february-march na mea hou
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Parker School's newsletterTRANSCRIPT
Na Mea HouThe latest news from Parker School
Excellence - Integrity - Compassion February-March 2013
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 Park-er School website regularly at www.parkerschool.net.
Na Mea Hou is published September through June by the Advancement Office of Parker School.
Acting Advancement DirectorJennifer Richardson
Marketing Associate: Katie Callender
Please e-mail articles, photos, class notes or event notices to [email protected]. News about students and submissions from students are especially welcome.
Help Parker School go green! Ask to receive Na Mea Hou by e-mail at [email protected].
Encouraging the Search for Knowledge
Ahualoa Farm Alaska Wild Salmon* Baron von App Wood ArtBeeing Aloha Honey CompanyBig Island FruitsiclesDownes Grounds Coffee FarmEl Dente Hawaii White Mountain FarmHawaiian B Natural FarmsHawaiian Candyman Hawaiian Homegrown Wool Healing Touch Massage
Honomu Jams Island Herbal Island Thyme**Kalakoa Kookies Kekela FarmsJennifer Zingg StudioLittle Paradise Mai Bacon Manowaiopae Homestead FarmOhana Pies Poppas’ Orchids Sandwich Isle Bread
Waimea Town Market at Parker SchoolSaturday mornings from 8 am to 12 pm
Si Nuan ThaiSunrise Farm Sweet NutsTammey’s Tamales Tea HawaiiTrue Hawaiian Blue Whole Better Health Drinks Woods Catering
*fishing until September**second and fourth weeks of month
CONGRATULATIONS,PARKER MIXED CREW PADDLING TEAM
BIG ISLAND CHAMPS!
Turn to the Athletics section to read more about the paddling team’s impressive season!
Parker’s mixed crew team (above) finished first at the BIIF championships on January 23. Parker’s was the only Big Island paddling team to qualify and send all three crews (girls, boys, mixed) to the State Champion-ships on O‘ahu, where the girls and mixed crews finished 8th in the state and the boys finished 10th.
KahiauParker School’s“to give generously from the heart”
SATURDAY, MARCH 2, 2013Please join us for a magical night at the stunning Fairmont Orchid, Hawai‘i as we come together to raise funds
for financial aid at Parker School. Enjoy an exquisite dinner while bidding on incredible auction items!
Mahalo to our sponsors so far:
Brodie Callender, RealtorMuffet & John CallenderWendy CravenThe HuiK & G ArchitectsKuki‘o Community AssociationMark MahaneyPacific Pump & PowerAnne Rediske, Realtor & Big Island VillasResort Association PartnersSimply for FunAlison & Woodson Woods
Limited seating available. Call 808-885-8709 today to purchase your seats.
Proxy bidding available! If you are unable to attend the event but wish to bid on items, you may assign an agent to bid for you.
Contact Jennifer Richardson in the Advancement Office for more informa-tion about proxy bidding, table sponsor-ship, underwriting, or general info. at: 808-885-8709 or [email protected].
Five nights at the Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora
A visit to the set of the hit television show
“The Magic of Puako”Original oil painting by Martha Greenwell
Five-night stay at a luxury home in downtown Telluride, Colorado
Plus: artwork by Bayard Hollins, Mary Spears, Harry Wishard,white water rafting on the South Fork of the American River, a Disneyland getaway,
private dinner and wine pairing at a Mauna Kea home, a helicopter trip to a fine dinner at Kahua Ranch,guitar lessons with slack-key master John Keawe, sports lessons plus
incredible overnighters, vacation packages, health & spa packages, fine wine, jewelry...
Preview these and other exciting items on our website: www.parkerschool.net
Auction PreviewHelicopter trip to:
NI‘IHAU The Forbidden Island
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PARKER DEBATERS QUALIFY FOR STATE TOURNAMENT
Debaters from 11 schools through-out the islands converged on the Parker School campus on January 18 and 19 for the Neighbor Island Speech and Debate Qualifying Tournament. Contestants com-peted in speech, drama and debate events with the hope of qualifying for the state tournament in April. Kamehameha Schools (Kapalama campus) took first place overall. Parker placed second, despite hav-ing contestants only in the debate category.
The following Parker students qualified for the April state tournament: Jaren Ashcraft and Luke Potter (first place in Beginning Public Forum Debate), Mi-chael Note and Kosuke Kume (second place
in Beginning Public Forum Debate), Carrie Hiller (first place in Novice Lincoln-Doug-las Debate), Sivan Najita (third place in Novice Lincoln-Douglas Debate), Tyler McCullough (second place in Champion-
ship Lincoln-Douglas Debate), and Paul Gregg (third place in Champi-onship Lincoln-Douglas Debate).
Parker debate coach and headmas-ter Carl Sturges said, “It’s always exciting to have the best debat-ers from around the state come to Parker School to compete. I hear from the other coaches that their students appreciate our up-country hospitality and friendliness, and we enjoy the opportunity to host one of the two qualifying tournaments of the Hawai‘i Speech League.”
The Parker debate team will next compete at the Mid-Pacific Institute Debate Quali-fying Tournament on Oahu on February 16.
We are participating in Foodland’s Shop for Higher Education 2013 program. Every year, Foodland awards $200,000 in college scholarships to 100 Hawaii high school seniors through its Shop for Higher Education program. The annual state-wide program runs from February 6-March 19, and it does not cost you a penny! Simply select Parker School – code 7406 - when you check out at any Foodland, Sack N Save or Foodland Farms store during this period. You’ll earn Maika`i Points for you and for Parker. The more Maika`i Points a school earns, the more scholarships it receives. Scholarships are awarded based on the number of Maika`i Points schools earn in the program. A total of one hundred $2,000 scholarships are given to deserving high school seniors across the state each year. For more information, please visit: http://www.food-land.com/our-community/shop-higher-education. We appreciate your participation!
SHOP TO BENEFIT PARKER SCHOOL STUDENTS!
February-March 2013
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Lower School Happenings
K-2 100th Day of School Celebration School Family Candids
Winter World Traditions & Winter Concert
Middle & Upper School LifeTalent Show
Martin Luther King Tribute
Middle School Science Fair
Campus Candids
Congratulations to Trevor Bastien, Jaipal Brar, Hunter Bugado, Taylor Doherty, Kirk Hubbard, Alissa Mullin, Justin Murray, and Owen Mat-suda for qualifying at the district level for the Hawai‘i State Science & Engineering Fair in Hilo. The fair will take place on February 16.
February-March 2013
PTSO News by PTSO President Robin MullinParent Forum: Social Media, Internet Safe-ty and iPad Use - Wednesday, February 27 at 6:30 p.m. in the Parker School Theatre. The PTSO is pleased to offer an informa-tive evening on a hot topic identified in our 2012 parent survey. Join Assistant Headmas-ter Shellie Note-Gressard, IT specialist Eric Dela Rosa and a guest student advisor as they share with us the “ins and outs” of technolo-gy usage. Learn what your kids are up to on-line, the benefits and considerations of social media, and ways to safeguard your child and your own personal information. Parker’s con-version to iPad-assisted learning will also be addressed. It will, no doubt, be an informative, stimulating and information-packed evening with time for questions and recommendations. You might even learn some good technolo-gy boundary-setting techniques! Childcare is available but must be reserved by February 25. Email Jude at [email protected] to reserve.
Mark your calendars for Parker Night Out, Saturday, April 13, and join other Parker families for dinner at Saffron Restaurant. This is a great opportunity to get to know other parents, and the older kids will have tables so they can hang out together, too. 20% of the revenue will be donated to PTSO to support next year’s projects, including mini-grants in the fall. RSVPs are appreciated to help with planning. Email Kendall DiDonato at [email protected] to reserve your space.
Kahiau, Parker’s annual auction gala fundrais-er for financial aid, is another good opportu-nity to build relationships with other parents, teachers and staff. This year we would like to encourage even more parents to attend, so the advancement office is going to work to accommodate seating requests. If you would like to request seating next to other guests you know are attending, or would like to be seated
near new people with children the same age as yours, contact the advancement office at 885-8709 or [email protected] as soon as possible. The sooner you make your request, the better they can guarantee your seating choice!
Our next PTSO meeting is February 21 at 8:15 a.m. in the upper school library. All parents/guardians are welcome to join our monthly meetings.
For updates on PTSO, follow our activities on the Parker School Webflash, check the PTSO page of the Parker School website, or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Park-erSchoolPTSO.
I welcome parents with questions or com-ments to contact me at [email protected] or 936-7070.
Waimea Twilight Parade
On Dec. 1, Parker Lower School students rode on the Parker School float in the Waimea Twilight Parade. The debate team and the 9th and 12th grade classes ran fundraising booths in front of the main Parker campus, at the end of the parade route.
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ATHLETICS SCHEDULE(subject to change—please check Parker School website or weeky Webflash for updates)
HIGH SCHOOL TENNISSaturday, February 23 - Parker @ Kealakehe - 10:00 a.m.Saturday, March 2 - Kohala @ Parker - 10:00 a.m.Wednesday, March 6 - Parker @ H.P.A. - 2:00 p.m.Saturday, March 16 - Parker @ Honokaa - 10:00 a.m.Saturday, March 23 - Makua Lani @ Parker - 10:00 a.m.Saturday, March 30 - Konawaena @ Parker - 10:00 a.m.Saturday, April 13 - Championships - TBD - 10:00 a.m.Thursday, April 18- BIIFs - Fairmont Orchid - 9:00 a.m.Friday, April 19 - BIIFs - Fairmont Orchid - 9:00 a.m.Saturday, April 20 - BIIFs Semis/Finals - Fairmont Orchid - 9:00 a.m.Thursday, May 2 - State Championship - Fairmont Orchid - 9:00 a.m.Friday, May 3 - State Championship - Fairmont Orchid - 9:00 a.m.Saturday, May 4 - State Championship Finals - Fairmont Orchid - 9:00 a.m.
BOYS HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALLWednesday, March 13 - Parker @ Honokaa - 6:00 p.m.Saturday, March 16 - Parker & Kohala @ Chr. Liberty - 10:00 a.m.Tuesday, March 19 - Parker @ Kamehameha - 6:00 p.m.Friday, March 22 - Parker @ Kea‘au - 6:00 p.m.Saturday, March 30 - Hilo & Ka‘u @ Parker - 10:00 a.m.Wednesday, April 3 - St. Joe’s @ Parker - 6:00 p.m.Saturday, April 6 - Parker & Lapahoehoe @ Kealakehe - 10:00 a.m.Saturday, April 13 - Parker @ Hualalai - 10:00 a.m.Tuesday, April 16 - Parker @ Waiakea - 6:00 p.m.Thursday, April 18 - Chr. Liberty @ Parker - 6:00 p.m.Tuesday, April 23 - H.P.A. @ Parker - 6:00 p.m.Saturday, April 27 - Konawaena & Pahoa @ Parker - 10:00 a.m.
Now, that’s school spirit!Sending the paddling team off
to States on January 31...
February-March 2013
Instrumental music teacher Annu Shionoya with some of her students.
Instrumental Music Program RecitalOn December 4, 2012, Parker School’s after school instrumental music program students showcased their talents in a recital in the Parker School Theatre.
Hawaiian History Field TripOn December 6, Susan Rickards’ Hawai-ian history class visited the Hawai’i Island voyaging canoe, Makali’i (visit http://www.nakalaiwaa.org for more informa-tion) as well as Pu‘ukohola Heiau Na-tional Historic Site (http://www.nps.gov/puhe). Both visits included presentations by experts and were excellent hands-on educational opportunities. In addition, the students had the extra treat of observ-ing a handful of sharks cruising only feet from the shore in Pelekane Bay near the site of the legendary remains of the sub-merged heiau, Hale o Kapuni, dedicated to the sharks.
Hawaiian history and marine science teacher Susan Rickards and her Hawaiian history class on their visit to the Makali‘i voyaging canoe (above) and to Pu‘ukohola Heiau (right).
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February-March 2013
Athletics News by Athletic Director Ceri Whitfield
Parker athletics earned its first BIIF Championship win, thanks to the paddling mixed varsity team! On Wednesday, January 23, the team took first place in the BIIF final, four seconds in front of the second team. They beat last year’s BIIF Championship time by three seconds. Congratulations to Aidan Wharton, Cody Brown, Char-lie Charbonneau, Mariko Langevin, Sarah Willey and Emily Whitfield for their hard work and dedication to this sport. The boys and girls varsity pad-dling teams also placed at BIIFs, which means all three of the varsity paddling teams went to States this year, a first for Parker School. Parker’s was the only Big Island team who qualified all three crews for States!
At States at Keehi Lagoon on Oahu, both the girls team and the mixed crew team placed 8th overall, and were the only Big Island teams to advance to the final. The boys came in 10th overall. Our team was so inspirational. They show real heart in everything they do. They repre-sented Parker so well. People were suddenly aware of who these kids are!
Congratulations to Aunty Kealoha and Un-cle Mike Nearman for a very successful sea-son, and a huge mahalo to all the wonderful volunteer paddling coaches—Myke Akau, Cindy and Jake Chong, Scott Hendricks, and Toby Wilkinson—who showed up for our students tirelessly everyday throughout the season.
Soccer Season Recap:Coaches Billy Pleuss, Kea Shaw, Kapono Peiper and Tammie Akau led an excep-tionally competitive soccer team to some very proud moments on the field this sea-son. The best games to watch were here on our home turf with Parker parents, faculty and students cheering on the team. There were some tough moments with some of the more competitive schools, but our team consistently played a great game, and all games ended with a close result. This made for a very exciting season. Thank you all so much for your continued support of our soccer program.
Senior Athletes:All of our winter season senior athletes play multiple sports and have shown true dedication and heart on and off the field. Marisa Saito was our only senior girl on
the soccer team this year, and has played all four years. By the time they graduate this year, Paul Gregg, Evan Kasberg, Jes-se Burns, Tyler McCullough and Allan Bond will all have left their mark on the school’s athletic program in cross country and soccer. Aidan Wharton, Cody Brown, Charlie Charbonneau, Mariko Langevin, Sarah Willey and Wyatt Mangel have given four dedicated years to paddling. Thank you, seniors, for your gift of hard work, competitiveness and drive. You have made a difference in our athletics pro-gram. You will be truly missed when you graduate in May.
I am so proud of all of our student athletes for their hard work, determination and camaraderie. They have shown true grit and represent Parker School with passion and school pride.
Spring Sports Season:Our spring sports are: tennis, boys vol-
leyball, middle school paddling and middle school track and field.
Join Parker Bulls U8,U10, U12, U14 and U16 HYSA Soccer Club. Practices are Tuesday and Thursday from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. We have recruited a group of hard-working, dedicated and experienced coach-es for the club. Everyone is welcome to play.
Don’t forget to join our Booster Club. Your support helps cover the cost of uni-forms and equipment for our teams. Please sign up today and be a proud Bull or Heif-er member! For more information, contact Athletic Director Ceri Whitfield at [email protected] or 808.885.7933 ext. 114.
GO BULLS!The mixed crew paddling team competing at States on O‘ahu.
Advancement Update:Aloha from the Advancement Office!
Mahalo for your
support of
Parker School!
We would like to take this opportunity to introduce the new advancement team and update you on some exciting changes hap-pening within the department. With Jenni-fer Schack’s departure from Parker School in December, Jennifer Richardson will now be Acting Advancement Director and Ka-tie Callender will assume a full-time role as Marketing Associate. A part-time advance-ment support person has also been hired. These changes allow us to readjust and streamline many of our processes, with the goal of creating an even more successful and productive department!
Katie and Jennifer have demonstrated their efficiency as a team and will continue to work closely together to make this transi-tion smooth. We are positive these changes will allow for some amazing growth. Please stop by the advancement office in the Castle Center anytime to say hello!
Parker School’s 10th Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament, Fairways & Friends, was a success, raising over $15,500. All
proceeds benefit Parker School’s financial aid and scholarship programs. We would like to extend a very special thank you to all of our sponsors and participants who helped make this event possible!
Please join us for Parker School’s 8th An-nual Kahiau Gala on March 2, 2013, where we come together at the beautiful Fair-mont Orchid, Hawai‘i to raise funds for financial aid. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. and features silent and live auctions, dinner and dancing. We have some wonderful op-portunities for you to get involved in Kahi-au. Invitations have been mailed; please feel free to invite friends and family to join you at this special event. Tickets are $150, and $175 if purchased after Feb. 20. The Fair-mont Orchid is offering special room rates to attendees starting at $159. Book yours early by calling the Fairmont Orchid di-rectly at 808-885-2000. We also have table sponsorship and underwriting opportuni-ties available, and are still accepting auction item donations. Please touch base with us as soon as possible if you have an item to do-
nate, or would like to learn more about table sponsorship or underwriting opportunities. Email us at [email protected] or call 808-885-8709.
Kāko‘o fund campaign update: As you likely know, our campaign goal is to raise $200,000 by June 30, 2013. These funds will be used for a middle school deck, a science lab renovation, additional technology re-sources for our lower school Castle Center, and to purchase a high-quality event tent. We are just about halfway to our goal! We would very much like to have 100% support from our ‘ohana and encourage you to send in a donation if you haven’t had a chance to do so. You can either mail in or drop a donation by the business office or advance-ment office, or make your donation online via our website at: http://www.parker-school.net.
MAHALO to the Sponsors and Participants who made Parker School’s 10th Annual Fairways & Friends
Scholarship Golf Tournament a Success!Parker School’s 10th Annual Schol-arship Golf Tournament, Fairways & Friends, took place on Saturday, December 8, 2012 at the beautiful Hualalai Four Seasons golf course. The two-person, select drive, low single net score tournament was a great success, raising over $15,500. All proceeds benefit Parker School’s financial aid and scholarship programs. After the tournament, 63 golfers en-joyed a dinner buffet at Ronnie’s Gar-den off the 18th hole, where donated prizes were given away at the awards ceremony. Prizes included a custom club from Kama‘aina Clubmakers, gift certificates for complimentary rounds of golf to Hualalai Resort, Mauna Kea
Beach Resort Golf Course, Big Island Country Club, Waikoloa Beach & Kings’ Course, Makalei Golf Club, and Waikoloa Village, as well as gift certif-icates to Roy’s Waikoloa Bar & Grill, Merriman’s Market Café, and KTA. Parker extends a very special thank you to our title sponsor MacArthur & Com-pany Sotheby’s International Realty, and
to all the generous sponsors who helped make this event a success: Hualalai Re-sort, Four Seasons Hualalai, Big Island Honda, Kuki‘o Golf and Beach Club, Clever Concierge Services, Ryan Asso-ciates, Central Pacific Management, Ha-waiian Winds, Pro Service Hawaii, and the Parker School Board of Directors.
PSCHOOL
PARKER
Title sponsor MacArthur & Co. Sotheby’s International Realty’s Bill Babbitt, Andy Carlson, Kathy J. Christiansen, Dodie MacArthur, and Rebecca Keli‘iho‘omalu.
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Saikat Mitra, a YES (Youth Exchange and Study) pro-gram international student from Bangladesh, at Parker for the 2007-2008 school year, writes:
“I will be graduating from New-man University in Wichita, Kansas this May (bachelor’s degree with ma-jors in accounting and management). I did internships with (a) hotel man-agement company last couple of years and this year I’m preparing taxes for Jackson Hewitt Tax Services as an-other internship. After graduation, I’m looking forward to pursue my career either in accounting or management
and Hawaii will be one of the places I will try to find a full
time work! I got married to Farzana Mojumder on January 15 this year. She was born in Bangladesh and grew up in the US. Currently she is working for a bank here in Kansas. We have known each other for about 4 years. For our wedding, we had two ceremonies: American and then one in Indian rituals. We both ask for the pule and ho‘omaika‘i‘ana of ev-erybody in Parker School for our future.”
Chelsea Ching Lafrance ’01, celebrated her daughter Rylee’s first birthday with a baby lu‘au in early February.
Max Hagen ’05, recently lost his father, Tom, to brain cancer. A memorial was held in early February. the Parker School ‘ohana extends its deepest sympathy to the Hagen family.
Alumni News:
Parker School is proud to announce that seniors Paul Gregg and Aidan Wharton have advanced as finalists for a Nation-al Merit Scholarship Award.
In September, Gregg and Wharton were notified that each was one of about 16,000 national semi-finalists out of the 50,000 highest scorers of approximately 1.5 million high school students who took the PSAT (Preliminary Scholas-tic Assessment Test) last year. Now they have advanced to a group of about 15,000 finalists.
Gregg and Wharton will find out in March if they are among approximately 8,300 National Merit Scholarship Award winners. The awards range from a $2500 lump sum scholarship, to corporate-sponsored and college-sponsored scholarships.
Last year, Parker’s Kieran Najita was a Merit Scholarship Award winner. In the last three years, Parker has had six of the ten total Big Island finalists.
Paul Gregg & Aidan Wharton Advance as National Merit Scholar Finalists
Paul Gregg Aidan Wharton
Kahiau 2012 Helicopter Trip to Kahua Ranch a Success!
On January 19, guests from last year’s Kahiau auction event, Wayne Spilove, Steven and Lore-na Clever, and Philip and Nhu Mai Clever took off from Waikoloa for a helicopter tour, then landed at Kahua Ranch. Here the group was treated to a fine dinner hosted by Monty Rich-ards and John and Amber Richards of Kahua Ranch, and catered by Chef Charles Charbon-neau. The Spiloves and Clevers purchased the dining adventure package at last year’s Kahiau gala benefiting financial aid. The guests raved about the experience, prompting Parker School to offer the package again at this year’s Kahiau on March 2.
Parker extends a warm mahalo to the Rich-ards Family, Sunshine Helicopters, and Charles Charbonneau for this fantastic package.
For more information about this opportunity, call the Advancement Office at 808-885-8709 or email [email protected].
2007-2008 YES foreign student Saikat Mitra and his bride, Farzana Mojumder.
February-March 2013
Note: In preparing this publication we diligently try to avoid errors and omissions. Please accept our apologies and notify the Advancement Office if any are discovered.
Parker School65-1224 Lindsey RoadKamuela, HI 96743Address Service Requested
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Dates to RememberFebruary 18 Presidents’ Day - NO SCHOOL/OFFICES CLOSEDFebruary 18 & 19 Mid-Pacific Institute Debate Qualifying TournamentFebruary 20-22 Upper/Middle School Finals (6-12 EARLY DISMISSAL)February 22 Lower School Trimester Break Day (K-5 NO SCHOOL)March 2 Kahiau Auction Gala Event, Fairmont Orchid, 5:30 p.m.March 15 Spring Break begins (OFFICES CLOSED March 22)March 25 School resumesApril 4 & 5 Middle and Upper School InterimApril 12 Middle School Unity Day
For details check the Parker School calendar and announcements at www.parkerschool.net
High School VolleyballCoaches’ Award – Darnee Brighter
Most Valuable Player – Emily WhitfieldMost Improved Player – Skye Waipa
High School Cross CountryCoaches’ Award – Mariko LangevinCoaches’ Award – Tyler McCulloughMost Valuable Runner – Paul Gregg
Most Improved Runner – Marie Jobes
ATHLETIC AWARDSCongratulations to the following students for their athletic accomplishments in the fall season. They received their awards at a January 28 ceremony.
Happy Birthday Faculty & Staff! February: Paige Brown
March: Gillian Culff, Laura Inaba, Yngrid Gonzalez-Feeney, Jennifer Richardson