Musicians and dancers shine at UH men's volleyball game
On March 27, the KCS 'ohana packed the Stan Sheriff Center to cheer on the home team and support KCS musicians and dancers. In front of a televised audience and a crowd of 8,258 fans, KCS students took center court for memorable performances during the UH Men's Volleyball game against UC Santa Barbara. Mr. Ganiron's Ukulele School students from KCS (as well as Hawaii Kai United Church of Christ) and his high school music class opened the match with an instrumental version of the national anthem and Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī. Between sets, our hula dancers entertained the crowd, which included 358 fans from the KCS 'ohana in attendance. Keala Kanakanui '26 performed a solo to "Paukūkalo" and taught “Kuʻu ʻĀina ʻo Papakōlea" to select students. More students and teachers joined them for the final song to "Kaimanahila." They performed to live music provided by Emma Oliveros, Danny Guillou '26, Tytus Ahn '26, Daven Hamamoto '29, and Marisa Bunao '26.
KCS was honored to once again be a part of this Prince Kuhio Day tribute and is grateful for the opportunity for students to share the gift of music and dance in such an incredible venue. Students continue to grow in confidence and in their performance abilities as they are given these exciting opportunities to showcase their talents. Bravo to Mr. Ganiron for preparing students to shine and proudly represent KCS!
Class of 2030 enjoys new adventures on the Valley Isle
Our spring semester of neighbor island trips continued this week for the Class of 2030. Eighteen students, joined by Mr. Kanakanui, Mr. Ganiron, and Mrs. Hsia, enjoyed the past five days on Maui. The group stayed at the Made in Hope Center in Wailuku, a Christian retreat center dedicated to educating youth about their work with human trafficking survivors. During the week, students visited the Maui Nisei Veterans' Memorial Center and the popular Maui Ocean Center.
Service was an important component of the trip, and as students participated in service projects across the island, they could see the different community needs. The group shared songs and interacted with the kupuna of Maui Adult Day Care Center and the keiki of Kansha Preschool. Later that day, they spent a meaningful afternoon at Waiola Church in Lahaina, cleaning the cemetery grounds and witnessing the rebuilding process after the devastating wildfires in 2023. After catching a passenger ferry, the group served at the Lana'i Cat Sanctuary, helping to feed cats, paint cat houses, and scan microchips. Their last project took students to the Olowalu Valley to work on restoring the lo'i.
With a strong emphasis on teamwork and serving others during this trip, these 8th graders are well-prepared for their upcoming high school years. We look forward to them taking advantage of more travel opportunities and sharing God's love beyond our state!
Impressive performance sends MathCounts team to States
After a 10th-place finish last year and placing 2nd in two fall competitions, this year's middle school MathCounts team had high expectations going into the Honolulu Chapter Competition, held at Kamehameha Schools Kapalama on Saturday, February 7. The team rose to the challenge, resulting in a historic accomplishment for KCS. The team placed 5th and will advance to the State Competition on March 7, joining Washington Middle School, Kulia Academy, Iolani, and Punahou as the top five schools from Saturday's competition.
In the individual (target & sprint) rounds, Danae Hsia '30 placed 10th; she returns to States after competing as an individual last year. This year, she will be joined by teammates William Hart '30, Avery Nakamura '30, and Mingyu Shin '31. They have continued their lunch period practices, working hard with the same collaborative and competitive spirit to prepare for the state competition. Way to go, KCS mathletes and Coach Dr. Kwong!
High school teacher publishes her first book: A Tale of Two Sparrows
Debuting as the #1 New Release in Teen & Young Adult Christian Fantasy on Amazon this past weekend, A Tale of Two Sparrows has been a decade-long endeavor of dedication and perseverance for first-time author Vanessa Fowler. Drawing her main inspiration from the French novel The Count of Monte Cristo and Jesus' words to his disciples in Matthew 10:29-31, A Tale of Two Sparrows is the adventure story of two seventeen-year-olds, Molly and Colin, as they overcome their troubled family history. Mrs. Fowler hopes readers "will be uplifted with a gentle sense of the value of prayer and persistence in overcoming obstacles."
After completing her first draft in 2015, the long journey to finally seeing her novel released on November 1 was filled with highlights and challenges. Mrs. Fowler admits that she wanted to quit twice, but pushing through the difficult process brought a sweeter joy to finishing her book. She has not only grown as a writer in her understanding of crafting a story but also developed meaningful relationships with people in the writing community. Feeling both nervous and thrilled about friends, family, and the general public reading her work, Mrs. Fowler would love to continue writing. She shares that the book is "set up for a sequel or two" and that "creating story has become such a fun part of my life."
Congratulations, Mrs. Fowler, on your momentous accomplishment and for sharing your gift of writing with all of us!