Rigorous and Relevant 21^st Century Learning – Art Through History with Ms. Lee

      In November, Ms. Lee took her Art Through History students to the Honolulu Museum of Arts. The students selected a work of art they connected with for their Formal Analysis essay. Along with their essay, students also analyzed the museum in a reflection by looking how the exhibitions were set up (lighting, space, arrangement of art works). The students turned in their Formal Analysis essays the next week. In their Formal Analysis, students analyzed their selected art work in terms of color, line, composition, style, depth, space, etc. Three of her students chose works by local Hawaii artist Ryan Higa. His works are found in an Artists of Hawaii 2013 exhibition.

     After such a positive response from her students, Ms. Lee emailed Mr. Higa and told him about how her students responded to his work and he was more than welcome to visit her students. While visiting them, he spoke about his work (and projected images of them), his art process, being an artist in Hawaii and answered all our students’ questions. He even drew one of his characters from his art work on the white board. He also asked Ms. Lee for the formal analyses from the students who chose his work. Ms. Lee sent him the documents and he responded thoughtfully to their work. Below is one segment of that email:

“Kahealani’s essay is very thorough and insightful.  I’m glad that she’s able to identify and read the multiple layers that are in the work.  And despite not knowing exactly what story was being told, she was able to bring her own experience and imagination into the work and find meaning.  That’s not something that everyone is able to do when experiencing art.  I also liked how Sean thought that ‘Lovely Keeps’ may have looked like faces ‘moaning in sorrow’.  Unexpected readings like that are often the most fun and helpful for me to hear.”

     By exposing her students to various forms of visual art in real-world settings and challenging them to interpret them accurately utilizing the skills and content they learned in class, Ms. Lee has provided both a rigorous and relevant lesson for her students. Mahalo Ms. Lee for all of your hard work.

Senior Lorelei Zabanal considers her selection as a 2013 Wo Study Abroad Scholar a risk and a blessing.

"Of all the places in the world, Africa would usually not be one's first pick of destination," said Lorelei. "This was the most ambitious thing I've ever done. During my stay, I took cold showers daily, washed my own clothes, witnessed Muslims practicing Ramadan, walked everywhere, and rarely had internet."

Lorelei was one of four Maryknoll students who participated in last summer's study abroad program. Since 2012, Maryknoll School has participated in Punahou School's Wo International Center's Summer Study Abroad program offering juniors and sophomores a unique educational opportunity in service and global citizenship by visiting countries such as Africa, China, Japan and Costa Rica.

"Living and learning in a country thousands of miles away from home helped me to push past my comfort zone," said Lorelei. "I loved spending time with people in a culture so different from mine. My favorite part of the trip was simply spending time with my host family. It was fun trying to communicate with kids who spoke a different language; neither of us understood the other. I realized that speech is not always needed - I could still have fun with the kids by playing games with them, eating, dancing, or even going to the beach by my house."

The Wo Scholars returned from their destinations world travelers, critical thinkers and inspired to dedicate themselves to a profession of service.

"Having a first-hand experience with this kind of lifestyle made me realize that I'm incredibly blessed to live in America and to have so many opportunities," said Lorelei. "Noblesse oblige - the best way to thank everyone for what I have been given is by giving back to the greater community. One day, I want to join a nonprofit organization working to better the conditions of developing countries. I hope to share my knowledge and talents with others, and provide them with resources previously out of their reach."

Applications and details for the 2014 Wo Summer Study Abroad program are available online and in the front office. Students must complete an application and write a brief essay demonstrating their interest in participating in the program. Application deadline is Friday, January 17, 2014.

For more information, please contact Glenn Medeiros, Vice Principal of Academics and Faculty at 952-7203 or glenn.medeiros@maryknollschool.org.

Teacher of the Week: William McFeeley

Living Noblesse Oblige

            Much like the Maryknoll Sisters, one common theme found among our faculty members at Maryknoll School is their desire to help others. Since 1992, Mr. William McFeeley has been more than just a science teacher at Maryknoll School. Mr. McFeeley takes pride in the many things he has done along with his students to make a difference in the lives of people here in Hawaii and elsewhere.

            Mr. McFeeley grew up in the town of Nanakuli on Oahu. He attended both Nana I Ka Pono Elementary and Nanakuli High School. As a teenager, Mr. McFeeley became interested in learning about the environment. After hearing that Oregon State University offered excellent courses in environmental studies, he chose to attend college there. After nearly eighteen months of studying in Oregon, Mr. McFeeley made the decision to move back to Hawaii to find a new topic of study that would allow him to be of better service to others. While attending the University of Hawaii, Mr. McFeeley discovered something that would change his life forever. He found his passion for teaching.

            Mr. McFeeley eventually graduated at the University of Hawaii with a Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education and a specialization in Science. However, prior to graduating, Mr. McFeeley felt that his years in public school did not adequately provide him with the metacognitive skills he needed to be successful in learning. In other words, he was not taught to learn how he himself learns best. After many hours of study in college, Mr. McFeeley utilized his strengths to create study habits that led to an incredible experience for him in school and he wanted others to share that same feeling as students. Specifically, he wanted to return to Nanakuli High School as a teacher to share this new knowledge with the students there so they would not have to face the same challenges he did after graduating from high school. Fortunately, Mr. McFeeley did exactly that after graduating from college and worked as a middle and high school science teacher at Nanakuli High School. There, he implemented the FAST (Future Achievers of Science and Technology) science program, where he created much of the materials and lesson plans needed for his students to take part in it. However, he soon discovered that may of his students were too distracted by their involvement in fights, gambling, and other unfortunate activities that kept them from focusing on their studies as he had asked them to. After being discouraged by this as a teacher, he spent some time working outside of the educational field. Nevertheless, his passion for helping others as a teacher led him to determine that he would be a better fit as a teacher in a private school setting. Soon afterwards, Mr. McFeeley interviewed with Maryknoll School and has been a science teacher here ever since.  

            After being hired at Maryknoll, Mr. McFeeley entered Maryknoll students into many contests including the HAIS Science Fair and various robotics competitions. In retrospect, he is most proud of what he and his students have done to assist others in our community and around the world. Among their many charitable works, Mr. McFeeley and his former advisory students collected water bottles each day in school and used the money attained from that to sponsor a child living in poverty in Africa. Although his advisory students have moved on after graduating from Maryknoll, Mr. McFeeley continues to contribute money to this child who is now twelve years old.

            Today, Mr. McFeeley is Head of the Science Department at Maryknoll School and works very hard to enter his students into robotics competitions as seen in the picture above. In addition, Mr. McFeeley takes time to teach our students not only the content involved in studying science, he also teaches his students how to become successful learners in school that give back to their communities whenever possible. By teaching our Maryknoll students these lessons, Mr. McFeeley truly does carry on our legacy of Noblesse Oblige.

            When students who are new to Maryknoll read the name Shawn Higa on their schedules, they often believe this math teacher is a male due to the spelling of her first name. However, Ms. Higa’s fun-loving personality finds her students’ reaction amusing when they discover on the first day of the school that their assumption about her gender is incorrect. Even after meeting Ms. Higa, students are amazed to see there is more to this math teacher than meets the eye.

            Ms. Higa grew up on the island of Oahu in Wahiawa. She stayed close to home during her childhood years by attending Wahiawa Elementary and Middle School and eventually graduating from Leilehua High School.  What comes as a surprise to some is that Ms. Higa is also an athlete who played soccer, volleyball and cross country in high school. Aside from excelling in sports, her dream was to become a teacher after finding inspiration from a math teacher named Mr. Fukuda. Ms. Higa can still recall Mr. Fukuda’s intense approach to teaching in her Trigonometry class during her sophomore year of high school. He would often bang his hands on the wall and say “I love this stuff!” all the while sweating because he was so passionate about learning math.

When it was time to start thinking about college, Mrs. Higa knew she wanted to study in the field of education and also play soccer for the university she attended. Unfortunately, she was injured in her senior year of high school and did not receive the scholarship offers in soccer that some thought may have come her way. For that reason, Ms. Higa attended the University of Hawaii and tried to make the soccer team there as a walk on while working towards a degree in education. At the University of Hawaii, Ms. Higa eventually attained an undergraduate degree in Education with an emphasis in teaching math and a graduate degree in Curriculum Development. Due to her athletic ability, steady work ethic and perseverance, Ms. Higa made the UH soccer team as a walk on and helped take the UH Wahine soccer team to its first WAC title.

While working on her Master’s degree at UH, Ms. Higa began teaching math for three consecutive summers at Maryknoll High School. During that time, Ms. Higa proved to be a competent teacher with a bright future as an educator. For that reason, she was offered a position at Maryknoll School as an Algebra and Geometry teacher and she has been here now for three years honing her craft with the help of wonderful mentors like Lance Suzuki and others. Today, you will find her creating rigorous and relevant activities for her students like challenging them to create their own dream home by applying the lessons they’ve learned in geometry class. Ms. Higa has always been a winner and we are proud to have her on our winning team here at Maryknoll High School. By fully developing and sharing her talents with others, Ms. Higa truly exemplifies our school motto of Noblesse Oblige.

Teacher of the Week: Mason Donald

Living Noblesse Oblige

            Much like our students, each teacher at Maryknoll School is uniquely special. As for English teacher Mason Donald, his wealth of talents and interests, experiences in life, and most of all, his passion for teaching and learning makes him invaluable.

            Mr. Donald was born and raised in Kailua, Kona. He attended Kealakehe School from Kindergarten to the 12^th grade. In high school, he was president of the math team, a member of the student council, and also participated as an athlete on the track and field team. In addition to his busy school life, Mr. Donald spent his teenage years working on various farms planting tomato, coffee, and hydroponic lettuce. At the age of fifteen, Mr. Donald began practicing Hinduism by meditating, chanting, praying, and taking part in discussions as part of a small Sangha, or Hindu community, on the Big Island. When it was time for Mr. Donald to decide which college to attend, he made the hard choice of turning down his acceptance into Boston College and other universities on the U.S. Mainland to stay close to home and continue practicing his Hindu faith by attending the University of Hawaii-Manoa. He originally wanted to study law; however, Mr. Donald chose instead to expose himself to several topics of study.

            At the University of Hawaii-Manoa, Mr. Donald was inspired by his English 101 professor to become a teacher. Soon after, Mr. Donald made the choice to attain a BA degree in English, Religion and Anthropology. During that time, Mr. Donald continued to work while attending college as a desk receptionist at UH for four years and later as a waiter at Spices on King Street. When it was time for him to begin working on his graduate degree, Mr. Donald chose to stay at UH and eventually received an MA degree in English with a focus on Composition and Rhetoric. Fortunately for Mr. Donald, his hard work soon paid off after receiving notification that he was hired by Maryknoll School to teach English after long-time Maryknoll teacher Diane Lee made the decision to retire.

            For Mr. Donald, Maryknoll School has been a perfect fit. Besides the many friends and colleagues he has made at Maryknoll School, Mr. Donald enjoys being with his students and appreciates the fact that Maryknoll’s identity is centered on the idea of serving others and exploring the teachings of God. He has taught many courses since working here, including, World Literature, Literature through Film, Creative Writing, Science Fiction, and Writing for College. As for his hobbies, Mr. Donald spends his free time hiking, reading, enjoying good food, and watching movies. Of the many accomplishments his students have achieved, he is most proud of the fact that they continue the work of former English Teacher Frankie Lucas through the publishing of one of the oldest high school publications in Hawaii called The Toad. As the Advisor of the literary magazine The Toad for the past several years, Mr. Donald has collected original works of art created by Maryknoll students and has showcased them in our own literary magazine each year. Now, for the second year in a row, The Toad has won the American Scholastic Press Association’s Most Outstanding High School Literary Art Magazine Award thanks to the dedication Mr. Donald and his students have put forth.

By sharing his unique qualities, strong work ethic, and desire to help our students achieve, Mr. Donald truly exemplifies our school motto of Noblesse Oblige. Thank you Mr. Donald for being a part of our Maryknoll family.   

Our 10th grade Mandarin students from Mrs. Lily Lu’s class visited the Taiyuan Puppet Theater Company on Monday, January 27th at the East West Center. To complement their studies, the students learned about the world of Chinese puppetry and Taiwanese Glove Puppets, as part of a collection from the Lin Liu-Hsin Museum in Taiwan.  The World of Chinese Puppets Exhibition runs from January through May 11, 2014. Please visit http://arts.EastWestCenter.org for more information.

Seniors Shane Bassett, Michaela Yamashita, Heather Acidera, Xavier Imperial and Junior Matthew Choy competed in the 2014 Hawaii Science Bowl on January 25, 2014 at Honolulu Community College. Twenty teams participated in 16-minute buzzer rounds.  The Maryknoll Team was matched with teams from Roosevelt, Miliani, Hanalani and Waipahu High School in the Honua division.

Beginning in 1994, the Hawaii Science Bowl encourages student involvement in math and science activities, grooming them for future successes in science and math career fields.

            Academic Dean and history teacher Steve Caley has dedicated his life to the service of others. Mr. Caley has thrived here at Maryknoll School, where service is at the heart of what makes both this school and his story so unique.

            Steve Caley grew up in the small blue-collar town of Bremerton, Washington. His grandfather was stationed there many years ago in the Navy and chose to stay. As a child, Mr. Caley attended Naval Avenue Elementary School a block away from the shipyard where the U.S.S. Missouri was docked before eventually finding its way home to Hawaii. Mr. Caley later attended Olympic High School, where he played basketball, golf, and ran on the cross country team. For fun, Mr. Caley enjoyed competing in the Knowledge Bowl each year at Olympic High.

After graduating from high school in 1989, Mr. Caley joined the Army to serve his country and also finance his education. After a two year commitment that took him to both Georgia and Kentucky, Mr. Caley attended Western Washington University, where he received his undergraduate degree as a History major with a minor in Political Science. At the time, Mr. Caley was considering a career in law or international relations, leading him to accept an offer to work for the United Nations Development Program in New Delhi, India.

In New Delhi, Mr. Caley worked to secure rights for women by reviewing bills proposed by government officials in India and articulating them to his colleagues in the UN. He also worked to protect the tiger and rhinoceros population in India by meeting with villagers there to ensure that their needs were met. Although Mr. Caley did his share to help the people of India, he began to realize that the greatest impact he could make in society was to educate children. At that moment, Mr. Caley decided to become a teacher and moved to Hiroshima, Japan, the same place he had visited as an exchange student in high school. Mr. Caley enjoyed living and teaching in Japan, but he also wanted to further his education, so he eventually returned home to Washington to attend the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. There, Mr. Caley not only received his graduate degree in Secondary Education with an emphasis on History and English, he also met his future wife, who was born and raised in Hawaii.

When Mrs. Caley was offered a teaching position at her alma mater, Punahou School, Mr. Caley chose to support her by moving to Hawaii and leaving his job as a teacher at Clover Park School, a CES school in Lakewood, Washington. Soon after, Mr. Caley began searching for an Essential School in Hawaii to work at and immediately found Maryknoll School. Betsey Gunderson and Darcie Kawamura, former Principal and Vice Principal of Maryknoll School, were delighted to find someone with experience working in an Essential School. More importantly, they also recognized they had found someone dedicated to serving others. For that reason, Mr. Caley was offered the position of history teacher at Maryknoll School and has thrived here for the last eight years as a teacher, coach, and leader.

When asked what his fondest memories are of Maryknoll School, Mr. Caley needed some time to think. For him, there have been many incredible moments at Maryknoll School. From coaching our basketball team to an upset win in the state playoffs, to watching his students present their Senior Projects in front of the entire school, to conversations about history with former Maryknoll graduate, teacher and principal Jared Kaufman, to stepping in as Interim Vice-Principal, Mr. Caley has found himself a very good fit here at Maryknoll School and he is delighted to be here.

Today, Mr. Caley enjoys spending time with his wife and two children at home in Mililani. He proudly wears his Seattle Seahawks attire each day to school and is amazed by the school spirit that has been growing steadily in the last few years here at Maryknoll. Mr. Caley sees a bright future for Maryknoll School and is honored to be a part of a team that prides itself on living the motto Noblesse Oblige by serving others here in Hawaii and throughout the world, much the same way he has his entire life.

Thank you Mr. Caley for being a part of our Maryknoll family.   

Students Connie Tu, Christine Galang, and Micah Bagayas wrote this compelling short essay as part of a project in Mrs. Martin's class, exploring the potentially addictive nature of social networking in the 21st century. 

Facebook is almost like a friend, appealing to us, in many different ways, like allowing us to understand world news, connecting us to other people, feeding our voyeuristic natures, and seeing us as important individuals, by liking and posting photos.  Facebook starts as a habit, first by commenting and liking different posts, but as the actions grow quicker and the thought of Facebook is perpetually embedded in our mind, the social networking site becomes an addiction. Though Facebook is not entirely addictive, the things people do on it and how they respond to those actions, will ultimately decide if that person is addicted or not.

Facebook users ultimately do four things, liking, posting, commenting, and sharing, which allows us to feel attached with said person’s friend list, but these actions alone do not make Facebook addictive. These actions are simply repetitive habits; they are a series of learned behaviors and human choices.  Facebook, itself, does not speak to the users, telling them to stay logged on.  As an example, artists draw and compile works for a living, this action of a tool on paper, though people might associate this with an addiction, it clearly isn’t.  The artist is simply repeatedly creating different things, which becomes a habit, therefore by using the same logic, Facebook is a habit as well.

As social networking becomes relevant to ourselves in every day life, mobile phones have become enabled to check Facebook if connected to a WiFi, or a Network in general, which gives Facebook users another way to feed their habits.  They, after hours and hours of checking their Timelines and Feeds at home, they are reduced to do the same thing on the go.  Though, these habits are not entirely Facebook’s fault.  Facebook users who are known to be online more frequently than the normal amount of time, usually have another problem that stems from an outside source.  For these people, Facebook is an outlet; it is used to avoid dealing with certain real-life problems such as, work, school, or personal issues.

Once the habitual line, between using Facebook as an outlet or a hub for social interaction, is crossed, Facebook is considered an addiction.  While there is nothing wrong with using Facebook, there are some people who overuse this social website.  These people tend to overshare and check their accounts whenever possible.  Oversharing is the issue where one uses Facebook as a journal. There is no privacy when one overshares; they are unable to judge what’s appropriate or not.  The basis of sharing about ourselves is not wrong, because it fulfills our own social needs, but once we regret what we share, we are attempting to satisfy the engagement of sharing.  This is the point of Facebook becoming an addiction.  Checking Facebook, is a way to stay connected to others and their lives, but once someone constantly log on to view Feeds, while completing daily activities, the person is addicted.  One, when doing this, ultimately becomes distracted and finds it hard to be present during this time.

In summary, Facebook is habitual.  Of course, there is a line that can be crossed, like other social networking sites, but Facebook itself is not an addiction.  The way a person uses Facebook, decides on whether they are addicted or not.  Therefore, Facebook is a habit that, when used in the wrong and hurtful way, can become an addiction.

Teacher of the Week: Charlene Martin

Living Noblesse Oblige

            Mrs. Charlene Martin seems relatively shy when asked to speak about her many accomplishments at Maryknoll School as a teacher. For someone who has been a leader at Maryknoll School for thirty-five years, there is long list of achievements she could share. For those who know Mrs. Martin, it comes as no surprise that this quiet leader would rather spend her time focusing on others because that is one of the characteristics that makes her so unique. Like the Maryknoll Sisters, Mrs. Martin is devoted to being servant leader.

            Mrs. Martin was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. She attended Pearl Harbor Elementary School and later Radford High School. What may be a surprise for some is that Mrs. Martin enjoyed singing and acting in high school. She was also very active in clubs. In particular, Mrs. Martin was the song leader of the Spirit Club at her alma mater.

            Since the second grade, Mrs. Martin new she wanted to be a teacher. When she graduated from high school, she chose to begin her educational studies at Winona State University and completed her undergraduate degree in Secondary Education/Social Studies at Chaminade University with minors in both Sociology and Psychology. When she graduated from college, she received a phone call one day from former Principal of Maryknoll School, Mr. Jared Kaufmann, and was hired to teach math and social studies soon after.

            For her first thirteen years at Maryknoll School, Mrs. Martin taught both math and social studies. She can still recall working with Sister Borgia Ann McGee who was Head of the Math Department when she was first hired. Sister McGee made sure that this new social studies major was prepared to teach math and Mrs. Martin appreciated that. During those years, Mrs. Martin began one of her first leadership roles as Advisor of the Dance Committee. As advisor, she helped to coordinate almost all of the dances that took place at Maryknoll School. In those years, Maryknoll students enjoyed dances each month in Rogers Hall.  When Andy Cochran became principal, the Senate took over the responsibility of planning dances and Mrs. Martin began her long run as the Sophomore Grade Level Coordinator here at Maryknoll School. Today, Mrs. Martin continues to lead the Sophomore division through the many traditional events associated with Maryknoll’s sophomores including the Sophomore Banquet and more.

            Mrs. Martin has many fond memories of Maryknoll School. There are far too many for her to remember, but one lasting memory for her is when she joined Joe Miller and various Maryknoll students to visit Leahi Hospital, a long-term care facility near Fort Ruger. There she, Mr. Miller and her students sang Christmas carols for the patients there. Today, Mrs. Martin finds great joy in meeting her former graduates that often say to her, “Do you remember me?” Of those, she recalls meeting her former student Pali Ka’aihue, Na Hoku Hanohano Award winning musician and graduate of Maryknoll School while in Oregon. She was honored when Pali offered to send her a CD of his. This could be due in part because Mrs. Martin still loves to sing and dance like she did in her high school days at Radford. Over the years, Mrs. Martin stated that she lost her singing voice due to the many years of teaching and the stress placed on her vocal cords. However, she still loves dancing and shares her passion for it as Advisory of the Korean Dance Club today. She can also be found listening to her favorite recording artists and attending plays and concerts due to her love for music.

            In the photograph above, Mrs. Martin is leading her students in an activity she developed in her psychology class on the study of trust-building. It was very difficult to get a clear picture of her because she kept moving so quickly from one place to another while guiding her blindfolded students safely throughout Rogers Hall. When asked about why she kept moving so quickly, she expressed that her focus was not on the camera. She was more concerned about her students avoiding all hazards and leading them on the right path. For someone who has dedicated her life to serving others, this comes as no surprise.  

Thank you Mrs. Martin for being a part of our Maryknoll family for so many years.    

Teacher of the Week: Jeff McGivern

Living Noblesse Oblige

            At Maryknoll School, we were recently praised by our visiting accreditation team for not only providing rigorous and relevant learning opportunities for our students, but for also creating an environment where meaningful relationships can take place between all the members of our community. For Jeff McGivern, religion teacher at Maryknoll High School, building relationships begins with serving others and he has lived our school’s motto of noblesse oblige his entire life.

            Born and raised in Hawaii Kai, Mr. McGivern attended St. Patrick’s School for his first two years of education and Holy Trinity School from the 1^st grade to the 8^th grade. He spent his high school years at St. Louis School where he eventually graduated from in 1982. In high school, Mr. McGivern excelled in sports like basketball, volleyball and track. However, he found his greatest joy in tutoring students at St. Patrick School. Although one may assume based on his love for teaching and serving others that Mr. McGivern would enter college to eventually become an educator; instead, he chose to follow in his father’s footsteps and become an entrepreneur.

            Mr. McGivern initially attended a Jesuit college called Regis University in Denver, Colorado as a Business major. After some time, he began to miss being with his family and transferred to another Catholic school called St. Martin’s University in Olympia, Washington to be with his brother. On his first day at St. Martin’s, he met his future wife, who attended school there as a scholar athlete playing basketball. Mr. McGivern eventually moved back to Hawaii, where his love for service to the community led him to change his focus of study in college to sociology. In 1988, Mr. McGivern graduated with a BA in Sociology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

            From 1988 to 2002, Mr. McGivern worked in various capacities from sales to marketing, but he devoted most of his free time to serving his community through his role as an educator teaching catechism and confirmation courses at St. Anthony of Padua in Kailua. He also led many youth retreats through his work with the Basic Christian Community of Hawaii. After attending a retreat with his wife Heidi at the Worldwide Marriage Encounter at St. Stephen in 2000, Mr. McGivern received a clear message from God that his purpose in life was to make a difference in the lives of children by becoming a teacher. After patiently waiting, through the power of the Holy Spirit, he was offered the position of Campus Minister at Maryknoll High School.

            Mr. McGivern enjoyed his time as a campus minister at Maryknoll. Of the many experiences that took place, he remembers most the way a great number of students took part in religious activities from providing community service, to retreats and reconciliation. His fondest memory was a prayer service called Roses in December in which students reenacted the true story of the Martyrs of El Salvador. With help from former drama teacher Stephanie Conching, students performed in Rogers Hall and touched everyone with their story of the Maryknoll Sisters who gave their lives in the service of others. One of his duties as campus minister was to teach a course called Introduction to Catholic Christianity. There, Mr. McGivern proved that he was also a talented instructor and was eventually asked to step into the role of classroom teacher on a full-time basis. As a religion teacher, Mr. McGivern continued his focus on servicing others by attending Maryknoll’ s Majuro Mission and educating Marshallese students each summer alongside Maryknoll students.

            Today, Mr. McGivern feels blessed to be working alongside his wife Heidi as educators and his three children who currently attend Maryknoll School. He continues teaching his students the value of service to others by taking them to feed the homeless and encouraging them to participate in government on issues affecting our community. One year, all of the members of Hawaii’s Senate gave Mr. McGivern and his students a round of applause for the work they did at hearings taking place at Hawaii’s State Capital Building. Finally, Mr. McGivern takes great joy in seeing the personal and academic growth of his students during their four years of stay at Maryknoll School. In particular, Mr. McGivern loves hearing from his former students that some of their most memorable experiences at Maryknoll were those that involved activities centered around service.

            In the picture above, Mr. McGivern is seen with his son Matthew. Beside him is the statue of Mother Mary that is at the center of Maryknoll School both physically and spiritually. If you look even more closely, you will see a pink pin on Mr. McGivern’s shirt. Mr. McGivern wears this pin in memory of his mother who died of breast cancer when he was only 11 years old. It is no wonder that the center of Mr. McGivern’s life has been a desire to be there for his family and his community, much the same way Mother Mary was there for him throughout his life. Thank you Mr. McGivern for living noblesse oblige and being an important part our Maryknoll family.    

Teacher of the Week: Michelle Nakanishi

Living Noblesse Oblige

            With the recent success of our Spartan athletic teams and the building of our twenty-one million dollar Clarence T.C. Ching Gymnasium, Spartan pride reigns strong at Maryknoll School. There have also been several people directly responsible for bringing back that recent resurgence of Spartan pride and one of them is a former graduate of Maryknoll School and current physical education teacher Michelle Nakanishi.

            Ms. Nakanishi grew up in Pearl City, but she made the drive into town each day by attending Bingham Tract Elementary School from kindergarten to the 6^th grade and Maryknoll School from the 7^th grade on. As a student at Maryknoll, Ms. Nakanishi took part in many sports including volleyball, softball, and track & field. In addition to her involvement in various sports, Ms. Nakanishi also spent time on the Yearbook Committee, Winterball Committee, and the Japanese Club while in high school. When it was time to attend college, Ms. Nakanishi’s desire to become an athletic trainer led her to apply to the University of Hawaii-Manoa to attain a degree from the School of Education there in Kinesiology.

After graduating from and eventually going back to school at UH Manoa to attain a second degree in Travel Industry Management, Ms. Nakanishi spent the next several years of her life working as an athletic trainer at Gold’s Gym and 24 Hour Fitness while concurrently working full-time at Dole Ballrooms and the Marriot Hotel. Ms. Nakanishi’s enjoyment found in working with others and the love she also felt for her alma mater made it easy for her to accept the offer given to her to become a part-time physical education teacher at Maryknoll School in 2010. After proving herself as a teacher, Ms. Nakanishi was offered a full-time position as physical education teacher and has been here at Maryknoll School as a faculty member ever since.

            Now that Ms. Nakanishi has returned to Maryknoll, she continues to see what has always made her alma mater so special. For her, an athlete at Maryknoll School can be a big fish in a small pond, so opportunities are boundless. She sees this each day after school as an assistant baseball coach for the Spartan Boys’ Baseball Team. In classrooms, teachers take the time to get to know everyone and regardless of their grade level, students become friends with each other. In addition to this, Spartan Pride is growing thanks in part to Ms. Nakanishi’s leadership as Senate Advisor in the high school. Homecoming in the last few years has become an all-school event in the Maryknoll Community Center with class representatives dressed in tuxedos and evening gowns and classes taking part in competitions that exhibit school pride. Ms. Nakanishi gives credit to many people at Maryknoll for bringing back some of the older traditions previously celebrated here. In the future, she plans on continuing to work with others to create new opportunities for our students to build their own traditions here at Maryknoll.

            In the picture above, we recently celebrated Ms. Nakanishi’s birthday along with other members of our high school faculty. When Ms. Nakanishi is not at the high school campus, you will also often see her at the grade school teaching physical education classes in the Clarence T. C. Ching Gymnasium or walking her two children Brayson and Brianna to their second grade classrooms.  Although much of the work she does is behind the scenes, we appreciate her dedication to Maryknoll School and the spirit of noblesse oblige she models for our students each and every day. Thank you Ms. Nakanishi for living noblesse oblige and being an important part our Maryknoll family.    

Civil Air Patrol Cadet Squadron Deputy Commander Ugale poses with cadets at the Pentagon, as part of their participation in CAP 2014 Legislative Week and Winter Command Council. 

We are proud to have Hawaii Civil Air Patrol Wing Commander, Colonel Jeffrey Wong and Maryknoll Squadron Deputy Commander, Captain Christopher Ugale lead our cadets by participating in the 2014 CAP Legislative Week and Command Council Board Meeting in Washington D.C. from February 23rd to March 1^st. Leaders of the Hawaii Wing and Maryknoll Squadron, as well as our cadets, are meeting with members of the US House of Representatives, US Senators, and visiting many historical monuments, sites and museums that pertain to the US Federal Government civics, aerospace education and overall American history.

Congratulations on the 4^th place finish of the Beginning Team (Christopher Freitas, Uilasho Francisco & Sage Tong) and 2^nd place finish of the Advanced Team (Maya Kanetake, Daneil Nilo & Erika Wong) in the Japan Wizards Statewide Academic Team Competition held today at Kapiolani Community College! There were 135 students and 45 teams that participated.  Thank you to Sensei Rie Mizumura for her work with preparing our students for this competition & the support and encouragement she gave to them!

Japan Wizards Competition is a challenging, fun-filled academic team competition for Hawaii's high school students that tests students' general knowledge of Japan and Japan-related fields. The competition is sponsored by the Japan-America Society of Hawaii (JASH), a nonprofit organization with the mission of promoting understanding and friendship between the peoples of the United States and Japan through the unique and special perspective of Hawaii.

For more information, check out JASH’s website, Website: http://www.jashawaii.org/edu5.asp   

Teacher of the Week: Dr. Joseph Laszlo

Living Noblesse Oblige

            If you’ve been on the high school campus lately, you’ll recognize a significant change in the environment there. Everywhere you turn, blue containers that collect recyclable bottles and cans are close by. When entering Maryknoll High School from the parking lot, turn right just before the statue of Mary and walk towards the freeway. There you will see a large compost bin and an aquaculture station as shown in the picture above. Beside the strawberry plants beginning to grow are teachers Ed DaSilva to the left and Dr. Joseph Laszlo on the right. Both are the advisors of a new club started this year at Maryknoll School led by Maryknoll students called EPS or the Environmental Protection Squad. Together with the guidance of Mr. DaSilva, Dr. Laszlo, assistance with the delivery of recyclable materials from Maryknoll’s Civil Air Patrol, and help with collecting used paper by our high school students in the National Honor Society, Maryknoll High School can proudly say that its campus is an example of what urban sustainability looks like. Much of the progress that has been made in this area is directly related to the influence of one of our new teachers at Maryknoll School, Dr. Joseph Laszlo.

            Dr. Laszlo was born and raised in South Bend, Indiana near Notre Dame University. His father worked for the famous automobile company Studebaker building cars. As a child, Dr. Laszlo would often walk into the factory where his father worked and watch with awe as cars were assembled piece by piece. Since that time, he has always been fascinated with discovering what makes things work. This love for learning led Dr. Laszlo to be a successful student in school while attending Oliver Elementary and Middle School from Kindergarten to the 8th grade and later Washington High School. As a high school student, Dr. Laszlo played the trumpet in band, and also was part of the Drama Club and church choir. However, Dr. Laszlo spent most of his time taking part in science-related activities like being a member of the Future Teachers Club and helping as an intern in Biology classes. Early on, Dr. Laszlo knew he would someday become a science teacher. Four years after graduating from high school, Dr. Laszlo left Purdue University with a Bachelors of Science in Biology with a minor in English Literature to pursue his dream of teaching in California.

            Dr. Laszlo’s first teaching position was as a middle school science and math teacher in Los Angeles. Soon after, he discovered that schools in Hawaii were looking for teachers. In 1966, Dr. Laszlo flew to Hawaii where one of his high school teachers from Indiana picked him up at Honolulu Airport and showed him around Oahu before making the trip to Kohala High School where he taught science for the next 25 years. In 1992 Dr. Laszlo moved to Oahu and attained a graduate degree in Curriculum and Instruction in 1995 at the University of Hawaii while working there at UH Lab School. For the next five years, Dr. Laszlo taught at Radford High School and won the Presidential Award in Teaching in 1999 as an A.P. Biology teacher. For the next six years, Dr. Laszlo returned to the University of Hawaii working in the Physics Department writing labs for science students while also completing doctorate degree there. After graduating with a Ph.D. in Education with an emphasis on Science, Dr. Laszlo worked for the Institute for Teacher Education with the task of evaluating science and math teachers and also spent two years as the writer of a very successful series of articles in the Honolulu Advertiser called Dr. Gadget. After lecturing at the University of Hawaii, Dr. Laszlo missed teaching high school students and began looking for a teaching position in town. That’s when Ed DaSilva told him about an opening at Maryknoll High School for the position of A.P. Biology teacher. Soon after interviewing for the position, Dr. Laszlo was chosen to be a part of the Maryknoll team.

            Dr. Laszlo came to Maryknoll School as a seasoned and award winning teacher, but he is quick to say that the learning curve at Maryknoll High School is very high due to the high use of technology and the many responsibilities teachers have at Maryknoll School. With the second semester on its way, Dr. Laszlo is finding his rhythm once again as a teacher and is now focusing on doing what it takes to help his students identify their goals in life and reach them. He continues to ask his students individually if they have a plan for life after college. Of all his accomplishments, Dr. Laszlo is most proud of the fact that many of his former students have gone on to become science teachers. He hopes to inspire a new group of students here at Maryknoll to take their love of science to become medical doctors and more.

Dr. Laszlo started his journey in life next to one of the most prestigious Catholic Universities in the world in South Bend, Indiana. Today, he is now working in Hawaii’s largest Catholic School and is truly living our school’s motto of noblesse oblige by making a difference in the lives of many students here through inspiring them to enter the field of science and to also practice sustainability. Thank you Dr. Laszlo for being a part of our Maryknoll family.  

Teacher of the Week: Bradley Koki

Living Noblesse Oblige

            The proverbial phrase and cliché “patience is a virtue” perfectly fits Brad Koki’s experience at Maryknoll School. Mr. Koki has been an art teacher at Maryknoll School for nineteen years, but it took some time before this former graduate found his way back to his alma mater.

            Mr. Koki was born and raised in Honolulu. He attended public school until he was accepted into Maryknoll School after enrolling there in the 7^th grade. During his high school years, Mr. Koki played sports like football and basketball; however, his first love was art. As far back as he can remember, Mr. Koki wanted to be both an artist and a teacher. For that reason, Mr. Koki attended the San Francisco Art Institute after graduating from Maryknoll and soon found himself working at St. Andrew’s Priory as an art teacher. Mr. Koki taught art at St. Andrew’s Priory for 19 years, but when Maryknoll came calling, he made the choice to come back home with the promise that he would be provided an art room in time.

            The good news for Maryknoll School is that the arrival of Mr. Koki was more than just a homecoming of a former graduate. For the last 19 years, Mr. Koki has inspired many students to become artists themselves. Amazingly, Mr. Koki did his work without the use of an official art room. During Mr. Koki’s first 15 years as an art teacher at Maryknoll School, he used a traditional classroom to teach art. Although learning art in a general classroom is seen in many schools, instructing students in one can be a challenge for teachers like Mr. Koki who chooses to expose students to the skills required when creating various types of original art. One example of this is how Mr. Koki spent 15 years at Maryknoll driving his students’ pottery to a kiln on Kona Street. Although it was close in proximity to Maryknoll School, driving his students’ pottery to and from the kiln was an experience in itself because it took a great amount of driving skill to keep the pottery from breaking due to the many potholes encountered along the way. Mr. Koki also shared that for 15 years, he did not have a chance to rest during morning break like most teachers do because he used that time to fill up buckets of water that were used each day to clean paint brushes, etc. As seen in the picture held by Mr. Koki above, students and teachers affectionately called those buckets his “Flintstone Sinks.” Finally, Mr. Koki’s patience paid off when the Maryknoll Community Center was built and one of the old locker rooms was converted into the 21^st Century Art Room he currently teaches in. This new art room has 10 pottery wheels instead of the two previously housed in the old classroom he formally used. Now, when it comes to finding a kiln for his students’ pottery and water to clean paint brushes, Mr. Koki needs to look no further than across his desk.   

Today, Mr. Koki finds great joy in seeing his former students start their careers as artists and art teachers. Mr. Koki himself is an accomplished artist whose paintings were purchased by the State Foundation of Culture and the Arts and featured in the Artists of Hawaii Show several times. However, Mr. Koki’s main focus continues to be his students and we are grateful for his dedication to Maryknoll School after all these years and all the ways his story exemplifies our motto of Noblesse Oblige.

Teacher of the Week: Kelly Grant

Living Noblesse Oblige

            If it looks like these two gentlemen in the picture above are having fun playing a game of pick-up basketball, you are correct. Kamakana Linquist, Maryknoll student-athlete to the left, is amazed at how well his basketball coach and P.E. teacher Kelly Grant still has a few nifty moves as a basketball player, even with over thirty years separating these two Spartans. What Kamakana may not know is that he is in the process of defending someone who truly knows what it means to be a winner because Mr. Grant has been a champion his entire life. By returning to his alma mater, Mr. Grant now shares his championship know-how with his students.

            Mr. Grant grew up near Kapahulu Ave. and attended Ala Wai Elementary School, Washington Middle School, and finally, Maryknoll School after becoming a Spartan in the 10^th grade. In high school, Mr. Grant spent most of his time playing sports. In his three years at Maryknoll School, he graduated making history at his alma mater by being a member of both football and basketball state championship teams in the 1980s. He also excelled in track and field as a high jumper. In addition to his involvement in athletics, Mr. Grant took time to have fun with friends while at Maryknoll and was a member of the infamous Kazoo Crew that played music with their kazoos for captive audiences.

            When it was time to go to college, Mr. Grant attended Hawaii Pacific College (now called Hawaii Pacific University). During his college years, Mr. Grant worked as a flight attendant for Hawaiian Airlines and as an assistant basketball coach at HPU for his former high school basketball coach Toni Sellitto. Mr. Grant graduated from HPU with a BA in Human Resource Development. Through teaching the game of basketball as coach, Mr. Grant developed a desire to be an educator and entered the RISE program in the Department of Education and became a Special Education teacher after receiving his 5^th year professional development degree. He taught at McKinley, Pearl City, and Kaimuki High School. At Kaimuki High School, Mr. Grant became State Champion again in 2007, but this time it was as a coach.  In 2010, Mr. Grant was offered the opportunity return to his alma mater as a P.E. teacher. In his two years of coaching basketball at Maryknoll, the Spartans have won an ILH championship and ended their last two seasons placing 2^nd and 3^rd in the state.  

            Today, Mr. Grant enjoys working with many of his former classmates at Maryknoll School who have become teachers and administrators. He particularly takes joy in having practices in Maryknoll’s own air-conditioned Clarence T. C. Ching Gymnasium because he can still vividly recall playing basketball on the same hard courts seen in the picture above.

Maryknoll’s championship spirit is back with help from the arrival of Mr. Grant. His desire to continue practicing our school’s motto of Noblesse Oblige has led this Spartan to return home and we are very thankful.  

Teacher of the Week: Kit-U Wong

Living Noblesse Oblige

           When meeting Ms. Kit-U Wong, you may make the assumption that she is a very shy and reserved teacher at Maryknoll School. However, Ms. Wong is a mover and shaker both figuratively and literally. Not only is Ms. Wong an avid ballroom dancer and speaker of various languages, but in her three years at Maryknoll School she has led students to achieving high marks on AP exams, competitions and more as an Economics and Statistics teacher, assistant coach of Maryknoll’s Math Team, and advisor of Maryknoll’s chapter of the National Honor Society. How could such a young and relatively new teacher make such a significant difference at Maryknoll School in just a few years? Like many of our alumni who have become teachers at Maryknoll, she was inspired by those who modeled what it means to be a Maryknoll School educator and wants to provide her students today the same opportunities she had because of the impact those mentors had on her.

            Ms. Wong began her journey in life when she was born in Macau, China. In the second grade, she moved to Hawaii with her family and attended Lunalilo Elementary School. Ms. Wong continued her education at Stevenson Middle School until she was accepted to Maryknoll School as an 8^th grader. In high school, Ms. Wong was co-captain of the Math Team, editor-in-chief of the school literary magazine The Toad, and took part on the Electric Vehicle Team that was the precursor to today’s Robotics Club.  She was also a member of the Chinese Club, the Japanese Club, the Drug Awareness Group, and the National Honor Society. For someone with so many talents and interests, determining what to study in college was a bit of a challenge.

Ms. Wong chose to attend a liberal arts college in California called Scripps College, which is part of the Claremont Colleges. She enjoyed studying math, economics, foreign languages, and English, but she eventually graduated there with a BA in Economics with a minor in Japanese. In the end, her experience as a student at Maryknoll High School learning economics with Mr. Suzuki was highly influential in leading her on the path of pursuing that major in college. When Mr. Suzuki called Ms. Wong shortly after she graduated from college to see if she would be interested in interviewing for a teaching position at Maryknoll School, Ms. Wong’s educational journey came full circle. Soon after, she began teaching economics and statistics at Maryknoll School and she hasn’t looked back since.

            This is Ms. Wong’s third year of teaching at Maryknoll School and she shares that she still has much to learn from the teachers here at Maryknoll who continue to inspire her today. She says she enjoys teaching Statistics and AP Statistics because she sees the many interdisciplinary connections her students make and it is rewarding when students realize that math is useful and interesting instead of difficult and dry. Ms. Wong also enjoys working with students outside the classroom as assistant coach for Maryknoll’s Math Team, advisor of Maryknoll’s chapter of the National Honor Society, and assistant coach of the It’s Academic Hawaii Maryknoll team.

            Ms. Wong recently received a scholarship to attend the Klingenstein Summer Institute sponsored by Columbia University in New Jersey. She attended a two-week conference there this past summer where she learned about many educational topics including a concept called Critical Friends Groups. This year, Ms. Wong is piloting a CFG here at Maryknoll School to help strengthen our professional learning community.

            There is no doubt that Ms. Wong loves learning, and ultimately, that is one of the reasons why she has been a very successful teacher at Maryknoll School in such a short time. Her desire to learn is contagious and it is easy for her students to see that passion she exudes because Ms. Wong lives it each and every day here at Maryknoll School both in and outside of the classroom. Thank you Ms. Wong for continuing the work of those that came before you here at Maryknoll School by exemplifying what our school’s motto of Noblesse Oblige really is.  

The National Council of Teachers of English Conference for English Leadership (CEL) will be recognizing Maryknoll’s own Mrs. Natalie Morey as Hawaii’s 2014 recipient for the Achievement Award.

It is an honor for Maryknoll to have Mrs. Morey, the current Dean of Classic Literacies and the Co-Coordinator of the Senior Project. She has also filled the vital role of Co-Chair of our Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accreditation in 2008, and then again in February of this year. As an outstanding professional, she simultaneously teaches classes in nonfiction and college composition, along with advanced placement and language composition.

Morey received her B.A. in Communication-Education, English, and Social Science from Michigan State University and then continued onto earn her M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from the University of Hawaii. She has been a part of the Maryknoll family since 1981. We are thankful to Natalie Morey for her lessons, care and dedication over the years.

What Color is Your Parachute For Teens Workshop

Monday, April 14
6:00 to 7:30pm
Sacred Heart Church  |  1701 Wilder Ave
Parking available after 5:30pm on Maryknoll Grade School Courts - Enter via Dole Street

Maryknoll School’s Counseling & Guidance Department invites high school students, parents, and educators to spend an evening with Carol Christen, career strategist and co-author of What Color is Your Parachute? For Teens.  Author Carol Christen will share findings from more than a decade of research as to how students can make their personal and professional dreams come true with smart college and career planning. 

For more information and to register by April 10, visit: https://maryknollparachute.eventbrite.com.

Questions? Contact Raymi Faria, College and Career Program Coordinator at 808.952.7225 or raymi.faria@maryknollschool.org.