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| PBA Concludes the First Ryukoku Sogo Gakuen Study Abroad Program to Follow the COVID-19 Pandemic
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| Dear Readers of the What's New, |
| In the spring of my sophomore year as an undergraduate anthropology student at the University of Oregon, I traveled to Querétaro, México to participate in a Spanish-language program for the trimester, and I followed that ten-week intensive with a trip by bus, train and plane through the south of México through Oaxaca and Chiapas, across the border to Guatemala, and across another to Belize before circling back to Mexico City for the flight home to Oregon. That odyssey would be a defining moment in my life. It changed the direction of my interests and significantly expanded my worldview. Today, we celebrate the conclusion of this year’s study abroad program for six students from schools of the Ryukoku Sogo Gakuen, the network of Shin Buddhist schools to which Pacific Buddhist Academy belongs. Last Friday, we held a special temple service for the girls. Today, we will conclude the school day and our week with a two-hour celebration that will include performances by the PBA intermediate guitar ensemble and rock band (there are many new musicians in the group), speeches by a few of the study abroad students, and ice cream to end the day. |
| I can only imagine what the girls will take away from their experience at PBA. They participated in such a wide range of school activities. One of the girls ran with the cross country team. Others joined taiko, music classes, drawing and painting, ceramics. They danced hula. They shopped until they dropped. We enjoyed a beach barbeque and a Friday night movie night with them and the rest of the student body. And we communicated in Japanese, English, the universal language of giggles and smiles, raised eyebrows and sleepy mornings, the academic cores and electives, and other shared efforts.
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| The girls return home to Japan tomorrow. With any luck, our sister schools will be able to send even more students next fall, and we will stay in touch with the girls as they continue their high school studies and move on to college. |
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| But what I enjoy most is the thought that being immersed in our school brought to the study abroad students that sense of marvel at things ordinary and extraordinary. I remember from México sunsets, pine trees, massive churches, the different taste of milk and Coca Cola, all of them familiar in some ways, but bubbling over with the newness of senses enlivened by living in a world new to me. |
| Greeting the girls each morning I know they have mixed feelings about returning home – happy to see pets, friends and family, but sad to depart from a place they’ve just developed a sense of as home. I think it’s a good sign that PBA is a place that welcomes kids and makes them feel like part of us, because that’s what they are. Qué les vaya muy bien, girls. Warmly, Josh Hernandez Morse |
| Aloha PBA Sports Fans, Welcome to our 2022-2023 School year and an exciting beginning to our fall sports. First of all, to keep updated with schedules, please visit http://ilhsports.com/. There, on the bottom right of the page, click on the sport that you would like to see the schedules for. Following you can find introductions of the fall student athletes and their sports.
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| Football: Breydon Gono (12) and Rylan Villamor (10) have had a wonderful start on the Pac-Five varsity football team. The team is currently ranked 2nd in the state in their division after their preseason schedule and they look forward to their season opener against Kamehameha on September 16 at 6 p.m. Cheerleading: Besides cheering on the sidelines, Winnie Crawford (9) is our lone representative in this sport of acrobatics, coordination and being positive. The first ILH cheer event is scheduled for September 24 at Iolani School at 5 p.m. Sporter Air Riflery: Maya Galvez (9) and Sean Fitch (10) are competing for the Pac-Five JV girls and boys varsity team, respectively. Their
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| coaches have done a wonderful job organizing practices to provide our kids opportunities to participate. Both students have had one match each and will be challenging Island Pacific Academy at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church on Saturday, September 10 at 9:30 a.m.
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| Girls Volleyball: We have had a strong relationship with St. Andrews Schools and their volleyball and basketball teams. Kaya Blum (10) has been a wonderful representative on our coop volleyball team. Kaya’s next game will be on Friday, September 9 at St. Andrews gym at 5 p.m. Good luck! Girls Bowling: Our Lady Dragon bowlers are coached by our very own PBA bowling alumna, Kiana Tom ’14. Mari Miyasato (11) is keeping our Dragons alive with the addition of student athletes from both Le Jardin Academy and St. Andrews. Our first match will be on Tuesday September 13 versus Kamehameha at 4:15. Unfortunately, there are no spectators allowed at Hickam.
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| Cross Country: Our Head of School Josh Hernandez Morse has taken up the mantle once again of coaching our runners. Oren Mihara (10), David Burkett (11), Rintaro Kawai (11), and James Robinson (11) are participating in both the JV and Varsity Boys division. We have also had an amazing turnout for our girl’s divisions.
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| Emmalie Hernandez (9), Loryn Hirai (9), Lyla Onishi (9), Jolie Rapoza (9), Addie Hernandez (10), Alexa Keating (10), Riho Umitani (10), and Mone Sugimoto (11) are our runners. They had their first meet last week Saturday at Mid Pacific Institute. The next meet will be at the Iolani Invitational in Ka`a`awa Valley on Saturday September 10.
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| PBA Welcomes Music Teacher Jake Lui |
| New music teacher Jake Lui got his Bachelor of Arts in Music degree at the University of Southern California. He teaches Music Appreciation, Beginner and Intermediate Guitar Ensemble, and Rock Band at PBA. Mr. Jake hopes that students can appreciate music in all aspects of life. “We have to make the most out of every day!” said Mr. Jake. “Music allows students to push themselves to explore, try a new hobby, and practice new skills.” Mr. Jake said that music is deeply embedded in every fabric of his life. He loves listening to music and also playing in the band Karaoke Stars. You can find them on instagram @karaokestarshawaii. Some of Mr. Jake’s students are currently practicing for their upcoming performance at
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| the Lighting Our Way banquet. “We are excited to perform in front of people, since I know the banquet hasn’t been on for a few years. I’m really just looking forward to seeing how much we can accomplish with these groups of musically talented students. I hope to inspire them to broaden their musical horizons and step outside their comfort zones to reach new heights,” said Mr. Jake. |
| “What I appreciate about Mr. Jake is that he puts in the maximum effort to make sure that the music we produce sounds amazing. He is open-minded and very determined when it comes to teaching,” said sophomore Intermediate Guitar Ensemble and Rock Band student Addison Hernandez. When asked about his favorite instrument, Mr. Jake said it’s too hard to choose. He went with his most recent obsession: mastering the |
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| drums. PBA welcomes Mr. Jake and looks forward to enjoying the new music performed this year! |
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| Student Activity
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PBA seniors prepared dishes using only locally grown or farmed ingredients.| Shop on Amazon? |
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| Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible AmazonSmile purchases to PBA at no cost or fees to the shopper! AmazonSmile is available at smile.amazon.com on your web browser and can be activated in the Amazon Shopping app for iOS and Android phones. It's a great way to make your online purchases count for more! |
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