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Dec. 10, 2025
Editorial Mission: As the Department's primary publication, we aim to live up to the meaning of ha‘aheo – to cherish with pride – by bolstering and sustaining pride in public education and touting the successes happening across our system.
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Aloha, HIDOE Community –
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Ho‘oha‘aheo Newsletter.
Registrars gather to share best practices, reconnect
This week I had the pleasure of joining our amazing school registrars at their statewide meeting — the first since the pandemic. It was great to see this important tradition revived, and I want to thank Waipahu High’s registrar Steve Miyashiro and Kaiser High’s registrar Lori Uetake for making it happen.
Registrars play a vital role in our schools — managing enrollments, transcripts, graduation certifications, and more for over 150,000 students. Their work may be behind the scenes, but it directly supports high-quality learning and student success across the state. Mahalo for the care, precision and professionalism you bring to everything you do!
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Fall sports roundup
Congratulations to our high school fall sports state champions! These student-athletes demonstrated outstanding teamwork, perseverance and determination to make history for their schools and their communities. Mahalo for making our public schools proud, and best wishes to those continuing their athletic journeys at the collegiate level.
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Campbell High School won its first state open division championship in an overtime thriller against Kamehameha, the Sabers last won a football title in Division II in 2004
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Kailua High School won its first state title in football in school history
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Kapa‘a High School won the Division II girls volleyball championship, the first-ever state title for a Kaua‘i school
- The Pearl City High School girls bowling team won their third consecutive and 16th overall state title while Kalani High School’s Christina Kidd was the individual champion
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Castle High School won the boys bowling title, led by state champion Thomas Onodera
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Kalāheo High School girls won their first state title in cross country. Moanalua High School runners James Millare and Sadie Krueger repeated as the boys and girls individual champions
- The Moanalua High School boys air riflery team captured the state title, with Hilo High as the runner up
- Moanalua High School cheerleading team was named the all-girls state champs, their third state title since 2022. It was a three-peat for Radford High School, capturing their third straight co-ed cheerleading state title and 15th overall for the program
Campbell High School won the HHSAA open division state football championship on Dec. 5 at the Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex in a 26-23 overtime thriller. Photo credit: Kimberly Yuen / HIDOE Communications Branch
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Kea‘au Elementary School third graders, from left to right, Elaine Watai, Darlene Suda, Kensten Simons, Damien Ezra-Sewell, Tysha-Lynn Nobriga-Clarke, Kasen Castro-Gonsalves and Nainoa Racz-Campbell enjoyed a refreshing, locally grown rambutan on Nov. 26 as part of the school’s Fresh Fruits & Vegetables Program. This federally assisted program provides eligible elementary schools with opportunities for students to try fresh produce they might not otherwise experience, encouraging greater fruit and vegetable consumption to help shape healthy eating habits now and in the future.
Twice a week during recess, students learn about a new fruit before tasting it, with past highlights including longan, Korean pears and blood oranges. While some students trying rambutan for the first time commented on its “hairy” appearance, others who grow the fruit at home happily shared how delicious it is. The students loved it, comparing its flavor to lychee!
Credit: Anna Maneja / Kea‘au Elementary School
Send us your public school-related image from this school year for a chance to be featured as next week’s Ho‘oha‘aheo Photo of the Week!
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Dec. 11 is International Mountain Day, a United Nations observance that raises awareness about the importance of mountains for life on Earth. Which of our schools is named for the highest peak on Oʻahu that stands at 4,020 feet?
a. Pōhākea Elementary
b. Kaʻala Elementary
c. Olomana School
d. Palisades Elementary
Find the answer at the end of this newsletter.
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Ernest Bowen DeSilva Elementary: What a great way to kick off the month of December with holiday performances from Waiākea High School, Ka Leo Wai and the Hilo Intermediate Spartan band! Mahalo for sharing your talents with our Superbees! 🎶🤍🐝
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Wahiawā Middle School: Kokua’s first parade! 💕 So glad you were able to join us representing Wahiawā Middle School as a Here to Help ambassador school.
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Kahuku High & Intermediate HOSA Club: This semester's highlight was when Kei, our VP of Competitive Events and National Honor Society officer, organized an incredible NHS event to learn CPR from our Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) chapter! Hopefully everyone will take the opportunity this holiday season to teach a loved one CPR.
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Use the #HIPublicSchoolsProud hashtag for a chance to be featured!
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In this episode of Kuleana: Nourishing Hawai‘i’s Future, filmmakers Lela and Hugh Gentry explore how Hawai‘i plans to enhance food security by integrating more locally grown produce into school meals and how HIDOE’s first regional kitchen will support local farmers and boost meal production efficiency.
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Over 1,000 fourth graders and teachers from schools in the Farrington-Kaiser-Kalani Complex Area participated in Ho‘ākea Honolulu last week, an immersive week of voyaging- and ʻāina-based learning alongside 11 voyaging canoes. See Civil Beat’s photo essay from the event.
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Maui County students had the opportunity to explore various health care careers including primary care physical therapy, pharmacy, wound care and phlebotomy in a workshop led by clinicians at Kaiser Permanente's Maui Lani clinic. The event was organized by Maui Economic Development Board’s (MEDB) STEMworks program.
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Navigating the Inevitable: College Applications
By Clark Jestoni Palting and Ciana Guillermo, Farrington High School
The college and career office at Farrington High School is a good place for students to get information and advice about life after high school. Photo courtesy: Clark Jestoni Palting
As another application season comes to an end, students across the state are nervously finalizing personal statements, requesting letters of recommendation, completing financial aid forms, and researching the next steps in their educational journey. This period is both exciting, challenging, and yet, for many, it may be emotionally demanding. Whether you are currently applying to college, planning to in the future, or have already completed your applications, it is critical to remember that this process is only one chapter in a much larger story…your personal narrative.
For students actively applying, the most important advice is to approach each step with patience and self-confidence. The college application process is not about presenting a “perfect” version of yourself, but about clearly displaying your experiences, passions and goals. Admissions committees are interested in your aspirations, flaws, interests… your true self. Take the time to reflect on what motivates you, how your background has shaped you, and what you hope to accomplish in the future. When writing essays or responding to supplemental questions, let your authentic voice guide you.
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Clark Jestoni Palting is a senior at Farrington High School and serves as the 2025–26 Hawaiʻi State Student Council corresponding secretary. He is dual-enrolled at Honolulu Community College, where he will earn his associate degree in liberal arts in May 2026. Passionate about leadership and community engagement, he serves as his class president, advocating for student representation and meaningful school-based initiatives. With a strong interest in service and science, Clark hopes to pursue a career in medicine and one day become a doctor.
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Ciana Guillermo is a junior at Farrington High School and has served as class president for three consecutive years. She also serves as the vice president of finance for the school’s Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) club and is a member of the Associated Student Body as well as the Hawai‘i State Student Council. Ciana consistently seeks new opportunities to lead, grow and serve her school community and plans to become a lawyer one day.
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Lanai Tabura
Occupation: TV host and public speaker
What school you grad? Lānaʻi High & Elementary ‘87
Location: Honolulu, HI
Born and raised on the island of Lāna‘i, Lanai Tabura is an entertainer, entrepreneur and cultural storyteller whose three-decade career spans radio, television, comedy, food and travel. He earned four Emmy nominations and won an Emmy for a piece he co-created called "Ramen Yokocho,” which captures how ramen came to the United States, and specifically how it came to be a staple food in Hawai‘i.
In 2013, he traveled the country with his brother Adam and friend Shawn Felipe on their Aloha Plate food truck as part of The Food Network’s “Great Food Truck Race,” ultimately winning $50,000 and a new truck. He later appeared as a co-host on CNN’s Anthony Bourdain specials and collaborated on multiple international projects with CNN’s Richard Quest. Lanai also hosted Netflix’s Street Food: Hawaii, introducing global audiences to the islands’ rich culinary heritage.
As the founder and host of Lanai’s Travel Club, he curates immersive journeys for travelers that blend local culture, cuisine and storytelling in such destinations as Japan, Spain, Portugal and Thailand.
He can be heard daily across three regions — 94.7 KUMU in Hawaiʻi, InterFM in Tokyo, and Island Style Cruisin’ in Fukuoka — sharing music, stories and aloha throughout the Pacific. His mission remains to uplift Hawaiʻi’s people, music and food while building bridges of aloha around the world.
Q: What makes you #PublicSchoolProud?
A: I loved everything about it! Everything from the socializing part to eating school lunch! Growing up on Lānaʻi, we were a tight community. I love representing Lānaʻi High & Elementary. Not too many people can say they do.
Q: Favorite school lunch or breakfast?
A: We would have chicken lau lau, lomi lomi tomato and rice once a month!
Q: A teacher or mentor you’d like to thank?
A: I want to give a huge mahalo to my history teacher Frank Terrazas and my home economics teacher, Miss Johanna Lum. They always scolded me, but they also pushed me as well.
Q: What advice do you have for students?
A: Pay attention! School is gonna fly by. Also be respectful to your teachers. They are underpaid and have to deal with you every day! They have one of the toughest responsibilities in the world.
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At left, Chef Jay-Mar Pascua, owner and operator of Aloha Braised Food Truck in Lahaina, demonstrates how he makes braised pork belly and steak poke with mac salad with Lanai Tabura on a May 2025 episode of Cooking Hawaiian Style. Photo courtesy: Lanai Tabura
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Public School Pop Quiz! Answer: b. Kaʻala Elementary. Established in 1981, the Mt. Ka‘ala Reserve encompasses 1,100 acres of rugged mountain terrain on the Waiʻanae Range and protects some very rare, endemic Hawaiian plants, animals and ecosystems. Mt. Ka‘ala is also home to a golf ball-shaped radome operated by the Hawaiʻi Air National Guard that provides 24-hour air defense radar monitoring for the entire island chain.
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This newsletter was produced by the Hawai'i State Department of Education's Communications Branch.
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Nanea Ching
Executive Editor
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Kimberly Yuen
Managing Editor
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Share your story ideas, events, questions and feedback to newsletter@k12.hi.us
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1390 Miller St. Honolulu, HI 96813 Phone: 808-784-6200
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