Hawaii's Schools
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Students shine On MARCH 15, Lutheran High School held its annual Quiz Bowl and Talent Show. The Quiz Bowl preliminaries were held during the last periods of the school day, and the finals took place later that night.
at annual shows
Seniors come out on top at the
Quiz Bowl and Talent ShowLutheran High feels the 'Spirit' before break
Satisfied with a tight-knit community
ABOUT THIS PAGE
YOU ASKEDBy Chantel Luzon
Lutheran High SchoolRepresenting the freshman class were Carrie Bruner, Michael Endo, Brent Morita and Lucas Tanigawa. The sophomores gave it their all with Sean Chung, Ian Grimes, Philip Kim and Jeremy Young.
The juniors designated Mike Bruner, Jenna Ono, Christina Toyama and Chris Wittig as their representatives, and the seniors chose Brianne Chung, Claudia Lau, Justin Lee and Wes Kawachi in an attempt to lead their class to victory.
The two classes who came up on top for the preliminary contest were the seniors and juniors.
"Participating in the Quiz Bowl was very fun, but the questions were really hard being that I am a freshman," Bruner said. "When you are not on stage, the questions are easier to answer because there is no pressure."
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Chung said, "I found it very exciting, yet there were many questionable calls.""I think the button on the sophomore side was broken," Young added.
During the finals, the seniors replaced Chung with Kory Takekawa because Chung had another obligation. As the contest proceeded, the juniors alarmed the senior team by moving into the lead. But the juniors did not beat the buzzer, and the senior team won.
"The Quiz Bowl was really cool because at the end when we were winning, you could tell the seniors were scared," Bruner said.
"The preliminaries boosted our confidence in our team, but before the finals our legs were still shaking and we were very nervous," Kawachi said.
After a short intermission, the talent show got under way. The winner of the talent show would receive a chance to be in the StarQuest competition, and whoever won the StarQuest competition could get a recording contract.
The first act was "Who's on First," the classic Laurel and Hardy comedy routine, performed by Kawachi and junior Sean Corpuz.
"I always liked the 'Who's on First' routine, and I always wanted to do it because it sounded like fun," Corpuz said.
Kawachi added: "'Who's on First' is a classic. It's funny and it's clean. I did the same routine (in my) freshman year with Evan Knight, and that was a lot of fun, so I decided to do it again."
Next up was senior Zack Nakama as he jammed to "Stars and Stripes Forever" on his ukulele.
"I thought my performance was pretty good, and I was praying that my arm wouldn't go out by the end of the performance," Nakama said.
The third act was junior Amanda Frazier, who sang and played the guitar to an original piece. Before Frazier's performance, a bunch of her friends ran across the front of the auditorium with signs that said "Superstar."
"I had a lot of fun doing it, and having my friends cheer for me was cool," Frazier said. "Doing the whole superstar thing before I performed was superfunny."
Other performances included:
>> Senior Joanna Lee danced the hula to the song "He Nani Mokihana" by the Makaha Sons.
>> Senior Laura Moa sang Alicia Keyes' song "Loving You."
>> Sophomores Kelsie Bowden and Kristen Tanaka performed a skit called "Unwanted Hostage."
>> Moa and senior Peter Lee did a duet of "Come as You Are" by Jaci Velasquez and Louis Fonsie.
>> Seniors Ross Akiyama, Ikaika Sheldon and Zack Nakama, accompanied by sophomore Chris Arthur on the piano, did a bodysurfing improv.
>> Freshman Carrie Bruner sang "Memory."
>> Chris Arthur played a solo piece on the piano.While the judges tallied the scores, Director of Student Activities William Schriefer did his version of fire-stick throwing.
"It was really hot up there, and as a result I slipped a couple of times," Schriefer said. "But I had fun doing it."
Moa won first place, with second place going to Arthur.
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After all the studying, hard work and stress from school, students looked forward to spring break. But before students could relax, sleep late and have fun all day, there was an opportunity to enjoy Spring Spirit Week. Lutheran High feels the
‘Spirit’ before breakBy Justin Lau and Peter Lee
Lutheran High SchoolThe week, which took place from March 4 to 8, was set aside to promote school spirit and encourage students to take part in different activities.
"Spirit Week was really fun," said junior Mike Bruner. "It lived up to my expectations. The week was a break from our normal school days. It promoted competition because each class was trying to get the most points."
Throughout the week, Student Congress organized a variety of themes and events. On Monday, March 4, Spirit Week got under way with Hair Day.
Freshman Abby Cordeiro said: "I liked Hair Day. It was entertaining to see my classmates with a different hairstyle."
Everyone was encouraged to wear their "dorky" clothes for Nerd Day and participate in the Guessing Game.
"Nerd Day was really interesting because I got to see all my friends dressed up as dorks," commented Kalei Akaka, a sophomore.
Wednesday was Cultural Day/Blue & White Day and the Beach Clothes Relay. Black & White Day followed on Thursday, along with Pin the Tail on the Donkey.
Classes were not held on Friday. Instead, the student body went to Hickam Beach for Beach Day, or Activity Day. Everyone displayed their class shirts and enjoyed the day's events.
Sophomore Matt Rapoza said: "I liked Beach Day because we didn't have to go to school and had time to spend with our classes. Activity Day promoted class unity and competition between classes because it brought our class together. ... I had a fun time."
Junior Lynn Okuda said, "Activity Day is fun because we get to watch activities and get out of school early ... (although) only tall people should participate in the limbo because it would be more entertaining."
Allison Takeuchi, a senior, summed up the week by saying: "Spirit Week was really fun because the seniors finally won. I guess it's because people were more determined to participate since it was our last one.
"I had a lot of fun, especially on Beach Day because I got out of classes. What makes it really special is that the seniors get a party for winning Spirit Week."
Sophomore Christy Tomlinson said: "I had fun during Spirit Week because it's better than school. The new themes made it more exciting. Spirit Week promoted both class unity and competition between classes."
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Tucked away at the entrance to Manoa Valley, at the corner of University and Wilder avenues, lies Lutheran High School of Hawaii. Lutheran keeps kids satisfied
with a tight-knit communityBy Mike Bruner
Lutheran High SchoolLutheran graduated its first senior class of 15 students in 1975. The school, which is owned by Messiah, Our Redeemer, Our Savior and St. Mark Lutheran churches, is one of the 2,300-strong system of Lutheran schools in America.
Lutheran High School focuses on the Four A's. Senior Brianne Chung explained: "The Four A's are made up of academics, which includes the fact that we are a college prep school and we have a small (12-to-1) student-to-teacher ratio; activities, because we have many clubs, Student Congress activities -- which include dances, field days, talent shows, etc. -- band, choir, yearbook and our school newspaper; athletics, because students here have the opportunity to play Lutheran and Pac-Five sports; and finally atmosphere, because of our excellent student-teacher relationships and that Lutheran is a tight-knit community of students."
The students at Lutheran enjoy their school for its strengths in many areas.
"It's comfortable," said freshman John Takeuchi. "People here are pretty nice. The upperclassmen are friends with the freshmen. I like it here."
Sophomore Jodi Torikawa said: "I like Lutheran because the athletic program is good. It's fun. The Japanese language program and the Japanese club are great, too."
"For those looking for a close-knit school where the faculty knows every student's name, I would highly recommend it," senior Wes Kawachi said.
Faculty at Lutheran feel privileged to teach at a school where the entire graduating class consistently goes on to college.
"The biggest asset of this school is the faculty," Principal Arthur Gundell said. "The faculty averages 18 years of teaching at this school and is truly dedicated to Christian education."
First-year teacher Angela Vasquez said: "The one thing that impressed me the most when I first came here was the community, especially the staff. They always came to me to offer help; I didn't have to go ask them. I really like that I get a chance to teach every student in the entire school here, too."
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Each week, Hawaii's teenage reporters and photographers tell us about their high school. This week's school is Lutheran High School. ABOUT THIS PAGE
Newspaper: Lion Print
Editor: Travis Watanabe
Next week: Konawaena High
Lutheran facts
Address: 1404 University Ave., Honolulu, HI 96822
Phone number: 949-5302
Date founded: 1970
Mission statement: "Educating for life, promoting the faith"
Principal: Arthur Gundell
Students: 144 (91 male, 53 female)
Faculty and staff: 18
Average class size: 18
Mascot: Lion
School colors: Navy blue and whiteBACK TO TOP
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Wes Kawachi YOU ASKED
Do you think there is any hope of winning the war on terror, and what classifies winning?
Senior
"As long as Satan is around, no, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't continue to fight evil."Jenny Smith
Senior
"I think there is hope of gaining some ground, but terrorism will never be completely abolished. Achieving your full potential in any given situation is winning."Barbara Dirscherl
Senior
"There is a chance of winning, but it's just how you define winning because America has strong weapons. So they can suppress everyone else by force, but the question is, is that a good thing?"Carrie Bruner
Freshman
"Yes, when we can all live without fear of terrorists."Chris Wittig
Junior
"I don't think there is any hope, actually, because there are always going to be terrorist groups no matter what we do or who we kill. So there is no true chance of winning."Amani Evensen
Sophomore
"The purpose of terrorism is to cause terror. Whether we can eliminate terror in hearts or minds of people is questionable, but certainly that's the goal."Carl Fosnaugh
Junior
"Terrorism will never truly end until the final battle between Christ and Satan ends."Lynn Okuda
Junior
"No, because everyone is going to strongly dislike each other. But maybe if we share our natural resources with them, they will like us better."Kira Watanabe
Junior
"You shouldn't always be concentrating on winning all the time, but you should always have hope."Bryden Tsukano
Senior
"Of course not. You might be able to get them now, but there will always be other generations of evil."William Shimomura
Sophomore
"Yes, I'm sure there is hope of winning. We can do that by getting all those against us, but there will still be more in the end."Jonah Heller
Freshman
"Yeah, but I think it would be something that the whole population would have to get to, like recognizing terrorist activity."
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