[ HAWAII'S SCHOOLS ]
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Kaiser students The events of Sept. 11 had a profound impact on the entire nation. At Kaiser High School, the 2001-2002 school year witnessed a boom in the number of students participating in various community service projects. The students of Kaiser have responded to the greatest challenge of their generation by assuming active roles in their community.
putting service first
Some will spend part of their spring
Kaiser schools partner for leadership event ABOUT THIS PAGE
break refurbishing the teachers' lounges
By Eva Constantaras and Thomas Takara
Kaiser High SchoolNearly every organization on campus has contributed to the increase in student service involvement. The most visible of these endeavors have been the annual Blood Drive sponsored by the National Honor Society and the Blood Bank of Hawaii, and food and coin drives sponsored by the student council.
The Kaiser High School Blood Drive, held on March 7, gave students 17 and older a unique opportunity to save three lives with each donation. With an active campaign program and enthusiastic recruiters, the National Honor Society tapped into a renewed spirit ignited by the terrorist attacks.
NHS members encouraged members of the junior and senior classes, as well as the faculty and staff, to join the drive. The Blood Drive brought in a record 75 donors, nearly tripling last year's number.
For junior Maile Putt, donating blood for the first time was "a very direct way to help people, and I plan to be a regular donor. The short discomfort is nothing compared to the thrill of saving lives."
Homecoming also was affected by the events of Sept. 11. Student Body President Korianne Tom felt it was fitting that Kaiser students do their part to aid in America's recovery.The student council accomplished this by integrating a coin drive into the annual spirit competition. The class achieving the highest donation received extra spirit points, while the Aloha United Way benefited from the proceeds.
This allowed students to express not only their school spirit, but also to fulfill their wish to be a part of the recovery effort.
The Homecoming Coin Drive was a huge success, bringing in a record $1,261.38.
Student generosity also fueled a successful food drive at Kaiser in which homerooms helped feed Hawaii's hungry. Over the course of the food drive, 1,993 items were collected.
"The number of people seeking help doubled this year, so we wanted to encourage everyone to give because someone we know may be in need," said Vallent Lee, student body recording secretary and committee co-chair.
Kaiser students have tried to rebuild the confidence and happiness of the community. Students have visited local retirement and care homes to improve the quality of life of one of the most important segments of society, the elderly. Various Kaiser clubs, including the Spanish Club, the Interact Club and the Sci-Serve Club are frequent visitors to the Hawaii Kai Retirement Home and the Lunalilo Care Home.
During these visits, students talk to senior citizens to get to know them better, then begin an activity specially planned for the day. The Spanish Club brings supplies for various Hispanic craft projects and sings Spanish songs in an integration of culture and service, while the Interact Club buys small gifts for care home residents.
Many Kaiser service activities have been geared toward encouraging awareness and responsibility of not only our generation, but also of future generations in preventing another tragedy.
The Sci-Serve Club felt that before students could contribute to society, they must protect themselves and realize their responsibility in the war against AIDS. During AIDS Awareness Week at Kaiser, the group distributed red ribbons, candy canes and informative bookmarks.
During spring break this week, senior Joanne Huang has organized a project involving all club officers to clean and refurbish all the teachers' lounges at Kaiser. Students wanted to show their gratitude for the time and effort the teachers invest in their jobs.
Club officers hope this will help ensure that Kaiser High School continues to have quality teachers who help to raise responsible adults.
Vice Principal Tony Gayer said: "I think it will be really nice for the teachers to see that the students that they interact with are so appreciative of their efforts that they take part of their vacation time to give back to the teachers. It is a positive reflection of the type of students and the type of teachers we have here at Kaiser."
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Seventy-one leadership students from Kamiloiki, Koko Head and Hahaione elementary schools became little brothers and sisters to selected Kaiser High School students at the Kaiser Complex Leadership Program, held at Kaiser last October. Kaiser schools partner
for leadership eventBy Thomas Takara and Eva Constantaras
Kaiser High SchoolThe program was designed to allow Kaiser Complex elementary school student leaders to interact with one another, learn leadership skills and build memories under the guidance of high school mentors.
"Kaiser Complex students should all be able to meet and learn from one another, to have fun, and to build leadership skills and memories regardless of their age or school," said Student Body Vice President and KCLP Chairperson Leina Ribao.
The idea for this interactive event was conceived by Hahaione Student Activities Coordinator Susan Kusunoki and was shared with other Kaiser Complex schools.
Kaiser SAC Rinda Fernandes and Ribao organized the event. Kaiser students with strong leadership skills were invited to act as older brothers and sisters to elementary school leaders. Although they had to sacrifice much of their school day for the children, Kaiser students were eager to take on the challenge. Enthusiastic older-sister-to-be Cara Ann Fletcher, a Kaiser senior, proposed having pictures taken of every sibling couple as a memento.
On Oct. 30, program participants listened to Rep. Bertha Leong, engaged in a leadership activity with percussionist and leadership advocate Michael Wall and created a leadership-planning activity.
Kaiser mentors met their younger siblings, took pictures with them and walked together to the library.
Following a short icebreaker, Leong talked about the importance of leadership. With students' creative energies flowing, Wall began to beat his drums and stomp his feet.
His innovative approach to teaching children leadership skills through music enticed the younger crowd and the older audience. Children and teachers soon began to create music with special sticks, "boomwhackers," under Wall's direction.
"The idea is that leadership skills, like music skills, involve everyone listening," Wall said. "I have been teaching leadership skills for 20 years and percussion for 10 years, and I have found that children learn best through interactive activities. If there is any message I would want to get across with my activities, it is to give attention to where you're at."
Remembering Wall's lesson, students worked cooperatively to design food drives for their schools. The young leaders faced problems in designing quality food drives, but each group successfully developed a plan for a food drive and shared ideas with the other groups. Each presenter learned to project, remain poised and express personality; the audience learned to remain attentive, be appreciative and applaud.
After lunch, participants went to the library to reflect upon the day's events. At this time, both mentor and sibling received the picture taken of them in the morning as a keepsake. The day had ended, but the memories that the mentors and the younger students built together will last forever.
"I thought the event went very well," Ribao said. "I couldn't have done it without the assistance of Student Body President Korianne Tom and the unwavering support and supervision of Fernandes. It was nice to see that at the end of the day, not only the little kids, but also the big kids benefited and gained something. I am proud to see so many chaperones complimenting the Kaiser students, and I am also happy that the Kaiser students were so positive and enthusiastic."
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Each week, Hawaii's teenage reporters and photographers tell us about their high school. This week's school is Kaiser High School. ABOUT THIS PAGE
Newspaper: The Cougar Connection
Editors: Eva Constantaras and Michelle Wang
Faculty adviser: Pam Ellis
Next week: Mid-Pacific Institute
KAISER FACTS
Address: 511 Lunalilo Home Road, Honolulu, HI 96825
Phone: 394-2546
Principal: Gayle Sugita
Vice principals: Anthony Gayer and Susan Okano
Colors: Blue and gold
Mascot: Cougar
Founded: 1971
Students: 1,070
Teachers: 63
School vision: To provide students the finest education possible, to prepare them to be lifelong learners in a multi-cultural society.
NOTABLE ALUMNI
>> Maile Hale (Sept. 11 victim)
>> Akebono (retired sumotori)
>> Leslie Hayashi (sitting judge)
>> Peter Kim (entrepreneur and franchise owner of Yummy's, KFC, Cafe Honolulu and Mama's Spaghetti House)
>> Sid Fernandez (former New York Mets baseball player)
>> Stacy Loe (Channel 9 news anchorwoman)BACK TO TOP
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YOU ASKED
What kind of community service do you do and why?
"I volunteer at Waikiki Health Centers because I like to help my mother with her job when she takes care of the homeless."Nick Sterling
Freshman"I'm volunteering to expand my exploration in a medical career and to give me the experience I need to better my chance of becoming a doctor. As I volunteer, I observe the clinical atmosphere and the skills involved in becoming a great doctor."
Jason Azus
Sophomore"I lived near the beach, so I did regular beach clean-ups and volun- teered hours at my public library to read to children and help manage the library. I feel that it was a good experience for me to contribute to my community."
Christina Berry
Sophomore"I volunteer at Sea Life Park because it'll look good when I go to college and because it'll give me the experience in what I want to do."
Kaile Russell
Junior"I want to teach children morals so that they can benefit others more and more exponentially."
James Cotellesse
Senior"When I do community service, most of the time I'm doing it on behalf of the Boy Scouts of America Troop 130. It makes me feel good to give back to the community and in return see the participation and the appreciation of the people whom we are helping."
Nathan Knudsen
Senior
Kaiser High School
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