Punahou School is one of 33 schools named a 2009-2010 Apple Distinguished School, a designation that recognizes schools throughout the nation that use Apple wireless technology. For the last three summers, Punahou has hosted a technology lab, bringing together Apple consultants with faculty from public and private schools.

For the fifth consecutive year, two 'Iolani School teams have won the 2009 Island Insurance Companies Economics Challenge, hosted by the Hawaii Council on Economic Education. The event was attended by 177 students from private and public high schools.

Winners in the David Ricardo division were Bobby Huang, Matthew Lum, Mark Grozen Smith, Tyler Tokunaga and Andrew Wu. The winners of the Adam Smith division were Rayfe Gaspar Asaoka, Melody Lindsay, David Martorana, Uyanga Tsedev and Thanh Vu. They will represent Hawaii in the Western Regional Competition in Los Angeles.