| A Meditation on Summer School at Pacific Buddhist Academy
Dear readers of the What's New,
I love summers as much as the next guy. To the careful reader of the What’s New who bristles and wonders, “If you loved summers so much, why’d you leave the classroom to enter the world of educational administration?” I retort, summer’s a different vibe any way you slice it. True, unlike some of the full-time teachers at Pacific Buddhist Academy who are away for far-flung summer adventures – Ms. Verena (humanities) is away to Austin, Texas for the LBJ Presidential Library “Thank You for Your Service” Institute; Mr. Curry (STEM) was recently wed (congratulations Mr. Curry!) in North Carolina; Otake Sensei (Japanese) ventured to Big Island, Japan and back for family, fun, and surf – me and the rest of the PBA faculty and admin team busy ourselves with summer school and getting ready for the new school year.
| But I love work, especially when it means I can wear shorts some days, ride my bike to school most days, keep shorter work hours overall, and indulge myself playing a few rounds of trumps or mahjong with students and colleagues during breaks or after hours. It is a means of building a different summer community.
PBA’s summer school program targets three areas of need in our learning community. We have classes designed for students wanting to improve their high school readiness and college admissions prospects such as SAT prep and a few dual credit courses partnering with Arizona State University; we have classes designed for students who didn't | | 
| perform as well as they wanted during the regular school year; and we have classes designed for enrichment in the fine and performing arts. Regarding the temporality of summer school, we might observe a few philosophical matters. Summer school is teleological inasmuch as it concludes a school year. Registrars, advancement officers, and educators across the country “close out” academic years, fiscal years, and say goodbye to community members leaving. It is predictive in the sense that the educators working summer school meet new students, attempt shaping the skills and tendencies of returning students, and administrators | determine refinements to old programs and train and plan for new ones. And it is liminal – it closes out time on the old year and brings shape to the new, but it is in-between the old and new both. I am mindful that the arcs of academic years take the shape they do today because in years previous we needed as many hands as we could get in the fields and forests taking advantage of summer’s bounty. Meanwhile, someone’s got to keep the shop in order, someone’s got to get it ready for the new school year. And so it is at PBA this summer and our merry crew of students, teachers, and admin, working on your behalf.
I look forward to seeing many of you at the Betsuin Bon Dance this weekend – PBA is running the shave ice stand on Friday night. And I hope you will take a look at Ms. Megan Lee’s final fundraising appeal for the fiscal year (speaking of ends). PBA has long benefited from the financial support so many of you generously give to us.
If you, like me, like us, continue working as much as you ever have during the summer, I hope you find the time to remind yourself, all work has value. With any luck, you will find a way to see your work just a little differently, so that it feels more like the warm breeze blowing in your car when you cruise the roads with the windows down, and you find yourself looking forward to what comes next. |
Warmly,
Josh Hernandez Morse
Head of School
| Closing the Year with Gratitude | | 
| In our summer school art class, students are learning about zines as non-commercial publications devoted to unconventional and thought-provoking topics. Together, we’ve chosen social justice as our focus.
We brainstormed ideas, imagining what we could accomplish if time and resources were unlimited, ultimately delving into the pressing topic of growing global tensions. |
I was pleased to notice students referencing ideas and content from a few of their Peace Core classes at PBA: Peace and Popular Culture, Social and Political Peace Awareness, Elections in Democracy, Psychology of Peace and Conflict, Social Activism and Engaged Citizenship, to name a few.
We chose to focus on the changes we can make with the resources available to us, recognizing that some students aren’t even old enough to drive yet. Our discussion made me reflect on those who have enriched our lives over the past school year through their support. | | | 
| Two of my most memorable experiences with PBA students were made possible by the generosity of our community. One was a sail on the Hōkūle`a, where the crew volunteered their time to share knowledge of navigation. The second was the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards camp, offered free of charge to students thanks to the generosity of Rotary District 5000 members. These individuals selflessly devoted their time and resources to causes they hold close to their hearts. I’m moved by acts like these, knowing how much effort takes place behind the scenes to make them possible. The crew of the Hōkūle‘a, despite an exceptionally busy year (including preparations for the three-year Moananuiākea Voyage and hosting the Hōkūle‘a 50th Birthday Commemoration in | March), still made time to share their knowledge with our students.
| Similarly, Rotary Club members dedicate countless hours each month to growing membership and fundraising for initiatives that benefit people they may never meet. At PBA, we’ve faced our own unexpected challenges, like a storm that damaged our elevator, necessitating an expensive repair to ensure accessibility for students and staff. These efforts remind me that when passion drives a mission, every challenge is worth overcoming, and every cause is worth supporting.
My hope is that PBA students will continue to engage in peace practices, fostering meaningful conversations about how to create positive change. | 
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Continuing to enhance the quality of education for these students is a cause I am deeply passionate about, and I invite you to join me in supporting their journey with an end-of-school-year gift for the 2024-25 school year. Your support will ensure we finish this year on a high note and begin the next school year with strength and momentum. Thank you for being an essential part of our peace-driven community and helping us shape a brighter future together!
Megan Lee
Advancement Director | | OFFICE HOURS
7:30 A.M. - 3:00 P.M.
Office Closed - July 4, 2025 | | |
