I MUA KAMEHAMEHA!

Jamika is such a trend setter. :) She's got some great ideas coming out of that noggin of hers.

Ko`u `alemamaka (my alma mater):

Kamehameha Schools Kapālama Campus
Home of the Warriors


(entire campus, aerial view)

(just the high school)

Moto: I Mua Kamehameha (Succeed and move forward, Kamehameha)

School colors: Blue and white
[A quote from my friend Kelsey: "All my Kamehameha peeps will get this: I don't bleed red, I bleed blue and white, bitch."]

Class of 2007
Class size: 438

Years Of Attendance: 6 years (7th-12th grade)

Facilities:
+Preschool, Elementary School, Middle School, High School
+4 gymnasiums, 2 weight rooms
+1 Olympic size pool
+1 football stadium, 1 baseball field, 2 smaller fields
+3 Dinning Halls
+8 Dormitories
+2 Health rooms, and literally, a mini-hospital for the high school: Hale Ola (which, ironically means "house of life")
+Princess Ruth Ke‘eliōklani Auditorium, seats 750

(auditorium/performing arts building, frontal view. My home at school.)
+1 Chapel

(even though I didn't really like Chapel days, it's a pretty badass chapel.)
+Bus shuttles to upper and lower campuses for high school
+24 hour security guards partolling campus
+Native/Indigenous garden

History:
+Named after King Kamehameha The Great of Hawai`i. He was the first king to unite all islands in the Hawaiian chain, including those north of the 8 major islands.
+Established in 1887. Founded by Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop and husband Charles Reed Bishop.
+Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate is the largest private landowner in Hawai`i. At the end of 2006 the Estate's endowment was $7.7 billion. Only 6 other US institutions (Harvard, Princeton, Yale, M.I.T., Stanford, Duke) have higher endowments.
+Admissions policy gives preference to students of Native Hawaiian ancestry.
+Kamehameha Schools for Boys was opened in 1887, then in 1894 the Girls School opened. By 1955 both schools merged, now occupying its current location.
+Kamehameha Schools Kapālama Campus covers 600 acres on Kapālama Heights, Kalihi, Hawai`i.
+Three total campuses: Kapālama (O`ahu), Kea`au (Big Island) and Pukalani (Maui).
+We have an annual Song Contest for the Kapālama Campus, in which each high school class competes against each other, singing songs in Hawaiian. Read about it here, it's actually a really cool tradition.

Lawsuits:
+Mohica-Cummings lawsuit
In 2003 non-Hawaiian Brayden Mohica-Cummings was admitted into Kamehameha Schools under false information given by his mother. She claimed that she was adopted by a Hawaiian family, making her son "Hawaiian." Kamehameha rescinded its offer when the mother couldn't provide any lega documents, however he was still admitted into the school under the agreement that they drop the lawsuit. (PS: This kid was such a douche bag. He thought he was hot shit because if anyone did anything to him his mom would sue the school, again. But he got himself kicked out his sophomore or junior year for drinking in the dorms. Dumbass.)

+John Doe v. Kamehameha
In June 2003, a non-Hawaiian filed a lawsuit against Kamehameha claiming that our admissions policy violated a federal statute stating that it was racially discriminatory to prohibit him/her into the school. The case went all the way to the Ninth Circuit Court. Eventually the case was out-of-court. However, the plaintiff released the amount that Kamehameha paid them: $7 million. In August of 2008 Kamehameha sued Doe for releasing the information; the same day the lawyers for Doe sued Kamehameha on behalf of 4 other non-Hawaiians who wanted to attend the school.





This is some of the high school students that lead the beginning of the march down our campus. We had an all-school assembly my senior year because of this case. All three campuses had an all-school assembly talking about it and updating us on the information.

Extracurriculars:
+Nā `Opio Singers (choir, 7th-8th grade, Secretary)
+Drama club (4 years, underclassmen rep 10th grade, club president 12th grade)
+Kamehameha Dance Company (3 years)
+Speech and Debate Team (1 year)
+Swing and Latin Dance Club (2 year)
+Kaulele Pueo (1 year)
+Creative Writing Club (2 years)
+Ka Mō`i (newspaper)

Random facts:
+I rode the bus to school all 6 years, except those days I had after school rehearsals for drama and dance.
+In the 7th grade I tried out for the basketball team.
+Our cheerleading team is national ranked, having won several national competitions.
+We don't have Homecoming at all, no Winter Ball, only Freshman Dance, Sophomore Banquet, Junior/Senior Prom. (But no prom kings/queens)
+My class has won every award at Song Contest at least once, except for the Women's award. Yet everyone knows we were robbed of that junior year.
+My senior year, my school newspaper [Ka Mō`i] won the Top Overall Newspaper Award at the Annual Hawaii High School Journalism Contest. Chee pono!
+For P.E. you need to complete a freshman run or swim (6.2 mile run or 3.8 mile swim) and the sophomore biathlon (3 mile swim then get out and do a 4.2 mile run). Junior/senior year you need to complete a community event of either running or swimming.
+Senior year for almost an entire semester I spent 5 consecutive periods in the drama room. No one has yet to beat that record.
+While in high school, I participated in 8 plays, 3 Christmas Concerts, and 3 Spring Dance Concerts.
+In the 8th grade I got the Speech Award for my team.
+In the summer of 2006, Kamehameha High School Marching Band became the first band from Hawai`i to travel to China for a concert tour.
+KS puts on an annual Ho`olaule`a, which is like a carnival on its campus. There's entertainment (Concert Glee, Marching Band, KDC, Hawaiian Ensemble, local performers and student bands), food booths, crafts, information tables, fresh fruits/veggies stands, games and rides.
+Kamehameha Varsity Football JUST won the ILH State Champions this weekend!! I MUA!
+Senior year I represented Kamehameha at the Hawai`i High School Shakespeare Festival and got 4th place.
+Junior year in English we read The Scarlet Letter and I learned how to tie a noose for a class presentation on weapons.
+I directed The Breakfast Club my senior year, and I also played Allison.

Favorite Teachers:
+Fuj - Drama teacher/director.
+Mrs. Vogt - 7th grade English
+Mr. Mike - 7th grade Science/8th grade Math
+Mr. Lai - 8th grade Speech
+Takahashi - 9th grade Speech
+Mr. Heyd - 10th grade World History
+Webb - 11th grade AP US History
+Dulatre - 12th grade Honors Economics
+Vinta - 12th grade Shakespeare
+Burbridge - 12th grade Fiction Writing

Favorite Classes:
+Drama
+English (Shakespeare and Fiction Writing)
+Photography
+Speech
+World History
+APUSH (aka: AP US History)
+Honors Econ
+Marine Biology

Least Favorite Classes:
+French
+Chemistry
+P.E. (you guys don't even know what P.E. is until you've gone to my school)

Hangout Spots:
+Drama room (11th-12th grade)
+Breezeway (Bus stop area)
+Midkiff Library (in the mornings)
+Mrs. Evensen's room (9th-10th grade, Lara's mom was a chemistry teacher)

Favorite Year:
+Junior year. Even though that was the year I lost my best friend since 7th grade, drama that year was fantastic. I loved class of '06 and they made me feel so welcome and loved in the drama family. That was also the first year I choreographed my own hip hop number in dance.

School Song: "Sons of Hawai`i"

Be strong and ally ye, oh sons of Hawaiʻi
And nobly stand together hand in hand.
All dangers defy ye, oh sons of Hawaiʻi
And bravely serve your own, your fatherland.

Ring, ring, Kalihi, ring
Swell the echo of our song.
Ray, ray, ray, ray, ray, rah, ray, ray,
Kamehameha
Let hills and valleys loud our song prolong.

Be firm and deny ye, oh sons of Hawaiʻi
Allurements that your race will overwhelm.
Be true and rely ye, oh sons of Hawaiʻi
On God, the prop and pillar of your realm

Fight Song: "I Mua Kamehameha"

I mua Kamehameha e
a lanakila `oe.
Paio, paio like mau
i ola kou i noa.
Ka wa nei ho`ike a`e `oe
`A`ohe lua ou.
e lawe lilo ka ha`aheo
no Kamehameha e.

Translation:
Go forward Kamehameha
until you have gained victory.
Fight, fight always
that your name may live.
Now is the time to prove
that you are incomparable.
(and) bring pride
to Kamehameha!

Notable Alumni:
+Senator Daniel Akaka (HI Senator 1990-present)
+Duke Kahanamoku (Olympic swimmer, surf icon)
+Don Ho (entertainer)
+Kelly Hu (actress)
+Makoa Freitas (football player, Indianapolis Colts)
+Brooke Lee (Miss Hawai`i USA 1997, Miss USA 1997, Miss Universe 1997)
+Radasha Ho`oluhi (Miss Hawai`i USA 2006)
+Bronson Sardinha (baseball player, NY Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers)
+Bryan Ching (soccer player, Houston Dynamo
+Kupono Aweau (So You Think You Can Dance contestant. We both danced in the same company, just different years.)

Damn. I probably went on too much about my school. This took me a real long to finish up, haha. But I also took a break because I started going through the photo galleries on KS's website. I found pictures from the 8th grade choir trip! And pictures I didn't even know existed of me! Those are the best.

♫Song of the day♫: "A-Punk" by Vampire Weekend