The Case Middle School - Punahou School

Volume 5Issue 6The Case Middle SchoolCourierMay/June2009Produced by the Students of Punahou School, 1601 Punahou Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822A Merry-Go-Roundof Changes for theNext School YearAbove, Mr. White, the new Gatesscience guy. At right, clockwisefrom top, one set of merry-gorounders:Mr. Woody, Mrs. Umeda,Mr. Agena, & Mr. Koshiba.Photos courtesy of Sterling’s PhotoBy Claire FeeleyNext year there will be a lotof changes in Case MiddleSchool.First off, Mr. Terry Woodywho is a longtime supervisorcurrently for theclass of 2013 (8thgrade) will be steppingdown fromthe position topursue his previouscareeras an Englishteacher.Creatinga spot for Mr.Woody to teachin 8th grade will beMrs. Jona Umeda.Mrs. Umeda hasexpressed an interest inteaching 6th grade andcurrently teaches 8th gradeEnglish for Team 8Y.As for 6th grade English, Mr.Casey Agena will be moving upfrom Ka Honua O Weinberg to theposition of Director of SummerSchool, taking Mr. Jon Koshiba’splace.Meanwhile, Mr. Koshiba will bemoving sideways to become thenew 6th grade supervisor, replacingMr. Woody.Another switch is occurring in7th grade, this time in the departmentof science.After many years of workingfor Punahou, Mr. RobinOtagaki, the Junior Schoolrepresentative for theGates Science Center,will be retiring thisyear. (See relatedstory on page4.)Mr. DaveWhite, 7Y’sscienceteacher, willbe returning tohis former positionas Junior Schoolrepresentative for thescience center, takingMr. O’s place.And let’s not forget aboutMath. Next year a similar kindof change will be made concerningthe math teachers of 8th grade.The purpose of all of thesemath changes are to try to provide“seamless transitions betweenthe Junior School and theAcademy,” according to Dr. ToddChow-Hoy.This is part of the Math Depart-…continued on page 2Security Alert!Security Alert!L. to r.: Mr. Billy Luat, Mr. TimLucas.Photo of Mr. Luat by CMS staff;photo of Mr. Lucas courtesy of Sterling’s PhotoBy Lauren Tamura & Joylen NakagawaThe CMS Courier interviewedMr. William “Billy” Luat, theSecurity Director at Punahou.He runs a staff of twelve peoplewho deal with parking and campussafety.There were some recent eventsthat have concerned staff andfaculty.The first event was on Friday,April 17th, when an Academystudent was confronted in the MamiyaScience Center by a studentfrom Roosevelt High School.He was punched in an attemptto steal his phone but he was notseriously injured.The second event was onMonday, April 20th, when threemen described as in their twentieswere caught and arrested in Alexander,trying to steal backpacks.The third event was on Tuesday,April 21st, when a homelessman was found wandering in thescience building.He had no ill intent, and he wasescorted willingly off the campusby the security.Some suggestions that Mr. Luathas for us are to be watchful andaware.If you see anyone who looksout of place, notify the staff andfaculty immediately.Be mindful that just becauseyou don’t recognize them, doesn’tmean that they are suspicious.The people they want caughtare the strangers that are doingunusual activities.Please report suspicious activityto Punahou security at 944-5777.We also interviewed Mr. Tim Lucas,7th Grade Supervisor. He hadsome suggestions on what kidscan do to continue to keep theirbelongings and each other safe.• As a reminder, never leaveyour backpack unattended.• If you have to leave it somewhere,keep it in your lockedlocker, a classroom with yourteacher’s permission, or in Mr.Lucas’ office.• He wants to remind you toalso watch out for each other,and label your things.• If you find other people’sbelongings, please take it toMr. Lucas, so that it may bereturned to the owner.Mr. Lucas would like to thankyou for taking care of each other,and following the guidelines.He is happy to say that nolaptops have been stolen yet, andwe have been pretty responsible.

May/June 2009 The CMS CourierPage 2Beach CleanUp T-Shirts!By Ariel McKenzieB.E.A.C.H. (Beach EnvironmentalAwareness CampaignHawai‘i) is an organization thathelps clean our beautiful Hawai‘ibeaches.Ms. Kori Hipperson is the socialstudies teacher in Team 8Y. Shehelped organize the project thatoffered the B.E.A.C.H. shirts forsale.The Courier recently interviewedher about the project:1. How did you come aboutdesigning the beach clean up shirt,and why did you want to?“The shirts were designed bymy ‘Mo’ class. I’m the social studiesteacher for Team 8Y, and Inamed my classes ‘Eeny, Meeny,Miney and Mo.’ For their ProjectCitizen project, they decided toaddress cigarette litter on O‘ahu’sbeaches. The Action Plan groupdecided to create and sell T-shirtsto both raise awareness of theproblem and to raise money togive to civic organizations thatwork to organize beach cleanups.”2. Were there different sizes, orwas it all one size?“XS through XL sizes were available.”3. Did you participate in cleaningup the beach?“The class, in whole, did notparticipate—however, at theSustainability Fair they helped toinform people of beach cleanupsand gathered email addresses forlistservs to support the AcademyEnvironmental Surf Club, BEACHand Kai Makana.”4. Have you designed T-shirtsbefore this?“No.”5. Who got the beach clean upshirts?“I ordered them from CertifiedHawaiian Designs and will pickthem up tomorrow or Wednesday!If you’re asking who boughtthem—Punahou students from allgrades, coaches, faculty, staff,beach volleyball friends...communitymembers who care about ourbeaches.”6. How many shirts did youhave to make?“We were surprised by the numberof orders, and unfortunatelythis has caused a delay in gettingthe shirts to people who orderedthem (THANK YOU FOR YOURPATIENCE!!) but the response wasgreat! We have to print over 200.”7. Was it hard to do this or didyou enjoy it?“The Project Citizen project,in general, is challenging—bothto the students and for me tohelp coordinate. However, it isextremely rewarding becausethe learning experiences happenlargely out of the classroom andrequire all students to contributeand work together.”4Staffing Changes…continued from page 1Counter-clockwise from top, thesecond set of merry-go-rounders:Mr. Young-Kingsbury, Mrs. Bender,Ms. Hong, & Dr. Chow-Hoy.Photos courtesy of Sterling’s Photo & CMS Staffment Teacher Exchange Program.It lets one teacher in each divisionto spend about a year teachingthe other’s courses and learningabout the other teacher’sday-to-day experience.The changes next yearinclude:• Mr. Lee•Young-Kingsburywill moveto theAcademytoteachAlgebraI andGeometry.AndreaBender, whois a teacher inthe Academy, willbe joining us in Caseto teach 8th grade forTeam 8X.• Due to the switch and helpingto maintain a genderbalance between the teachers,Dr. Todd Chow-Hoy willbe moving from Team 8Zto Team 8Y, becomingthe new team leaderthere.• Ms. Jen Hong willbe filling theempty spacein Team 8Zand takingover as teamleader on hernew team.During thisswitch Dr. Chow-Hoy and Will Bestwill be “managingthe experience from theoutside” by meeting withteachers and asking them toreflect on their experiences.

May/June 2009 The CMS CourierPage 3Mathcounts atDisneyworldAbove, from l. to r., Dr. Chow-Hoy,Justin West (Highlands Intermediate),Stephen Mau (MililaniMiddle), Zheng Ma, & Emile Oshimain front of Mickey’s Sorcerer’s ApprenticeHat at Disney’s HollywoodStudios Theme Park in Orlando,Florida.Below, the cool desserts that wereserved at the awards dinner, somein the shape of math tools.Photos courtesy of Dr. Chow-HoyBy Sean RodanThe 2009 Raytheon MathcountsNational Competition tookplace at the Disneyworld Resort atOrlando, Florida on May 8th. TwoPunahou 8th graders, ZhengyuanMa and Emile Oshima, took part inthis special event.Mathcounts is aprogram with the missionof promoting mathexcellence amongmiddle school studentsthroughout the nation,held annually during thespring.The adventure to thenational competitionwas a long winding roadfor the two.Students from the7th and 8th grade camein to take several testsduring Math Club earlierin the year. Based onthe scores, an eightmemberteam was selected,consisting of four7th graders and four 8thgraders.With the team chosen, Punahoucompeted in the chapter level inFebruary, where over 220 studentsfrom thirty schools on O‘ahu tookpart in the challenge. The teamcame in 2nd place, trailing only to‘Iolani.The top seven school teamsfrom the O‘ahu Chapter competitionand three teams from theouter islands made the state level,held in March. Punahou’s teamconsisted of four members, all ofwhich were eighth graders. Thefour highest individual scorers outof the teams would qualify for theHawai‘i team, which would representthe state at the national level.Emile placed first and Zhengyuanplaced second as individuals,so both made the Hawai‘i team.Stephen Mau from Mililani andJustin West from Highlands werethe two other members that madethe team.The coach of the winning teamat the state level got to train theHawai‘i team. Since the Punahouteam captured first place, Punahou8th grade math teacher Dr. ToddChow-Hoy got to train the team.This would be the first time that hewent to the National Competitionas the state coach.The team came together almostevery weekend for four hoursstarting in early April to preparefor the National Competition. Inaddition, they were given hours oftest work from previous years topractice on throughout the weeks.The Hawai‘i team departed forthe math marathon on the night ofTuesday, May 5. The costs for eachmember and coach was about$2,000, which included airfare,hotel, meals, and even the themepark entrance fees. This was allpaid for by Mathcounts.They had a brief stopover inDenver, Colorado. The team landedin Orlando and checked in at DisneyworldResorts by Wednesdayevening. All of the Mathcountscompetitors were lodged at TheSwan, which also was where thecompetition would be held. Theteam then went to DowntownDisney to get gifts and spent theirfirst night there.On Thursday, the team spentmost of their day at Animal Kingdom.They went on rides such asthe Expedition Everest.After breakfast the next day,227 mathletes from 50 states and7 territories entered the competitionroom. Each state teamperformed their own “cheer” foreveryone else. The competitioncommenced at around 8:30 andlasted throughout the morning.The written portion consisted ofthree tests, beginning with a speedround known as a “Sprint”, thenan accuracy round known as a“Target”. Both of these were doneindividually. During the “Team”round, the members of each teamgot to collaborate.After testing was finished andlunch was served, the Countdownround was held. During this round,the twelve highest individual scorersout of the whole pool of competitorswere chosen and battledone-on-one for the title of MathcountsNational Champion. Theyanswered questions similarly tohow Jeopardy is conducted, exceptwith math problems instead oftrivia. Bobby Shen, from the Texasteam, won the title.None of the Hawai’i team madeit to this final round. Zhengyuanplaced 17th, holding the new recordfor the highest standing fromHawai’i. Emile placed 99th. TheHawai’i team as a whole placed25th, one place higher than lastyear’s results.The competition was officiallyover, but the trip wasn’t yet. Theteam spent the daylight they hadleft at Magic Kingdom and went toEpcot at night.On Saturday, they went toHollywood Studios to go on morerides and motion simulators. Theteam then went to Epcot to attendthe Awards Banquet. The topscorers were recognized for theirachievements, and the teams hadthe chance to exchange their finalfarewells and gifts.The Hawai’i team departed fromOrlando on Sunday morning andreturned to Hawai‘i by the afternoon.According to Zhengyuan, thewhole experience with Mathcounts“piqued my interest in competitionmath“ and “improved my mathskills overall.”Doc summed up his experience:“This has been an outstandingyear...all the hours of training—both formally and informally—paidoff. Everyone who competed at thechapter, state, and national levelsrepresented Punahou well, andshould be proud of their accomplishments.I would like to thankthe 8th graders who made this anenjoyable experience for me, andwish them continued success inthe Academy. And, I hope the 7thgraders will participate again onnext year’s team!”

May/June 2009 The CMS CourierPage 550th HawaiianStatehood DayBy Joseph VergheseThe State of Hawai‘i is turning50 soon! President Dwight D.Eisenhower signed Hawai‘i in as astate on August 21, 1959.I’m going to tell you some historyabout Hawai‘i. For this article,I interviewed the Chair of StatehoodCommissions, Mr. Kippen deAlba Chu (Mr. Kip), through thephone for some informationand thoughts on StatehoodDay.Before you learnabout Statehood Day,you need to knowthe events thatcame before it.The first Americanmissionaries cameto Hawai‘i in 1820and succeeded inconverting mostof the NativeHawaiian populationinto Christians.Sugar cane planterssoon came to Hawai‘iin the mid-1800s andsoon became powerfuland popular. When QueenLili‘uokalani tried to restorepower back to the Hawaiianmonarchy, that eventually led toher overthrow in 1893. The NativeHawaiians didn’t look too happilyon this overthrow.Mr. Kip said, “For the NativeHawaiians, there was a sense ofloss... Lots of Hawaiians felt thattheir government had been takenfrom them, and basically, theirindependence.”In 1898, Hawai‘i became a U.Sterritory after the bill was passedby Congress for it to be annexedby the United States.The sugar cane industry and itspower grew once Hawai‘i becamea U.S territory. The sugar caneindustry used cheap labor to buildup their power. The descendentsof the laborers said that theywere U.S citizens since they wereborn in U.S territory and that theyshould vote. Wanting full votingrights, they campaigned forHawai‘i’s statehood.The first plebiscite (a plebisciteis basically a vote by people tochange a law) was in 1940 to seeif the population favored statehood.Mr. Kip said 46,174 peoplesaid Yes to statehood and that22,426 people said No. World WarII stopped any law for statehoodbecause there were many Japanesepeople in Hawai‘i. After theattack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S becamesuspicious of the Japanese inHawai‘i. Americans questioned the“Americaness” of Hawai‘i. But theloyalty and the bravery of JapaneseAmerican soldiers in WorldWar II, like the 442nd CombatTeam, soon put aside this issue.In 1959, the statehood issuewas brought up again in Congress.Congress and then PresidentEisenhower signed the HawaiianStatehood Bill in March 1959. Theonly thing left to make Hawai‘i astate was another plebiscite to seeif the people of Hawai‘i wanted tobecome a state. It was held onJune 27, 1959. Of those voting,94.3% said Yes to statehood andonly 5.7% of them said No. Theonly island that voted overwhelminglyagainst statehood was Ni‘ihausince the population was mostlyNative Hawaiian. Hawai‘i became astate on August 21, 1959.“It’s a greatopportunity forpeople to reflect onthe benefits that wehave being a state.”.—Mr. Kippen de Alba ChuThere are not too many eventsplanned for this upcoming StatehoodDay, but according to Mr. Kip,they will have a Statehood Conferenceat the Hawaiian ConventionCenter. They will have differentspeakers talking about differentmatters. One of the plannedspeakers is Sam Donaldson fromABC news.There will be smaller discussionson renewable energy, innovation,labor unions, the future of media(issue on newspapers being replacedby online news), and tourism.Mr. Kip says that the discussionon military partnerships is keybecause Hawai‘i is headquarters tomany military organizations, likethe US Pacific Command (the largestof all US military areas in theworld).Mr. Kip said he sent PresidentObama an invitation to attend butso far there is no reply. But retiredGeneral Eric Shinseki, who is fromKaua‘i, is attending.Mr. Kip’s thoughts on statehood?“It’s a great opportunity for peopleto reflect on the benefits that wehave being a state.”He tells the problems facingU.S. territories like Puerto Rico andAmerican Samoa. The two territoriescan’t vote in Congress orfor President and they can’t takeadvantage of federal programs.Puerto Rico has some problemswith a divide between the rich andthe poor people. When the U.Sgovernment wanted to raise theminimum wage of workers at atuna packing facility in AmericanSamoa is going to close with about2,000 people out of work.Statehood Day is a time to reflecton the fortune of being a state. NativeHawaiians would argue this, butsince we became a state, we havehad many opportunities offeredto us. Hawai‘i is looked upon as atropical paradise from all around theworld and our islands are one of themost beautiful places on earth.

May/June 2009 The CMS CourierPage 6What in the World Isthe H1N1 Influenza A?By Alayna Kobayashiarents and students are“Pshocked. They did notexpect the swine flu to hit theircampus,” said Leland Kim duringthe 6:00 evening news on May 21.The swine flu has hit WaiauElementary School, which is apublic school in Pearl City.This school has three adultsand four children with confirmedcases of H1N1 Influenza A. Thereare currently 58 confirmed casesof the H1N1 virus.Is the Swine Flu spreading?The first case of the H1N1 virusstarted from a five-year-old boyin Mexico named Edgar Hernandezwho got in early March. Edgarlives in La Gloria, Mexico. La Gloriais a small, dusty town that’snext to a large industrial pig farm.But Miguel Angel Lezana, thedirector of the National Center forDisease Control, says, “It is veryunlikely that the virus made themutation in La Gloria.”Lenzana says that the flu wascarried by travelers from Asia tothe U.S. and that migrant Mexicansfrom the U.S. could havetaken the virus with them toMexico.In April, the H1N1 virus cameto America. Mitchell Wiener, aNew York schoolteacher, died onMay 18 from this virus. Accordingto the CDC, there have been 15deaths in the U.S. as of May 29.On May 5th, the first case ofH1N1 influenza A came to Hawai‘i.On may 20th there were 40 casesof the flu but had suddenly grownto 73 cases by May 29. The Swineflu epidemic is covering the globewith a total of 13,398 cases in theworld with 48 countries with H1N1cases and 95 deaths.There are 137 cases in theUnited Kingdom, 4,541 cases inMexico and 360 cases in Japancausing the country to close down4,000 of their schools.What is Punahou doing about thisepidemic?You might have seen the handsanitizing stations that have beenset up around school but is thatenough to stop the swine flu?Nurse Wilhite says that therehave not been any cases inPunahou but everyone shouldwash their hands and be updatedabout the H1N1 situation.Nurse Wilhite also says thatthe Department of Health originallyplanned to make the schoolsclose down if they had one caseof the H1N1 virus but they hadrecently announced that if a childat Punahou does get the H1N1 virus,they have to report the caseto the Department of Health andinform Punahou parents but theschool won’t close down.If someone came to the HealthCenter with a sickness that mightbe suspected as the swine flu,then the Health Center wouldisolate that patient and make surethat everyone in the building handsanitizes.By washing your hands, beingcareful and being aware of thecurrent cases of the swine flu inHawai‘i, we can all be safe fromthe H1N1 Influenza A.Sneezing and Howto Prevent theSpread of GermsBy Thomas PangHow many times did you everget sneezed on by somerandom bystander, or in class, orin an elevator? How many timeshave you sneezed on someone else?For every time that you sneeze onsomething or someone, youspread germs to them.Those germs thenspread to other people.Say you sneezed andyou were using a publicphone. Then, youwiped yourhandson yourclothesand pickedup thephoneagain.From thegerms onyour hand, you just spreadgerms to the phone. Then, whenyou leave the phone, someoneelse uses it. The germs on thephone spread to them and they dosomething else, like go on a train,or eat, or even go to a store’s door.From you to the phone to thenext person to use the phone, youjust started a germ cycle that mayget someone sick, or even hooksomeone up with a nasty virus.That’s how viruses spread. Theystay somewhere for 24 hours beforethe die. From those 24 hours, theyare touched countless times bysome innocent child or a parent whoalready has problems.You’re probably thinking, “Dude,that’s disgusting!” I know, right?However, dear reader, even you dothis!You have probably sneezed inyour hand, wiped it on your clothes,and shook someone’s hand. Youcan’t say, “I’ve never done it before,”because you probably havewhen you were just a little boy orgirl, too!Not even the tissues can help youstay alive! Even though you sneezein a tissue, you crumple it up andthrow it in the trash can! It’s closeto sneezing in your hand either way.However, it’s not time to thinkof the apocalypse so soon! Even ifgerms are impossible to get rid of,there is always a way. The perfectweapon has been with you all of thistime. It’s your sleeve!“Your SLEEVE?!?” you may yell.Of course! Your sleeve will absorbthe sneeze and stay there until youtake a bath.When it’s there, it won’t harmanyone unless someone just falls onyou or something of the sort.More importantly, always staysanitary. It’s not like you have to…continued on page 7

May/June 2009 The CMS CourierPage 7The National Frenchand Latin ExamsSean Rodan, class of 2013, with hisNational French Contest trophy.Photo courtesy of Madame ClayBy Gigi AbcarianAt 9 a.m. on Sat., Mar. 14,students from all over O‘ahupiled into classrooms at the Universityof Hawai‘i, nervously chattingwhile they waited to take theNational French Test.The National French Test consistsof 70 questions dividedinto writtenand listening comprehensionquestions.There aresix different levelsfor grades 7 - 12,each level withdifferent tests.This year 34,380students from all50 states competedin the Junior School level.Le Grand Concours, or the NationalFrench Contest, is written,given, and designed by the membersof the American Associationof Teachers of French.On their web site theystate that, “[The] purpose[of the National FrenchContest] is to help stimulatefurther interest in theteaching and learning ofFrench and to help identifyand reward achievement on thepart of both students and teachers.”Madame Clay, the Junior SchoolFrench teacher here at Punahou,leaves the National French Testoptional but encourages studentsto take it because, she says, “Inthe classroom, a student may beingdoing fine but it’s good to seethemselves compared to otherstudents nationally. The feeling ofjoy and satisfaction they get outof seeing themselves beginning toreally understand French is whatmakes my teaching experience sowonderful.”She believes that the reasonPunahou students excel in this contestis because, “Punahou studentsdon’t just learn inside of the classroom.They open their mind up tothings and start learning becausethey want to learn and not just forthe grade.”Among all the public and privateschools in the State of Hawai‘i,Punahou Junior School rankedfirst in terms of number of medalsreceived. Punahou also placedin the top 10th nationwide as well.Punahou students received a totalof 19 medals, 1 gold, 4 silver, and14 bronze.Sean Rodan, 8th grader, earned1st in the nation with a perfectscore. He said, “Studying for thistest really helped me learn allabout the French culture and theway they live. I also have found anew appreciation and understandingfor the French world and reallyenjoyed learning new things for thiscontest.”Not only did Punahou studentsfrom middle school participate inthe National French Contest, theyalso participated in the NationalLatin Exam. The National LatinExam is sponsored by the AmericanClassical League and the NationalJunior Classical League.According to the leagues,more than 149,000 Latinstudents from all fiftystates participated thisyear, as did students fromthirteen foreign countries,including Australia, Belgium,Canada, China, Italy,Japan, New Zealand, Poland,Switzerland, United Kingdomand Zimbabwe.The NLE is made up of 40 multiple-choicequestions. The questionsrange from grammar, comprehension,and derivatives to mythology,life, history, and questions basedon a short passage in Latin.Mrs. Power, one of the JuniorSchool Latin teachers, believesthat, “Students should take thistest because seeing where theystand in the nation pushes them tokeep doing well or to work harder.It is also great from the to getpractice taking a standardized test.”This year many Latin awardswere given to Punahou studentsin the Junior School. There were29 gold medal winners, 21 silvermedal winners, 4 third place winners,and 8 fourth place winners.Kisa Matlin, Matthew Buck, BradKawano, Chloe Nobuhara, andSonia Chang are the five studentsthat received perfect scores.4Achoo!…continued from page 6be a germaphobe (someone who isscared of getting dirty, like a lot ofpeople) and avoid germs in everypossible way known to mankind. Itjust means that you have to stay asclean as possible.That means washing your handevery now and then, or wearinglong sleeved shirts to cover yourmouth when you sneeze. That way,you can prolong the amount oftime it would take to get sick or tospread a germ.Also, when you sneeze on yourhand accidentally, it’s not that bad.All you have to do is carry aroundantiseptic spray, or hand wipes, orgo to a bathroom and WASH YOURHANDS! Many of the people in theworld do not wash their hands,causing the spread of germs to goeven farther. It would only takeanother good 20 seconds to go toa sink, turn the water on, get somesoap, and dry your hands.Nurse Wilhite from the HealthCenter says, “We can help eachother and help ourselves with goodhand washing and good personalhygiene.”She thinks that staying healthyand sleeping regularly is a greatway to keep ourselves immune, andto wash yourself after an activitylike P.E. or using something a lot ofother people use.Now that you know a little aboutkeeping clean, it’s your turn to sanitizethe world and to keep a healthyand green life,

May/June 2009 The CMS CourierPage 8What Was YourImpression of YourYear at Punahou?By Ally MullenThe end of the school year isless than a week away andabout a 1/4 of the 7th grade werenew kids this year.Punahou is rated one of thebest schools in the nation and tosee if the children coming in fromother schools agreed with thisstatement, I decided to interviewsome new kids at Punahou.Tamara OhtaQ: What did you think ofthe Punahou experience?A: It was a lot more handson and there’s a better wayof teaching than my oldschool.Q: Are you glad that youdecided to come to Punahou?A: Yes!Larry Tuileta (Tui)Q: How did you like Punahoucompared to your old school?A: It wasfun.Q: Didyou haveany problemswithPunahou?A: Ididn’t likethe lunches,but other than that therewere no problems.Bo Coolen:Q: What did you like aboutPunahou School?A: Uhh.. Dan!Nah, nah, just kidding.I liked BK!Ha ha, no, I liked the sports.Q: Ok. Whatsports did youparticipate in?A: Baseballand basketballClaireSteinemann:Q: Whatschool did youattend beforePunahou?A: Le Jardin!Q: How do you like Punahou asopposedto LeJardin?A: IthinkPunahouhas betteroptionsforkidsOliver Lewis:Q: How does Punahou compareto Hanahau’oli?A: Well, at Hanahau’oli I waswith the same kids for eightyears, and that was kind of brutal.As a newkid myself Iwas petrifiedaboutcoming toPunahou,but rightfrom thebeginning itstarted outstrong.With new friends and new experienceseveryone seems veryhappy with Punahou.Separate, but Equal:An 8th Grader’sPerspectiveViewpoint by Ryan AdachiSince we were in 6th grade,we have been separatedbased on our intellects, skills, andpreferences. Is this fair? Aren't allindividuals to be treated equally?In 6th grade, we were separatedinto our music classes. Wecould choose either choir, band,orchestra, or music explorations.They are all pretty equal, butthe students that are enrolledin “music ex” are treatedas the students who aren’tmusically talented andare slackers—not by theteachers, but they are beinglabeled by their peers.That makes the studentsin music explorationsfeel less important,and not equal.In 7th grade we wereseparated by “skill” and “talent”into our music classes.For band, we become separatedinto advanced band, intermediateband II, and intermediate band I.In orchestra, students are putinto different levels, as in band:advanced orchestra, intermediateII orchestra, and intermediate Iorchestra.The difference between 6th and7th grade choir is, instead of thereonly being one choir group, theyare separated into mixed choir andtreble choir.And lastly, there is music explorations.Not only are we separated byour music choices in 7th grade,but also by our musical “skill.’The 8th grade isn’t much differentfrom 7th grade, in terms ofmusical “talent”, but we are furtherseparated into two different mathclasses.Your teachers in 7th gradeeither recommend you for “regular”math or honors math, givingus either Algebra One or HonorsAlgebra in 8th grade. Honors is anaccelerated math course for thestudents who are “gifted” in math.Non-honors is for everyone else.If you think it is bad now ... justwait ’till high school and college—itonly gets worse.

May/June 2009 The CMS CourierPage 9May Day IsLei Dayin Hawai‘iBy Kaylee Wedderburn-Pugh& Tamara OhtaPunahou, a school that blendsthe old and thenew, has been continuingthe annualfestival of May Day,a celebration recognizedthroughoutHawai‘i.Each year,Punahou students,young and old,put on a Holokūpageant showingoff their decorativeHawaiian-patterneddresses and theHawaiian customsin honor of MayDay.Four different performancesmake up this May Day celebration,and are performed by grades K-2,3-5, 6-8 and 9-12.For grades K-5, performing inMay Day is mandatory. However,for grades 6 and up, participatingin May Day is voluntary.In each of the performances,there are princesses to representthe islands of Hawai‘i as well as aMay Day queen.Following Punahou’s yearly tradition,each princess must choosea Kāhili bearer who will also representthe same island as his princess.Both the Kāhili bearer andthe princess will wear the matchingroyal colors of their island.Being able to participate in MayDay is a great opportunity for eachof the students.It helps them to be able to learnmore about their culture throughsinging and dancing. They are alsohelping to revive the diminishingHawaiian culture in Hawai‘i.Each of the dancers have putforth so much effort throughoutthis extensive process whetherit was through the diligence theyshowed in learning their dances,or the dedication they displayed ingiving up their Saturday morningsfor Holokū practice.Every one of the Holokū participantswould like to give their sincerestappreciations to everyonewho helped make this programpossible: Auntie Hattie, Uncle Pal,the Academy and faculty directors,the musicians, and those whoworked behind the scenes.Can’t get enough of the MayDay performances? Do you wishthat you could see them overagain? Well, you can find a Quick-Time version of the videos availableon http://www.punahou.edu/page.cfm?p=1024 by clicking oneach of the links labeled by grade.Summer Plans:What Are You Doing?By Hayley Morgan & Alanna VanceSchool’s almost out and all of asudden the question hits you:what are you goingto do once school’sout?For some kids,summer schoolis not optionalbecause they usesummer schoolfor a way to geteducation if they’rebehind.For some of theluckier kids, summermeans a tripeither outer islandor outer country.But other kids goto summer school simply becausethey have nothing better to do andthey can choose what they wantthat’s fun.To some kids, they dread summerschool because they thinkit’s all just about taking classesthat they normally take during theschool year. But it’s not all boringclasses. There are really funclasses like wood shop and sailingand even making animated computergames that work!So we interviewed some kidswhat they were doing for summerand here’s what they said:Erika Payne says, “I am takingMath and MovieMakers.”Shawn McCarthysays, “I am takingMath, Weight Trainingand SummerFootball.”Mr. Wagensellersays, “I will beteaching sevenhours a day. Iwill be teachingTechnoScribes (twosections in themorning) and TwoThumbs Up (onesection) in whichwe will be watchingmovies and critiquingthem.Kara Nystul says, “I am takingmath, cooking and Two Thumbs Up(which is a movie course).”Summer School for Punahoustarts on June 22 and goes untilJuly 24 for those people in gradesKindergarten through eight grade.For those students in Academy,starts on June 16 and goes untilJuly 24.Now you are probably asking,“I know the times that Summer…continued on page 10

May/June 2009 The CMS CourierPage 10Is Google MakingUs Stupid?Nicholas Carr, author of “IsGoogle Making Us Stupid”By Emily Okikawa & Naomi YauFrantic, you jab at your computer,hurriedly trying to openthe lid of your MacBook. Tappingon the space bar, you wait impatientlyas the computer whirs sluggishlyand the black screen revealsyour desktop. Flipping throughyour folder, youfind last night’shomework undone.Well awareof the fact thatin your scienceteacher’s classroom,homeworkcounts asa major part ofyour grade, youopen up Firefox.Immediately,you go tothe little box inthe upper righthand corner andtype in Atoms. Clicking on whatappears to be an acceptable site,you jot down information to fill outthe assignment sheet.Remembering that your scienceteacher required a book source,you hastily grab your ScienceSarusbook and look at the index at theback of the book, flipping to thepage filled with Atom information.You stare at the couple pages youhave to read.You groan and sigh at the sightof such long paragraphs. It’s onlya few paragraphs, we hear yousaying. If so, then explain why ourgeneration hates reading so much.You never would’ve guessed.One word: Google.People may not know that Googleis slowly eating up the patience inyour brain and planting dents oflaziness in the back of your head.To raise awareness of thesehidden effects of Google, NicholasCarr wrote an article to the Atlanticmagazine stating that Googlepromotes laziness and might havean effect on your reading abilities.To much dismay, Google is notthe only thing that could possiblymake you more vulnerable to illiteracy.The internet, though veryuseful and efficient, also creates abarrier between us and what mightseem like long and boring words.Another thing to consider is theway the internet,includingGoogle,teaches skimming.It is a usefulskill toknow whenwanting toknow a briefsummaryon particularthings.However, youcould, in fact,skip over animportantnote becauseyou read the page too fast.As you can see, skimming cannotbe used for everything.Another question to ponderupon is “Why is it that every timewe need information, we go onlineto google?”People born the year 1993after are considered the, “GoogleGeneration.” This phrase refers togenerations which have lost theability to read and understand. Asput by the article “Is Google Makingus Stupid?” it says, “Reading,explains Wolf, 'is not an instinctiveskill for human beings. It’snot etched into our genes the wayspeech is. We have to teach ourminds how to translate the symboliccharacters we see into thelanguage we understand.’”But get real. Do we need anotheruninformed citizen in thiscountry? We have too many peoplethat can’t think for themselves andbelieve anything people tell them.Get off your computer and getinto the real world.4Summer School…continued from page 9School, but what kinds of classescan you take?” Well, here aresome examples of what you cantake:You can take a lot of things fromart to music and woodworking toswimming. You can take almostany courses. You can even take adriver’s education course! Here’s alittle interview of Mr. Schwengel:Is your other name Dr. Traffic?Dr. Traffic: “It is. Also, VanillaThunder.”How old do you have to be totake Driver’s Ed?Dr. Traffic: “The state does notspecify, but 15-year-olds take thecourse.”Are you the instructor?Dr. Traffic: “Yes, I am.”How long?Dr. Traffic: “Four years now.”Can you tell us a little about thecourse?Dr. Traffic: “It teaches responsibilities,liabilities, laws, and consequences.”Why did you start teaching?Dr. Traffic: “I have always beenterrified about driving and riding incars, so that drives my passion.”Can you tell us a little aboutyourself and your family?Dr. Traffic: “I am 38, but look28. I am married, have 2 kids, likesushi, long walks, and LOVE KevinBacon films. (Not movies.)”What was the worst thing thatever happened to you in trafficwith a student? Any other scarystories?Dr. Traffic: “It would have to bealmost dying. I was on the freewaywith a student and I told herto slow down but she slammed onthe brakes IN THE MIDDLE OF THEFREEWAY! That’s why I decided toonly teach the classroom part ofthe course. There are too manyother stories for me to recount.”

May/June 2009 The CMS CourierPage 12I’ll Ride My Llama,You’ll RideYour OstrichAre you waiting for rail? Why wait?Here are some alternatives thatonly require a bit of feeding andsome unusual sitting positions.Photos courtesy of messybeast.comBy Kapri LisehoraWhen you think of riding ananimal, you think of riding ahorse, possibly a mule or a donkey.Not a zebra, deer, moose, yak,llama, or an ostrich. When youthink of pack animals, you think ofmules, donkeys, oxen. But do youthink of pigs, too?In the 19thand early 20thcentury, zebras,deer, moose, yak,llamas, ostriches,and pigs wereall recognized asanimals forworking.The firstdoctor in Nairobi,Kenya,went by thename RosendoRibeiro. Ribeirobought azebra in 1907,and becamefamous for ridinghiszebrawhengoingto visithis patients.Inthe1800s,it wasconsidered“fashionable” to train zebrasto pull carriages, and in the 1890szebras were being entered in showjumping.In the early 1900s, attemptswere made to tame the wapiti(elk), and to use them for carriageand riding animals. Reindeer haveoften been used to transport smallanimals and luggage.There are pictures and documentsfrom 1900 of families in theRussian Republic riding yaks.In some parts of the world in1910, the mounted police groupdidn’t ride horses, but llamas.About the same time as themounted llama force, England wastraining their pigsto pull small carts.Along with pigsand carts, llamasand police, Americawas trainingtheir ostriches asriding and cartanimals.At acontest inNew York,an ostrichbeat a horseat a trottingmatch.Inthe1920s,ostricheswerebeingriddenandracedinCzechoslovakia.SouthAfrica wasahead of thegame, havingtrained ostrichesin harnessesin thelate 1800s.In the late 1900s till today, ourmain riding animal is the horse,and in other parts of the world thedonkey, mule, and camel.4Animal Cruelty…continued from page 11mal” by-products. Instead, theylist specifically what animal it is,for example, chicken by-product.The reason the horsemeat issueis in this article mainly is becauselegislators in North Dakota aresponsoring a bill that could leadto the building of the only horseslaughterhouse in the UnitedStates.A North Dakota plant wouldslaughter horses.“Plant may slaughter horses …”What bothers me is that horsescan be slaughtered in our countryand the way it would be done.The EPN describes on its website the way horses were killed inour country up to 2007 when thelast two U.S. horse slaughterhousesclosed.First the horses were hit in theforehead until they were (hopefully)unconscious. Then their hindlegs were shackled and the horseswere lifted into the air upsidedown to have their throats sliced.This all happened after thehorses were shipped for sometimesthousands of miles and thenlined up into the slaughterhouses.I hate to think of how horsesare killed in Mexico and Canada,which is where the U.S. currentlyships its horses for slaughter.Something tells me that if youare a horse going to be slaughtered,you’re better off beingkilled in the United States than inMexico where horses are stabbedto death.In 2006, the U.S. House of Representativespassed an act to banhorse slaughtering. But it failedin the Senate, making it still legalin our country. The North Dakotaplant would slaughter horses thatare no longer used for recreation,farming or racing.Slaughtered horses are used formeat, gelatin, glue, pet food andleather products, according to thearticle.Would you care if your dog’sfood had horsemeat in it?What do you think aboutslaughtering animals that aren’tbred for food like pigs, and shouldit be done in our country or elsewhere?

May/June 2009 The CMS CourierPage 13The History ofNothing… That IsBy Brad KawanoIt’s difficult to explain the historyof zero. Long ago, there wasno such thing as a zero, let alonenegative numbers. How could youshow the great difference between100 and 1, if both are written 1 and1? If not for the work of mathematicians,the philosophy of “nothing”would never have advanced.The Babylonians and the Greekswere the first contributors to zero.The Babylonians used two apostrophemarks (‘‘) as a placeholder(e.g. 1”1 is 101), but this sign wasnever used at the end of any number,so 100 and 1 were still indistinguishable.The Greeks did not have a placeholdersystem, but it is theorizedthat the Greeks used the letteromicron (O) to represent zero as anumber, not a placeholder. However,there have been claims statingthat the Greeks could never haveused Omicron. At this point, thephilosophy of nothing had stopped.Thankfully, three Indian mathematicians,Brahmagupta, Mahavira,and Bhaskara, wrote books thatexplained the uses of the numberzero and negative numbers.Essentially, Brahmagupta laysout the basics we know about addingand multiplying with zero andnegative numbers. However, hewas unable to write anything fornumbers being divided by zero.Brahmagupta wrote (n=a number)n/0 = n/0. Of course, this wasn’tvery useful.Mahavira added subtraction, butstated “a number divided by zerostays unchanged,” while it wasknown then that a number dividedby one remains the same.Bhaskara correctly added theknowledge that zero raised to anypower, and that every root of zero,is zero. However, Bhaskara statesthat n/0 = all real numbers. Itwasn’t till later when mathematiciansfinally discovered that n/0 isundefined.At some time in 665 ACE, theMayan people came to use thenumber zero as a placeholder. However,this amazing breakthroughdid not influence other people.Thankfully, the brilliant work ofthe Indian mathematicians spreadto the Chinese, who used the symbol0 for zero.Fibonacci helped spread the newnumber system in Europe, whichalso let him complete his famousFibonacci Sequence, which startedwith zero.However, the number zero hasstill caused problems to peoplewho use it around the world. Wheneveryone celebrated the new yearof 2000, they actually celebrated1999 years, since there was nevera year 0. Also, people still havetrouble understanding why the 21stcentury and 3rd millennium starton 2001, and not 2000, so zero isstill causing us problems.The Ancient Artof Tai ChiBy Alexa ItoRelaxation, exercise, meditation.Tai Chi is an ancientversion of mild Chinese martialarts. Not only does it help you getin shape, but it also reduces stressand has many health benefits.The construction workers buildingour very new Kindergarten toFirst Grade practice Tai Chi everymorning. This is because theowner of the company requiresthis for all his workers.Reduced stress improvesany-body’s workethic.When peoplefeeloverwhelmed,they lose confidenceand becomeirritable orwithdrawn, makingthem less productiveand effective andtheir work less rewarding.With less stress,people worry less andable to focus better ontheir work.In 6th century BC, a mannamed Lao Tsu wrote this. “Yieldand overcome; bend and bestraight” and “He who standson tip toe is not steady. He whostrides cannot maintain the pace.”Then during the time between220-265 AD Hua-tu’o began studyingthe movements of the fiveanimals, tiger, bear, ape, deer, andbirds. He then taught copies of themoves because he believed thatthey were good exercise for yourjoints. It is said that this is theearliest teachings of Tai Chi.Meditation is good for the mind,body and spirit. Relaxed peoplecreate happier atmospheres makingother people around themhappier. It is even proven by brainscan that meditation is healthy foryou. Meditation helps people payattention to their current thoughtsand keeps them in tune with theirbodies.Our very own librarian, Ms.Ohta, takes Tai Chi classes outsideof school. She has been takingthem for three to four years inHawai‘i Kai and Kapahulu. Herteacher, or “Sifu” is named SifuAndrew Lum. She says he is notonly a great teacher but also verynice, sincere, and friendly.She says she feels relaxed afterdoing Tai Chi. “It’s a constant flowlike a dance,” she said. “It hasspecific steps and motions and youdo them in a particular order likelearning a dance. Your breathing iscoordinated with the movements.It’s about directing your energy.And I definitely feel relaxed afterdoing Tai Chi. The main focus ofTai Chi would be to join the mindand body much like yoga. It alsokeeps you in shape.”Tai Chi is the art of the ages. Sonext time you’re feeling stressedor overworked, take a break withsome meditating Tai Chi.

May/June 2009 The CMS CourierPage 15Are You Ready toBe a Parent?Above, three happy rice babies. Atright, the twins Cameron and Tate.Photo by T. DinmanBy Tara Dinman, Jenna Nishida,& Courtney KosakaEighth grade holds many specialtraditions such as CampMokulē‘ia, 8th grade dance, and ricebabies. With the end of the yearapproaching, eighth graders foundthemselves as new parents—of a5-lb. bag of rice.For about one week, each studentmust take care of his or herrice baby. Each team decides howmany students in the team get twinrice babies and only one student inthe whole eighth grade will receivetriplets.Each student is told the genderof the baby and christens the babywith a name of his or her choice.Each student must treat the ricebaby as if it were a real humanbaby. That means students musttake care of their babies with loveand care. If a teacher finds a babyleft alone without anyone watchingit, the baby will get confiscated andpoints will be taken off of the parent’sgrade.Anytime when students are notable to take care of their babies,such as when they go to P.E, woodshop, or after school sports, theymust find baby-sitters to take careof their babies.They should make sure that theycan trust their baby-sitter to handletheir rice baby with care.When the project is over, teachersinspect each student’s rice babyfor signs of mistreatment or abuse.Here are some student’s andteacher’s thoughts on the rice babies.Hayley Haythorne was the motherof twin rice babies in Team Z.She has one girl and one boy. Thenames are Cameron and Tate. Shesays that it was more of a burden tohave to carry around two rice babiesrather than one. She likes the factthat she has one boy and one girl.When picking her baby, she hada feeling that she was going to picktwin rice babies because she wasone of the last ones to choose.At first she was sad that she gottwins but she still liked her rice babiesand realized that she would feelthe same way about her rice babiesif she had only one.We also interviewed Ms. MarionLyman-Mersereau (Ms. L-M) aboutthe rice babies. We found out thatshe was actually the one whostarted the whole sexuality unit in1988/1989.She began the whole programwith hard boiled eggs, but one yearshe had two students that weresisters that had a mom who wasBuddhist. She wouldn’t allow herchildren to carry around eggs forthe project because of her religion.Instead the girls decided to carry…continued on page 16Some NiceRice Advice“...(R)ice babies helpreinforce makinggood choices andgood values, to learnabout the dangersof teen pregnancy—Ms. Hipperson, 8YBy Shannan Yamamoto& Maddie WilsonOver the last month you mayhave noticed all 8th graderscarry around decorated andclothed rice bags for their socialstudies “Human Sexuality: ValuesAnd Choices” projects betterknown as “Rice Babies.”The project was that each studentwould have to carry a 5-lb.bag of rice around everywhere orfind someone to baby sit for themduring times they cannot watchthem.They also were not allowedabuse their babies, leave them in aroom unattended, or be more thanan arm’s length apart.When we first asked the 8thgraders most of them said theycouldn’t wait for rice babies anddressing them up in little clothes itwill be so cute.We asked Ms. Kori Hipperson,8th grade Team Y social studiesteacher, her opinion on rice babies:Q: What do you think is importantabout rice babies?A: For us to explore values andmaking choices, rice babies is anexperience as opposed to writinga paper: an experience that helpsreinforce making good choices andgood values to learn about thedangers of teen pregnancy.Q: Do you think rice babies area good way to learn these values?A: Students learn best whenthey actually get to do something,but I do think that there are somelimitations to the project.We get out of it what we putinto it. It’s a student controlledproject. I can’t tell if you are abusingthe baby at home or even takingit places with you.Q: What is your personal opinionon rice babies?A: I think that, in its ideal, therice babies project has sound objectives.However, it is a teacher’s responsibilityto guide students todiscover these ideals.For example, I do not wantmy students to come away fromthe project simply thinking thatchildren are burdens and have tocarry them around.Q: Do you think your studentstake it seriously?A: Some, I think the kind ofsocial aspect of naming, dressingsuch but when the responsibilityof the project hits and the initialexcitement is gone the studentseither take it seriously or not.

May/June 2009 The CMS CourierPage 20Best Game to Buyfor the Summer?Try Halo Wars!By Thomas PangHow many of you are going tobe bored senseless duringSummer Vacation? Do you havefriends going on trips around theworld, leaving you behind? Well,I’ve got news for you! If you ownan XBox 360, then you should purchasethe new Halo Wars!Halo Wars is a strategic actiongame that demonstrates how touse your brain from training Spartansoldiers with rocket launchersto building a massive swarm oftanks to upgrading them to makethem nearly invincible. It’s a mindblowingsensation that will takeup you entire vacation trying tobeat this game.Thisgame revolvesaroundthe realHalo trilogy,which is one of the amazingthings about this game. Itshows about the alien Covenantand what the UNFC has been doingbefore Halo 1.The game starts with you, thecommander, finding the Covenanton a planet called Harvest. Youfind a shrine there that tells ofsome major thing that is close toEarth. Your job now, is to find outwhat the “thing” is before the Covenanthas a chance of using it.Anyways, the gameplay issplendid! It’s easy to control all ofthe available units that you haveand it’s not that easy to win.If you are the type that winscomputer games by massing themost powerful troops together,then you have a problem comingyour way—depending whetheryou put it on easy, which you canslaughter your opponents withease, or legendary, which goes theopposite way around.The unfortunate flaw of thegame is the skirmishes.After a while with beating theCPU senseless, you get tired ofplaying and most people give up.Even when turning all of the skullson to make you weaker and makethe CPU on Legendary, it barelybalances out.However, trying the online battles,it’s really a blast. If you dothe same thing as your opponent,then your chances of winning ispretty low, because then they canoutsmart you the same way you’dtry to outsmart them.Online games are probablymore of a challenge than playingby yourself.Some of the gaming magazinesand web sites rated it an averageof a 9 out of 10 for the quality, butthat’s to be expected from Microsoft.So, what are you waiting for?Get some friends, grab a soda,and blast your way through one ofthe most challenging and addictinggames ever!4DSi…continued from page 19This means that if you take aphoto that you like, you can actuallyfeature it on the menu, andwhenever you open up the menuscreen (if you’re going back froma game, or turning the system on)the DSi menu will display one ofyour designated photographs.The last crucial update regardingthe menu screen has to dowith switching game cartridges.When you want to switch a gamecartridge, you don’t have to turnthe system off anymore.All you have to do is eject thecartridge, and put another one in.This means that the menu will notsuddenly freeze up if you eject agame while in the menu.There is one last feature thathas been added to the DSi: theNintendo DSi shop. When usingthis feature, you may purchasegames and tools for the NintendoDSi over the Internet.(These new games/tools arecalled DSiware.)To purchase these games, youwill need Nintendo points (previouslyknown as Wii points.) Youcan get Nintendo points by purchasinga Nintendo points card, locatedat many participating stores.When you go online, you addthe points on the card using thecard’s serial number. Once thepoints have been added to youraccount, you may purchase gamesor tools over the Internet.Some of these game or toolsmight even be free.For example, the NintendoDSi browser (which is availablenow) can be downloaded free ofcharge, and can be used to surfthe Internet.Speaking of free, there is also apromotional offer that is currentlybeing offered. If you purchase aNintendo DSi, and log onto theDSi shop by October 5th, 2009,Nintendo will give you 1000 Nintendopoints for free.You can use these points todownload as many games as youcan afford for 1000 points.The Nintendo DSi is currentlybeing sold for $169.99, (dependingon the store) plus tax, andcomes in black and light bluecolors.With newer features and crucialchanges, the Nintendo DSi wouldbe a pretty good choice for anygamer, be they new or old, andwith this new system, comes anew message: the world of gamingis still evolving, and as timeflows, so shall the development ofnewer technologies exist…

May/June 2009 The CMS CourierPage 21Summer TVShows Coming UpBy Kenta PalmaWhat are you gonna do thissummer, sit around andwatch T.V. all day? Well, if you are,I’ve got some new shows comingout for you.The eighth and final season of“Monk” comes with new episodesdebuting in Summer ’09.“Monk” is about Adrian Monkwho is an obsessive compulsivedetective who is a part of the SanFrancisco Police Department.He became OCD after the unsolvedmurder of his wife Trudy.But because of OCD, he hashad his badge stripped from himbecause his case of OCD was thatserious. He now solves the casesthat no one else can, hoping hecan get his spot back on the SanFrancisco police force.Another show coming out thissummer is “Harper’s Island.”As the weddings begin, secretsare exposed as a murderer claimsvictims, one by one, turning theweek of celebration into a strugglefor survival.In every episode, someone iskilled. By the end of the 13 episodes,the killer will be revealedand only a few will survive.Britain’sGot TalentAt right, the Escala performers ontheir unique electric string instruments.Below, the YouTube sensation,Susan Boyle.Photos courtesy of dailymail.co.uk& assets.nydailynews.comBy Alayna KobayashiThe show “Britain’s Got Talent,”is a program where many hiddentalents have been discoveredand YouTube videos have beencreated.An electric string quartet wasdiscovered in 2008 and they foundthemselvesbasking inthe glory of astanding ovationand hearing thewords, “It wasjust fantastic”come out ofSimon Cowell’smouth. Thisgroup’s name isEscala.They wowedthe judges inan outstandingperformanceand foundthemselves performing the samesong on the season finale of “Britain’sGot Talent.” Escala is comingout with their first album May25th.Along with the amazing talentsthat are discovered, this show alsotells inspiring stories.One of the latest stories isabout a 48-year-old woman namedSusan Boyle.Susan Boyle was an unemployedcat owner that only sang inher church and small local plays.As a child,she was constantlybullied,she sufferedfrom learningproblems andhas never beenclose to gettingmarried. Whenshe first steppedonto the stage,the audiencesneered andlaughed at herappearance.But the room silenced whenthe beautiful, strong sound of hervoice filled the air.Her video on YouTube receivedover 20 million hits and her singlesong she sung as her audition becamenumber 38 on the top songslist on iTunes.Her video received a shocking72,656 comments and a viewerwho named herself “mamachar1”wrote, “Susan is Beautiful - bothinside & out! She’s kind, gracious,classy, with an incredible ‘real’heart too! There should be moregood people on Earth just like her!She blesses all people she comesin contact with! Susan is an awesomegift to all of us. Thank YOU,GOD - Thank you, Susan!!! GODbless you & GOD speed - todayand always!!!”Actress Amanda Holden saysthat she doesn’t want Susan tochange her appearance. She alsosays, “Whether she knows it ornot, she is standing for the averageperson in the street.” Susandid change her wardrobe and herhair color.As her new look continues tosurprise millions of Susan supporters,she is still a competitor inthe game show and many peoplearound the world are supportingher in the competition that has ledmany to fame and success.Good luck Susan Boyle!

May/June 2009 The CMS CourierPage 22Sixth Grade’sFav ArtistsBy Kala’i SantosWho’s the sixth grade’sfavorite music artist? Iasked 50 sixth graders theiropinions.Who was the mostpopular is it T-Pain,Soulja Boy, Akon, FloRida, Fiji, Rebel Souljazor 50 Cent.Well, according toiTunes the nation likesEminem, Kid Cudi, FloRida and Pitbull.While the top songin the nation is“Boom BoomPow” by theBlack EyedPeas, alsonoteworthyare “DayN Nite” byKid Cudiand “Sugar”by Flo Ridaand Wynter.The top albumin the U.S. is “Losing Sleep” byParachute.Well, let’s see what the 6thgrade thought—here are theresults.In first place receiving eightvotes was Eminem who is makinga recent comeback, some ofhis top songs are “Beautiful” and“We Made You” featuring JessicaSimpson.Followed closely by rapperLi’l Wayne withseven votes. Histop songs are“Prom Queen,”“Lollipop” and“Fireman.”Third isrecently convictedT.I.with five voteswhose songsare “WhateverYou Like,” “SlideShow” feat John Legend,“My Life Your Entertainment”feat Usherand “Dead and Gone”feat Justin Timberlake.In Fourth is The-Dream with four votes.His songs are “RockingThat Thang” and “Falsetto.”Also receiving votes, T-Pain,Akon, 50 Cent, Beyonce, KanyeWest, Maoli, Jay-Z, Ekolu, ThreePlus, Taylor Swift, Gwen Stefani,Rebelution, Pink, Kanye West,Green Day, Collie Buddz and SaraBareilles.Some AwesomeSummer MoviesBy Travis Hayashi & James FarmerSummer’s almost here, andwith summer comes some ofthe greatest movies, sequels, andflicks. Some of the most anticipatedmovies are:✪ X-Men Origins: Wolverine.This tells the story behindWolverine before he joinedthe X-Men, how he gothis amazing powers, andthe reason why he can’tremember anything.✪ Transformers 2: Revengeof the Fallen.This is the sequel to thefirst Transformers movie.This time, Decepticonforces return to Earth on amission to take Sam prisoner.When Sam escapes,he learns the truth aboutthe ancient origins of theTransformers.He joins Optimus Prime in themission to protect mankind in onefinal epic battle to the end.✪ Harry Potter and the HalfBlood Prince.The sixth installation of theHarry Potter series. Harry Potterbegins his sixth year at Hogwarts.During the school year, Harry becomesDumbledore’s star pupil. Heteaches Harry about Voldemort’sdark secrets and past in an attemptto figure out his true weaknessand to defeat him once andfor all.If all fails, Hogwarts will fail andthey will be doomed forever!!✪ Terminator 4 Salvation.Set in 2018, John Connor is theman to lead the human resistanceagainst Skynet and its army of evilTerminators. As Skynet preparesits final onslaught, Connor sets offon an adventure that takes theminto the heart of Skynet’s operationsHere is where they uncoverthe horrible secret behind the annihilationof all mankind.✪ Land of the Lost.On his latest expedition, Dr. RickMarshall is sucked into a spacetimevortex alongside his researchassistant and a redneck survivalist.In this parallel universe, the triomakes friends with a half monkey,half human creature namedChaka. Chaka is their only ally in aworld full of dinosaurs with personalitiesand other fantastic andkinda creepy creatures.Can they all make it back toour world alive, and if so, will Dr.Marshall go from zero to hero withhis amazing discoveries?✪ Night at the Museum: Battleof the Smithsonian.The Museum of Natural Historyhas been closed for renovationsand all of the inhabitants move tothe famous Washington museumfor so-called safekeeping. But, allis not well at the museum. OnceLarry Daley becomes the new nightguard, an evil pharaoh tries to takethe tablet that brings the museum’sinhabitants to life.An all out clash begins betweenthe good and evil people in themuseum, one side led by Larry andthe other by the Pharaoh.

May/June 2009 The CMS CourierPage 23New Fiction BooksNow in the BLCBy Tom SullivanThis week the BLC has addedmany new fiction books to thelibrary.The new books are placedalong the front shelves in thelibrary and you can find the titlesof these books on the BLC website.One of the new books the BLChas is Chains. Chains tells thestory of a teenages slave namedIsabel who along with her sisteris sold into the ownership of awealthy Manhattan family.One day while she is runningerrands she is confronted by theRebels.They tellher if shespies forthem, theywill helpfree herand gether sisterback.Anotherstoryis TheChristopherKiller.This onetells thestory of a17-yearoldgirlwho isworkingfor her dad (a coroner) as an assistant.Cameryn uses her knowledge ofmedicine to find the person whokilled her friend and puts herselfin danger at the same time.Finally, Whirlwind tells the storyof Jack who returns to the townhe grew up in after a five-monthleave and finds his girlfriend PJmissing and his family killed.To make things worse everybodythinks he is responsible forthis. He must go on a dangerousadventure to find the killer andsave his girlfriend.As you can see there are manygood books in the library. Perhapsyou should go and check one out?The Pendragon SeriesFinally CompleteBy Michael TomeOn May 12, 2009, the 10thand final book in the Pendragonseries, The Soldiers ofHalla, was released.The Pendragon series, initiatedin 2002, is the story abouta 14-year-old boy named BobbyPendragon.As the basketballstar ofhis school andall-around goodguy, he thinksall is going wellfor him.But when hefinds himselfbeing whiskedaway to the realitythat he isa traveler tryingto hold “Halla”together, itmight be toomuch for him tohandle.The bookswere written byD.J. MacHale,who producedcorporate filmsand televisionfor kids beforebecoming awriter.He enjoyed writing screenplaysin his spare time, and when hecame up with the idea for thePendragon series, he decided towrite the books.Bobby’s mission in the seriesis to stop an evil traveler namedSaint Dane from destroying Halla.Halla is, basically, as Bobby’sUncle Press says, “Everythingthat ever was, is, and alwayswill be.” There are ten territoriesin Halla, all ofwhich Bobbywill have tofight Saint Danefor.How do travelersget aroundHalla? They usethings calledflumes, crystaltubes that travelbetween territories,whichare marked by astar somewherenear them toalert the travelersof theirexistence.All of Bobby’stales of hisadventures aresent back to hishome territory,Second Earth.These journalsare the basisof the Pendragon books. ThePendragon series has been on theNew York Times list of bestsellingseries for 72 weeks

May/June 2009 The CMS CourierPage 24The ABCs of theMTV Movie AwardsBy Shannon HennesseyIn 1992, the MTV Movie Awardspremiered.Now, 17 years later, the MTVMovie Awards still debut with funand exciting categories (includingthis years’ new categories—Best‘WTF’ Moment and Best Song FromA Movie), unique nominees, andmind-blowing winners.(See related story below for theBest Villain nominees.)This year, the MTV MovieAwards with kickoff on May 31,2009 with nominees such as:Best Movie: The Dark Knight;High School Musical 3: SeniorYear; Iron Man; Slumdog Millionaire;Twilight.Best Male Performance:Christian Bale (The Dark Knight);Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man);Shia LaBeouf (Eagle Eye); VinDiesel (Fast & Furious); Zac Efron(High School Musical 3: SeniorYear).Best Female Performance:Angelina Jolie (Wanted); AnneHathaway (Bride Wars); Kate Winslet(The Reader); Kristen Stewart(Twilight). Taraji P. Henson (TheCurious Case of Benjamin Button).Best Comedic Performance:Amy Poehler (Baby Mama); AnnaFaris (The House Bunny); JamesFranco (Pineapple Express); JimCarrey (Yes Man); Steve Carell(Get Smart).Best Fight: Anne Hathaway vs.Kate Hudson (Bride Wars); ChristianBale vs. Heath Ledger (TheDark Knight); Robert Pattinsonvs. Cam Gigandet (Twilight); RonPerlman vs. Luke Goss (HellboyII: The Golden Army); Seth Rogenand James Franco vs. DannyMcBride (Pineapple Express).Best Kiss: Angelina Jolie andJames McAvoy (Wanted); FreidaPinto and Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire);James Franco and SeanPenn (Milk); Kristen Stewart andRobert Pattinson (Twilight); PaulRudd and Thomas Lennon (I LoveYou, Man); Vanessa Hudgens andZac Efron (High School Musical 3:Senior Year).Breakthrough Performance,Female: Amanda Seyfried (MammaMia!); Ashley Tisdale (HighSchool Musical 3: Senior Year);Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire);Kat Dennings (Nick and Norah’sInfinite Playlist); Miley Cyrus (HannahMontana: The Movie); VanessaHudgens (High School Musical3: Senior Year).Breakthrough Performance,Male: Ben Barnes (The Chroniclesof Narnia: Prince Caspian); Bobb’eJ. Thompson (Role Models); DevPatel (Slumdog Millionaire); RobertPattinson (Twilight); Taylor Lautner(Twilight).Best WTF Moment: “PeeingIn The Sink,” Amy Poehler in BabyMama; “Curved Bullet Kill,” AngelinaJolie in Wanted; “Jumping InThe Poop Shed,” Ayush MaheshKhedekar in Slumdog Millionaire;“Tasting Decapitated Head,” BenStiller in Tropic Thunder; “NakedBreak Up,” Jason Segel and KristenBell in Forgetting Sarah Marshall.Best Song From A Movie:A.R. Raham “Jai Ho” (SlumdogMillionaire); Bruce Springsteen“The Wrestler” (The Wrestler);Miley Cyrus “The Climb” (HannahMontana: The Movie); Paramore“Decode” (Twilight).Don’t forget to vote for yourfavorite nominees at: http://www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards/2009/categories.jhtmlAnd check out the winners onMay 31, 2009!And the Best VillainAward Goes to ... ?Dwayne Johnson gets smarter nextto Steve Carell.Photo courtesy of the InternetBy Ian Ingoglia & Aaron HidakaThe MTV Movie Awards will beairing on May 31 2009.The host will be Andy Sambergwho is know for his comedy actson SNL and on also on YouTube.The MTV Movie Awards firststarted in 1992 and has had famousguests hosting the show upto 2009.You will probably have to recordit because it will be showing at 10o’clock on Sunday.We thought that we should talkabout one category and tell youwho’s in the running. We chosethe Best Villain award because villainsmake a movie interesting.First, the some of the wellknownwinners from past BestVillain awards are Johnny Deppfrom Sweeny Todd (2008), JackNicholson The Departed (2007),Hayden Christensen Star WarsEpisode III: Revenge of the Sith(2006), Ben Stiller, Dodgeball: ATrue Underdog Story (2005).The nominees for best villainare Derek Mears from Friday the13th, Dwayne Johnson from GetSmart, Heath ledger from TheDark Knight, Jonathon Schaechfrom Prom Night, and Luke GossHellboyII: The Golden Army.Enjoy the show and we hopeyou vote.

May/June 2009 The CMS CourierPage 25I Would PayMoney to See17 Again AgainReview By Megan LauThe film 17 Again is a comedyfor teenagers. 17 Again isa classic tale of someone who isunhappy with their life. Here is abrief summary:Mike O’Donnell is a teen witheverything he wants. He hasa great girlfriend,he’s agood basketballplayer, andis one of themost popularkids in school.Mike is atone of themost importantgame of hisbasketball career.If he doeswell, a collegescout will givehim a full rideto his dreamschool.Right beforethe game hereceives somenews from hisgirlfriend thatcould possiblychange his lifeforever.At that moment he has tochoose between his basketballcareer and his future family.He chooses his family. Flashforwardtwenty years into thecurrent day. Mike is working aboring job, his wife is leavinghim, he is living with his bestfriend, and his kids barely talk tohim. His life has really changed.As he visits his old high schoolhe sees a picture of himself atthe infamous game. A janitorasks him if he could do it all overagain wouldhe? He says,“You got thatright.”On his wayhome he seesa man on topof the bridge.He looks likehe is trying tojump in. WhenMike tries tohelp the man,Mike suddenlyfalls into a bigwhirlpool. Oncehe washes allof the mud offof himself hesees he is seventeenagain.After about20 minutes offreaking out.He realizes hewas sent backto this age for a reason.He thinks he was sent backto seventeen so that he can goback to high school and fix all the…continued on page 26Around Campus:Snapshots of LifeHere at PunahouBy Sean Ching & Jake BeldingAs the school year is wrappingup, we decided to go aroundthe campus and take a few snapshotsof life at Punahou.The first one, at left, is a pictureof Rice Field, most commonlyknown as Middle Field.Many students walk across thisfield everyday, to get to and fromdifferent classes, including P.E.,Band and Language.Just a short walk from MiddleField reside the Winne Units.I was able to get a photo of agroup of third graders practicing‘ukulele there.They’re pretty good!All the way at the bottom of theschool lies Palm Drive.Many students take buses forfield trips from here.The last photo that taken was inCase Middle School, in one of theTeam 8Z classrooms.The Team 8Z teachers were graciousenough to allow a photo tobe taken of them during a meeting.Dr. Todd Chow-Hoy (betterknown simply as Doc) is on the farleft. (He is the math instructor.)To the right of him is Ms. TraciYoung, the English teacher, andto the right of her is Ms. MarionLyman-Mersereau (Ms. L-M), whoteaches social studies.Last, but not least is Mr. DarioSalgado on the far right of the picture,and he teaches science.Also, what should be noted isthat Mr. Tedd Landgraf is not inthis picture, but he was also attendingthis meeting.And that concludes “AroundCampus”, brought to you by Seanand Jake from the 8th grade NewsJournalism class.

May/June 2009 The CMS CourierPage 26The View fromCastle HallFrom the EditorThe Castle Cartoon Club willsoon be on summer hiatusbut they had one more submissionbefore the school year ends.This last one shows a bit of“gallows humor,” a bit of socialcommentary, and just a touch ofCastle Hall whimsy.This semi-scary vision comesfrom three girls: Ellia Bower,artist, Amber Chong and RobbieBickerton, writers.Ellia is a member of Mr. BarryLuchenbach’s fifth grade class;Amber and Robbie belong to Mrs.Robin Kelleher’s fourth grade class.417 Again Review…continued from page 25mistakes he madeHis first day at the high schooldoesn’t go great. He keeps forgettingthat to everyone aroundhim he is a seventeen year oldwhich causes a few awkwardscenes between Mike and someof the students.He soon realizes that hewasn’t sent back for himself. Hewas sent back to help his kids.He decides he will help teachhis son, Alex to become a betterbasketball player and be a friendto him.His daughter Maggie is a littlebit more troubled than Alex.She is dating a bad guy whois mean to everyone and she iswilling to throw away a greatschool to be with him.But there is still somethingmissing from his life. He startsfalling for his ex-wife Scarlett.Only problem is that Scarlettthinks he is just a friend of herson and only seventeen.What will Mike do? Will hestay a seventeen year old forever?This movie teaches many lessonslike family is one of the mostimportant things in your life andevery decision that you make hasgood and bad consequences. Anotherlesson this movie teaches isto enjoy what you have now.This movie stars Zac Efron(High School Musical) as theteen Mike, Matthew Perry(Friends) as adult Mike, LeslieMann as Scarlett, Thomas Lennonas Mike’s best friend NedGold, Sterling Knight (SonnyWith A Chance) as Mike’s sonAlex, and Michelle Trachtenberg(Ice Princess) as Mike’s daughterMaggie.The same movie plot has beenused many times throughout theyears. In this movie they try toadd a new twist to cliched plot.This movie is rated PG-13 forsome inappropriate language. Igive this movie two thumbs up.This movie was so funny thatI almost fell out of my seatlaughing. I recommend thismovie to anyone who enjoys agood laugh.

May/June 2009 The CMS CourierPage 272009 NFL Draft By Rykley LynchThe 2009 NFL Draft on April 25,2009 was full of big coachesmaking big picks. The Draft startedaround noon. The seniors from allover the country were watchingand waiting to hear their namescalled or their phone to ring.The 2009 Draft started with theDetroit Lions,which finishedtheir 2008 seasonwith a recordof 0-16 (0 wins16 losses). Theypicked Georgia’sstar quarterbackMatthewStafford. InStafford’s 2008 collage career hecompleted 235 passes out of the383 he threw, for 3,459 yards anda completion percentage of 61.4%.The next team up was the St.Louis Rams. Last year the Ramsfinished off their season with a3-13 record.It wasn’t the seasonthey had hoped for, but hopefullyafter the draft, that will change.The second pick of the 2009 NFLDraft was Jason Smith. Smith wasborn in Dallas Texas and went toW.T. White High School in Dallas.He was the NFL’s official 2nd pickwitch makes him one of the toppicks for the 2009 NFL.In the Draft his 40 yard dashtime was 5.22 seconds, 33 benchpress reps, and 24 in. on the verticaljump.Kansas City Chiefs were upnext. They picked up defensiveend, Tyson Jackson from LSU. In2008, he had 36 tackles, 10 forlosses and 19 sacks. He played 13games in his 2008 season.Because of his performance, heis one of the 2009 top NFL Draftpicks.The fourth pick in the NFLDraft—by the Seattle Seahawks—was Aaron Curry, an outside linebackerstraight out of Wake Forest.He finished the 2008 seasonwith 105 tackles, 45 for losses, 9sacks 12 punt blocks, and 6 interceptions.Next came the New York Jets.The ets lost their star quarterbackdue to retirement, so they neededa quarterback fast. The fifth persondrafted in the NFL Draft wasMark Sanchez.In Sanchez’s 2008 year, hewas 241 for 366 in passing for acompletion percentage of 65.8%.This junior left USC early to bein the draft. Hethrew 34 touchdownsin his2008 career. Hisoverall ratingis 164.64 as aquarterback. Hewas drafted bythe New York Jetsand he is in thebig leagues now.NBA PlayoffsBy ‘Eleu AkimseuBasketball is one of the mostfamous sports in the U.S.With the NBA Playoffs goingon, only two teams are going tobe playing for the championshiptrophy on June 4th.Some teams just blast throughtheir opponents while others takeseven games to win.For example, everybodythought that the Boston Celticswould beat the Bulls in fourgames.I guess not; they had to playseven games.Unfortunately, the underdogslost and Boston headed to theEast-finals against the OrlandoMagic.Orlando crushed Boston inseven games and is playingLeBron James and the ClevelandCavaliers for the East Finals.Cleveland and Orlando arebattling to play in the championships.LeBron James averages 32.9points per game.Orlando’s scoring machine,Dwight Howard averages 19.6points per game.The Cavs has an advantageover Orlando but I’m thinkingthat this series is going to sevengames.Jameer Nelson (from the OrlandoMagic) tore his right labrumand is out for the season.He averages 16.7 points pergame, which is a big loss.On Wednesday, 5/20/09, OrlandoMagic was down the wholegame until the 4th quarter.That is when they made acomeback and beat the ClevelandCavaliers for the 1-0 series lead.In the West Finals, The DenverNuggets beat the Dallas Mavericksand move on to playing theLos Angles Lakers who beat theHouston Rockets in seven games.The Los Angles Lakers shot41% from the field while Denvershot 48% from the field.Magic Johnson says that theLos Angles Lakers front linescored only 26 points while Denver’sfront line scored 68 points.Denver needs to figure outhow to stop Kobe and pull awayfrom the Lakers when they havethe lead.In my opinion, I think that thechampionships are going to LosAngles Lakers playing the ClevelandCavaliers.The Cavs will win it all and willget the first NBA title.