Kalakaua
names its best

Seven at the school make the
National Junior Honor Society

JoAnn Gumtang didn't realize how much it meant to be one of the first National Junior Honor Society members at Kalakaua Middle School.

Now she does -- some 19 years later.

It started the ball rolling toward success, not only professionally, but in the form of "all the little things we do in life," said Gumtang, now known as JoAnn Mastin, a Farrington High School teacher.

Mastin, who was among the first inductees into the honor society in 1986, will return to the special ceremony tonight.

Mastin teaches language and news writing and is adviser to the award-winning school newspaper, the Governor. The past four years, the Governor has been named as the top high school paper in Hawaii.

Mastin said she is impressed with the dedication of the school's counselors, teachers and administration, that "they cared enough to create the NJHS, (saying) we need something like this at Kalakaua. ... The adults would not let down, not back off. They wanted to make sure the kids in Kalihi got the recognition (they deserved)."

Of the 223 inducted into the honor society, about 50 former members were expected to attend the 6:30 p.m. ceremony in the library, according to counselor Randall Ng. He is one of the counselors who started the honor society and is still at the school.

Ng said strict standards for membership have always been required at Kalakaua to prepare the students' transition into high school. For instance, of the 359 seventh-graders at Kalakaua this year, only three were inducted: Jeffrey Mariano, Demiliza Saramosing and Timothy Vigilla Jr. Of the 405 students in the eighth grade, only four were accepted: Erica Lei, Penelope Resulta, Kevin Shin and Kristen Simon.

In reviewing each student's qualifications, the student's teachers are asked for an evaluation of the student's academic strengths and other qualities.

"If there are any negative comments, a student is automatically eliminated," Ng said.

Mastin said that some 20 years ago, Kalakaua had a tough reputation because of its location in a low-income district.

Watching the new inductees at a rehearsal earlier this week, Mastin said, "These kids have the pressure of maintaining some of the dignity that needs to come to Kalihi."

"Watching them rehearse, (I saw) how seriously they took the ceremony," Mastin said. They have become models for each other, as well as leaders for the rest of the school, as far as "setting standards up high in terms of what to expect in the future.

"I was ready to cry," she said. "I think about how innocent they are" and "the belief that these adults have in them. It's nice to see them invest so much of their sweat and their tears. For them, it's very important."