HAWAII'S SCHOOLS
COURTESY PHOTO
Krumping is the latest hip-hop dance trend for some at Baldwin. Front: seniors Chanten Kamaka, left, and Josh DelaCruz. Back: Naehu Sing-Kahalehau, left, Stacia Sado and Phillip Reyes.
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Strike a pose
Students relieve aggression by krumping
By Jonie Gascon
Baldwin Courier
Fists fly in the air. Arms and legs twist and turn. It appears to be a fight, but no, it's just a new type of dance called krumping.
Baldwin High School
Newspaper
Baldwin Courier
Faculty adviser
Linda Coleon
Editor-in-chief
Christopher Mullen
Address
1650 Kaahumanu Ave.
Wailuku, HI 96793
Principal
Natalie Gonsalves
Telephone
984-5656
Colors
Maroon and blue
Enrollment
1,572
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Krumping is intended as an outlet for anger and as a nonviolent alternative to the street violence widespread in the U.S. Krumping originated in the black community of Los Angeles. Krumping was featured in the movie "Bring It On Again." Many students who learned to krump saw the movie, and they began to learn and practice the moves.
This dancing style is fast and aggressive and usually involves physical contact between dancers. It often looks like a fight, but the participants understand that it is part of the dance. Krumping is a popular and fast-growing style of hip-hop dance.
Seniors who krump learned many of their movements from watching movies and music videos. Krumping has not come easily to these dancers, but with practice and help from other dancers, they pulled it off at homecoming, dances and parties, spreading this dance style to others.
"Krumping, it's another way to express yourself in a creative performance," says senior Beverly Alipio. Alipio's boyfriend, John Hauoli, and her cousin Aldin Sabas taught her krumping, and she has loved the dance moves ever since.
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COURTESY PHOTO
Senior Thomas Barber listens to his iPod Shuffle during class.
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iPod shuffling
By Sean Catugal
Baldwin Courier
Teenagers across the nation commonly have an electronic device known as the iPod, which enables the user to listen to music and view photos and movies. iPod is a type of portable media player designed and marketed by Apple.
Apple's iPod lineup currently consists of the original-style hard drive-based iPod Classic, the iPhone-like iPod Touch, the midlevel video-capable iPod Nano and the low-end screenless iPod Shuffle.
Current iPod Classic models store media on internal hard drives; all current models use flash memory, which results in smaller music storage sizes. As with many other digital music players, iPods can also serve as external data storage devices.
"Having my iPod helps me to concentrate in certain study environments, and it's great to play in the car because you can control what you want to listen to," says senior Bree Aguinaldo.
"My iPod helps me to study in math class and is so convenient to have," says senior Jasmine Davis. "It's instant music. Sometimes my friends Lehua Lash, Jordan Helle, Shayna Vi and I all sync our iPods to the same song and sing along to it. It's quite a fun experience."
Some students enjoy listening to music during class, but it can affect students' ability to concentrate and focus on their lessons.
"Listening to music can affect my concentration in class," says senior Mighty Mart Binonwangan. "When the music is really good, I listen to the music and not what is going on in class."
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Wait for library nears its end
A newer, larger site has been in the works for the past nine years
By Christopher Mullen
Baldwin Courier
Construction for a new library will begin in June after years of petitioning and meeting with state senators.
Funds for the initial planning were released about nine years ago, and funds for the actual construction were finally released.
Baldwin's new library will be a 14,000-square-foot building located between the cafeteria and the band room. It will be a one-story, L-shaped building parallel to the band room. The building will be entirely air-conditioned and include a computer lab, video production center, archive room, teachers' workroom and conference room. The library will be able to accommodate several classrooms of students.
There also will be a morning broadcast from the video production center.
Baldwin's current library was built in 1964. It is only 3,000 square feet and is the size of about three classrooms. The current library can accommodate one classroom of students at a time.
The library currently has about 20,000 books, and more are ordered every year. But according to the Library Association, Baldwin's library is far below standards. Having a larger library will give students and faculty the opportunity to borrow more books and have access to more resources.
"We need to bring our library into the 21st century," says librarian Sande Trenholme.
In the 1990s the library began urging state legislators to release funding with the help of many people, including previous administrators, parents, community members and students. Student activity coordinator Donna Vierra and history teacher Charlotte Wilkinson's students wrote letters to senators, urging them to appropriate funding for a new library. The school even had a rally to petition for a new library.
After all of their hard work, the state approved plans for construction to begin this June. The library should be open in the 2009-2010 school year.
"We are very grateful that we had so much support from the students, faculty, staff, parents and the community," Trenholme says. "We are really looking forward to having a new library media center for Baldwin."
"I think it's great because it will encourage more students to use the library," says senior Jasper Rivera. "It will provide a better learning environment."
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YOU ASKED
"What makes you feel pride?"
Compiled by Baldwin Courier staff
Keola Kamaka-Ramos
Sophomore
"I'm proud about the Baldwin teachers I have and the school atmosphere."
Ki'ilani Kaopuiki
Sophomore
"I feel pride in getting good grades because sometimes it's hard because I was in a Hawaiian immersion program since my freshmen year."
Jessica Blair
Freshman
"I take pride in doing good in classes and being on the honor roll. I'm proud of having good friends who encourage me."
Kaycee Higa
Senior
"I feel proud about having the opportunity to be in the food service program because it helps to prepare me for a career in the culinary arts."
Lehua Lash
Senior
"I feel proud about being in cross-country and track. In cross-country I am the captain, and I learned to be a good leader."