Christmas is a very special time at Punahou. There are many festivities and you can really feel the Christmas spirit as you walk the campus. It all started in 1847...

The first Punahou Christmas was celebrated in 1847. Students prepared the campus for the holiday because they knew that missionaries were visiting the campus. Boys cared for the vegetable garden and kept the grounds in order. They also drove the horse-drawn Punahou Bus. The students also picked evergreens for decoration. Early Tuesday morning, long before daylight, we boys, suitably attired, started for the woods to get evergreens for the Christmas decorations, and something that might serve for a Christmas tree, wrote Dr. Albert B. Lyons in an article named Punahous First Christmas, published June 1941.

After that day, Punahou Christmas continued to be celebrated with plays, carols, music concerts and much more.

The holiday season at Punahou is based on appreciating and giving to others. Mrs. Saito, 7th grade Social Studies teacher, describes it as, Festive, but there is much emphasis on giving. Teams and classes encourage a spirit of giving to those who are less fortunate in the spirit of Christmas. Some teams even plan special events with the help of many generous parents. The Chapel is one of the busiest and most festive places during the Christmas season. Chapel is decorated with important christmas scenes and poinsettias. The last Chapel of the year is dedicated to telling the story of Christmas, singing carols, and a big choir performance is held.

This year, there are many events that will be taking place around Christmas. The PFA will kick-off the holiday season with their craft fair on the first Friday of December. There is also an Annual Christmas Eve Service on Dec. 24th at 4:30 pm where you can listen to Christmas stories and sing

carols. It is held at Thurston Memorial Chapel. Participants are encouraged to bring cookies to share. The kindergarten classes walk around to some key spots around campus to sing Christmas carols while some of the middle school teams do the same at elderly care homes around the area. Luke Center also sets up a table for individuals who would like to participate in alternate gift giving.

Christmas is an amazing time for the entire Punahou community. Make sure to take the time to absorb the holiday spirit.

In this issue:Constant Stress 2Swedish Students Visit 4Christmas Movies 6Christmas Desserts 14

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Punahou ChristmasBy Siya Kumar 20

2Nutcracker Ballet By Jaime Tamashiro 19 and Stefani Sakamoto 19

Every year Punahous Dance School creates the wonderful dream land of Nutcracker. Nutcracker takes you on a magical journey through a war, triumph. and celebration. This will be the 34th year of The Nutcracker production, under the direction of Charlys Ing. There are 6 showings of The Nutcracker. The dates are December 13, 14, 20, and 21. So sit back and relax as we take you on a journey through the wonderland of Nutcracker.

The story of The Nutcracker takes place at a party, hosted by Clara and her family. Everyone is dancing and celebrating Christmas when Drosselmeyer makes a dramatic entrance to the party. He hands every child a gift, and saves the enchanted Nutcracker for Clara. Everyone envies the enchanted doll, and Claras brother Fitz breaks the doll in rage. Drosselmeyer fixes the doll and places it with Clara as she sleeps. The King Rat and his army battle with the Nutcracker's army, toy soldiers and grenadiers. The King Rat is trying to kill the Nutcracker, and the Prince intervenes, helping the Nutcracker win the battle. The Prince and the Nutcracker emerge triumphant at the end of the battle.

The beginning of Act Two starts off with Clara and Prince entering the land of sweets. They see candy mountains and

sweets everywhere. They are greeted by the sugar plum fairy. The Prince and Clara tell everyone the story of how they fought off the king mouse. The Sugar Plum Fairy

is awed at their bravery and heroism, and throws them a festival with lots of festive dancing, music, and delicious treats. She is greeted by a Cavalier and led in a dance. She falls asleep and awakens the next morning with the nutcracker in her arms.Placement auditions for the production are normally held around late September, or early October. Children between the ages of 5-18

are able to participate. Roles that are danced mostly by students are:

Cupcake, Cake Bearer, Bonbon, Baby Mouse, Grenadier, Chinese Pretzel, Soldier, Angel, Ribbon Candy, Party boys/girls, Waltz, Herald, Snowflakes, and Fritz. Some of the roles mentioned above are on pointe. Roles such as Clara, Russian, Toy Doll, Toy soldier, Party aunts and uncles, Drosselmeyer, Nutcracker Prince and Big Mice are all portrayed by professional guest dancers from Hawaii, and the Mainland.

Many dancers who have participated in the nutcracker have done it for many years, and have created lots of great memories throughout the years. Rina Nagashima 19 says, The best part of nutcracker overall was when we were Grenadiers in 5 grade! in the boys'

dressing room with the pointe shoe! Nutcracker has become a Christmas tradition, and is a great experience for everyone. It is also an amazing show to watch. You will definitely enjoy it and you will leave the show in the holiday spirit!

Constant Stress in Middle SchoolersBy Annika Swanson 21and Eve Thompson 21

Stress. It plagues us all. A test tomorrow, a essay to turn in. Oh! You forgot your report on Zachary Taylor because you procrastinated. What are you going to do? With each problem setting weight on your shoulders, it might be shortening your lifeline. What most people dont know is that every little thing that causes stress can kill you. Chronic Stress can cause certain types of cancer, heart disease, and a premature death. All teens suffer from stress but recently, they havent been handling it well and its becoming worse. Some have eating disorders like skipping a meal or eating your problems away. More girls suffer from it, mostly because of worries about their appearance or how people think of them. Stress makes some people short fused and irritable. Some burst into tears or feel as if they might cry. Stress can be the reason for being sleep deprived, and in some cases sleeping too late. Of course, we couldnt forget Stresss little friend Overwhelm. Many students with Chronic Stress feel very overwhelmed. Whats worse is that stress levels in teens and even younger children are continuously rising with each given year.continued on page 3

Homework causes a lot of stress in kids and teens.

Photos by Eve Thompson and Annika Swanson 21

3Constant Stress in Middle Schoolers continued

Students are expected to survive withstress levels that only adults felt a few years ago. It definitely affects their happiness and its not in a good way. For example, 27% of students last year in America felt extreme stress, 55% felt a medium amount of stress, and only 18% felt low stress. If you say that stress is not a problem, youre lying to yourself.

You want to avoid stress? You cant do it completely but you can keep stress related diseases at bay. These are your helpers:Excercise. You might be thinking Ugh! Im gonna have to run like 100 miles! but no. There are many ways to exercise. This is what Dr. Ronald Waldinger, a psychiatrist, thinks, If you could give one magic pill that would improve physical health, mood, reduce weight, that would be it.

According to studies, if you are exercising just to boost your mood, 30 minutes is enough. If you go way over, you dont feel that different. Just really tired.

What Makes You Happy?By Clarise Huang 19

What IS happiness? It's around Christmas time, the time when many people come home to celebrate and see their families again. Everyone has their own definition, and their own ways of making themselves happy. Recently, happiness is a subject that scientists have researched quite extensively.

Scientists found 7 factors that made people happy, which are: close relationships with friends, caring for others, exercise, flow, spiritual engagement, strength & virtues, and positive mindset & gratitude.

Happy people most often have close relationships with others. It helps if people interact with friends and sometimes share their feelings. Studies found that people were most happy around family or friends, and least happy when alone. The cooperativeness and self-disclosure of a person made a difference. Caring for others makes people happier. The people who care about others actually have less chances of getting depressed. It can be helping a

classmate or teacher who has an issue or problem, to volunteering in a group, club, or fundraiser. Whether you do something small, or big, if you care for others, it can make you a happier person.

Exercise was found to make a difference not only in someones health, but also the happiness of a person. Studies found that exercise has a big impact and helps with a persons mental health. It also decreases the possibility of having depression.

Flow. Flow is an emotion where we feel happy and joyful. It occurs when we try to achieve a goal and challenge ourselves.

Flow happens when you get lost in an activity that brings you gratification. Its something you can do for hours and you dont even notice the time. I can play the violin without noticing the time. I feel complete when I play. I forget all my troubles, remarked Colin Yeo 19. When I play piano and sing, I immediately feel amazing. I can do it for hours without noticing the time, commented Ms. Mazzullo.

Spiritual engagement and meaning makes a difference in our happiness. This extends beyond just believing and belonging to a religion, but also the social part of it has an effect. Community service and religious events bring many people with alike minds together and the socialization of it can make people happier. Praying and spiritual practice may also include meditative activities, therefore calming the mind, reducing stress, and being more positive in thoughts. It can also give someone perspective and hope. Believing in yourself can help to be positive in times when you are down and having resilience during hard times.

It is important to know your personal strengths and virtues. Personal strengths and virtues will help you to use them not only for yourself, but also for other purposes more than your personal goals. But this will only help if you know what strengths or qualities you have.

Positive mindset and gratitude has a big influence on your happiness. Gratitude has also been a major point of study. Being optimistic can help you to find opportunities in everything you do, especially the difficult or challenging parts of your life. This will help if you see everything in life as an opportunity and to be positive. Winston Churchills states it well, a pessimist will find the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist finds the opportunity in every difficulty.

Happiness is an emotion studied by many scientists and psychologists. The relevance of understanding the subject of happiness is that it can help make one happier. The benefits are stronger mental health, a means to prevent some mental disorders, to prevent conflicts and the ability to share the happiness. Its near Christmas time and now its your turn to spread the happiness with the ones around you.

A few ways to release stress

1. Getting outsideCamping, Fishing, and breathing in fresh air are a few calming activities that will release stress.

2. Staying OrganizedUse your student planner! Staying organized keeps you on top of your work.

3. Playing/ Listening to musicMusic releases stress and keeps you calm.

4. Eat healthyJunk food doesnt help stress. Ask your parents to look up healthy foods and dinners twice a week.

Students response when asked: What makes you happy?

- Spending time with my family and talking to my friends, and also accomplishing my goal or achieving it by trying my best, said Michelle Woo 19.

- Alli Li 19 said, being around my friends, spending time with my family, and playing video games!

Photos by Kamalani Quindica 19

4LOL . . . Its Good For YouBy T.J. Johnson 19

Laughter has scientific evidence for being the best medicine. When I hear a funny joke, I cant stop laughing and I immediately feel better.

Happiness is a very important part of your life because living with happiness can lead to a great successful lifestyle. By just laughing, you can forget about all of your troubles and look at the positive side of your life. It can be an antidote to your stress or conflict in your life. Laughter can increase your happiness.

Laughter can also lead to less stress because it relaxes your whole body. After laughing your body relieves the tension in your muscles and expels out any stress that is stuck in your mind.

By just smiling, your brain releases endorphins into your body and it makes you feel happier. Endorphins are the feel good chemical in your body; that means when you brain releases it into your body you feel a good sensation in your body.

Laughter can protect your heart too. Laughter can help you open your blood vessels and it increases more flow to and from your heart and reduces the chances for blood clots in your vessels. This can stop heart attacks and other blood and heart related problems.

Laughing can also help you improve your immune system. Stress is linked to your immune system shutting down. Humor can raise the level of germ fighting antibodies that can improve your health.

These are some ways to get you laughing and happy:

Laugh at yourself as much as possible. Laughing at your mistakes and embarrassing moments can help you think lightly of yourself and not take everything so seriously. This can make you forget about how

embarrassing it is and think how funny it is instead.

Another way is pay attention to little children. All little ones are full of joy and laughter because they don't have a care in the world. Having fun with them can help you think positive and be happier. Children are the best at having fun and laughing.

Counting your blessing can help you get happier and laughing. You can make a simple list and think about the good moments of your life. It can make you forget all the bad moments and get you thinking about the positive side of your life.

This Christmas, I hope you can spend as much time with your family and friends as possible. When you are in a conversation, have fun joking around and having fun with the people that you're spending time with. You don't need the big special presents; it the happy moments you make. Christmas is the happiest time of the year, but make happiness last all year round.

Trip to Change the WorldBy Alexa Wong 19 and Colin Yeo 19

On October 22, 2014, Punahou hosted 24 students from Viktor Rydberg Samskola Middle School, one of Punahous partner schools in Stockholm,Sweden. The Swedish students stayed with Punahou host families until November 1st.

The Swedish students, along with the students from 8X,participated in the NAIS 20/20 Challenge, a challenge to take on a global problem with another school. Together, they were able to tackle a problem, involving Hawaii and Sweden.

Team 8X isnt the only one participating under the 20/20 Challenge umbrella: Team 8W is collaborating with Soong Ching Ling School, in China, as well. Teams 8Y and 8Z will conduct Project Citizen.

This NAIS Challenge collaboration focuses on the idea that Project Citizen teaches the students. This challenge, however, has us partnered up with an international school, states Mrs. Anderson, 8th grade Social Studies teacher, who organized this program. Punahou already had relationships with different schools in Asia. I thought it would be a good experience for us to focus on a different place, and to work on making additional international connections on a different side of the globe. I had this idea to do a collaboration a long time ago. The curriculum for my classroom was already designed for a partnership with another school, Anderson commented.

Together, the Swedish and 8X students chose an issue from the book High Noon by J.F. Rischard. They shared their ideas and came up with possible short or long term solutions for problems presented in the book. Throughout the rest of the school year, the Swedes and the students from 8X will try to work collaboratively on fixing the issue of global warming.The Swedish students also had a chance to learn about our culture and the foods we eat through a Cultural Exchange continued on page 6

Alisa and Edlin laughing at Gabe for having a flower a flower on his head. Its good to have fun and laugh with your friends in between breaks or at lunch to release stress you have at school.

5Trip to Change the World continued

Day, held in the teamspace.In addition, twenty-four 8X students got the privilege

of hosting these Swedish students. Having Sophia live with me was such a great experience.

It was so fun getting to know her,and about her life back in Sweden, expressed Geneva Kwaku 19, a Swedish host. They spent four out of the ten days at Punahou collaborating and learning with the Punahou students. They also took part in the first 8th grade Canteen, a Cultural Exchange Day, a Talent Show and various in-school activities. Outside of school, they went on hikes, participated in beach days, toured around Waikiki, visited Pearl Harbor, and spent time with their host families. This will be a cross-cultural exchange experience for the Punahou community. Twenty-four Punahou 8X students will also get the chance to travel to Sweden and visit Viktor Rydberg Samskola Middle School, along with touring the country. In high school, I had the opportunity to be an exchange student. I believe that you learn more and gain confidence if you travel internationally to the actual place. said Mrs. Anderson, informing us about the trip offered to Sweden during Spring break. I want the students to learn about another culture, about their government, lifestyle and how it is different from ours. The most important thing to take back from this experience, is that if we try to tackle global problems, we need to collaborate with other people from around the world.

Happy Holiday MoviesBy Tyler Murakami 21

Its the Holiday season! With the three weeks of Holiday Break students get, you need to use that time wisely. If its cold, or if theres bad weather, you could go to the movies!

A fun fact is that movies in the Holiday season are usually even more successful than Summer movies! Holiday movies can be anything from sweet holiday classics like Elf, A Christmas Carol, and Its A Wonderful Life, or anything coming out in the Holiday season (November-January). Some can be violent, some can be vulgar, some will be sweet.

The most popular genres of Holiday movies are Sci-Fi, Family, Drama, Horror, and Comedy. Sweet movies usually do better, but it really depends on the film. Here are some highlights of Holiday movies of this year.

For all you Sci-Fi fans out there, theres Interstellar, the long awaited space epic directed by Christopher Nolan (Inception, Dark Knight trilogy), The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, the first half of the Hunger Games finale, and The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies, the final chapter of the Middle Earth prequel saga.

If Sci-Fi is too intense, some great family films are being released this holiday season, like Penguins of Madagascar, the spiritual sequel to Madagascar, Annie, produced by Jay-Z and Will Smith, a new modern take on the classic story of Annie, and Night At The Museum: Secret of The Tomb is the

third installment of the Night At The Museum series, and sadly Mickey Rooney and Robin Williams last films.

If you are a fan of seriousness and drama, go see Unbroken, about a bullied child turned olympic athlete turned soldier, turned back to athlete, Tak3n, the third installment of the Taken series, McFarland, USA about a sports agent, and Big Eyes, a creepy Biopic of the lady who paints things with huge eyes.

Horror fans should be happy with this years lineup. It includes Kitchen Sink a horror/comedy directed by Jonah Hill, The Woman in Black: Angels of Death, a sequel to Daniel Radcliffes spooky 2012 hit, Annabelle, the prequel to The Conjuring, and Jessabelle, about demons.

If comedy is more of your style, great comedy is being released this year, like Dumb and Dumber To is the long awaited return to two of the silliest, funniest, dumbest film characters of all time, Harry and Lloyd, Horrible Bosses 2 is the return to three other goofballs in comedy played by Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, and Jason Sudiekis, Hot Tub Time Machine 2 is another follow-up to a cult classic comedy, and finally, The Interview starring Seth Rogen and James Franco.

Some films that will be ragingly popular and successful are Interstellar, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, Annie, Dumb and Dumber To, and The Divergent Series: Insurgent. You may want to at least consider seeing these. I hope that your holidays are filled with fun, happiness, and belief! Happy Holidays!

(from left to right) LeNaca Suguturaga 19, Kiarra Young 19, Charlene Abanes 19, and Leila Omydiar 19 learn swedish words from Isolde during a language exchange.

6Must See Christmas MoviesBy Mia Gaughan 20, Leila Mukaigawa 20, and Maddy Seabolt 20

The weather in Hawaii can make it difficult to get into the holidays spirit, like they do on the mainland. But there are many ways we can get into the spirit here in Hawaii. You can drive around Hawaiian Electric Company and see the lights lit up, you can make cookies, or watch holiday movies.

The Courier listed some of the must see holiday movies: Elf, The Polar Express, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and National Lampoons Christmas Vacation.

The movie Elf directed by Jon Favreau was released on November 7, 2003. The story is about Santas son, named Buddy, who learns that his true identity is a human and that he was adopted by Santa and raised by elves in his factory. Later, Santa lets him go to New York to find his real family. When he finally finds his family, Buddy finds out that his father, Hobbs, is on Santas naughty list. Hobbs didnt even know that Buddy was born. Buddy has to choose if he should stay with Santa or with his real family. Buddy spreads happiness and joy everywhere he goes. This is a perfect movie to watch whether its in school or at home with your family. Its a hilarious and entertaining film that will have you laughing.

The Polar Express is a 2004 animated Christmas movie musical. Its about a boy looking outside of his window on Christmas Eve and he sees a train right outside his house. He goes outside and finds a conductor waiting for him. The conductor tells him that the train is called the Polar Express and is bound for the North Pole where Santa lives. The boy boards the train and takes an extraordinary ride. When they get to the North Pole, the boy is

handpicked by Santa to receive the first gift of Christmas. He then realizes that he can choose anything he wishes, and chooses a bell from one of Santas reindeers. When he gets into the train he reaches into his pocket and finds that the bell isnt there. On Christmas day, he finds a gift from Santa and notices that its his bell. The movie was listed in the Guinness World Book of Records in 2006 as the first all-digital capture film. There is a book based on the movie also named The Polar Express.

A Charlie Brown Christmas debuted in 1965, and although that is almost 50 years ago, people still love the movie

dearly. The movie contains the characters of the Peanuts comic strip. A Charlie Brown Christmas is about Charlie Brown, a boy who feels gloomy and wants a way to cheer up. When Charlie Brown confronts his friend, Lucy, about this problem, she suggests that he should help manage the Christmas play. Charlie Brown is uneasy but gives it a try. After lots of laughs and smiles, the Christmas for Charlie Brown is wonderful and heartwarming for you and your family this holiday season.

National Lampoons Christmas Vacation is one of the Couriers personal favorite Christmas movies. Even though it is an old movie, it still brings lots of joy and laughter. Clark Griswold, the main character takes his family on a Christmas vacation. There are a lot of unfortunate but funny events that occur throughout the movie, but you will have to watch and find out. There are a lot of other minor problems that would make you laugh as well. In the end, they are a great and happy family. We promise this movie will bring a whole lot of giggling to you when you watch it.

Get your hot chocolate, gingerbread cookies, and popcorn! These fun filled movies will surely get you in the holiday mood this year and many years to come. So sit back, relax, and watch these movies to your hearts desire.

Sandys Not BarrysBy Gabriel El Hajji 19

According to USA Today, Stanley Chang and Ernest Martin, two Honolulu councilmen, backed out on their proposal to rename Sandy Beach Park to Barack Obama Beach Park because of its unpopularity to Honolulu residents.

Sandy Beach Park was a place where Barack Obama used to bodysurf as a kid. he also bodysurfed there once more in 2008 before he was elected. When the councilmen proposed this they obviously had the presidents history in mind.

Sandy Beach was not accessible by automobile until October 1931, when the newly constructed coastal road following the cliffs from Hanauma Bay was completed. As the only sand beach along this rocky coast. The name later evolved into Sandy Beach, states www.oceansafety.anc. According to locals, one of the reasons why the name stuck is because whenever you get thrown over that falls you get covered in sand.

No matter what the name Sandys is still a favorite place for many. CMS Courier asked students their favorite thing activity at Sandys.

I like to go body surfing because I like the thrill of catching big waves. Sandys is the perfect place you have to know what youre doing there because if you do you can catch the big waves and if you don't you could drown, get sucked out or get hurt, expresses T.J Johnson 19.

I like to sit by the waves on the sand but i don't go in the water too deep because i might get swept away i just play in the shorebreak with my family, says Aaron Kakazu 19.

Sandy beach has massive waves, every time I go there I expect to get absolutely crushed. My blood pumps and my mind goes daredevil mode every time I see a gigantic wave coming. I like it when its six to eight feet and even if I'm not good at bodyboarding I can still have more fun there than at any other place, says Bobby Liu 19.

Photo by Napu Kim

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Keapo Mckenny 19 pulling into a fat barrel at Sandys. He was featured in Science Bodyboardings Instagram

7Eddie Wen Go, But He Will Be In Our Hearts ForeverBy Kiarra Young 19

Eddie Wen Go, a play and book by Mrs. Marion Lyman Mersereau, was produced into a 60 minute play on Friday September 19, 2014 at the Hawaii Theater for youth. The book was written to carry on the legacy of Eddie Aikau and his act of courage and sacrifice when the Hokulea capsized so that we remember him forever.

This book is about how Eddie Aikau showed a tremendous amount of bravery through the eyes of the sea creatures underneath the upside down canoe. There are several different characters that come together in the end and watch Eddie go out to rescue his crew mates.

Tutuwahine is the grandmother humpback whale who witnesses the canoe capsizing. Kaleo is Tutuwahines grandson with whom she shares the story. Lele is a spinner dolphin who is Kaleos friend. Those three are the main characters, but there is also Mr. Mno, a pidgin-speaking shark who provided comic relief in the play, Mr. Honu, the sea turtle and Iwa the bird.

The Courier interviewed Mrs. L-M about the play.

How long did it take you to write the book? I wrote Eddie Wen Go in one summer when I was enrolled in the Hawaii Writing Project.

Tell us about the process of getting the book to the stage. I wrote the play in 2010 for HTY but I had too many characters - they usually only have 3-4 characters (thats b/c they can only pay 3-4 actors) and I loved my characters too much to get rid of any of them. I hoped Kumu Kahua might stage it because they gave me the Residents Prize for the play but they dont stage

childrens plays. Then I lucked out when the company that produces Once Upon One Nodda Time, Ohia Productions, was having financial problems, and my play was on the Hawaii Theater Centers Education Directors desk - she called and asked if I would like to see Hawaii Theater produce it and I jumped at the chance.

What was your feeling about the ending result of the play? I was ecstatic!!! It was so much more than I ever imagined! If it was left up to me I wouldve had Mr. Mno wearing a cap with a dorsal fin, Iwa would have stretched out her arms and flown around the stage like that, and the whales wouldve just been big people.

If Eddie was here to see the play, what do you think he would say? I think Eddie wouldve not allowed the play to be produced b/c it honors him in such a marvelous way and he was a very humble man who wouldnt have wanted anyone to make a big deal about what he did which he felt was the only thing to do.

The play had a total of only 2 shows run for the public and the schools. I enjoyed the transition from the sea creatures view to the crews point of view; I thought it was very creative. I really liked Mr. Mano in the comical parts of the play that made it even more gratifying. Their costumes were very inventive and it must have taken the cast several long days and hours just to complete Tutuwhahine, the humongous whale. I hope this play was inspiring to all who watched.

Mrs. L-M poses with the cast of the play. Eddie Wen Go made its debut on stage on September 19, 2014

Photo courtesy of Kaveh Karden

Photo courtesy of Marian Yee.

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Harry Okabe: WWII EyewitnessBy Nicholas Laa 19

The book Under the Blood Red Sun was released in 1995. It is about a Japanese American boy named Tomikazu. He lived in the era of World War II and Oahu was just bombed by the Japanese. Being Japanese himself, Tomi was segregated by people who were white and thought that he could be a spy. Tomi had friends who backed him up, but at times he was still set apart from other white kids. This book reminded me about my grandfather who was also a part of the war during World War II.

My grandfathers name is Harry Okabe. He was born on January 21, 1939 in Honolulu Hawaii. Harry had 6 siblings: Shirley, Eunice, Barbra, June, Kenneth and James. In his childhood, he lived in the lower class area of Kakaako. He didnt have many things that most of us have today. He was not blessed to go to an amazing school, he didnt have the nicest house, he didnt have a lot of food to put on his dinner table. He went to Mckinley High-School, a public school located in Kakaako. Harry always wanted to ride a cool bike to school and play with a basketball but he didnt have enough money to afford it. His house would alway break and have leaks in it because it was always broken. One night, his entire family had to share one small egg for dinner. His childhood was not ideal.

He had a group of friends (or as he would call it, a gang) was four people. His best friends that he would hang out with were Carl, Kawamoto and Earl. They would spend a lot of time together as a gang. They would always skip school whenever they wanted to. They could go out to parties instead of staying home and doing their homework. They would all fail in school because of that. I still cant believe that he graduated high school! He told me that would bring comic books in class and read those instead of the textbooks that they would give him. My grandfather told me about his experience in World War II. He told me when he was younger, his family needed to hide in his church when army men were checking out the places to make sure no Asians were around. He told me that this reminded him about the Civil War the in 1860s when Black people needed to hide from the White people in churches to hide in for the night. This really made me think about how he was so harshly affected by this war that he needed to hide from people because the army thought that they were all criminals. Because Japan bombed our island, any Japanese person was known as a criminal because of something that Japan did. I appreciate my grandfather and I honor him for his experiences in WWII. Wars are not usually found here in Hawaii seeing that it is such an isolated place and a place that you would not find a war in. My grandfather, Harry Okabe has been through a lot of harsh years of war and I really respect him.

Photo by Nicholas Laa

December 7, 2014 will mark the 73rd Anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Harry Okabe is 75 years old. He enjoys cooking and playing golf. He currently lives with Nick Laas Family.

9Music Helps You Learn Languages BetterBy Elizabeth Ting 21

Many students play an instrument. Some of us want to and others are forced to. If you are being forced to, don't despair because it might actually be good for you. There's a new study in the Journal of Neuroscience that says playing an instrument may help your brain process all languages better and improve your ear for speech.

According to the study by neurobiologist Nina Kraus and others at Northwestern University, music and language are similar. They both use pitch, timing and timbre, which means the sound quality. Music and language are both processed in the same part of the brain.

All you have to do is think about how many parts of your body are involved when you play music to know that it really works your brain. For instance, if you play the piano, you use your eyes, both hands, your ears, and sometimes even your feet, all at the same time. When you play an instrument, your brain gets really good at picking up sounds and this helps you to process words faster. This means that in class you can more quickly understand what your teacher is saying.

This makes sense to Punahou teacher Stephanie Lawton who has been teaching music for 14 years. According to Mrs. Lawton, In both music and language learning we are taking in new information, working on retention, aiming to gain

understanding in some degree of fluency. She also says that students who do not find it easy to read music or learn may be having challenges in their other classes.

You dont need an expert to tell you that music makes you feel good and it helps you in school. Emma Peters, who has been taking flute at Punahou for two years, says When Im doing homework I take a break to play the flute because music helps me to focus. So next time you are being forced to play music, think about all of the good it is doing you.

Food of the IslandsBy Kawai Kelekolio`21

Some of the best food can be found right here at home in Hawaii. You dont have to look far for good food. It`s starting to get colder, as it tends to in winter. On an especially cold day, food can help you stay warm. The Courier recommends Goma-tei at Ala Moana or Ward Center where you can enjoy many different Japanese meals: Katsu,

Ramen, Udon and Gyoza are delicious and will give you energy and keep you warm as you go about your day.

If you want to stay at home, get Poke bowls at your neighborhood supermarket. Foodland offers a good variety of poke. My personal favorite is the oyster sauce poke. I also like to stir fry it.

Angelo Pietros is a good choice if you want Italian food. There is an array of pastas, pizzas, and other dishes sure to please any Italian food lover. My personal favorite is the bacon pizza.

You can find go find any range of ethnic cuisines, cooking styles, fast food places, and anywhere in between in Hawaii. Where will you eat next?

Oyster Poke Stir Fry RecipeBy Kawai Kelekolio

Ingredients: 1 cups of foodland

oyster sauce poke of a cup of water Hawaiian red salt small maui onion

Instructions:

Heat the frying pan to medium heat. Once the pan is hot, pour in 1 cups of poke. Once 10 minutes has elapsed from when you poured the poke into the pan, add the cup of water and let sit in hot pan for 2 minutes. Drain out remaining water into sink. Peel maui onion. Take half onion and scatter onion-rings in pan. Save other half of maui onion. After 2 minutes, remove poke and onion-rings from pan. Plate and garnish with cup of red salt and small onion slices. Enjoy.

10

Were the Wright Brothers First in Flight?By Jeremy Lee 20

Many memorable things happen in December. One of the lesser known events happened on December 17th, 1903, America took to the skies in controlled flight.

The Wright Brothers are generally credited as the first people to fly a plane on December 17. However, new information claims that they were not the

first people. Research shows that nine months before the Wright brothers flew their plane, a New Zealand farmer named Richard Pearse flew a powered, heavier-than-air machine 350 yards before crashing into a hedge.

The reason no one knows about him was that Richard Pearse was not flying his plane for industrial development. He also didnt develop his plane to the extent that the Wright brothers did.

Another person, a Frenchman, made a prototype that was powered by steam, says a website at http://mentalfloss.com/. This never took flight, although later he made one that flew short distances after being launched from a ramp. Again, it was not controlled.

What made the Wrights plane different was its revolutionary system of control, says NASA. They developed the 3-axis method of control that we use today. The first axis is called the pitch axis. Pitch controls the angle which the planes nose is pointing. This lets the plane go point up and down.

Today, pitch is controlled by the planes elevators. These are normally located on the tail wings. According to NASAs airplane control website, on the

Wrights aircraft, the elevator was located on the front. When the elevators go up, the planes nose goes up, and same for down.

The second axis is roll. This axis lets the plane does exactly what it sounds like- roll. The roll axis allows the plane to roll to the left, and roll to the right. This is controlled by ailerons. Ailerons are located on the wings outer edge. According to www.Wikipedia.com, they work together. One side will go up, and one side will go down. The aileron that goes down increases lift while the one that goes up decreases lift.

NASA says that the Wrights did not use ailerons, instead, they used a system called wing warping to control roll. A bunch of cables could be pulled to twist the wing tips of the airplane and make it roll. Although December is a

memorable month, the birth of Christ, the anniversary of the bombing Pearl Harbor, and Hanukkah, it is also an important time in aviation history. Without those two men, in a field in Kitty Hawk, we might not have the ease of transportation we have today.

Source: www.aboutfamouspeople.com

How Does Google Search Work?By Clarise Huang 19

How often do you use Google? After asking this question to a news journalism class consisting of 18 students and 1 teacher, all of them said they used it almost every day, at least once, if not more. We often use Google to do many things like research, a quick way to find answers, for entertainment, and many other things. But, when we search for something, why do we receive those results? How does it work? Well, it takes a bit of technology and formulas to find what were looking for, and it all happens in less than a second. Larry Page and Sergey Brin created Google on September 15, 1997. The name Google was a play on words for

googol which the term of 1 followed with 100 zeros. The name was chosen because it was meant to represent what seems to be an infinite amount of information and data throughout the Internet. Cyberspace is like our universe; it is massive, and at the same time, it is expanding and changing all the time. It isnt something that can be mapped, but Google has made many technologies that come into use when searching the web.

Google uses software known as spiders or Googlebots. The "spiders" follow links to find websites that are interconnected or have similar relevance to your search. There are also frequency policies that are set by certain software

that Google uses. But we have to be aware that not all information is reached because the spiders can only go through so much information.

First, the Googlebots will crawl through many websites and looks through new sites, and they go through current sites too. The amount of times a Googlebot will go through a site isnt favorable, but the site owners can control how much of the site can be crawled through.

Photo from www.rc-airplane-world.com

Photos by Clarise Huang 19

11

continued on page 13How Does Google Search Work continued

The Googlebots will then organize data, and the information they have found (which is about 95 petabytes or 95,000,000,000,000,000 bytes) will be updated. The next step is to put the results/data in order, because when your results come up, they have to be in some sort of order, depending on what best fits whatever you searched. PageRank is a formula Google uses to improve the results of the search, but what it's looking for is the content/relevance, quality (things like spell check), if it's up-to-date, the user's region (having the same language), legitimacy (not spam-related), the name and address of the website, synonyms to your search, the amount of links that go to a certain web page, and the value of those links. Google uses the PageRank formula to figure all of this out.

There's a lot more to Google and how its technology works, and at times it may seem complicated. But if you want to learn more about it, take some time and search it up on Google.

Upcoming TechnologiesBy BJ Acob Supnet 20

So its almost 2015 now, and technology is a popular subject because there is a bunch of inventions that could be in stock mid-year. Maybe you want to get your hands on advanced gaming devices, or maybe you want to experience driving with just your eyes. Either way, the future devices could change the world. First off, the Oculus Rift is a virtual reality gaming device that you wear on your eyes and experience gaming in first person. The only downside is that you might get motion sickness. The Oculus Rift is still in development, but you can buy the second and newest version, the DK2, for only $300.

The Google Car is a highly expensive car made from Google that can drive anywhere with your eyes. The car is still in development and there were a total of three crashes already, but its a very neat and simple way to drive in the future.

The last high tech device that I want to talk about is the 3D Printer. The 3D Printer works as any other printer, but it prints any 3D object that you can imagine. You can print a mini model of a spaceship, or you can print a Lego Minifigure but it might not bend as a regular Minifigure. You can even buy a 3D Printer that can print edible food and you can even eat that model.

Modern PresentsBy Doyoon Daniel Kim 20

Christmas is just around the corner and people are scurrying in and out of stores to buy presents for their friends and family. Presents that you may want to consider are the 3Doodler and Sphero. The 3Doodler is a pen that allows you to draw in three dimensions. Sphero is a robotic ball that you control with your smart phone. Read on to learn about these two cool and modern presents.

Middle schoolers like to draw. Drawing has evolved in many ways. One great example is the pencil. Long ago, people would use rocks to carve drawings into rock walls, but now we draw with a pencil and paper. If you are thinking about buying your friend or a family member a good little gadget that they can draw and create things with, you may want to consider the 3Doodler.

The 3Doodler is the world's first 3D printing

pen. According to THINKGEEK, the 3Doodler is basically a hot glue gun.

You insert

a stick of thin plastic into the pen and it will quickly melt and cool the plastic into any shape you desire. You can draw in three dimensional shapes like a car or a cube and even an Eiffel Tower. You can download stencils at the3doodler.com to create projects. The 3Doodler retails for $99 at the3doodler.com.

Another popular toy is called the Sphero. It is a robotic ball that you can control with your smart phone. There are many different games that you can play with it. For some games, you can use the ball as a controller for games on your smart phone such as Nyan Cat, or use your phone to control the ball. One cool feature of this toy is that you can play augmented reality games on it.

Augmented reality games are games that are half real and half inside your phone. The camera of your phone projects an image of where your phone is facing and inputs animations into the image. Your Sphero Ball, would be in the game but battling imaginary enemies that only exist in your phone. Another really cool feature is that it is waterproof, states www.gosphero.com. 3Doodler and the Sphero are great gift ideas. These gifts can help you become creative by testing your limits. You will be able to draw in

three dimensions, and also program robots.

Photo from the3doodler.com

You can draw three- dimensional shapes with the 3D Doodler pen. It retails for $99.

Photo by Daniel Kim

Sphero can be controlled with your smartphone.

12

CMS Happenings & Events

Maya Ricardo 19, Trevor Powell 19, Edlin Davis 19, Jaime Tamashiro 19, and Alisa Masamitsu 19 are all ready

for Halloween, dressed up in their costumes.

Students of Mrs. Laus advisory, Abbie Woo 19, Mrs. Lau, Kevin Zhao 19, Chanel Ng 19, and Jadey Hagiwara 19, dressed up as dominos to

get into the spirit of Halloween.

Alexa Wong '19 and Daralyn Wen '19 enjoying the morning scene of the

ocean, as they get ready for their last day at camp Mokule'ia.

Jadey Hagiwara '19, Abbie Woo '19, Grace Kim '19, Ava Geilfuss '19, Edlin Davis '19, and Chanel Ng '19, cooling off after the

beautiful, but extremely long and hot hike.

Ashley Eala 19, Kobi Saito 19, and Brigitte Wu 19 enjoying their first morning at camp

Lexie Matsunaga 19 and Lindsay Oshiro 19 taking a cute picture before starting on their Kaena Point hike.

Photos courtesy of Ethan Lung, Taylor Kealoha, LeNora Suguturaga, Alexa Wong, Ashley Eala, Rina Nagashima, Lauren Seu, Edlin Davis, 8W Website

Layout by Stefani Sakamoto 19

13

Malia Brooks 19 running her last footsteps to the finish line in a

Cross Country Meet.

Rina Nagashima 19, Lenaca Suguturaga 19, Lenora Suguturaga 19, Taylor Kealoha 19, and Jared Gady 19 are getting into the Holiday spirit by taking picture with

Santa Claus (Pal Eldredge 64) at the 8X CANival

Keala Mau 19, Taylor Kealoha 19, Rina Nagashima 19, LeNora Suguturaga 19,

LeNaca Suguturaga 19, and Julia Piper 19 are having fun the Punahou v. Mililani state

championship game.

Ty Shishido '19, and TJ Johnson 19, excited and energetic, ready for the

Cross Country Meet

Liza and The Riddling Cave cast Malia Munley 19, Trevor Myers 20, Eliana Reeves 19, Miya Heulitt 19, Branden Hallstrom 21, Keila Wong 19, and Katarina Jenkins 19

Dillyn Lietzke 20 and Maile McGuinn 20 getting ready for their next class.

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All Wrapped Up in Christmas DessertsBy Edlin Davis 19 & Stefani Sakamoto 19

Everyone knows its Christmas time when you can smell Christmas pine and cookies in the air. Its that amazing aroma that gets us into the jolly Christmas spirit. Christmas is a time of joy; its a time of happiness, and being with family. It is also a time for eating Christmas desserts. This holiday reminds us of

the 3rd grade when we created a field of mini gingerbread Christmas trees. Small little memories like the making of gingerbread Christmas trees, always brings a smile onto our faces during Christmas; its those memories that can make Christmas even more special. Here are two must have mouthwatering desserts to eat during the holidays.

A gingerbread house is a fun Christmas treat. Every year, many families create a traditional gingerbread house. Making a gingerbread house is a great way to collaborate with others, and not to mention, you will have a delicious treat in the end. You can also be creative with how you design your house, and even turn it into a friendly competition. Another scrumptious dessert are Peppermint Meringue cookies. This dessert is light, airy, and gives you a nice peppermint kick. Petite peppermint meringues pair nicely with a warm cup of hot cocoa, or are tasty by themselves! These enjoyable miniature delights are simple to make, and will disappear in a hurry!

This year, dont just sit around and do nothing during Christmas time; make fun holiday treats with your friends and family, or even create your own bake off. So, turn your christmas gathering into a something even more unique with your family. Happy holidays!

Copyright free Photo from http://3.bp.blogspot.com

Photo from Edlin Davis 19

Peppermint Meringue Cookies Recipe from allrecipes.com

Ingredients1. 2 Egg Whites

2. 1/8 teaspoon of salt

3. 1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar

4. 1/2 cup white sugar

5. 2 peppermint candy canes, crushed

Directions1. Preheat oven to 225 degrees F

(110 degrees C). Line 2 cookie

sheets with foil.

2. In a large glass or metal mixing

bowl, beat egg whites, salt, and

cream of tartar to soft peaks.

Gradually add sugar, continuing to

beat until whites form stiff peaks.

Drop by spoonfuls 1 inch apart on

the prepared cookie sheets.

Sprinkle crushed peppermint candy

over the cookies.

3. Bake for 1 1/2 hours in preheated

oven. Meringues should be

completely dry on the inside. Do

not allow them to brown. Turn off

oven. Keep oven door ajar, and let

meringues sit in the oven until

completely cool. Loosen from foil

with metal spatula. Store loosely

covered in cool dry place for up to

2 months.

15

New Years Around the GlobeBy Dylen Fujimoto 20 & Brad Zukeran 20

New Years Eve is a time for celebrating and beginning a fresh start to the year. Countries all over the world welcome the New Year in many different ways.

In France, they celebrate by having a large feast called, le Rveillon de Saint-Sylvestre, which may include champagne

and Foie Gras, which is a special dish which is from the liver of a duck or goose. Many French citizens exchange gifts and New Years resolutions, then adults seal the night with a kiss under mistletoe.

In Brazil, millions of people come to witness the fireworks and parties across Rio de Janeiros shores. One custom is to wear white clothes because it symbolizes peace. Brazilians eat lentils on New Years because the lentils signify health and they eat pork and fish because both foods are animals that move forward. To increase your good luck in the New Year, Brazilians believe that if youre on the coast you should make 7 wishes and jump over one wave for each wish.

South Africans celebrate Nuwe Jaar, with large parties, beach bashes, and massive concerts to wrap up the Year. Similar to the French, South Africans love to feast and drink.

JapanGuide.com explains that in Japan people celebrate the New Year by decorating homes and entrances with ornaments made out of pine, bamboo, and plum trees.

On New Years Eve Japanese people eat toshikoshi soba because it symbolizes longevity. The first meal of the New Year should be mochi soup (ozoni) and sweetened rice wine (otoso). Its a tradition to see New Years first sunrise

(hatsu-hinode) and visit shrines or temples at the turn of the year.From Japan to Brazil and countries all over the world, each celebrate in their own

unique and fun way. The New Year is a fun and happy time to spend with others and party all night. But however you celebrate, we hope you have a good time welcoming in the New Year.

Source: french.about.com, brazil.com

Spicing Up Your Tree for ChristmasBy Chanel Ng 19 and Hana Ogihara19

Christmas is a time to decorate your trees. Tree decorations are a way to capture special memories. Alisa Masamitsu 19 always puts some homemade ornaments and tinsel around the tree. There are many ways to dress your tree. Ornaments are essential when decorating your tree. Collecting items during a vacation or a major trip for sports is a great idea; it will remind you of the memories that you made with your family and friends. You can be creative and take simple souvenirs and turn them into ornaments by adding a string.

An example of a souvenir that you could add is a keychain from a place where you made good memories.

Colors you use for the ornaments should be vibrant colors such as a bold blue, a daring red or a metallic or gold color. Using these colors make your ornaments and your tree stand out compared to having a dull tree. It will capture the eyes of your family and guests.

You also can make a Do It Yourself ornament, and one example is a vintage or hand-dye ribbon, or any pieces of paper that are special to you. You could cut out simple or intricate shapes from colorful papers or sheet music if you like, and decorate them to match your style. Not all ornaments are circle and round. You can take flowers and turn them into ornaments. Flowers you can use are bright red Poinsettias, crisp white Lilies or deep red Tulips because these all these colors show Christmas spirit. You can also add small animal statues such as small birds because maybe you enjoy having animals around you.

Weve just told you anything and everything that you can put onto your tree to keep the holiday spirit alive in your house. All of these can be made in the comfort of your home or store bought.

Sources: www.hgtv.com, www.marthasteward.com

The Japanese believe that ozoni soup helps with longevity and good luck

Photo by Brad Zuckeran

16

Holidays From the HeartBy Olivia McCabe, 21

When I think Christmas, I think about presents, Christmas trees, and holiday treats. This is a collection of some holiday treats and traditions my family does during the holidays. My family has a lot of Christmas recipes. They have been in my family for a long time. We have a tradition of making a German fruit cake called stollen. It uses dried fruit, almonds or marzipan, and a powdered sugar or glaze icing. Stollen was not as decorative or delicious as we know it today.

According to wikipedia.org, during the Renaissance it was made simply flour, oats, and water. Today it has

advanced to what we see as a fruitcake.

Another favorite treat is a cookie called an iced hermit. It is a shortbread cookie that has candied ginger and icing on top. My family makes them into holiday shapes like sugar cookies. When I was little, I liked to arrange the candied ginger in little patterns on top of the cookies.My favorite holiday recipe is the Russian tea cake, or more commonly known as snowballs. Snowballs are shortbread cookies rolled into little balls and covered with powdered sugar so they look like snowballs. I like these so much because they melt in your mouth. Sometimes we use nuts in the batter, like walnuts and almonds, and I like to help my mom roll out the cookies.

This isnt exactly a family recipe, but its a thing we do every year. We go to Costco and buy a gingerbread house, (I really like assembling them) and we decorate them to our hearts content. Since there are five people in my family, we split the house up so we can individually decorate it. There are five sections: the roof panels, the long sides, and the front and back combined. One year, we had a lot of extra candy and icing left, so we just stuffed it all in the house. When we finally started to break it down to eat it, my brothers and I ate all of the inside. I think I had a sugar rush, because I remember I was really hyper that day.

Almost everyone has something they love or cherish about Christmas. For some people, it is a special way of decorating a tree, or games they play on Christmas day. My family uses ornaments that we received as gifts, from parties. We also hang homemade ornaments. We dont use

tinsel a lot, but we have multicolored lights that give the tree a little sparkle. We do different things every year. One year we decorated our tree with candles. My family has special candle holders you can put on the tree so they will stay on without burning it down.

We have homemade advent calendars, also. Instead of buying one with little chocolates or toys, my mom hand makes little pouches that we reuse every year. They include things we like, and there is one for each of us. I have two siblings, so instead of having to fight over who gets the tiny chocolate or toy inside the store-bought ones, we are all happy with individual gifts.

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays of the year. I love all the traditions we do, and Ill be sure to pass them on to the next generation.

Nature Ornament

One ornament that you could make is the Nature Ornament. These are the materials youll need and the steps youll take to

make them:

Materials:

Clear glass ball ornament(s)

Holly, Barberry, and

Evergreen (you can use any plant that you desire as long it sticks to the Christmas spirit)

Steps:

1. You take the cap off of the glass ornament(s) carefully

2. Place small pieces of trimmed plant inside ornament(s) carefully

3. Leave the cap off for 24 hours so that condensation does not form

4. After waiting 24 hours, put the cap back on and put

thread through the top loop

My familys Christmas tree in 2012. It is a German Style of decorating a tree. Candles are put in holders with wires that

Photo by Lasar McCabe

17

Christmas TraditionsBy Alex Ueoka 21 and Jisella Saito 21

Christmas is a worldwide holiday, but there are many different ways that people celebrate Christmas. From hanging mistletoe to leaving cookies for Santa, we all have our own little traditions.

Every year on Christmas Eve we eat dinner with my wife's huge Catholic family. On Christmas morning, because my family is Jewish we eat bagels, cream cheese and lox . In between my big breakfast I try to go to the beach on Christmas Day to make room to eat again that evening with my parents and their friends" Sixth grade math and science teacher, Mr. Mark Eliashof, enjoys celebrating Christmas traditions with his family and friends.

Santa is the prime figure of Christmas, but you might also know him as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, or Kris Kringle. His legendary curly white beard, red suit, rosy red cheeks, and black buckled belt are what make up this cheerful man. In the North Pole, he lives with Mrs. Claus and his trusted little elves that make our wonderful presents according to the famous stories told to the children of the world. We personally love all of the stories and tales that we are told of that jolly old man with his reindeers.

A tiny spruce tree covered in lights and ornaments, and filled with Christmas spirit is another symbol for Christmas. And to top it all off, an angel or star hangs upon the top of this

merry tree. Tucked under, are presents that await the tiny children. To us, waking up to present wrapped just for you is the perfect way to start off Christmas day.

Each year we go to our parents house and we have these boxes with ornaments and we talk about the same ornaments every year. Each ornament is a moment with its own little story. Sixth grade humanities teacher, Ms. Danette Kobayashi loves this tradition with her family.

To us, Christmas is such an enjoyable holiday. We love Christmas and all of the many things we do to celebrate. Everything from Santa to your cute little tree sitting in your house is what makes up Christmas. So, we hope you have a holly, jolly Christmas!

Interesting Christmas FactsBy Nick Laa 19

Norwegian scientists have hypothesized that Rudolphs red nose

is probably the result of a parasitic infection of his respiratory system.

Each year more than 3 billion Christmas cards are sent in the U.S.

alone.

In A.D. 350, Pope Julius I, bishop of Rome, proclaimed December 25 the

official celebration date for the birthday of Christ.

The tallest Christmas tree ever cut was a 221-foot Douglas fir that was

displayed in 1950 at the Northgate Shopping Center in Seattle,

Washington.

There are approximately 21,000 Christmas tree farms in the United States. In 2008, nearly 45 million

Christmas trees were planted, adding to the existing 400 million trees.

All the gifts in the Twelve Days of Christmas would equal 364 gifts.

The first artificial Christmas Tree wasnt a tree at all. It was created out

of goose feathers that were dyed.

Mistletoe means little dung twig because the plant spreads through

bird droppings.

The traditional three colors of Christmas are green, red, and gold. Green has long been a symbol of life and rebirth; red symbolizes the blood of Christ, and gold represents light as

well as wealth and royalty.

The most popular Christmas Song ever is

We Wish You a Merry Christmas. The song can be traced back to England, but its author and composer remains

unknown.

Source: www.facts.randomhistory.com

Ms. Kobayashi loves to spend the holidays with her two daughters (left) Megan, (right) Alayna.

18

The Science of SnowBy Ivan Ruan20 and Jason Tay 20

When you think of Christmas, the first thing you think of is snow. The magical white powder that falls from the sky. Snow is created when the precipitation is in ideal conditions. This wonderful substance can be hours of fun and is one of the things that makes Christmas so special.

According to The Huffington Post, there are ice crystals in snow that are the result of the water molecules that form a hexagonal lattice. Ice is the simplest hydrogen bonded crystal. These hexagonal lattice are formed when water vapor condenses, and snow crystal.com states, when the snow crystals are small they formed into the simple snowflake designs. When they are big, more complex designs can be made.

In addition, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, ice is the key component for snow. In low temperatures, where there is a minimal amount of moisture, a snow crystal is formed. These snow crystals will combine together and form snow lacks.

If there are enough snowflakes combined together, the snowflakes can be heavy enough to fall. This results in the snow that we see and touch. The temperature must be at or below 0 Celsius or 32 Fahrenheit for snow to be able to form. It can be too hot for snow

to form, but it is never too cold for snow to form.

According to Met office, there are different types of snow. Wet snow and dry snow, make up the different types of snow. Snow that falls through dry air becomes powdery, and thus it becomes dry snow. To form wet snow, the temperature has be slightly above 0 Celsius or above the regular snow temperature,when the snow falls to make the snow have a mushy texture and stick together really easily.

After looking at how, and why snow forms, we can conclude that the reason why we dont have snow is due to our climate. Having year round weather that is usually above 60 Fahrenheit, snow can only form in high altitudes such as Mauna Kea.

One reason why we dont have cold temperatures for snow in Hawaii, is that we are within the Tropic of Cancer. All places surrounding the Tropic of Cancer, have weather that is warm year round.

So, if you want to have a white Christmas, go on top of Mauna Kea where you are likely to see snow.

The Christmas Stocking: How It All StartedBy Ashley Broderick 20

Whats the first thing you do Christmas morning? Is it look to see if Santa ate your cookies and milk? Or is it unwrapping your gifts? The first thing I do on Christmas morning is look in my Christmas stocking.

I love seeing the small things that are in the stocking rather than the big things all wrapped up under the Christmas tree. The tradition of the Christmas stocking has gone on for centuries, and still brings joy to children today.

The custom of hanging and filling the Christmas stocking all started with a man named St. Nicholas. Some of you may think that St. Nicholas is Santa Claus, but Saint Nicholas was a man that lived centuries ago with a very good heart.

St. Nicholas had very wealthy parents, but there was an unfortunate epidemic going around. Nicholass

parent caught the sickness and died when he was young. Nicholass uncle, named Nicholas also, raised him from then on.

Years passed, and one night Sir Nicholas heard of a man whose wife had just died and was very poor. The man was afraid that his three daughters

would not have enough money to pay the fee of marriage. Back then the wife would have to give the husbands family dowries, or property and money. If they didnt marry they would be have to get distasteful jobs.

Sir Nicholas heard of the mans troubles and wanted to help him. He disguised himself and took off in the night so nobody would recognize him. He was very modest and didnt want the credit for helping the girls. He decided to disguise himself so nobody would recognize him. He got to their home, and saw they were sleeping. Then Nicholas saw the girls stockings, which they had hung outside their house to dry after being washed. Sir Nicholas got a brilliant idea and decided to stick a bag of gold inside each of their stockings.

Photo courtesy of Josette Huang 20

Josette Huang 20 and her friends have fun by skiing down Colorado Spring.

Cool Snow Facts1. Snow isnt clearThe reason why the snow isnt clear, is because of the complex shape of the snow crystals that make the snow reflect light. The combination of all the colors make the snow white.

2. Most snowfall ever recordedThis record occurred in Sliver Lake, Colorado, in 1921, with 76 inches of snow, this was an amazing record.

3. The Biggest snowflake recordedThis amazing snowflake was found in Fort Keogh, Montana, with a record size of 15 inches across, and 8 inches thick.4. How much yearly snow in USThe average number of snowstorms in US every year is about 105 snowstorms. These storms last about 2-5 days.

19

Stores for Jeans: 5 Stores to shop for Girls Skinny JeansAbercrombie Kids Prices range from $14.99 - $79.50 Stylish Soft Wide selection for any type of jeans

Hollister Prices range from $69.50 - $79.50 Stylish Comfortable Easy to move in

Levis Bold jeans price- $78.00 Demi jeans prices- $59.50 - $98.00 Slight jeans price- $78.00. Great selection Wide variety

Jeans Warehouse Prices range from $9.99 - $39.99 Great selection if looking for acid wash jeans Very affordable

Macys (Girls) Prices range from $29.62 - $58.00 Wide selection in price of jeans and type of jeans

Its All About JeansBy Mia Gaughan 20, Leila Mukaigawa 20and Maddy Seabolt 20

Jeans are the favorite clothing item in Middle School. They are comfortable and versatile. Most likely you would see at least two people wearing jeans in Middle School each day. They are a common item of clothing.

Around 1872, Levi received a letter from one of his customers, Jacob Davis. In his letter, Davis disclosed the unique way he made pants for his customers, through the use of rivets at points of strain to make them last longer. Davis wanted to patent this new idea, but needed a business partner to get the idea off the ground. Levi was enthusiastic about the idea. The patent was granted to both men on May 20, 1873; the day the blue jean was born, states www.levistrauss.com/our-story. Levis remains one of the leading jeans brands until today. For the past years, skinny jeans are the most popular in middle school. The style, fit and feel are important factors when you are buying a pair of jeans. My favorite jeans are Hollister jeggings because they are comfortable, said Ashley Ching 20. Jeans should be soft and easy to move in at Punahou School because our classes are sometimes in different places on the campus. Rough and stiff jeans are uncomfortable to move in. The most important thing is to find something comfortable for you. Abercrombie Kids, Hollister, Levis, Jeans Warehouse, and Macys are the middle school favorite stores for skinny jeans,

according to an informal poll by The Courier. Abercrombie Kids skinny jeans prices range from $14.99 - $79.50. Hollister is very similar to Abercrombie Kids, but the sizes at Hollister are larger. Hollister skinny jeans prices range from $69.50 - $79.50. For more affordable jeans, watch out for the clearance rack. Levis is the original jean company. For the womens skinny jeans at Levis, there are three categories to choose from based on body type. The categories are Bold, Demi, and Slight. Bold jeans price is $78.00. Demi jeans prices range from $59.50 - $98.00. Slight jeans are $78.00. Jeans Warehouse does not have a wide selection of jeans, but they are affordable- prices range from $9.99 - $39.99. Macys has a wide selection of jeans that you might enjoy; Macys jeans for girls sizes 7-16 range from $29.62 - $58.00. You can find these stores at Ala Moana, Pearlridge, or Kahala Mall. Everyone has their own opinions on jeans, so dont let the new trends affect your personality and what you like. The new trends and styles may not always be the best, and you may not like them. Sometimes theyre out of dress code, and sometimes they are too expensive. However, there are always jeans that are in dress code and not very expensive. Find the style you like in dress code. You can get jeans at almost any clothing store in Hawaii near you. Stay true to yourself, the dress code, and your style. The prices for Abercrombie Kids, Hollister, Levis, and Macys are from their Ala Moana store prices. For Jeans Warehouse the prices are from their Kahala Mall store.

Photo by Mia Gaughan

A pair of Abercrombie Kids embellished light wash skinny jeans with zippers on the ankle. Photo taken by Leila Mukaigawa.

Jeans Warehouse offers a variety of jeans brands.

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The Blood of OlympusBy Liam Lynch 21

The Blood of Olympus release is bitter-sweet for the fans of Rick Riordan because it is the final battle in the Heroes of Olympus series. The 608 page book came out October. 7. It is on sale at Costco for $12. I highly recommend it to everybody. It would make a great holiday gift. This epic finale will have hard-fought battles, hilarious moments, and it wouldnt be a Heroes of Olympus book without cliff-hangers. It is about a group of demigods and some magical creatures who are fighting to save the fabric of the universe. There are too many battles to fit in this article so you will just have to read it. The two biggest adventures are Percy, Annabeth, Leo, Jason, Piper, Frank, and Hazels battle against Gaea the earth mother. The other important journey belongs to Nico, Reyna, and Coach Hedge the satyr. They are bringing the Athena Parthenos to keep the peace between the two demigod camps: Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter. Although this series is ending there are more books by Rick Riordan. For example, the Percy Jackson series is along the same genre as The Heroes of Olympus series. There is also the Kane Chronicles, based on Egyptian mythology and Hallelujah! Rick Riordan is writing a new series called Magnus Chase and The Gods of Asgard. Book one coming in fall 2015, is called The Sword of Summer. So even if you have read all the others there are more to come.

The Land Of Stories: The Wishing SpellBy Matthew Yi 21

The Land Of Stories: Wishing Spell is a fiction novel by Chris Colfer. It was Published on July 17, 2012 and the first book out of a series. This book reached

New York Times Best sellers list for five weeks and reached #1. The Land Of Stories is 448 pages long.

The wishing spell is about two twins named Alex and Conner. Conner is the cool funny kid that sleeps in class. Alex is the kind of geek girl that has no friends but gets perfect grades. They were raised with fairy tales and folklore stories all their childhood and went to their grandmothers house occasionally. Their grandma always read from one big book of stories to them.

Their father died a year before in a car accident. Since their father died they didnt have enough money to stay in their big house so they had to move in a rent house. They also couldnt do anything for their birthday because they didnt have enough money. So their mom invites their grandmother over for their birthday. As a birthday present she gives them her story book. That night the book starts to glow and she stays up all night trying to figure out what is happening. After a week Conner notices Alex has been acting strange. Conner keeps bugging her until one day at school. Conner follows alex into the girls bathroom and finds out that the book was glowing! Alex tells Conner its a portal and the Journey begins.

I recommend this book to anybody who likes a good funny, suspenseful, action story. The book is unique because it changes the original story of the famous fairy tales or adds an ending or continues the story. Its action packed and detailed, says Hana Murphy 21.

Welcome to After School ArtBy Hana Murphy 21

A group of art-loving people meet in the Castle Hall art barn for an art class after school on Mondays from three oclock to four oclock. There are many students that love it. Its a time where we can be creative, says Lura Looper 21. We can be creative and we dont care what other people think because its free! says Charlene Abanes 19.

You dont have to pay or sign up for the class. It is a walk-in walk-out class, and everyone is welcome to go one time or every week. You can decide what type of art project you would like to do. Choose your art form from the following choices: Watercolor (paint), tempera (paint), cray-pas (oil pastel), colored pencils, clay, and other types of paint.

You dont need to bring anything to the class. All the items are provided. It is a time for Middle School students have fun with art. I love making cups out of clay while talking to my friends.Mrs. Green says its a chance to bring out your inner creativity; a chance for Middle Schoolers to mix up and relax. I personally love it, the other students love it, and so does Mrs. Green. Mrs. Greens mission for after school art is about comfortably making art. You can interact with other middle school students from other grades.

Students can make pots out of clay.

Students come to make clay and paint their artwork.

Photo taken by Hana Murphy 21

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The School Lily PondBy Erika Agena 21

The Lily Pond is a gathering place in Punahou School. Olivia McCabe 21 remembers My friends and I had a drawing club and we would sit by the palm trees next to the Lily Pond to collaborate.

It is also a place for cherished memories. I remember when I was in first grade, a boy didnt want to attend class, so he threw himself in the Lily Pond, recalls Harlow Thomas 21.

The Lily Pond also brings up other memories. It was crystal clear so people took baths and got their drinking water from it. They also got water for their crops from the Lily Pond.

In the past, freshwater shrimp (opae), crayfish, mosquito fish (meidaca) catfish, tadpoles, toads, green frogs, some sort of pleco or bottom feeders, and 3 very large orange koi.

The creatures today are pacu, microscopic copepod, tilapia, mosquito fish, red devils, a few catfish, 3 or 4 bass, 5 Oscars, an Arowana or two, about 100 Koi, a number of turtles. There are also different kinds of turtles. One type is the red-eared turtle. There are soft-shelled turtles.

Back then, around the Lily Pond, there was a wall to protect the children from falling in. When Punahou built the chapel in 1967, they destroyed the wall. Also, people are feeding the fish bread, which has yeast and oil in it which isnt good for them.

But now, the Lily Pond is quite filthy. Now, the Lily Pond water is still pretty clear, but it is scattered with trash. Since the wall isnt there anymore, more rubbish and twigs and leaves can flow into the Pond easier. Mr. Higgins said, I want the Lily Pond to last a long time. Someday, I was hoping Punahou would dig waterways connected to the Lily Pond so the students can plant taro in the water so they can learn about them. Also, the waterways will help the Lily Pond get its water to move around to clean itself to make the Lily Pond cleaner.

The Lily Pond is a special place so we should try conserve it and keep it clean so the pond will stay clear and so it will stay for generations to come.

No Matter What Happens, Never Give UpBy Tyson Lin `21

You're trying to finish your homework but you have 2 hours of math and science homework, a 5 page essay is due the next day, you have football practice, and you still have to practice

your violin. But no matter what happens, never give up. Harlow Thomas says, I was in karate class and we were supposed to punch each other in the belly. so when my partner punched me. I cried but I had to hold it in and suck it up so I could get my purple belt. Take, for example, three people: Colonel Sanders, Thomas Edison, and J.K. Rowling.Colonel Sanders was the founder of KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken). He became world famous for marketing his homemade fried chicken. He started by

cooking his chicken for different restaurants. If the owner liked the chicken, he or she would agree to sell Sanders' chicken at his or her restaurant. Sanders was turned down 1,009 times before his chicken was accepted. In 1976, Sanders was the world's second most recognizable celebrity. It's amazing how a man, 65 years old (when most people retire), built a global empire of fried chicken. (http://yourstory.com)Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. While in the process of inventing it, he made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts. He quotes, "I have not failed 1,000 times, I have just found 1,000 times it won't work.J.K. Rowling is the author of the Harry Potter books. Her life describes a "rags to riches" story. Seven years after graduating from college, Rowling saw herself as a failure. She had an unsuccessful marriage, jobless with a young child, but she still focused on her writing. When she published the first book, everybody loved it. She then

continued on page 22

Photo by Courtney Serna 21These flowers in the Lily Pond close when it is rainy, and open when its sunny.

Photo by Erika Agena 21The Lily Ponds walls are gone because the chapel was built.

Photo by Courtney Serna21Turtles are abundant in the Lily Pond.

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Colonel Sanders founded KFC after being rejected 1,009 times

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No Matter What Happens, Never Give Up continued

published the final book in 2007. It sold 11 million copies during the first day in the United States and the United Kingdom. She became famous. (www.wikipedia.org)So next time youre about to feed your homework to your dog or throw away your violin, remember, never give up.

8X CANival Raises 380 CansBy Alexa Wong 19

On November 19, team 8X held their 3rd annual CANival to collect cans for the Punahou canned food drive that happened from November 4 through 21.

The students came up with different booths such as skee ball, face painting, balloon darts, and a photo op with Santa.

Visiting students from grades 4-8 gave a can to play one game or get a snack. For a canned meal students could get double chances at the game or double the amount of snacks. After playing the game, they would earn script which they could redeem at the prize exchange booth. Team 8X was able to raise about 380 cans.

Many students and teachers participated t make CANival a success. I liked that it was a fun and entertaining way to earn cans for those who need the food. CANival was a great way to spend my lunch and was a time I met new people. I liked the fun games and the good energy that was flowing throughout our teamspace, Duke Clemens 19 stated.

I really loved that CANival brings together students from all over. We had students from 5th-8th grade visit our team space. It also gives our team an opportunity to work together for such a great cause. Everyone had a lot of fun and we raised over 380 cans of food, exclaims Mrs. Shimabuku, 8X teacher and team leader.

Mr. Jim Smarts 4th grade class also attended the CANival.

I thought that the CANival was fun and exciting because I never went there before so everything was new to me and I thought the prizes were awesome, remarked Marcus Herrera 23.

Famous People Who Never gave Up

1. Elvis PresleyElvis Presley got fired after his first performance. He then went on to becoming one of the second best selling artist of all time.

2. Steve JobsSteve Jobs was fired from Apple, the company he started. When he was eventually able to return to Apple, he created the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad.

3. Michael JordanMichael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. But that didnt stop him from playing the game. I have failed over and over again in my life, he quotes, and that is why I succeed."

4. Oprah WinfreyOprah Winfrey was fired from her job as a television reporter and was told she was unfit from TV. Seven years later, she would have her own TV channel, OWN.

5. Walt DisneyWalt Disney was fired from his job because he was told he lacked imagination and good ideas. He also tried to get MGM studios to distribute Mickey Mouse but was told it would never work.

Josh Uchima 23 and Ms. Mazzullo enjoying their prizes after CANival.

Photos by Courier Staff and Mrs. Beyer

Lauren Peiler 19 gets her face painted from talented 8X artists.Wilder Worral 19 poses as a tiger at the 8X CANival Face Painting Booth.

Penny Toss was a popular game at CANival. 8X students created all the booths and games.

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Interview with Coach HigginsBy Jason Olaru 21

The Courier interviewed Coach Higgins, because as a PE teacher for half of the 6th grade. He is an inspiration to many of his students and he helps all of them improve at sports, and helps them all find the sport for them.1. What made you want to be a teacher?The reason why I wanted to be a teacher is because I wanted to work with kids. I had had very good PE teachers who were very caring and helped me learned the skills of how to play different games. The gift of their knowledge wanted to make me share it with others.2. How long have you been a teacher?This is my 25th year of teaching, and my 26th year of coaching. I havent done all of my years of teaching here at Punahou though.3. Where were you born and raised?I was born and raised here in Honolulu. I lived on campus for the first 9 years of my life. Then my family moved to the slopes of Koko Head. I grew up on the shoreline before Hawaii Kai was developed.4. What sports did you play in high school and/or college?I played football in high school and college. I also played basketball and baseball in high school.5. What classes do you coach, besides half of the 6th grade boys?I coach a quarter of the 8th grade boys also. I also teach an advisory in 8th grade. I also coach JV and Varsity Punahou paddling for 25 years and Punahou boys varsity paddling for 14 years. I also have been coaching JV and intermediate football 24 years.6. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?Tahiti, and New Zealand, and Australia! I know theyre friendly places where people have mixed culture. In Tahiti, for example, there are Tahitians and a little bit of French; in Australia and New Zealand, there are the Aborigines and Mauris, and there is also a British touch. I think it is also very geographically beautiful in all these places.7. What is your favorite thing to do besides coaching?I love to do bodysurfing, boardsurfing and hunting for seashells.8. What advice would you give to someone who wants to play a new sport?Be very patient. Listen to your coaches instruction. Practice, practice practice, and have a good positive attitude for learning.9. Do you have any pets?I sort of co-own with my son. Theyre kind of his dogs but theyre kind of my dogs too. Theyre 3 dogs.10. What is your favorite sport?My favorite sport is football. I love it because it challenged me to learn about my physical capability. Its a sport that allows you to be combative, in a legal way.

Do Red Haired People Feel Pain Differently?by Sejin Park and Cruz Mercado class 21

Red haired people are striking. You can always spot them in a crowd, especially in Hawaii. The main character in Anne of the Green Gables, has red hair which sparked our interest on red haired people. Studies by Science Nordic prove that people the genes which makes hair red- melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) makes red haired people feel pain differently. Red haired people are more sensitive to coldness and heat and are resistant to some painkillers, compared to blondes and brunettes, states the study.

On the other hand, it is a proven fact that people with red hair are less sensitive to stings and pricks. Red haired people can also, interestingly, handle spicy food better than others. Professor Lars Arendt-Nielsen, one of the researchers, said,

Our test shows that redheads are less sensitive to this particular type of pain. They react less pressure to the injected area, or to a pinprick. They seem to be a little better protected, and that is a really interesting finding. They found out that this reaction could also be caused by the MC1R.

According to the Genetics Home Reference, the MC1Rs provide melanocytes that create 2 kinds of melanin; eumelanin and pheomelanin. People with mostly eumelanin have brown or black hair and skin that tans easily. Eumelanin also protects skin from UV radiation. People with mostly Pheomelanin have blonde or red hair, freckles, and pale skin that don't get tan very well. Pheomelanin does not protect skin from UV.

The National Geographic states that scientific experiments shows redheads were harder to anesthetize, meaning the drug that help people feel less pain did not work very efficiently. It also says that the (MC1R) can unintentionally activate receptors in their brain that processes anxiety and pain.

Red haired people are not only striking, they are also scientifically tougher than most people.

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Most Active Volcanoes in the WorldSource: www.10mosttoday.com

1. Eyjafjallajkull, IcelandThis ice cap covers the caldera of a volcano with a summit elevation of 1,666 meters. The 2010 eruption caused enormous disruptions to air travel across western and northern Europe. About 20 countries closed their airspace to commercial jet traffic and it affected more than 100,000 travelers.

2. Mount Vesuvius, ItalyLocated just 9 km. east of Naples, making it the most densely populated volcanic region in the entire world. Mount Vesuvius last erupted in 1944, but the most memorable eruption was the massive eruption of 79 AD, where it buried Pompeii under a blanket of ash.

3. Sakurajima, JapanAn active volcano and former island. The lava flows of the 1914 eruption caused the former