiwa, Waialua, Wahiawa, Kahala, Waialae, and Waikiki. ter, Caroline Harris ’11, attended La Pietra while her “This is a give-back to the community,” said Gay Chinen, La youngest daughter, Charlotte Harris ’17 graduates with Pietra Dean of Students. “It’s something we do right around the Class of 2017. Valentines Day because we do it from our hearts.” The logistics of getting guests to La Pietra from many La Pietra students and teachers paired off with the chil- points on the island is not easy, according to Chinen.
dren as they left their buses. They greeted them with “As many of the public schools have had difficulty affordwarm smiles and friendly chatter, making them feel safe ing buses, I had called many DOE schools last year to find and comfortable. out if there would be interest in coming to our event and Special Guest Day still sports a fair-atmosphere as it dates if there were schools that they would share buses with,” back more than two decades at La Pietra. The Great she said.
Lawn was transformed into a fun land filled with games, “Many of them wanted to come, but the bus cost is what bubbles, pony rides, bounce houses, a petting zoo, and holds them back. Some of the schools that came this year snacks. The school’s animated blue Panther even made were on a waitlist from last year and were able to make it. a special appearance to frolic with the wide-eyed visitors. I called them in September so they could coordinate with The Panther was a major hit with the little visitors. “It neighboring schools and share bus costs.” was amazing having the children so excited to see the Panther!” said senior Paris Starn, who played the furry school mascot. “I couldn’t have been happier with the smiles of these special children and their reactions!” Children immediately ran to the Panther, hugged her, danced with her, and grabbed her tail. Some gave in to curiosity and tried to look deep inside her mouth. Whenever that happened, Paris feigned extreme shyness, covering her mouth with her paws to preserve the illusion. One little girl fell so in love with the mascot that she rushed back five times for hugs.
Special Guest Day started with the Children’s Fair of the 1990s. “In 2008 we stopped doing the Children’s Fair and kept the Special Guest Day where our students have a direct community service experience,” explains Chinen. La Pietra looks forward to continuing this wonderful tradition for years to come. Left: Avalynn Enos ’23 helps her guest select a prize. Center: Emily Richardson ’18 along with parent Wayne Yamada help with the pony rides during special guest day. Right: Parent, Tanya Safi helps with the water ring toss game booth.
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WAHINE FORUM Partnership
The Hawaii Business Women’s Forum event is Hawaii’s largest leadership and career development conference dedicated to women. Every year, select students, faculty and staff attend as an exclusive partner. In addition to preferred placement at the conference expo, students introduce keynote speakers, workshops, panelists and moderators. They also perform an educational skit, usher guests, and the Select Choir sings for attendees.
Heather Boggis ’23 and Avalynn Enos ’23 introduce the keynote speaker at the Wahine Forum.
The theme of the 2016 Wahine Forum was “Build Your Life, Shape Our World” featuring distinguished women of both local and national stature who promoted the importance of building relationships, networking, work-life integration, being the best and creating change. La Pietra students, Heather Boggis ’23 and Avalynn Enos ’23, introduced the keynote speaker, Jane Miller, Chief Operating Officer of Gallup. Gallup is an organization that delivers analytics and advice to help leaders and organizations solve their most pressing problems.
The Select Choir performs during the opening performance of Wahine Forum.
Miller is a leader in performance management, leadership and organization identity. She has helped revolutionize the workplace through a unique groundbreaking philosophy that emphasizes strengths as the lens through which organizations can select, manage, motivate, develop and ultimately engage employees. La Pietra Admissions Director, Megan Meyer states, “The event provides a great opportunity for our students to work on their leadership skills as well as network with prominent leaders in Hawaii.” The conference featured inspiring speakers that gave listeners’ useful tips and guidelines to excel personally and professionally.
The Select Choir performs during the opening performance of Wahine Forum.
La Pietra’s Select Choir sang “Beautiful” by Carole King to open the morning. Na Hoku Hanohano award winner, Kimie Miner, later accompanied the choir and together they sang, “Shine”, a top hit by Miner. Prior to the start of the morning panel sessions, four of upper class students, Tommianne Brockert ’18, Emily Richardson ’18, Naomi Sano ’17, and Holly Berwick ’17 performed an energizing skit about juggling work and life. The girls received many compliments by conference attendees regarding their poise and positive demeanor. 23 | W H ER E CO N FI D EN CE S OA R S
Azana Queen ’20, Holly Berwick ’17, Tommianne Brockert ’18, Naomi Sano ’17, and Emily Richardson ’18 perform a skit for Wahine Forum audience members.
Sunset Jazz 2016: A CELEBR ATION OF AMERIC A
Sunset Jazz 2016 was a huge success! The annual benefit concert held in September drew approximately 350 guests to the Great Lawn for a wonderful evening of music under the stars. Hosted by La Pietra Music Director Shari Lynn, the concert featured an amazing lineup of guest performers including the Mike Lewis Big Band, the Honolulu Jazz Quartet, Kip Wilborn and Rocky Brown. The evening also showcased singing performances from Select Choir and drama students. All proceeds raised at the event directly supports the students of La Pietra.
Mahalo to Our Sponsors!
New York! New York! Table
• Lauran ’76 and Myrna Bromley • Alice Guild
• Dawn & Duncan MacNaughton • Kathleen Musto ’94*
• Debbie Weil-Manuma ’75
Liberty Table
• John & Randi Silleck ’69 Conway* • Mark Nishiyama • Sally Parker* *Purchase of two or more tables.
Left: Charlotte Harris ’17, Catherine Middleton ’18, and Holly Berwick ’17 performing during Sunset Jazz. Middle: The Graves ‘ohana enjoy the event. Right: Guests enjoy the wonderful entertainment at Sunset Jazz. W W W. L A PI E T R A . E D U | 2 4
Wendy Crabb, Randi Silleck Conway ’69, Debbie Weil-Manuma ’75, Lauran Bromley ’76, Kanoe Vares, and Keala O’Sullivan were given special thanks as the event committee members.
HOOPL A 2017 — POP UP! La Pietra raised over $350,000 for its financial aid program at its annual HOOPLA event. The event, which dates back four decades, was sold out even before DJ Teley started playing his playlist. Over 250 people passed through the two lines of tray bearers welcoming guests with champagne and pupus. After dark the Great Lawn was transformed into a mecca of light, sound, color and energy.
Castagnaro ’23, Rachel Hartenstein ’21, Jade Heimowitz ’23, and Bella Zambuto ’23, as they performed “Hard Knock Life.” Zaffron Castagnaro ’23, who plays the lead role of Annie, turned in a solid solo performance of the play’s signature song, “Tomorrow.” Board member and Chair of the Advancement Committee, Randy Silleck Conway ’69 said HOOPLA is unique among the state’s major school fundraisers.
“At La Pietra we have 40 percent of our girls on financial aid, so this is a huge event for us,” said Mahina Hugo, “We have to go from the ground up! We’re talking about organizing, what your theme’s going to be, how your inHead of School. vitations are going to go out, how you’re going to market The pop art theme of HOOPLA 2017 could be seen in it. Then, after you have done all of that, you have to get the many auction items and even in the decorated faces and tents, tables and chairs, the art work, over 140 silent aucblue-tinted hair of some attendees. Vintage Hawaiiana, tion items, and then there is the live auction which involves exclusive vacation getaways, upscale jewelry, antique 10 really fabulous things that bring anywhere from $4,000 furniture, contemporary Hawaiian woodwork, golf getto $20,000” said Conway. aways, and hosted private parties were among the items Conway said that as soon as HOOPLA is finished, up for auction. thought immediately goes into the next one. Under the direction of Drama Teacher, Lisa Boggis, the entertainment hit of the night was an appearance by The Big Reach, a spontaneous giving session near the “Annie. Jr.” middle school cast members, Katerina Araki end of the HOOPLA evening, directly benefits stu’23, Nia Bakari ’22, Heather Boggis ’23, Zaffron dents in need. 25 | W H ER E CO N FI D EN CE S OA R S
Artist and parent, Walfrido Garcia paints an original piece during the event which was later auctioned off in the evening.
Rachel Hartenstein ’21, Jaden Passinetti ’21, and Emma Rolland ’22 volunteer to help during the event.
Pop Music! Pop Up Tents! Pops of Art Everywhere! “The Big Reach is a special event,” said Hugo. “It is the Mahalo to the many supporters, students, alumnae, sheer joy of donating money straight to an actual student. parents, and friends who also helped make this event We start with a full tuition amount, and then we go down happen. Special thanks to the event committee: Debfrom there to $10,000, to $5,000, $500 and $100.” bie Weil-Manuma ’75, Lauran Bromley ’76, Wendy “Donors always walk away happy with their giving expe- Crabb, Randi Silleck Conway ’69, Alice Guild, Mahirience”, said Hugo. “You do not take anything physical na Hugo, Anne Nakakura, Keala O‘Sullivan, Kanoe home, but you take home in your heart the pleasure that Vares, and Maile Zambuto ’90 for their leadership and commitment to La Pietra – Hawaii School for Girls. you have helped the La Pietra financial aid program.”
Mahalo to Our Sponsors! VIP Table •
Lauran ’76 & Myrna Bromley • Blair Kennedy Parry-Okeden ’68 • Guam Music, Inc. Premium Table
• Tony & Wendy Crabb
• Dawn & Duncan MacNaughton • Maile Romanowski ’79
• Debbie Weil-Manuma ’75
Select Table
• John & Randi Silleck ’69 Conway* • Alice Guild* • Peter and Sara Dudgeon • Elliot Loden • Sally Parker • Lynne Toyofuku ’75 • Debbie Weil–Manuma ’75
• Maile Zambuto ’90 • Bank of Hawaii
• First Hawaiian Bank
• The MODERN Honolulu • ProService Hawaii
*Sponsor of two or more tables
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Fond Farewell to Head of School Mahina Hugo
T
he graduating Class of 2017 will mark “I really enjoyed that and even thought about joining their Head of School Mahina Hugo’s last senior K-9 unit. I loved animals. The only thing was they could class as she closes her journey at La Pietra after 25 not guarantee I’d be living at home in Hawaii.” years of astounding leadership. A close friend with La Pietra connections told Hugo She will take with her the memories of friendships with teachers, administrators, board members, donors, students and teachers. Won through her incredibly warm personality, these associations are as strong as koa wood and as extensive as the roots of a banyan.
there was a P.E. position open at the school. Thinking it might be a good fit based on her background, and an opportunity for job security in Hawaii, she wasted no time, applied for the position, and got the job.
“The fun part was that when I first came to La Pietra I was In 1987, after four exciting years as a popular member of not only teaching P.E., but I was also coaching the varsity Hawaii’s most successful University of Hawaii Wahine volleyball team.” volleyball college team, Hugo had absolutely no idea she Over seven years at the helm of the Panthers, Hugo made would wind up at La Pietra. them a competitive team for the first time. She encouraged girls to try club volleyball, an activity she credited “I never guessed this is where I would land,” she said. for helping her develop her own skills that led to a NCAA “I was just somebody whose passion was volleyball and scholarship career. fortunately wound up in college via a volleyball scholarship. That was my dream-come-true. I wasn’t really even “It was a matter of creating a culture and awareness of how sure where I was going after that. It was a bonus to win the to get better,” she said. “I encouraged girls after my first year to join club volleyball. I remember telling them, ‘I national title and also get my degree at the same time.” will drive you to your club.’ I did. There were four girls It may come as a surprise to many, but Hugo’s first job after and I drove them to club volleyball for two years. college was as a Customs Inspector at the airport. 27 | W H ER E CO N FI D EN CE S OA R S
“The next year we won two games, the following year we “Then we dove deeper into the curriculum,” she said. “We won four. It was so exciting. You would have thought we looked at what other schools did to see how on the mark had won the Super Bowl. After our first big win there was we were. We wanted a little more rigor in our curriculum.” a pile in the middle of the court. It really wasn’t about She went department to department. the winning and losing. It was about their performance Each year we got creative. We asked our teachers what getting better after each practice and each game.” new courses to potentially add, whether they be fun or One girl even signed a Division 1 letter of intent during more on the path of rigor and college requirements. Hugo’s term as head coach. Hugo said she could not have gotten through a decade More Division 1 volleyball scholarships have followed, of administration without “a wonderful faculty and staff.” and there have been scholarships in various sports at the “I’ve had personal and professional relationships, a real Division 2 and 3 levels. good collaboration with faculty. The smallness of the Eventually Hugo had to give up coaching because she had school has allowed for that wonderful cooperation.” taken on professional responsibilities at La Pietra as an Assistant Admissions Director and Middle School Dean. But the job really never ends with the dismissal of classes each day. Hugo earned her Masters of Education in 2004 while working in admissions and serving as a Dean. In 2006 That’s where the love of her life, Todd Hugo, has come in. she was named Assistant Head of School, and the follow- “My husband has been my support,” she said. “He is a true ing year she was La Pietra’s leader as the Head of School. La Pietra guy. As a Head of School it can get a little lonely at the top because you can’t share things. But having someone like my husband there to help me out has been very important.”
We wanted a little more rigor in our curriculum.
“We make 30 years of being together this year. He was with me through my junior and senior year in college and got to experience the Wahine mania.”
What’s next for Mahina? That’s pretty simple. One of the first things she did as Head of School, and it is strikingly evident today, was to beautify the campus with “What I will look forward to is having a real vacation,” she said with a giggle. “Not being hooked in. When you are a new flora. Head of School, you are always hooked in. I actually do not “Many members of my family spent several weekends the know what it will be like to actually go on a vacation and not first summer planting many of the plants you see now on have to check email or expect a phone call. I look forward to campus,” she said. traveling without having to worry about something.” The Great Lawn, the drive up to campus and the tennis court were just a few of the areas whose appearances im- Left: Mrs. Mahina Hugo was greeted by a standing ovation at the farewell assembly. Center: Mrs. Mahina Hugo was joined by her husband, Todd Hugo at the assembly. proved in Hugo’s beautification blitz. Right: Mrs. Mahina Hugo gives closing speech to students. W W W. L A PI E T R A . E D U | 2 8
Lady Panthers Soar It was once again a very successful 2016–2017 athletic Coached by first-year Sporter Air Riflery Head Coach Noah year for La Pietra. Staggs, Emma Castro ’17, and Jillian Hackman ’17, stayed During the fall athletic season, 64 students participated on target during their sixth year of the air riflery program. on 13 different teams in six various sports. Cross Country runners Kaya Heimowitz ’20, Emma Oshiro ’19, and Arianna Radona ’19 qualified for the HHSAA State Championship Cross Country Race on Hawai‘i Island. Of the 200 girls competing, Radona finished in 73rd place, Oshiro in 89th place, and Heimowitz in 171th place.
There were six confident 6th grade students who started off their athletic careers by joining the 6th Grade Swimming team led by coach Maria Jarrell. During the winter athletic season, there were 71 La Pietra student-athletes participating on ten different teams in seven different sports.
Waileia DeFries ’17 finished 2nd overall at the ILH Eleven sixth grade students were introduced to volleyball Varsity Kayaking Championship Sprint Race and also and took part in the Christian School Athletic League competed in the Kayaking Junior World Championships. (CSAL) Volleyball season. Students had fun learning to First year Head Coach, Tyler Hodson led the Lady Pan- bump, set, serve, and spike while practicing and competthers Varsity Volleyball team to a 4th place finish in the ing in league matches. La Pietra’s Junior Varsity VolleyILH Division II volleyball season, just shy of qualifying ball Coach, Kahea Pupuhi, coached this year’s team. for the state tournament. During the season, Senior Cap- Pac-5 Intermediate Soccer captured the ILH Division tain Peri Green committed to University of Southern II Championship led by La Pietra 8th grader and team California on a beach volleyball scholarship. captain Sydney Akana. New La Pietra P.E. Teacher, Karson Kim coached the Lady Panthers Intermediate White Volleyball team and La Pietra parent, Harry Lovell stepped in to coach the Intermediate Blue Volleyball team. The Blue team finished in 4th place with a 7–4 record in the highly competitive 12-team ILH Intermediate II division.
Georgina Rose D’Sanson ’18 represented La Pietra on the Varsity Pac-5 Precision Air Riflery Co-ed team. She represented her team and finished as a top 25 markswomen in the ILH.
In Intermediate II Tennis, seven students joined the La Pietra/Maryknoll combined team. Gavriella “Gigi” Lisa Matschke ’19 and Trinity Ung ’19 led the La Pi- Graves ’22 led the team and played in the top seeded sinetra/Maryknoll Junior Varsity Tennis team as the team’s gles position. The team finished in 3rd place. two top players. Matschke competed as the number one ranked singles player on the team and Ung competed on There were six La Pietra swimmers gliding through the water during the ILH Swimming season. Yu Ishii ’21 the top doubles team. won at the ILH Intermediate Championships in the
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113 students
students
took part in at least one athletic team
participated in at least two athletic teams
100% of the 6 grade
74%
of middle school
took part in the sports program offered
took part in at least one sport
th
100-meter backstroke and was runner-up in the 100-meter individual medley events for the Pac-5 swim team and La Pietra. Rose Garcia ’20 qualified for the HHSAA State Swimming Championship meet held at the University of Hawaii’s Duke Kahanamoku Swimming Pool in her very first year of ILH Swimming! There were 15 La Pietra student-athletes who spearheaded the Pac-5 Girls Canoe Paddling program. Coach David Ahia guided the Pac-5 girls paddling program with the assistance of first year coach and La Pietra alumni, Kahala Schneider ’12. Alexandra Strack ’18 was recognized as the ILH Girls Division II Canoe Paddling All-Star for her performance and leadership throughout the season. The La Pietra basketball program had 30 student-athletes dribbling, passing, and shooting basketballs on the court. Under the leadership of first year head varsity coach and La Pietra teacher, Karson Kim represented La Pietra well on and off the court. Highlights of the season were the varsity team’s successful preseason trip to the island of Lanai to participate in the first annual Lanai High School Girls Basketball Classic, the Intermediate Blue team’s victory over first place Hawaii Baptist Academy, and the exciting Intermediate White team’s season which came up just short of the ILH championship game. In the spring athletic season, La Pietra students participated on 11 La Pietra and Pac-5 sports teams. Three of La Pietra Archery team members coached by teacher Jack Wade participated in the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) Hawaii State Archery Championships. Senior, Nahono Bayne-Omai won the
43
State Championship earning a score of 271 in the 10-meter and 15-meter events. She won the girls high school division and gained the overall high score at the State Championship tournament for boys and girls. Junior Alexandra Strack qualified for the HHSAA State Championship Track and Field Championship in the 100-meter hurdles. La Pietra students won both the High School girls and Middle School divisions of the ILH Sportsmanship Essay Contest. Junior Georgina Rose D’Sanson won the high school division and seventh grader Shansley Glenn won the middle school division. At the 2016–2017 Awards Assembly, Peri Green ’17 received the Athlete of the Year award. Alexandra Strack ’18 and Georgina Rose D’Sanson ’18 received the Unsung Heroine Award. D’Sanson is a national merit scholar finalist and received a perfect score of 800 on her Math SAT exam while being a three sport student-athlete. Strack is also a three-sport student-athlete and was recognized as a first team all-star in canoe paddling in the winter season. Athletics continues to be a strong component of the educational program at La Pietra. There are numerous life lessons, character traits, and values students learn from participating on a team.
Left: Kaya Heimowitz ’20 and Emma Oshiro ’19 compete in a Cross Country race. Center: Kuali‘i Copp ’19 gets ready to start the Canoe Race with her Pac-5 team.
W W W. L A PI E T R A . E D U | 3 0
GIRLS DROP PENNIES FOR
Lukemia Research La Pietra’s National Honor Society hosted a penny drive for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
when she was in eighth grade she was touched by the plight of a senior who had been a “Big Sister” to her as Through the months of February and March, students part of the Big/Little Sister program at La Pietra, inin grades 6 through 12 dropped pennies, nickels, dimes, tended to ease the transition of newcomers from their quarters and even bills into jars labeled for their classes. former school. The drive is a competition among classes to donate the Caligtan-Tran said she noticed as the school year promost money. Each penny counts for 1 point and all other gressed, her Big Sister was “getting weaker.” “It was kind denominations counts against a grade’s score. of scary for me,” she said. “And I later found out she had “Whichever class has the highest score will win a prize,” leukemia. This is something I’d really love to raise money said Claire Lee ’17 of the school’s National Honor Society. for to support people like her.” But the penny drive means more than just a contest to the students. Malaya Caligtan-Tran ’18, who said that
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The National Honor Society emptied the jars and counted over $650 donations.
LA PIETRA’S
Legacy Brick Garden In 2014, during La Pietra’s 50th anniversary year, the Advancement team came up with a great idea to honor La Pietra’s 50 years with a special landmark, a brick garden. The Advancement Committee Chair, Randi Silleck Conway ’69 says, “We would sell bricks and find a special place on campus to place them. The process was a long one, but well worth the wait.” During the process, the Board of Trustees wanted to honor Board Chair, Alice Guild.
December 1, 2016
“I can’t recall the exact circumstances, but it was sort of all at once we (Board of Trustees) decided it would be perfect that we honor Alice and then got the inspiration to do Alice’s Garden,” said Conway. The bricks became a popular hit when Guild announced she would generously match the dollar of anyone who bought a brick for a certain amount at HOOPLA. Planning and preparations continued over the next two years. The Advancement team, headed by Interim Director of Advancement Kanoe Vares, diligently ordered bricks, coordinated the landscape, and assisted with the layout of the project. Over 100 bricks were engraved and the brick campaign raised over $210,000. The project was completed on December 7, 2016 and a special brick garden reception was held on campus on January 19, 2017. Board members, alumnae, and friends joined to honor ‘Alice’s Garden’ and the school’s 50 years of educating young women.
December 2, 2016
At the reception, Conway stated, “We honor the person who inspired all of us to come up with this garden, Alice Guild. I love the idea for the girls who attend La Pietra who ask about the garden and be told about the wonderful person it was dedicated to.” Pastor Kelekona Bishaw from Kamehameha Schools joined the reception to bless the garden. “It’s [Alice’s Garden] a dedication and blessing for a purpose and the purpose is legacy. The purpose is to help you understand that all those that will come and all those that have been part of La Pietra to understand how special and the work and all those things of sacrifices and resources that are necessary to keep these things going,” said Bishaw. Alice Guild was elated with the beauty of the garden. “This is so special because I’ve had such a long association with the school and it is sadly coming to an end in June. One of the things that makes this so special for me is that this (La Pietra) was the original home of my great grandfather. Their house was situated at the corner of Poni Moi Road and Diamond Head Road and this was all part of his property,” said Guild.
December 6, 2016
“Alice will live on forever at this special beautiful corner of La Pietra,” said Conway. The garden is adjacent to the Great Lawn, near to the gymnasium. The brick pathway of the garden is lined with lime trees and at the end there are two beautiful silver button trees.
December 7, 2016
Rebekah Kamemoto ’17 and Nalani Ka‘ai ’17 gather for a photo after the graduation ceremony.
The Class of 2017.
127 COLLEGE ACCEPTANCES & Counting This year’s twenty-nine La Pietra – Hawaii School for Girls graduates hauled in a total of 127 college acceptances this year with one student accepted into 15 schools. It is certainly not hyperbole to say it is extraordinary for any graduating class to earn more than four times its number in college acceptances. So, how do La Pietra students connect so well with colleges and universities?
Arita-Takayama further associates her students’ success with the Junior Seminar class she teaches and individualized meetings with seniors and their parents. Students are continuously guided to focus on meeting early action deadlines, highlighting and expanding their extracurricular resume, taking rigorous course work throughout high school, and writing robust admissions essays.
She added that “strong” letters of Leilani Arita-Takayama, Academic recommendation are also critical to Dean and College Counselor, identi- an application because they provide fied a crucial attribute to the school’s colleges with “important informasuccess with college applications is tion they might not see at first glance early orientation. from the application itself.” “At La Pietra, we start the educational “The sources of the letters are importprocess about college applications ear- ant as well. They should come from ly by holding group educational ses- writers who personally know the sions for parents and students in mid- student, know her well, and can help dle school,” she shared. “We continue convey who this student is within the to build everyone’s knowledge of the context of the classroom or other areas. process in upper school by holding Most letters of recommendation come meetings at every grade level to cover from teachers, coaches, and myself.” important college news, how to build their extracurricular and academic Teachers tends to focus on who the profile and then provide information student is in the classroom while the on what steps they should be taking counselor’s letter concentrates on who at their grade level and in the future.” she is as a person — her academic and
33 | W H ER E CO N FI D EN CE S OA R S
extracurricular strengths, personal character, and why she stands out. “Through those details, a college can help bridge together who this student is along with the student’s application. The letter of recommendation not only conveys a student’s success, but also what she learns after failure. Resilience is a prerequisite for college success,” said Arita-Takayama. Essays can also make an immense difference in college applications. Writing conveys a student’s “individuality, success, and the key factors, personality, and skill sets they would bring to the college or university they are applying to. It is a key piece of conveying a student’s personal story and truly reveal the applicant,” said Arita-Takayama. “When a student’s story is told in an eloquent and engaging manner, college admissions offices feel like they know the person through their papers and applications. This is pivotal for the student as each admissions offices are most likely reading thousands of applications and essays.”
Valedictorian Mahealani Daniels ’17, who was accepted by nine colleges to-date said she got a very early start thinking about college. “My mom forced me on to the whole college scene at a young age,” said Daniels. “In the eighth grade, I visited my first school and by the time I had reached the summer of my junior year I had visited over 30 colleges.”
Despite her high grades, Daniels said she did not slide into Colorado College. In fact, after applying for Early Action last fall, she got word that she had been deferred just as she sat down for a long plane ride to Iceland. “I cried the whole way there,” she said. Knowing that only 30 out of more than 500 students get in after deferral, she said she considered it “a kind of death sentence.”
atmosphere throughout my undergraduate years.” Lee encourages high school students to find time to “thoroughly” examine colleges and learn as much as possible about them.
“When it comes time to submit your applications, you will feel excited to apply because these colleges will be schools that you can confidently see Daniels said the early college expoyourself enrolling in and being a part Daniels recommends for future colsure made her realize she wanted of in the next chapter of your life.” to choose a college that was like no lege applicants to ‘pitch’ one’s most Her second piece of advice is to keep other. “I wanted to find a prestigious unique quality. “There should be one things simple when applying. She said small liberal arts college that was a factor that is so unique to just you, she found it is best to just be one’s self. gem,” she said. That’s how she found and no other student out there, that what she calls her “love-at-first-sight- the admissions team will exclaim, “Do not overcomplicate the college ‘that’s why I want this student.’” application process,” said Lee. “It’s all college” Colorado College. about demonstrating who you truly “No other school is like it. Although Amongst Daniels’ peers, class pres- are to each school, which is someit’s widely unknown, it’s considered ident Erika Lee ’17 was accepted thing only you are capable of doing.” to be a hidden Ivy [League School].” to seven colleges, including her top choice to the University of Califor- The members of the Class of 2017 Daniels said she is excited about Col- nia – Berkeley. “It offers a multitude will be attending schools throughout orado College’s exotic block plan. of world-renowned programs, ma- the United States and internationally. “When I’m studying coral reef ecolo- jors, and opportunities that I can Collectively, the Class has garnered gy, Colorado College will take me to choose to delve into.” said Lee “Fur- over $2 million in merit scholarships. Belize. When I’m taking art history, thermore, I was drawn to its close Colorado College takes me to Eu- proximity to San Francisco, which They will be studying in majors such rope and rents out the Sistine Chapel is a city that presents so much to do as animation, psychology, architecture, so I can sleep under the work of Mi- while simultaneously providing con- human biology, air traffic managechelangelo. And when I’m learning venient transportation. I also like the ment, interactive digital media, physics about classic literature, Colorado school’s large student population. communications, education, nursing, College takes me to Greece so I can Coming from a small high school, I astronomy, art, agriculture, and more. read the Odyssey while traveling the want to experience an entirely new path of Odysseus.”
Below is the list of colleges the Class of 2017 will be attending: Barnard College
Loyola Marymount University
St. Andrews University
University of Northern Colorado
Cal Poly Pomona
New York Film Academy
The New School Eugene Lang
University of Puget Sound
College of Southern Nevada, Charleston campus
Pepperdine University
University of California – Berkeley
University of Redlands
Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University
University of California – Irvine
University of Southern California
San Diego City College
University of California – Los Angeles
Colorado College Drexel University Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
South Puget Sound Community College
University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
University of Wyoming Waseda International University Woodbury University
Annual Fund MAKE YOUR GIFT TODAY! If you believe in La Pietra’s vision and commitment of helping young women soar, you have the opportunity to join in our aspiration. A gift to the Annual Fund provides the school with the sustained strength it requires to give girls the freedom to dream and the confidence to make those dreams come true. Your Participation: • Helps La Pietra secure gifts from corporations and foundations. • Bridges the gap between what tuition provides and the actual cost of operating the school • Supports quality teaching, technology in classrooms, facility upgrades, extracurricular programs, and much more! Please consider a gift today. To make your gift, visit LaPietra.edu or mail a check payable to: La Pietra – Hawaii School for Girls Attn: Annual Fund 2933 Poni Moi Road, Honolulu HI 96815 Mahalo in advance for your support!
Alumnae Association Mission Statement The La Pietra Alumnae Association’s mission is to support the school’s standing as a premier educational institution in Hawai’i. The association’s activity focuses on maintaining school ties, advancing continuing education and promoting visibility and awareness of the school in the community.
Aloha All Alums! It has been a while since our last publication of the school magazine! There has been lots of changes at the school and we plan on making sure that all alums are involved and committed to keeping La Pietra – Hawaii School for Girls the strong and wonderful school we all love and know. We are currently seeking volunteers to rebuild our alumnae association committee. The objectives of the committee would be to take an active role in volunteering for events, planning alumnae reunions, gathering information for Class Notes, and assisting in fundraising. We appreciate your commitment to our wonderful alma mater, La Pietra – Hawaii School for Girls. Mahalo, Randi Silleck Conway ’69 Board of Trustees, Chair of the Advancement Committee Please contact Randi Conway at pranlet@aol.com or Advancement & Alumnae Coordinator, Kanoe Vares at kvares@lapietra.edu for more information. 3 5 | W H ER E CO N FI D EN CE S OA R S
Class Notes
* We would love to hear your updates in the next issue of La Pietra Days. Please send your news and photos to your Class Representative or to alumnae@lapietra.edu
’65
’69
’66
Randi Silleck Conway has retired in Hawaii and is keeping busy serving on the La Pietra Board of Trustees, serving as the Chair of the Advancement Committee, working hard on La Pietra’s annual fundraiser, HOOPLA, and re-establishing the La Pietra Alumnae Association.
Class Representative: Randi Silleck Conway | pranlet@aol.com
Class Representative Needed
Class Representative Needed
’67
Class Representatives: Lucy Horner | Bobalu1315@cfl.rr.com Laurie Groner Tillett | 2tilletts@comcast.net
Rebecca Lindsay Pietsch divides her time between the Big Island, Hawaii and Honolulu, Oahu, visiting her three children that have many adorable grandchildren for her to enjoy. Debby Wilson resides in Boulder, Colorado and keeps busy with her company called ‘Debby Gets It Done’. She has scaled down from the house she raised her two sons in to a beautiful town home. Karen Morgan lives in Honolulu, Oahu and her mom is at Kahala Nui.
Laurie Groner Tillett ’67.
Laurie Groner Tillett resides in a little Victorian city in Mount Dora, Florida. She is currently the Vice Mayor and District 1 Council Representative. Her son, Ryland is currently working at the Pentagon.
’70
’68
Class Representatives: Patricia Chu | Pattichu@aol.com Karen Klawitter | Karen.Kay@verizon.net Meredith Stacy | Dstacy3@comcast.net
Rhoda James ’70, Lori Komer ’70, Laurie Callies ’70, Liz Hueu ’70, Patricia Chu ’68, and Annie Landrum ’70 at the All-School Alumnae Reunion in 2015.
Class Representatives: Laurie Garrett Callies | lcallies@mac.com Lori Offer Komer | lori@leahiswimschool.com Annie Landrum | landruma002@hawaii.rr.com Katie Wade is currently living and working in Seattle, Washington. W W W. L A PI E T R A . E D U | 36
Class Notes ’71
Class Representatives: Kim Griffin Hanson | kimghanson@aol.com Jeanne Lacy Harte | jeaharte@yahoo.com
’73
Class Representatives: Susan Bond | sebsubo@aol.com Adrienne Muroda | adrienne_muroda@hmsa.com
Stella Kellett Neuman ’71, Valerie Y. Kim ’71, Kaliko Kellett Mireles ’78, Angela Lum Thomas ’71 and Catherine Kellett Miller ’70 attended a luau in Ahualoa on Hawaii Island in January. Not exactly a coincidence since three are sisters; however, they hadn’t been together in ages either.
’72
Deborah Hall ’72, Kathryn Cross ’78, Caroline Davis ’72, Patricia Chu ’68, Celia Doo ’72, and Yuri Sasak ’72 at the All-School Alumnae Reunion in 2015.
Class Representatives: Caroline Bond Davis | c.bond7@hawaiiantel.net Nancy Dykes Isserlis | nancy.isserlis@gmail.com Susie Gaffney Morgan | malaebeachhouse@gmail.com
Susie Gaffney Morgan ’72 pictured with daughter Heather Morgan ’06. Heather attended La Pietra in the 7th grade.
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Susan Bond ‘73 receives the President’s Volunteer Service Award.
Susan Bond is the Executive Director of the Kilauea Drama and Entertainment Network and also serves as Vice Chairwoman of the East Hawaii Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster chapter. In that role, she coordinated the arrival and deployment of VOAD partners assisting after hurricane Iselle hit the islands in 2014. For her tireless response and recovery efforts and more than 300 hours of volunteer service, Bond was presented a President’s Volunteer Service Award at Catholic Charities in Hilo. It came with a letter signed by President Barack Obama, and the bottom of the certificate designates the Hawaiian Paradise Park resident as a “Point of Light.” Murray Stanton Neale is the Executive Director of the Brickhouse Equestrian Center, a Charleston area therapeutic riding group.
Class Notes Patricia Kenyon Hustace ’73 Patricia Kenyon Hustace, 62, of Honolulu, passed away on February 26, in Santarem, Para, Brazil, of complications after a fall. A life-long resident of Honolulu, Patty was born on February 1, 1955, and graduated from Hanahau‘oli School and La Pietra – Hawaii School for Girls. An enthusiastic traveler, Patty visited many countries throughout the world during her lifetime, gaining many enduring friendships and experiences along the way. Proceeded in death by her father, Frank Ward Hustace, Jr., mother, Constance Lawyer Hustace, and elder sister, Victoria Ward Hustace. Survived by her dear friend and traveling companion, Jack Streeter, of Media, PA; brother, Frank Ward Hustace III (Christine), of Hawi, five nieces, and many cousins and friends. Patty will be fondly remembered as an individual of great personal resilience and resolve, curious about life, passionate about issues, and endearing to family and friends. She is deeply missed. Donations in Patty’s memory may be made to Hanahau‘oli School or La Pietra – Hawaii School for Girls.
’74
Class Representatives: Nancy Ballentyne Ciacci | nciacci@yahoo.com Ceseli Hong Lee | ceselilee@gmail.com Gail Carpenter Alger is living in Springdale, Utah with her husband, Doug. She has lived in Park City for over 28 years where she taught elementary school and raised her three kids, Parker, Lani, and Duncan. After retiring they moved to Southern Utah to trade in the ski boots for hiking boots. She also pursued her passion for painting and began taking watercolor classes. Her paintings are exhibited in Lafave Gallery in Springdale and Magnolia in Kahala Mall. Nancy Ballentyne Ciacci is living in Maui and retired from her 30-year career with Wailea Beach Marriott.
Anne Umemoto Kleinerman is living in Deerfield, Illinois and has two children, Hannah and Max. After working in corporate jobs for many years, Anne is currently selling promotional items. She also sings in the temple choir and does volunteer work for them. During her spare time she started doing some of her mosaic artwork again. Linda Dohme Opgenorth is now living in Fallbrook, California with her husband, Gregg, two golden retrieers, two poi cats, and a parrot. Gregg is a manger of a local nursery and Linda works in healthcare in a variety of front office positions. They have been married for over 37 years and have two sons, Jesse and Michael. Jesse is a Senior Engineer and Michael is currently living in Hana, Maui and serves as the director of the National Tropical Botanic Garden.
W W W. L A PI E T R A . E D U | 3 8
Class Notes ’75
Class Representatives: Mary Geer | Mgeer67@hotmail.com Kathy Rabbett Mlinarich | kathymlinarich@verizon.net Carolyn Roache | desertmoon@cox.net
’76
Class Representative Needed
Kelly Banks Hoen transitioned from the General Manager at The Modern Honolulu to Area General Manager for Outrigger, which includes oversight of the Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort and Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort. She will also serve as the Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort’s on-property General Manager. Kelly’s daughter, Melissa Hoen is also an alum, Class of 2013. Kathy Rabbett Mlinarich currently resides in Los Gatos, California.
Lauran Bromley ’76.
Lauran Bromley has been a very generous benefactor to La Pietra, including donations to renovate classrooms and providing merit scholarships for students. She’s also the 2nd Vice Chair on the La Pietra Board of Trustees.
Debbie Weil-Manuma ’75 was honored for her achievements to Hawaii’s travel economy at the 2015 Gala of Meeting Professionals International.
Debbie Weil-Manuma has been in the hospitality and entertainment industry for over 30 years. She heads her own destination management company, Weil & Associates. She just completed building her new home in Waialae-Iki and is also on the La Pietra Board of Trustees.
Janet Widdy Thomas ’76 and Colleen Finnegan ’76 on Alaskan cruise.
Christina Denny is living in Smithville, West Virginia. Janet “Widdy” Thomas and Colleen Finnegan went on an Alaskan Cruise last summer. They snorkeled in 40 degree water and experienced other cool adventures like glaciers “calving”, bears, kayaking, bushwhacking, icebergs, otters, whales, puffins, and more! 39 | W H ER E CO N FI D EN CE S OA R S
Class Notes ’77
Class Representatives: Carol Lee Arnold | alohacarol2@yahoo.com Diana Carty | decarty@genext.net Alison Martin Tepper | alisonottawa@gmail.com
Colleen Finnegan ’76 on the Hokule‘a serving as the medical officer.
Colleen Finnegan had the opportunity to serve as the Medical Officer on the traditional Polynesian voyaging canoe, Hokule‘a during one leg of the its voyage around the world. She sailed from Miami, Florida through the Panama Canal, bringing Hokule‘a back into the Pacific Ocean after 2.5 years away. Colleen was overwhelmed with emotion to be a part of the historic voyage and the connection to Hawaii’s heritage.
Cindy Keiter ’76 leading a tour in New York City.
Marjorie Bennett has her Bachelor’s of Science Degree from University of Colorado – Boulder and her MBA form the University of California Berkely. She has been traveling to places like Paris, Rome, Tirana, and Barcelona. She continues to check things off her bucket list as she has visited the Sistine Chapel, and went to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Danielle Glover lives in West Valley, Utah. She is enjoying the outdoor life, hiking the Grand Tetons, skiing and snowboarding. Danielle has three daughters, Eve, Rachel and Rebeka. Kimberly Oakley Goodland resides in Santa Barbara. She is currently an Executive Chef for private yachts. She plans on retiring in Hana, Maui where her husband and daughter want to live. She still surfs in Santa Barbara, but hates the water temperature. Claudia Botts Janiszewski has been living and working in developing countries for the past 25 years. She has continued her work with a non-profit she started 19 years ago that provides support to abandoned babies in Albania. She recently started a new “Glamping” business in Dubois, Wyoming, which is close to Yellowstone Park and Jackson Hole. She would love to have visitors from La Pietra!
Cindy Keiter ’76 lives in New York City and serves as a tour guide for Foods of NY Tours. If Keiter has an hour Debbie Thompson currently resides in Sausalito, California. free, she’s at the Museum of the City of New York, reading every plaque and caption or walking a neighborhood to learn and listen for the stories it tells. What she loves most as a guide at Foods of New York is passing those stories on to others.
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Class Notes ’78
Class Representatives: Di Guild | didi@hawaiiantel.net Freda Hipps Toves | misshipps2@yahoo.com
Susan Crandall ’78 and Martha Stricklin Heppard reunited in 2015 when Susan was helping her daughter into off-campus housing at the University of Denver.
’79
Class Representatives: Jeri Bernal | bernaljm@msn.com Kelli McGee MacDonald | kammac09@gmail.com Mary-Michael Simpson | marymichael1@msn.com Donne Dawson resides in Honolulu and serves as the Hawaii State Film Commissioner. She recovered from breast cancer and says, “One of the greatest solaces during her treatment were her LP/HSG friends and family.” She is also dancing hula with Kumu Snowbird Bento.
Susan Crandall currently resides in McLean, Virginia. Marcella Dahlquist-Besser lives in Boca Raton, Florida in a new three-bedroom villa. She is working as a Registered Nurse at a local hospital. Shelly Stotsenberg Heavrin lives in Manhattan Beach, California with her husband Steve and two lovely daughters, Lauren and Greer.
Kelli McGee ’79 and Shelly Stotsenberg Heavrin ’78 at Kelli’s mother’s Celebration of Life.
Kelli wither her lovely family at their Tutu’s Celebration of Life.
Martha Stricklin Heppard lives in Centennial, Colorado. She stated that, “One of the wonderful things about Kelli McGee MacDonald had been living in Australia our school are that friendships last forever.” until recently moving back to Honolulu. She has three Hillary Swenson Moody lives in Honolulu. She has children, one of whom flies for Hawaiian Airlines. Some been married to her husband Tom for over 30 years and sad news to share: Kelli’s dear mother, Gay, passed away they have three children, Julie, Laura ‘08, and Timothy. from breast cancer. Kelli was with her until the very end. Julie lives in New York City and is an Editor with Disney Becky Howard Reed lives in Newport Beach, California Publishing. Laura also lives in New York City and is an and is a District Sales Consultant at Goldwell Wholesale. Assistant Fashion Designer for Tailor Vintage. Timothy She is a mother to three children, Parker, Nikki, and Madi. graduated from Ohio State University and works for the Susan Clarke Staub resides in Gilbert, Arizona and reBuckeye Bulletin in Columbus, Ohio. tired from teaching. She is currently putting her skills to Phyllis Tsarnas Valadao resides in Waxhaw, North Caro- work as an editor and proofreader. lina and is enjoying life as a mother to Brianna and Zackery. Desiree Stinson currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada where she works as a workforce manager at MGM Resorts. Karin Russell Lance resides in Sparks, Nevada with her husband Peter. Is a real estate agent for Trans-Action Realty 500.
Brianna
Zackery
Class Notes Maile Van Orden Romanowski lives in Honolulu with her husband and twin sons, Kala and Kekai. She is the President at Jas. W. Glover, Ltd, a locally owned general contracting company.
Leslie Albanese Coggan lives in Hidden Valley Lakes, California. She has two daughters, Amanda and Jessica. Wendy Cole lives in Los Angeles, California with her husband, Roosevelt. She has a daughter and two sons, Kai, Kellen and Kristaan. The apple of her eye is her grandson, Nehemiah also known as Nemy. Jennifer Cotton lives in Sonoma, CA and has two kids, son Calef and daughter Velsea.
Maile Romanowski’s twin sons, Kala and Kekai at 11 years old.
Betsy Bond Deniston currently resides in Walnut Creek, California.
Carolyn Benson Ward lives in San Clemente, California.
Robin Gadient lives in Berkeley, California with her longtime partner, Teo. She has three kids, sons Luca and Enzo, and daughter Fiamma.
’80
Tamra Sorrell Hartnett lives in Pollock Pines, CA and has a daughter and son, Macey and Shea.
Class Representatives: Betsy Bond Deniston | betsydeniston@gmail.com Jennifer Warton | jenniferwarton@comcast.net
Alison B. Hastings lives in Aurora, Illinois and has two sons, Klint and Christian. Sharon Hodge lives in Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. Jade Stewart Noile is living in Las Vegas, Nevada and would love to have a reunion in Las Vegas. Tara Latou Trotter lives in Kalispell, Montana. She has two sons, Hunter and Silas.
Class of 1980 friends gather at Lummi Island in Washington.
Nan Radulovic lives in Los Angeles, California and works as a psychotherapist in Santa Monica. She is married with four children.
Alicia White Lewis Rikkonen lives in San Mateo, CalJill Coffey Alex lives in Westmont, Illinois with her hus- ifornia with her husband Paul, and daughter, Savannah. band, Nick and kids, Hannah and Nicky. Dawn Akemi Rummell lives in Los Angeles, California Dana Dawes Anderson lives in Spreckelsville, Maui. with her husband Dave. She is the mother to her beautiful daughter, Maile. Carolyn ‘Kelly’ Davis Barla lives in Garden Valley, California with her husband Rick and has two sons, Trevor and Connor. Karen Garbert Borg lives in Honolulu with her husband Jim.
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Class Notes ’81
Class Representative: Renee Kraft | renee@searchhawaiiproperty.com
classes joining the fun Cheri Mulhall Wilson ’83, Whitney Nixon Gadawski ’83, Tracey Artiss ’82 and her daughter Emalani. The fun included a beautiful evening atop the Columbia Tower, a cruise to Bainbridge Island, Eagle Harbor, shucking and grilling oysters, hiking to Twin Falls, Amy and Elise visited Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum, and as usual the class pushes the envelope with a field trip to one of Seattle’s latest tourist attractions. Let the good times roll! Courtney De Lashmutt Beddow is expanding her acupuncture practice starting an organic farm. Dianna Benson-Stockdale attended the women’s march in Washington with her pink hat and continues to support Kit Grant at the American Civil Liberties Union.
Class of 1981 35th Reunion.
Brynn Bloomfield had a horse fall on her and broke her leg. We hope you are better! Lisa Stotsenberg Burt continues her top skills in tennis. During the Seattle reunion she visited her grandma for her 100th Birthday. Anastazia L. Cowell is working in real estate in Portland, Oregon. Kaliehanamau “Hana” Johnson moved to Hana, Maui. Monica Machado resides in Honolulu, Hawaii. Rebecca Morris lives in Idaho and just became a grandma for the first time.
Class of 1981 enjoying their reunion in Seattle.
In August of 2016 the Class of 1981 celebrated their 35th reunion in a grand way in Seattle, Washington. Dianna Benson Stockdale coordinated the reunion and secured a great vacation home. Celebrating good times included Dianna, Gemma Stephani, Courtney Delashmutt-Beddow, Elise Curran-McCue, Lisa Stotsenberg-Burt, Helen Lee, Renee Kraft, Stacy Cowell, Amy Wirtz-Hall, Cara Stinson, Isabelle Whelton-Kuyper, Gwyn Neel-Benedict, with others
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April Perreira Pluss is working in real estate in Denver, Colorado. Gemma Stephani’s daughter, Noelani completed on Junior Top Chef rocking the teriyaki duck. Cara Stinson just bought a farmhouse in Olympia and wants visitors anytime. Isabelle Whelton-Kuyper teaches high school in Flagstaff, Arizona. Refer to the Class of 1981 Facebook page for more updates and information.
Class Notes In Memory of Sheryl Oschin-Goodman ’81
’82
Sheryl “FiFi” Oschin-Goodman unexpectedly passed away on February 7, 2017. There was a celebration of life held at China Walls in Honolulu, Hawaii. 1981 Classmates, Elise Curran McCue, Erin Chisholm Matsunaga, Gwyn Neel Benedict, and Amy Wirtz-Hall were there to attend her funeral at Mount Sinai Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California. Sheryl will be missed to the moon and back and forever be in our hearts.
’83
Class Representative: Kristin Morrow | kristinmorrow@comcast.net
Class Representative: Michelle Perreira | m.perreira@comcast.net
’84
Class Representative: Suzanne Ames | mitduc@aol.com
’85
Class Representative: Staci Larkin | slarkin@cox.net
’86
Class Representative: Bridget Nielsen | bridgetn576@gmail.com
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Class Notes ’87
Class Representatives: Heather Moore Damon | heater@damondesignhi.com Lynn Germain | msclynngermain@yahoo.com Lynn Germain lives in Aina Haina, Honolulu and is growing a jewelry business called Lynnie by the Sea. Heather Moore Damon is living in Honolulu. She has been working at Shriners Hospital for over 18 years and is expanding her father’s company to the San Francisco area. Heather remains active in ocean sports and stays fit with classmate Lynn Germain. Patricia Thiessen Halvorsen is married to her high school sweetheart, Kit and they have three children, Kalen, Kaile, and Kyler. Patricia is working at Queen’s Medical Center as an Intensive Care Unit Registered Nurse, part time as a Hemodialysis Registered Nurse, and part time as Punahou School’s Registered Nurse.
’90
Class Representatives Needed
’91
Class Representative: Astrida Pesentheiner | diamondheadconcierge@hawaii. rr.com
’92
Class Representatives: Michelle Loden Slentz | Michelle_slentz@yahoo.com Jeannie Jarnot | pazjarnot@comcast.net
Heidi Wilson Yentsch has been married for over 15 years and has two children, Hailey and Tyler. Heidi works at home as a bookkeeper/human resources for a couple of local companies, which gives her time to hike with her dog in the mornings and be home when the kids get out of school. She misses Hawaii and is hoping classmates would keep in touch via Facebook. Kanani Titchen is an Adolescent Medicine fellow at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, Bronx, New York. She encountered human sex trafficking for the ’88 first time during a gynecologic rotation while in mediClass Representatives: cal school at Sidney Kimmel Medical College of ThomSondra Allen-Edwards | Sonj2@hawaiiantel.net Carrie Oberheu Honeycutt | leilani4intexas@charter.net as Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was recently asked to give a TEDx talk about how Noelle Lippman Wolf currently resides in Santa Barbara, to spot human trafficking. California with her husband.
’89
Class Representative: Carrie Loden Land | cloden2002@yahoo.com
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Class Notes ’93
Class Representatives: Danielle Salice | dsalice@yahoo.com Lyra Frongillo Valhabzadeh | lfrongillo@yahoo.com
Danielle Salice resides in San Diego and is an enrollment advisor at Ashford University. She enjoys visiting her family and experiencing the gorgeous outdoors with her dog ‘Capone’.
Megan Cheney-O’Bryne Shea lives in Kailua, Oahu Sabra Powell Burkholder is living in Hayden, Idaho, with her husband, Pat and two sons, Nate and Jesse. She near a ski town. This has led to a passion for snowboard- lectures part time at the School of Social Work at The ing and skiing with her family of four children, Gabriel, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Tate, Chloe, and Jaxon. Lyra Frongillo Valhabzadeh is currently living in PurSarah Bachle Dempsey resides in Aptos (Santa Cruz), chase, New York with her husband and three children. California with her husband, Patrick, and daughter, Bellame. She is the Vice President of Operations and Manufacturing for a start-up food manufacturing company ’94 that makes amazing vegan and vegetarian food. They also Class Representative: have a dog-named Breezy. Emma Baker | emmamaira@yahoo.com Victoria Marino Gonzalez lives in Kailua, Oahu with her husband, Sai and two children, Anthony and Alexandria. She is an Account Manager at Title Guaranty for ’95 East Oahu. Class Representative: Bethany Wood Howe recently moved back to Oahu Chelsea Delmonte Town | Chelsea1@gmail.com and works as a sales manager at Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina.
Teitjen Staton Jones is living in Portland, Oregon with her husband and two children, Leolani and Jupiter. Although she has a degree in Art Therapy, she is a licensed Massage Therapist. Her husband is also a master woodworker.
’96
Class Representative: Lani Fink | lanifinkhawaii@mac.com Maile Schulback | Maile.schulbach@gmail.com
Maile Bourke McKay resides in Kailua, Oahu and is a third grade teacher at Lanikai Elementary. Her husband works in contracting and they have three children, Meleana, Ziggy, and Hi‘ilei. Brandi Bockhaus Peralta is here in Kaneohe with her husband, Lawrence and two children, Hunter and Bella. Brandi works as Director of Sales and Marketing for Paradise Bay Resort on the windward coast of Oahu.
Danielle Le Mond Brand visited La Pietra with her kids, husband, and father-in-law.
Joelle Doo Rodriguez resides in Honolulu, Hawaii with her husband and two sons, Cade and Cole. She is a Behavioral Therapist doing programming and therapy for kids with developmental disabilities, specifically autism.
Danielle La Mond Brand is living in San Diego and was very happy to reconnect with the school on a recent visit back to the islands. She is married to Ari and has two children and was very proud to show them the campus. W W W. L A PI E T R A . E D U | 4 6
Class Notes ’97
Class Representatives: Britton Blackwood | alohabriit@gmail.com Summer D’anna | summerleidanna@gmail.com
’01
Class Representative: Heather McGrady | hamcgrady@hotmail.com
’02
’98
Class Representatives: Jennifer Corrales | corrales.jen@gmail.com Alicia Diederich | Alicia.dieder@gmail.com
Class Representatives: Portland Lawn | plaw@hotmail.com Katrina Pizzino | pizzino@hawaii.edu Stephanie Starr | Stephanie.s@starrcohawaii.com Bridgid Conn resides in Salt Lake, Utah and was working on her postdoctoral fellowship at the Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles. She is managing a research project that evaluates pregnant and parenting teens.
’99
Class Representative: Maile Neff | maineneff@gmail.com
Michele Eheler-Chen resides in Honolulu and works as a Pilates instructor teaching three classes a week. She has a Bachelor’s degree in East Asian History and is obtaining her Bachelor’s in the Kinesiology and Rehabilitation program the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. She is also active in beach clean-ups and volunteer with 808 Cleanups.
’00
Class Representative: Shaaroni Wong | ronilei@gmail.com
Meredith Kwock resides in New York City.
While travelling, Shaaroni met little nuns, who were orphaned and taken by the Buddhist nuns who run the school she was working at.
Shaaroni Wong lived in Yangon, Mynamar. While there, she trained teachers for monastic schools outside of the city. After the month of training, Shaaroni went to Bali to meet the Hokule‘a.
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Stephanie Starr attended Southern Oregon University after high school and stayed in Oregon working at Harry & David’s until 2011. She then moved back to Hawaii to work in the family business, bought a condo and adopted an adorable miniature dachshund named Jade. Ashlee Peters Takamura is living in Oakland, California and working as a graphic designer and illustrator in San Francisco at Union Street Papery, a boutique stationary shop. Her dream is to open a stationery shop in Hawaii.
Class Notes ’03
Class Representative: Jennifer Gire | Gire100@chapman.edu
’06
Class Representatives: Alicia Huang | Aliciah808@gmail.com Lauren Yee | Lauren604@mac.com Monika Harr is an accomplished pianist. After spending nearly a decade in New York City, honing her craft, she returned home to open her own piano studio. She is devoted to teaching aspiring pianists of all ages in her Kaimuki space and is currently enrolling new students.
Aileen Tamura is the recipient of the Aequanimitas No‘ono‘o Pono Award from the University of Hawai‘i Medical School. This award goes to the student who best responds to difficult situations quickly and thoughtfully. Aileen first attended the University of Southern California and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Promotions and Disease Prevention with a minor in East Asian Languages and Cultures. After graduating, she worked at clinical cancer research organization in Los Angeles for two years; she then returned home and earned a Masters Degree in Developmental and Reproductive Biology at UH. She is currently completing her internal medicine residency at the UH Residency Programs and looks forward to participating in future research projects.
’07
Class Representatives: Charity Caracol | caracol@hawaii.edu Amanda Chang | Amandac07@gmail.com
’08
Class Representative Needed Laura Moody is living in New York City and is working as a fashion designer. Chelsi Johnston lives in Los Angeles, California and is obtaining her Masters degree in film directing. She has worked on Hawaii Five-O and Godzilla.
’04
Class Representative: Erin Oglesby | ecloglesby@yahoo.com
’05
Class Representatives: Mollie Norcross | mollienorcross@gmail.com Kayla Sakimoto | kaylass11@gmail.com
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Class Notes ’09
Cecilia Chung | Ceciliachung257@gmail.com Olivia Klein | Oliviaklein13@gmail.com
’12
Class Representative: Kahala Schneider | Schneider.kahala@gmail.com Kahala Schneider graduated from University of Tennessee where she majored in Tourism Management with a minor in Business.
Melissa Kim graduated with her Master’s Degree in Education from Chaminade University. She is currently teaching English at Roosevelt High School in Honolulu.
Sophia Klein graduated from Mills College in Oakland, California, majoring in Intermedia Arts with a minor in Dance. Sophia is actively engaged in the San Francisco dance world as a performer, choreographer, production designer and documentary filmmaker. She performed in several works in the Mills College Repertory Dance Theatre production Flux Continuum.
Olivia Klein graduated with a Psychology Degree from the University of Hawai‘i a few years ago and did an internship at Corrymeela, a peace and conflict resolution center in Northern Ireland, as of only two applicants chosen from the United States.
’10
Class Representative: Jeannie Robinson | jeahirobi@hotmail.com
’11
Class Representative: Caroline Harris | alohacarrot@gmail.com
Alexandra Sidun received her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and Policy with a major in Nutrition from Chapman University. She now attends the University of Colorado – Boulder as a graduate student studying Environmental Science with a focus in Renewable and Sustainable Energy.
Mariah Allison graduated from the University of ’13 Hawai‘i at Mānoa in Art. She is a photographer, teacher, Class Representative: and salesperson. Nicole Morisugi | ncmorisu@pepperdine.edu Bianca Batten recently graduated in Business Technology and Finance from New York University.
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Class Notes ’14
Milan Gonzalez will be entering her third year at Chapman University and studying Communications. During Class Representative Needed her summer months at home in Hawaii, she has been volSam Fukushima is currently attending Leeward Commu- unteering with the Emergency Medial Services as a Comnity College and is currently pursuing a degree in Health munications internship. Information Technology and taking theatre classes.
Lauren Geoghegan is currently attending the University ’16 of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and is majoring in Kinesiology. Class Representative Needed After college she hopes to attend physical therapy school. Hana Maeda is finishing up her degree in Journalism at Syracuse University. She has aspirations to be a writer and/or editor for a women’s magazine. Tasi Reid currently owns and manages the newly opened Black Sheep Cream Co. in Waipio. The ice cream shop features unique blends of flavors for all tastes. Since opening of the shop, business has been booming and has a 4.5 star rating on Yelp. Natasha Staman will be entering her last year of obtaining her bachelor’s degree in Nursing at the University of Portland. She currently works as an Athletic Trainer and plans to get her master’s degree after graduating.
Alyssa Kuwamoto getting ready for the Hawaiian Club Luau at Linfield College.
Alyssa Kuwamoto currently attends Linfield College where she plans to declare her major in Business ManageClass Representative: ment and minor in Japanese. She was the Service SpotIsabella Klein | bellaklein12@gmail.com light Winner in the college’s Community Engagement and Service Newsletter, recognized for her community Isabella Klein attends Goucher College in Baltimore, service efforts. Maryland and majors in Communications. She preformed in an all-college play and is the member of the Erika Kvam finished her first year in college at University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. While she misses home, acappella group, “The Reverend’s Rebels”. she enjoys her major in Music Education as it aligns with Soncy Kaahui declared her major at Scripps College in her goals of one day becoming a music teacher or director. Organismal Biology. After college she has aspirations to attend graduate school and travel!
’15
Mika Sebastian will be a junior at University of Cal- ’17 ifornia – Berkeley where she has declared her major in Class Representative Needed Integrative Biology.
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