| PBA Strikes a Pose at the Start of the 2026-2027 School Year
Dear readers of the What's New,
I love the start of a new school year, the good cheer of the students greeting us after a long absence, the resolute focus of teachers and students dedicating themselves to new goals. For the past decade or so I’ve been the yoga teacher at the school, Tuesday and Thursday mornings with varying class sizes for a 40-minute flow, and we are all out of practice! Our chaturangas don’t hold as long, our lotus poses and backbends a little less flexible than when the school year ended last May.
| But the returning students will adapt rapidly (I may not adapt quite so readily). The emphasis I made to the yoga students today – about a third of them returning yogis, the other third returning students new to yoga, and the final third an adventurous, excitable group of Japanese exchange students from sister schools of the Ryukoku Sogo Gakuen – as we struggled through a somewhat grueling sequence I had designed precisely to achieve moments of “failure” for every student, was to observe inwardly that moment when we gave up and fell out of posture, an inch-off-the-ground chaturanga to a full-blown bellyflop, a modified side plank we let ourselves sink out of, and to mark our internal messaging as we “failed” in the asanas, or postures. | | | The object is to observe the mind in a moment of difficulty and to remove the criticizing self-judgement so that we can accurately observe our present moment of practice. How strong am I today? How long did I hold the posture? Maybe tomorrow I will hold it for longer. I guarantee, as a yoga teacher, that if the student only tries and returns to the mat for the next session, she will hold it for longer, by and by, he will gradually become more flexible in the pigeon pose or maybe even achieve the full expression of an arm balance like crow pose over time. Even so the work of learning and the progress of Pacific Buddhist Academy. We announce in this issue the four honorees for the 2026 Lighting Our Way Banquet: Dr. Nobuyuki Miki, Vice President of International Relations and Chef Advancement Officer, Kuakini Medical Center; Mr. Vernon Wong, Senior Vice President and Division Manager, First Hawaiian Bank Wealth Advisory Division; Chief Justice (ret.) Mark E. Recktenwald, Hawaii Supreme Court; and Omotesenke Domonkai Hawaii, the Hawaii-based chapter of the Omotesenke tea lineage celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. In the coming weeks, PBA seniors, dusting off their writing skills and developing new understandings of leadership and responsibility at the school, will interview the honorees and consider the honorees’ impressive contributions to community as they reflect on the direction of their own lives while applying to colleges and universities and planning our annual camp experience set for the end of August. The start of a new school year is a flurry, the halls are filled with high-fives and hugs, strumming on acoustic guitars, students hunting teachers down to sign add/drop slips, administrators trying to master the new phone system newly active this week. We may be a little less strong or flexible than we were when the school year ended last May, but we will adapt fast as we integrate the new freshmen and transfer students, the new exchange students working to master English, the new Rock Band teacher in his first season of teaching rock to burgeoning PBA musicians, the new taiko and sado and student journalists in student magazine Karma Chronicle, the new student athletes training after school in volleyball and cross country, the new yogis holding the half moon pose, balancing on their left legs, the fingertips of their right hands pointing skyward, their right legs held aloft behind them to counterbalance, holding their balance, wobbling some, maybe falling out of posture and laughing about it, as we strive toward the sky. I invite everyone to check out PBA’s new promotional ad posted to our social media accounts: I hope the start of your new seasons are moving forward as excitedly as ours. | Warmly,
Josh Hernandez Morse
Head of School | | PBA Alumni Night and the Alumni Scholarship Fund | | Pacific Buddhist Academy’s Alumni Night took place on July 24, bringing together more than 50 alumni, spouses, children, former faculty, and staff for an evening of celebration. Organized by the PBA Alumni Committee, the event featured dinner from Quezadas Salsa, generously sponsored by Hō`ea Wealth Advisory Group. Guests also enjoyed music by DJ Gr!met!me, also known as PBA alumnus Taylor Nagata ’09, who kept the energy high throughout the evening. Alumni Night was a community effort. Zachary Agcoili ’14 coordinated planning meetings with the PBA Alumni Committee, including Chris Date ’07, Sheldon Konno ’07, Kaden Ishiara ’21, and Megan Viloria ’14, whose collective efforts helped make the event a success. The committee also played a key role in launching the new PBA Alumni Scholarship Fund, which will provide scholarships to students who demonstrate financial need and exemplify the qualities of a promising PBA Dragon. As funding allows, $1,000 scholarships will be awarded with priority given to incoming freshmen. Thanks to the generosity of Alumni Night attendees Jarik Higa, Megan Viloria, Andrew Tom, Kyle and Adrienne Kawabata, and Sheldon Konno, the first $1,000 scholarship has been fully funded in honor of the Class of 2026. The evening's dinner was made possible through the efforts of Megan Viloria ’14, who organized the sponsorship in her role as a paraplanner at Hō`ea Wealth Advisory Group. Guests enjoyed a spread featuring soft tacos with fresh salsa, pico de gallo, and guacamole. The night continued on the dance floor as DJ Gr!met!me brought disco lights, lasers, and a mix of pop and R&B throwbacks that kept recent graduates and longtime alumni celebrating together. The evening celebrated the lasting strength of the PBA community by reconnecting classmates across generations while investing in the next generation of Dragons through the inaugural funding of the PBA Alumni Scholarship Fund. Alumni Night marked the beginning of a new tradition of alumni engagement and giving back. You can contribute to the Alumni Scholarship Fund to support a second scholarship by donating online here: Alumni Scholarship Fund | | OFFICE HOURS
7:30 AM - 5:00 PM
NO SCHOOL: AUGUST 21, STATEHOOD DAY
AUGUST 28, CAMP RECOVERY | | |
