december 2013-january 2014 na mea hou

Na Mea HouThe latest news from Parker School

Excellence - Integrity - Compassion December 2013-January 2014

Encouraging the Search for Knowledge

Our MissionParker School provides a college-preparatory experience in a small-school setting where students develop academically while exploring their individual talents.

Stay informed by checking the Parker School website regularly at www.parkerschoolhawaii.org.

Na Mea Hou is published August through June by the Advancement Office of Parker School.

Advancement Director:

Jennifer Richardson

Communications/Marketing Specialist:

Katie Callender

Advancement Associate:

Renee Brighter

Please e-mail articles, photos, class notes or

event notices to:

[email protected]. News

about and from students especially welcome.

Help Parker School Go Green! If you receive a hard copy of the newsletter, ask

to receive Na Mea Hou by e-mail only. Notify us at

[email protected].

Encouraging the Search for Knowledge

‘Ohana Day &Food Drive

Parker School students raised over four tons of food for their ‘Ohana Day Food Drive! Months of collecting cans culminated the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, in filling six trucks and delivering the goods to two local food banks: the Annunciation Parish Food Pantry and Kokua Ministries Food Pantry. Students and their families, faculty and staff came together to have the food blessed by Father Stephen Macedo of Annunciation Church, send it off, then celebrate with a simple feast at the First Annual ‘Ohana Day Chili Cook-Off on the Parker campus before leaving school for the Thanksgiving break.

Parker School Students Raise Over Four Tons of Food for Local Food Banks

Na Mea Hou

Announcing New Middle School ScholarshipParker School is pleased to announce a new scholarship program for students applying to grades 6, 7 and 8 for the 2014-2015 academic year. A total of four Ulu Pono Scholarships of $8500 will be awarded. Three are designated for new incoming students and one is designated for a returning Parker student. The $8500 award will renew each year of the recipient’s Parker School career, provided the student maintains appropriate academic and behavioral standing.

To qualify for the Ulu Pono Scholarship, applicants must demonstrate financial need, academic promise, strong character, and passion for an area of interest. For prospective students, admissions, financial aid and scholarship applications are due by January 31, 2014. For returning Parker School students, the deadline for financial aid and scholarships applications is January 13, 2014. More details about the scholarship can be found on the school’s website, www.parkerschoolhawaii.org.

The Hawaiian phrase ulu pono was chosen for this scholarship as it can be interpreted to mean “grow well; right or proper growth.” In this case, it also implies the responsibility that the school and student share in cultivating the student’s academic and personal success.

Admissions Director Emily Pagliaro said, “The social, academic and organizational skills that students develop in our middle school program are invaluable. When students master those skills—in a caring and engaging environment—they gain confidence to pursue their passions inside and outside the classroom. They enter high school prepared for the rigors of our college-preparatory curriculum. Our hope is that the Ulu Pono Scholarships will make Parker’s middle school experience accessible to more families in our community.”

The Ulu Pono Scholarship coincides with the expansion of Parker’s middle school program. The school will

move from having one to two sections of each middle school grade next school year, which will allow for even smaller class sizes and more electives available for students.

“Now that we’ve made the decision to go to two sections in each middle school grade, the Ulu Pono Scholarships will help us to fill these new places with motivated and creative students,” said Parker Headmaster Carl Sturges.

Middle School Coordinator Tina Doherty is excited about the new developments in the middle school. “Our program has never been stronger –with our one-to-one iPad learning program, challenging academics, differentiated math and Spanish classes, integrated school garden, athletics, performing arts, electives,

leadership opportunities, the list goes on,” she said. “It’s just a great time to be part of this expanding program. I want families to know that a Parker School education is within reach.”

Doherty also mentioned that the middle schoolers are enjoying enhanced facilities this year, with a new locker room as well as a new large deck joining the middle school buildings. She said that the deck has proven to be “a great gathering space” during breaks in the day as well as a fun place to hold dances and other middle school social activities. Weather permitting, some teachers also use the deck as an outdoor classroom (made easier with the use of iPads).

Families interested in learning more about Parker’s middle school program and/or the Ulu Pono Scholarship, please visit www.parkerschoolhawaii.org or call Parker School Admissions Director Emily Pagliaro at 808-885-7933 ext. 7107 or email [email protected].

“It’s just a great time to be part of this expanding program. I want families to know that a Parker School education is within reach.” -Middle School Coordinator Tina Doherty

December 2013-January 2014

In celebration of national Make a Difference Day, Parker School stu-dents spent Friday, October 25 out of the classroom and working in the community. Approximately 170 middle and upper schoolers di-vided into groups to help the following local organizations with main-tenance, repair, cleanup and beautification: Kahilu Theatre; Kohala Watershed; Mama’s House; Parker Ranch Headquarters; Pua Mau Botanical Garden; Tutu’s House; Waimea Nature Park; and Waimea Trails and Greenways. One group, led by Headmaster Carl Sturges, helped clean up the Waikoloa Stream banks and streambed close to campus, and another stayed at the school to help clean and decorate the main front hall.

Parker Students Make a Difference

Members of the Kahiau Planning Committee have begun working on our next Kahiau auction gala benefit for financial aid. It will be a fabulous evening with a fine dinner and wines, live and silent items, and post-auction music and dancing. Join us!

Gearing Up for... Kahiau 2014

March 8, 2014!Save the date:

Na Mea Hou

Parker School Launches Investment ClubOn a given Monday during the school lunch hour, nine Park-er School students can be found crunching numbers (and lunch) and performing company data analysis in the library. They are members of the school’s new Investment Club. The research they are doing is real and so is the money they will use to invest. With close supervision and guidance, the students will be making investment decisions and utilizing assets from a fund set up specifically for the club. The fund has been created solely with mone-tary gifts from donors with an interest in financial education.

“Thanks to Scott Elliott and Rick Baird, our students now have the chance to learn about economics and finance in a decidedly ‘hands-on’ way, said Park-er Headmaster Carl Sturges. “This is truly a unique opportunity for high schoolers to experience the inner workings of an investment opera-tion.”

The Investment Club, open to Park-er juniors and seniors, is the brain-child of part-time Big Island resi-dent Rick Baird, a portfolio manager at Yellowstone Partners and founder of Wind River Advisors (now a part of Yellowstone Partners, which has offices in Idaho, Utah, Ohio and Washington).

Scott Elliott, a portfolio manager and partner at Wellington Management (based in Boston, MA) is running the club, and Baird joined him October. Elliott’s area of expertise is as-set allocation and he has worked with investors in over 30 countries. He is also the parent of two Parker Lower School students.

“Financial decision-making is an unavoidable part of adult-hood, and evidence suggests that most adults do a poor job of managing their finances,” said Elliott. “There is no easy path to great investment returns and few are capable of being truly outstanding investors. However, there are very real steps we can learn that will meaningfully improve our portfolio’s long-term performance. These young adults won’t be investment gurus at the completion of the year, but they will have had exposure to the complex world of investing in a fun and safe environment, and they will be able to think more critically about the financial decisions that lay ahead of them.”

The main goals of the club are to teach the students: 1) how to be informed financial decision-makers as they enter their adult life by ex-amining many of the key financial decisions they are likely to face; 2) to examine and avoid unnecessary costs of investment management, brokerage and other fees; 3) to avoid typical investing mistakes; and 4) how companies, the economy and financial markets really work.

To prepare for the Investment Club, the students were required

over the summer to read Peter Lynch’s Learn and Earn, and Joel Greenblatt’s The Little Book That Beats the Market.

Elliott is a firm believer in the importance of financial edu-cation. “There is a real need to help kids develop good financial decision-making habits at an early age….to prepare them for the many financial decisions they will ultimately face; at a mini-mum, to help them avoid the most common and costly mistakes,” he said.

The Investment Club stu-dents take turns every few months serving in officer roles and also covering specific industry sectors.

Junior Maia Tarnas, who currently serves as president of the club and covers the health care industry, said, “As someone who had never really thought about investment before, In-vestment Club has opened my eyes to the world of business, finance, the stock market, bonds, loans...everything! The economy is such an important part of our daily lives and this is such a great opportunity to learn about it. In addition to learning about the stock market, we get to learn about items such as college loans and renting and buying homes and cars, which are extremely useful.”

Now that the students have completed the financial and val-uation analysis of the companies they cover, they have begun developing and debating their investment recommendations. Elliott, for whom teaching has been a longtime dream, is en-joying his new role as Investment Club Advisor. He said, “It is inspiring for me to have such a motivated, bright, and curious group of students as we have in the Investment Club.”

“There is a real need to help kids develop good financial decision-making habits at an early age….to prepare them for the many financial decisions they will ultimately face; at a minimum, to help them avoid the most common and costly mistakes.” -Scott Elliott, co-founder, Parker School Investment Club


Middle Schoolers Sign Drug-Free Pledge

Debate Team Brings Home Three Trophies from Two TournamentsThe Parker School debate team, the current state champions, won the sweepstakes trophy at the Debate Non-Qualifying Tournament at University Lab School on O‘ahu on October 12. The sweepstakes trophy goes to the school with the largest number of winning ballots and Parker, one of 13 schools that participated in the tournament, finished with 81 winning ballots. Punahou came in second with 40.

Then, on November 16 at St. Louis School Non-Qualifying Debate Tournament on O‘ahu, the team brought home two sweepstakes trophies: one for the largest number of ballots won—88 ballots to second place I‘olani School’s 55 ballots; and one for the highest percentage of wins—67% to second place I‘olani School’s 65%. This was the first time in Parker School’s history that they swept both sweepstakes awards at one tournament. At the October 12 tournament, 27

of the 32 Parker School debaters received a certificate attesting to a “superior” rating for the tournament. The top Parker finishers were as follows: the teams of Michael Note and Maia Tarnas, Luke Potter and Jaren Ashcraft, and Nya Phillips and Kyley Nishimura, all scored 5-1 in Advanced Public Forum Debate; Dash Cotton scored 6-0 and Savannah Harriman-Pote, 5-1, in Novice Lincoln-Douglas Debate; and Josh Yost, Carrie Hiller and

Sivan Najita, all scored 5-1 in Championship Lincoln-Douglas Debate.

The top Parker performances at the November 16 tournament were as follows: In Beginning Public Forum Debate, Breanna Bellatti and Sarah Bellatti scored 6-0 and Hunter Weigle and Hiwa Thompson scored 5-1; in Advanced Public Forum Debate, Michael Note and Maia Tarnas earned 5-1 and Luke Potter and Jaren Ashcraft, 5-1; In Novice Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Dash Cotton scored 5-1 and Sophie Dommer, 5-1; in Championship Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Lysha

Matsunobu won 6-0, Sivan Najita, 6-0, and Carrie Hiller, 5-1. Parker headmaster and debate coach, Carl Sturges, said, “It was very exciting to see all our students perform at such a high level. They worked extremely hard to prepare themselves for the competition, and it’s wonderful to have their efforts pay off so handsomely.”

During the week of October 23, Parker Middle School participated in Red Ribbon Week, an initiative begun in 1985 by the National Family Partnership (NFP). NFP started the tradition of wearing red ribbons as “a symbol of a commitment to raise awareness of the killing and de-struction caused by drugs in America.” Parker Middle School Coordi-nator Tina Doherty introduced Red Ribbon Week to help teach drug, alcohol and tobacco effects awareness, which is part of the school’s reg-ular middle school health curriculum.

During a break in the academic day on October 23, the middle school-ers gathered outside and lined up to sign a Drug-Free Pledge promoted by the Foundation for a Drug-Free World, which is “a nonprofit public benefit corporation that empowers youth and adults with factual in-formation about drugs so they can make informed decisions and live drug-free.” After signing the pledge, the students received Red Ribbon Week bracelets and stickers. For more information, please visit www.drugfreeworld.org and/or www.redribbon.org.

The Parker School debate team with coach and headmaster, Carl Sturges, and assistant coach, Jessie Marshall (front row, third and fourth from right).

Na Mea Hou

St udent Council Ne ws by Student Council President Grant NairThe 16 members of Student Council, alongside our advisor Ms. Culff, have been working extra hard the past few months to create exciting and successful events.

We have already held two pep rallies to promote both high school and middle school sports: a Despicable Me-themed pep rally in September, and a Napoleon Dynamite-themed pep ral-ly in November. We have experimented with various games and activities—such as blindfolded musical chairs—to keep interest amongst the audience, and both pep rallies have been well-received by the student body.

This year’s Innisbrook fundraiser, Student Council’s main source of funds for the year, was record breaking in sales. Af-ter raising over a thousand dollars for the Student Council fund, the extra revenue was distributed back to the classes based on their individual sales, varying from $119 to $418. On behalf of all of us on Student Council, I would like to say thanks to all of the students who participated and the parents who graciously supported our efforts.

In September, we held our Fall Ball, a semi-formal dance with tremendous attendance. For the first time, this dance included a photo booth run by the New Media class which allowed the students to commemorate the fun. Funds raised at the photo booth went toward the purchase of equipment for the class. Student Council was delighted with the results of this collaboration, and we plan to collaborate with other clubs on future dances. On December 6, we held our Color Splash dance for the high school; the four high school classes were each assigned a color to sport during the dance.

During the week of Halloween, the students participated in a spirit week full of goofy dress up days such as Make a Wish Monday (Disney) and Teacher Tuesday. We will also have a winter spirit week, the last week of school in December, to celebrate the season before our winter break.

The entire high school and middle school participated in a successful Make-A-Difference Day by giving back to our community in various ways. Students cleaned up the stream from Parker School’s land to the Lindsey Road bridge, cleaned Tutu’s House and the Kahilu Theatre and painted the theatre dressing rooms, cleared land and created a trail at the Waimea Nature Park, cut back razor grass and spread wood chips along the stream trail with Waimea Trails and Green-ways, removed invasive ginger in the Kohala Watershed and weeded and maintained the grounds at Pua Mau Botanical Garden.

Most recently, we completed our second annual all-school canned food drive with overwhelming results. The entire school, K-12, raised 4.2 tons of non-perishable food which was divided and distributed to two Waimea food pantries to help families in need during this holiday season. For contrib-uting the most amount of food in their respective divisions, the senior class won a zipline trip graciously donated by Big Island Eco Adventures, and the 8th grade won a glass-bottom boat excursion donated by Ocean Sports. After surveying the fruits of our labor—six pick-up trucks packed with food—the upper and middle schools completed our Thanksgiving celebration with the viewing of two films made by Student Council members. One video showcased students around the school answering trivia and sharing what they are thankful for, and the other was a comedic mockumentary called The Turkey Tragedy, which centered around the plight of a young turkey named Billy Butterball who dedicates his life to activ-ism to save turkeys from the Thanksgiving table.

We have had a very successful first half of the year, and we are excited for the many events and activities coming up after the holiday break, such as Winter Formal, LoveFest, our first annual Game Night, and Teacher Appreciation Week.

(From left to right) Parker School’s maintenance director Eric Sills, headmaster Carl Sturges, students Hiwa Thompson, Garrison Davis, Aolani Peiper, and technology director Eric Dela Rosa deliver food to Annunciation Church’s office manager Mary Erickson and adult faith formation coordinator Lisa Winborne.

Parker School students stand with the Kokua Ministries Food Pantry volunteers after dropping off truckloads of food.


Halloween, Día de los Muertos & Ghostwriters’ Theatre

Parker Lower School students, their teachers and some parents paraded in costume around campus on Halloween. They were greeted with cheers by middle and upper schoolers and teachers, also decked out for the occasion. Afterward, the grade 6-12 students held their annual costume contest. Parker’s Spanish classes also celebrated Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, a predominantly Mexican holiday (though celebrated in many other countries as well) which falls on November 1 and 2 every year and is a celebration of loved ones who have passed away. Several students painted their faces to resemble the Mexican-style skull decorations featured during this holiday. Lower school kids decorated sugar skull cookies in their Spanish classes. PTSO sponsored the Ghostwriters’ Theatre evening; several students wrote and read spooky stories for the event.

Na Mea Hou

Middle and Upper School LifeDramatiques’ Twelfth Night

Astronomy-Themed Middle School Unity Day

Upper School Retreats

EXTRA!! PHOTO BOMB!

Hawaiian Studies Class Pounds Poi

Auntie Lani’s After-Show ‘Ohana Saimin Stand


Lower School Happenings

K-2 at the Kohala Pumpkin Patch & Maze

K-2’s 50s-Themed 50th Day of School

Lower School Cross Country Meet Helping Hands in the Garden

5th Grade Colonial Day

3rd Grade Family Night (& Native American Projects)

New Chorus Program Begins!

Na Mea Hou

Parker School’s 14th Annual Heneghan 5K Fun Run and 1K Keiki Run took place Saturday, November 9. Runners and their supporters turned out for the early morning event from which all proceeds this year ben-efited Parker School’s ‘Ohana Day Canned Food Drive for local food pantries. Both the 1K and 5K race runners started and finished their courses at the Parker Lower School campus. The event was established in memory of Hawai‘i architect George Heneghan, who was also an accomplished athlete, teacher and coach. He coached cross-country and track at Parker from 1992-1998. Parker School’s Athletic Director and Heneghan Run coordinator Ceri Whitfield expressed gratitude on be-half of the school to all the participants, volunteers and sponsors—Park-er’s PTSO, Mamane Bakery, Five Mountain Fitness, Starbucks, and Healthways II—for making this event possible and a success.

14th Annual Heneghan Run 1K Female Winners: 1st Place: Anuhea Elliot 2nd Place: Makena Biondi

1K Male Winners: 1st Place: Jahmyl Dugay 2nd Place: Kekai Haines 3rd Place: Noah Elliot

5K Female Winners: 1st Place: Ada Benson 2nd Place: Kaley Bannister 3rd Place: Gena McFarland

5K Male Winners: 1st Place: Nathan Ladwig 2nd Place: Michael Spetich 3rd Place: Chris Whitfield

5K RESULTS:1. 396 Nathan Ladwig Boys 13-16 5k 00:18:31.4 00:00:00.02. 604 Michael Spetich Men 17-19 5k 00:19:12.4 00:00:31.03. 596 Chris Whitfield Boys 13-16 5k 00:19:34.3 00:01:09.94. 395 Luke Potter Boys 13-16 5k 00:21:46.3 00:03:04.95. 534 Michael Note Boys 13-16 5k 00:21:55.0 00:03:13.66. 632 Hunter Weigle Boys 13-16 5k 00:23:03.4 00:04:22.07. 601 Ada Benson Girls 13-16 5k 00:24:03.0 00:05:21.68. 603 Kaley Bannister Girls 17-19 5k 00:24:11.2 00:05:29.89. 591 Craig McFarland Boys 10-12 5k 00:24:18.2 00:05:36.810. 623 Gena McFarland Women 40-49 5k 00:24:41.3 00:05:59.911. 394 Dash Cotton Boys 13-16 5k 00:25:25.0 00:06:48.612. 618 Susan Nixon Women 40-49 5k 00:25:33.1 00:06:52.713. 415 Jim Gibbons Men 60+ 00:25:46.9 00:07:05.514. 621 Jon McFarland Mens 40-49 5k 00:26:51.6 00:08:01.215. 600 Maia Tarnas Girls 13-16 5k 00:27:04.4 00:08:23.016. 599 Alissa Mullin Girls 13-16 5k 00:27:44.3 00:09:02.917. 590 Nic Barrick Boys 10-12 5k 00:32:54.9 00:14:13.518. 620 Greg Barrick Mens 40-49 5k 00:32:57.1 00:14:15.719. 622 Tina Benson Women 40-49 5k 00:33:19.3 00:14:37.920. 616 Fumiko Golden Women 40-49 5k 00:33:39.6 00:14:58.221. 602 Parker Hale Boys 13-16 5k 00:34:09.5 00:15:28.122. 598 Audrey Nixon Girls 13-16 5k 00:34:16.4 00:15:35.023. 634 Macey Note Girls 13-16 5k 00:34:32.5 00:15:51.124. 549 Zoe Vann Girls 13-16 5k 00:36:21.5 00:17:40.125. 586 Maddie Weigle Girls 6-9 5k 00:36:59.4 00:18:18.026. 585 Sophie Weigle Girls 6-9 5k 00:37:02.8 00:18:21.427. 633 Chad Weigle Mens 40-49 5k 00:37:15.1 00:18:33.728. 607 Ablao Kauhiwai Women 20-29 5k 00:37:23.7 00:18:42.329. 606 Hi’ilei Deaguiar Women 20-29 5k 00:37:26.1 00:18:44.730. 630 Joe Loschiavo Men 60+ 00:37:44.0 00:19:02.631. 619 Kelly Barrick Women 40-49 5k 00:42:45.2 00:24:03.832. 631 Rick Sanchez Men 60+ 00:44:13.6 00:25:32.233. 625 Marie Fellenstein Women 50-59 5k 00:45:42.2 00:27:00.834. 597 Satoe Tatsumi Girls 13-16 5k 00:46:00.6 00:27:19.235. 617 Tonomi Komatsu Women 40-49 5k 00:46:05.7 00:27:24.3

1K RESULTS1. 566 Jahmyl Dugay Boys 6-8 1k 00:04:03.7 00:00:00.02. 575 Anuhea Elliot Girls 9-11 1k 00:04:04.9 00:00:03.23. 571 Jaggar Haines Boys 6-8 1k 00:04:31.0 00:00:30.14. 567 Noah Elliot Boys 6-8 1k 00:04:31.9 00:00:35.35. 565 Makena Biondi Girls 6-8 1k 00:06:24.1 00:02:20.4


In October, Parker math, science and Hawaiian studies teacher Susan Rickards attended the second in a series of four teacher training work-shops through Nā Kālai Wa‘a’s (the non-profit for the Makali‘i voyaging canoe) new year-long educator development program, E Lauhoe Wa‘a. Goals of the program include increased community connections, cultural awareness, and cross-discipline relevance (e.g. Hawaiian history, science and math) through learning navigational techniques, traditions, etc. In addition, the educators will be tracking and communicating with crew members on the first leg of Hokule’a and Hikianalia’s worldwide voyage.

In the October session, Rickards and educators from other Hawai‘i schools engaged in a variety of classes involving rope-work, navigation, constellations and discussions of various indigenous, endemic and intro-duced species. They visited and learned from cultural practitioners about two refurbished shoreline heiau in the Kahalu‘u area, Ke‘eku Heiau and Hapaiali‘i Heiau; they traveled upland to the Keauhou Forest to learn about and assist in the restoration of ancient agricultural plots at Malu-aka; and they were able to visit and hear mo‘olelo (stories) from master navigators about Mauloa, the only modern voyaging canoe built using traditional tools and out of traditional materials (native wood, sennit lashings, and a lauhala sail). Rickards said, “We all went home with many valuable teaching resources.”

Hawaiian History Teacher Attends E Lauhoe Wa‘a Educator Program

Artist Spotlight:Portia Bonnici

8th Graders Fill Stockings for Needy Kids

Parker 8th graders put together special Christmas stockings this year. The stockings—loaded with with toys, candy and chocolates, toy jewelry, coloring books, crayons, silly putty, bubbles, and letters from Santa—will be given to Annunciation Church to be distributed to community children (ages 4-9) in need.

3rd grader Portia Bonnici created this piece when her class was studying Native Americans. She said, “A Sioux tepee was made for travel, a home that could be moved as the tribe followed the roam-ing buffalo herds.”

PTSO News by PTSO Vice President Ann Di Loreto

This fall, PTSO supported the Parker School ‘ohana in many ways. One of our more popular programs, the Mini Grants, helped bring innovation to programs in the upper and lower schools. Congratulations to Holly Weigle and Nicole Vedelli whose grant applications were accepted. More information is available on the PTSO page of the Parker School website and at www.facebook.com/ParkerSchoolPTSO.

Parker families came together to enjoy good food and dance the night away at PTSO’s Parker Night Out at the Blue Dragon on Nov. 2. Even the keiki got in on the loco-motion! PTSO Executive Committee members, Kendall DiDonato and Cheryl Kubo are planning another family get-

together. If you missed this one, we hope to see you in the spring. Those who teach, nurture and support our kids are really going to “feel” our appreciation, as the PTSO Teacher Appreciation Committee has added something very special this year. Parker parents and professional massage therapists, Renee Romano and Sandy Coffee, have generously donated free massages to two lucky winners each month. Kudos to our committee co-chairs, Luana Keakealani and Chrissie Tramontin for their enthusiasm and creativity. We hope you had a chance to enjoy some sweets and treats at the school’s recent activities. Parker families and friends enjoyed the holiday movie “The Polar Express” in the Parker School Theatre on Dec. 8 along with hot chocolate and popcorn, compliments of PTSO. Thanks so much to PTSO member, Nancy Bellatti, for reviving this Parker tradition. PTSO also contributed refreshments to the George Heneghan Run and to the

alumni soccer game coming up on Dec. 28. PTSO’s iPad Committee is helping the school’s iPad Initiative by creating an acceptable use policy as well as surveys going to parents and students. Your survey responses, comments and suggestions are an important resource that will help ensure the success of the program, so be sure to respond.

Keep an eye out for the PTSO Parent Forum on student work load in late January and the PTSO concessions at the Parker theatre during the Waimea Ocean Film Festival Jan. 2-5. Join us for our PTSO monthly meetings on Jan. 9 & Feb. 14 at 8:15 a.m. in the upper campus library. You can also follow our activities in the weekly Webflash and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ParkerSchoolPTSO.

PTSO is here to foster communication and partnership with the school. We welcome your involvement.

PTSO’s Parker Night Out at the Blue Dragonon November 2

Na Mea Hou

From Advancement Director Jennifer RichardsonThe first part of the year has been a busy and eventful time for all of us at Parker School, including the Advancement Office. We would like to take this time to thank everyone for your support, time and energy in participating in our fundraising activities so far this year! The Jockey Fashion Show, our most recent event, helped raise $2,600 for financial aid! Events such as this allow Parker School to provide our families with help to afford an excellent college-preparatory education.

Fairways & Friends, our annual golf tournament benefiting financial aid, will take place on December 14. This year, in addition to golf, there will be a Hula Moon Boutique Sale and a Hualalai Spa Day. Please contact the Advancement Office right away if you are interested in participating. We are grateful to our title sponsor, Redwater Construction, as well as to Hualalai Resort, the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, and Hula Moon Boutique for helping make this event possible.

We do hope you will attend our Kahiau auction gala on March 8, 2014! It’s sure to be an amazing evening with incredible live and silent auction items, an elegant gourmet dinner, prizes and dancing. As with every year, all proceeds from Kahiau go toward financial aid for Parker families; your generosity helped raise over $200,000 for financial aid last

year! Please contact our office for more details.

Annual Fund Update: Each year, we ask members of the Parker School ‘ohana—parents, grandparents, alumni, faculty, staff, board members, and friends—to show their support by making gifts to the Annual Fund. Your contribution helps ensure that Parker can continue to offer excellent academics and extracurricular programs, recruit and retain exceptional educators, and maintain our beautiful campus. The impact and benefits for our students are immediate. If you have not yet made your gift to the Annual Fund, we ask that you consider an end-of-the-year tax-deductible donation. No gift is too small and we sincerely thank you for your support! The Annual Fund will run through June 30, 2014. Please contact Jennifer Richardson at 808-885-8709 or [email protected] should you have questions or need additional information. Check out our new Annual Fund video on the Parker School website: www.parkerschoolhawaii.org (you might see some familiar faces!) and make your gift today!

Please contact the Advancement Office any time should you have any questions about giving opportunities or our events.

JOCKEY FASHION SHOWOn October 5, community member Geri Giffin sponsored a fashion show at Anna Ranch in Waimea to benefit financial aid at Parker School. The clothing showcased was from the Jockey Person-to-Person fall/winter collection and $2,600 was raised for financial aid! A huge mahalo to Ms. Giffin, to John Stover and Brynly Brown for providing the delicious food, and to all the volunteers and models who helped at the event.

Geri Giffin (left) and Jockey Person-to-Person Director Margee Lennard (right) stand with Advancement Director Jennifer Richardson after the successful Jockey Fashion Show.

Volunteer model Lynn White struts down the runway.

Lower School Head Heather Polhemus, Kim Giffin and Headmaster’s Assistant Brynly Brown enjoy the fashion show.

Lisa Winborne takes a look at Jockey’s clothing.


ATHLETICS SCHEDULE(subject to change—please check Parker School website or weeky Webflash for updates)

HIGH SCHOOL COED SOCCERThursday, December 12 – Parker @ Ka‘u – 3:00 p.m.Saturday, December 14 – Parker @ Waiakea – 3:00 p.m.Wednesday, December 18 – Parker @ Kohala – 3:00 p.m.Thursday, January 2 – Parker @ Kealakehe – 6:00 p.m.Saturday, January 4 – Kea‘au @ Parker – 3:00 p.m.Wednesday, January 8 – Honokaa @ Parker – 3:00 p.m.Saturday, January 11 – Parker @ Kamehameha – 3:00 p.m.Wednesday, January 15 – Makua Lani @ Parker – 3:00 p.m.Saturday, January 22 – Parker @ East-Pac – 3:00 p.m.Saturday, January 25 – HAAS @ Parker – 3:00 p.m.Tuesday, January 28 – Parker @ HPA – 3:00 p.m.

HIGH SCHOOL COED PADDLINGSaturday, December 14 – Kona – Regatta ( all schools) – 10:00 a.m.Saturday, January 4 – Hilo Bay – Regatta (all schools) – 10:00 a.m.Saturday, January 11 – Kona – Regatta (all schools) – 10:00 a.m.Saturday, January 18 – Hilo Bay – Regatta – BIIF Championships- 10:00 a.m.Saturday, February 1 – Keehi Lagoon OIA – States

Athletics News by Athletic Director Ceri WhitfieldParker school athletes finished the first trimester with some good results! The cross country team participated at BIIFs, all runners performing their personal best. Graduating seniors Grant Nair, Brian Toubman and Larissa Bolstad will be truly missed next year. Thank you to Buff Winderbaum for his hard work and dedication to not only the high school team, but also for his continued encouragement of our middle school cross country runners.

Nicole Vedelli coached the lower school cross country team again this year, finishing the season with our annual 1K run. Participants from all Waimea schools attended, making the race a great event. Thank you, Nicole, for another wonderful season. Your hard work and dedication is truly valued in the athletic department.

The girls volleyball season ended well, with a bittersweet last game for our graduating seniors. Emily Whitfield, Darnee Brighter, Keala Prietto and Shanelle Bolner are such valuable players we will miss greatly next year. Thank you to Ehitu Keeling and Michael Landers for your constant guidance and encouragement to our dedicated volleyball team.

Matt Binder coached our middle school volleyball team this year and took the team to a new playing level. They played consistently and won nearly every game. Congratulations, team!

High school soccer is well underway with 20 students on the coed team, coached by Billy Pleuss and Kea Shaw. Be sure to check out Parker’s Weekly Webflash for the schedule of matches and come out to support our team. Home games will be played on our soccer field behind the lower school.

The paddling team is all ready for another great season with Mike and Kealoha Nearman again heading the coaching crew and leading practices every afternoon and Saturday mornings at the Kawaihae pylons. We are so fortunate to have such experienced coaches work with our paddlers!

As always, thank you, Parker families, for your encouragement and commitment in supporting your kids in our sports programs.

Go Bulls!

Na Mea Hou

Jesse Tarnas ‘12 had his first academic paper published in October, as a student at Wesleyan University. He co-authored the paper, entitled “Universal heating curve of damped Coulomb plasmas in a Paul trap,” with professors Y.S. Nam and R. Blümel. It was published in the journal Physical Review A, and can be found online at:http://pra.aps.org/abstract/PRA/v88/i4/e041401.

Kara Scofield ‘09 stopped by the Parker campus on a recent Big Island visit. In June she graduated from Chapman University in Orange, California and currently lives in Lake Forest, California.

Noa Bourke ‘03 is a live audio engineer living in Vallejo, California.

Malia Landis ‘01 is a ceramic artist and teacher in San Jose., California. Check out her work at: http://www.malialandis.com.

Sasha Tokareff ‘01 recently moved to Ashland, Oregonafter living abroad for several years and purchased her first home.

Peter Martin ‘97, a member of Chicago’s well-known Third Coast Percussion, shared a link to the group’s latest release. Have a listen at: http://www.thirdcoastpercussion.com/our-projects/recordings/.

Alumni News:

The Parker Bulls Soccer Club (PBSC) wrapped up its fall 2013 season in November. The club fielded two U12 teams, and both had seasons to be proud of. Thanks to everyone who was involved; we hope to see you back in the spring.

With an eye toward the future, John Polhemus was hired as the Club Director in August, and he has been hard at work planning for the spring season and beyond. The goal this spring will be to field both boys and girls teams in the U8 and U10 age groups, and at least one team in U12. To help support this anticipated growth in enrollment, three new coaches will be joining us in the spring. Tiffany Freitas (U8), Melissa Esaki (U10), and Chris Dutton (U12) all share a passion for the game and PBSC is very fortunate to have them on board. Our search for players interested in joining us in the spring is ongoing. For more information, email us at: [email protected].

Happy Holidays from PBSC!

Parker Bulls Soccer Club Report:

Athletics News cont.


Parker School65-1224 Lindsey RoadKamuela, HI 96743

Dates to RememberDecember 12 Lower School Winter Music Concert

December 14 Fairways & Friends Golf Tournament, Hula Moon Trunk Show, & Spa Day

December 16 Winter Break Begins (OFFICES CLOSED Dec. 23-Jan. 1)

January 6 School Resumes

January 11 Admissions Open House

January 14 Admissions K-1 Preview

January 11 Admissions 6 & 9 Grade Preview

January 17 & 18 Neighbor Island Debate Tournament

January 20 Martin Luther King Day - NO SCHOOL/OFFICES CLOSED

January 23 Lower School Conferences (after-school hours only)

January 24 All-School Parent-Teacher Conferences - NO SCHOOL

February 7 Middle School Unity Day

February 11 Talk Story for Incoming 6th Graders

February 17 Presidents’ Day - NO SCHOOL/OFFICES CLOSED

February 26-28 Upper/Middle School FInals (6-12 Early Dismissal)

For details check the Parker School calendar and announcements at www.parkerschoolhawaii.org.

Happy Birthday Faculty & Staff! December: Heidi Buscher, Katie Callender, Lani Morris, Ruth Sturges, Jon Vedelli

January: Angela Alforque, Jennifer Grace, Melissa Lunchick, Kealoha Nearman, Susan Rickards, Jackie Sills, Nicole Vedelli, Holly Weigle, Kristi Weiser

Ahualoa Farm Alaska Wild Salmon Baron von App Wood ArtBeeing Aloha Honey CompanyDownes Grounds Coffee FarmEarthy Stuff FarmsEl DenteFantasy FoodsHawaiian B Natural FarmsHawaiian Candyman Hawaiian Homegrown Wool Honomu Jams

Island Herbal Island Thyme Gourmet**Javaloha CoffeeKekela FarmsLittle Paradise Mai Bacon Manowaiopae Homestead FarmOhana PiesParker School Garden* Poppas Orchids Sandwich Isle Bread Si Nuan Thai

Star of Heart MassageSunrise Farm Tammey’s Tamales Tea Hawai‘iTropical FruitsiclesTropical MixesTrue Hawai‘i Blue Whole Better Woods Catering

* 1st & 3rd weeks of month** 2nd & 4th weeks of month

Waimea Town Market at Parker SchoolSaturday mornings from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Parker middle school-ers sell produce from the school garden on the 1st and 3rd Satur-day of every month at Waimea Town Market.

december 2013-january 2014 na mea hou

Documents