Iolani School - '08-'09 Stories

Faculty Relations Stays Busy
Both Faculty Relations Committees (Departments and Individuals) stayed busy during the first semester with various projects to make teachers smile. They helped celebrate Mr. Moses' 62nd birthday with a plethora of gifts and 62 special notes from colleagues. They also coordinated events for New Teachers, Doc Inouye, Mr. Park, and others. Pictured below is a gift made for Ms. Feldhaus (it's a felt house) and Mr. Rubasch, our very own ping pong master. Go Raiders and Go Faculty Relations!

Anti-Stress Week (2/9-13/09)
The 2009 Senior Prefects held their first big event of the year with a week dedicated to managing stress levels effectively. Highlights of the week included free shampooing, free massages, a hugs and kisses-mobile (free hugs and Hershey Kisses), a nap room in Seto Hall, entertaining chapel presentations, music during passing periods, and free ice cream, hot cocoa, and hot tea. Go Raiders and Go Anti-Stress Week!

Dodgeball Week (1/26-30/09)
The Intramural co-chairs started the new year off right with a rousing tournament of 7-person dodgeball in the Center Courtyard. The co-chairs tried some new rules and a new format that really worked well. The 11th graders beat the 7th graders on Monday. The seniors defeated the 8th graders on Tuesday and the 10th graders won a close one against the 9th graders on Wednesday. The spirited faculty team lost a close on in the semi-finals and the seniors barely ousted the talented sophomore team. The seniors won the sudden death game 7 on Friday to cap an exciting, intense week of dodgeball! Go Raiders and Go Dodgeball!

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Winterball (12/23/08)
Some 700 dressed up and schnazzy students headed to the Sheraton Waikiki for some good food, dancing, and fellowship for the annual Winterball. This year's theme, "Feliz Navidad," inspired a Mexican-themed menu, churros, Uno cards for each table, and sombreros for each couple! It was a great night and co-chairs Cristin Lim '11, Elysse Tom '09, Laurie Nitta '09, Haley Ling '10, and Marie Calvet '09 did a great job with the festivities. Go Raiders and Go Winterball!

Caroling (12/17 & 20/08)
What would Christmas be like without some good 'ole fashion caroling? The Senior Prefects got things started right with a few tunes in front of the SAO before school. Then on December 20, members of the Student Council headed down to Nuuanu Hale nursing home to serenade the residents there. Mr. Uejio's family even got in on the fun with piano accompaniment by Mr. Uejio's mother and singing by his father, sister, brother-in-law, and niece! Go Raiders and Go Caroling!

Secret Santa (12/18/08)
For the second year in a row, Spirit Committee co-chairs along with the Proconsuls planned a very successful all Upper School Secret Santa exchange. About 300 students, teachers, and staff members participated in the event. It got everyone in the giving mood for sure! Go Raiders and Go Secret Santa!

Ping Pong Tournament (12/10/08)
Intramural co-chairs Nestor Agbayani '10 and Kelsey Matsuoka '10 planned and executed an exciting lunchtime ping pong tournament in the Upper Gym. The 32-person tournament included students from grades 7-12 and even a few faculty members. Math teacher Mr. Jim Rubasch represented the teachers well by making it to the finals where he lost to sophomore ping pong stud, Marco Kobayashi. Marco and Mr. Rubasch each earned lunch gift certificates for their efforts. Go Raiders and Go Ping Pongers!

Thank You Notes (11/26/08)
Proconsuls gave out free thank you cards to every single student in the Upper School and offered to deliver those notes to anyone in or out of the school community. Many, many students and teachers got into the fun and wrote special thank you notes to loved ones right before good 'ole Turkey Day! Go Raiders and Go Thanksgiving!

Homecoming Week (10/27-11/1/08)
Co-chairs Kim Roy, Alex Tom, and Elissa Minamishin did a great job planning an exciting week. Aside from our typical dress days, we also had a musical chairs competition, a playlist contest, an art contest, a CD drive (which raised $135 for the Honolulu Symphony), a karaoke contest, and of course, spirit spirit spirit. It truly was a great week and all grades represented `Iolani well in our annual Lip Sync and Cheerfest competitions. Go Raiders and Go Homecoming!

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Pre-Homecoming Week (10/20-22/08)
This year's Homecoming co-chairs had so many ideas for their theme, "Pump It Up," that they decided to extend the fun to include a pre-Homecoming Week! A very spirited and impressive Guitar Hero Contest started things off right in Seto Hall on Monday at lunch. Top prizes (a week's worth of free lunches) went to an 8th grader! Tuesday had a special student/faculty band playing funk music and Wednesday saw free ice cream, the sale of Go Raiders! shirts, and members of Beach 5 serenading the campus at lunch! By the time the real Homecoming Monday rolled around, things were already very spirited! Go Raiders and Go Pre-Homecoming Week!

Gratitude Post-Its (10/8/08)
The Proconsuls decided to put the annual Containment Drill period to good use. As students were locked in their homerooms during the drill, they had the opportunity to write simple notes of gratitude to anyone in the `Iolani ohana on colorful post-it notes. After all was said and done, more than 800 notes were posted on the SAO window. Go Raiders and Go Colorful Post-Its!

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Community Service Fair (9/17/08)
Both on campus and off campus organizations were represented in the annual Community Service Fair held in Seto Hall. Students had the opportunity to browse for various service opportunities from groups such as the Life Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, Key Club, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and many more. Go Raiders and Go Community Service!

Club Day (9/16/08)
The annual Club Day was held in the Lower Gym again for students to "shop" for various clubs. Students in grades 7 and 8 showed up during the long homeroom period and high school students attended during lunch. Longtime `Iolani clubs like Key Club, NFL Club, Chess Club, and Leo Club were definitely there, but exciting new clubs such as Disney, Project HOPE, Acai, and Pancake Clubs made their first appearances. With some 75% of the Upper School participating in at least one club, Club Day is clearly an important of Raider life. Go Raiders and Go Clubs!

First Week of School Happenings
This year's Raiderlicious Proconsuls and Student Body Treasurer (Oli Fatongia, Robert Tamai, Kevin Tanaka, Ho Joon Cha), made sure things started off right. Along with their fellow Senior Prefects, they called new Upper School students and faculty members before the first day of school welcoming them and wishing them luck. The fun continued on the first day of school. Seniors enjoyed a complimentary breakfast after the annual "Senior Bench Rush." The Proconsuls introduced their theme for the year, "Monster Year," at Convocation, and also held a Faculty vs. Seniors intramural basketball game at lunch. As usual, PE teacher Ms. Kyla Evers dazzled the crowd and the faculty emerged victorious. Everyone had a great time and new students in attendance even got free Go Raiders! shirts. Faculty Relations co-chairs also made sure the new teachers felt welcome with teacher supply leis and a short note. The Prefects capped off a great first week with their annual sleepover where they participated in community service, ROPES with the 10th Grade Leadership Class students, bonding, and planning for the year. Go Raiders!

Student Council Seminar (8/19/08)
This school year's talented and spirited Student Council held their annual Seminar in Seto Hall all day on August 19. Students played games, got to know each other, brainstormed for the upcoming year, and started planning various activities. If the spirit at the Seminar was any indication, this is going to be a Raiderrific year! Go Raiders and Go Student Council!

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