School News

What's New at PBA - May 21, 2026

Thu, 21 May 2026 04:00:00 +0000

PBA Celebrates the Commencement of the 24 Graduates of the Class of 2026

It’s always an adventure getting to the finish line with a cohort of seniors at Pacific Buddhist Academy, but the Class of 2026 made the four years with us particularly memorable. Working with the 24 students of the class took no small amount of creativity, patience, and effectiveness.

Working with them was also a joy and we miss them already! Here are my prefatory comments about the Class of 2026 from my Commencement Address last Sunday, May 17. We hope you enjoy the beautiful photo spread that follows.

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What's New at PBA - April 30, 2026

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 04:00:00 +0000

PBA Finishes the Speech and Debate Season Strong with Two Qualifiers and Championship-Level Competition

I will announce the big news first: PBA senior Maddie Wright was declared the state champion in Original Oratory at the state championship tournament of the Hawaii Speech League held at Punahou School on Saturday, April 18 at approximately 7:07:40 p.m.!

I say “approximately” because I only have video evidence of the announcement of the students placing 6th through 2nd place in that event. Because Maddie and I were the last Dragons standing on the Punahou campus at that time, I was the videographer documenting the champions announcement. The coach of the student declared champion has the honor of bestowing the championship trophy to his or her student, so the moment the emcee declared the excellent Parker School OO competitor received 2nd place, I knew I needed to run down the flight of stairs to grab the trophy and present it to Maddie. Unfortunately. I did not have the presence of mind to carry my phone down with me.

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What's New at PBA - April 16, 2026

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 04:00:00 +0000

PBA Students Participate in Re-Enactment of Vietnamese Fishermen v. Ku Klux Klan

Today I took the students of Dr. Benjamin Bruch’s “Civil War, Civil Rights, Civil Disobedience” class, mostly sophomores with a few juniors in the mix, to the Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole Federal Building and United States Courthouse to watch and participate in a re-enactment of the Vietnamese Fishermen’s Association v. Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, which was tried before Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on May 10, 1981.

The trial was an important one. Hearing a suit filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Morris Dees, the federal court in Texas was persuaded to disband a private army of white supremacists that had formed to intimidate Vietnamese shrimp fishermen in Galveston Bay, refugees who had fled persecution in Vietnam at the conclusion of the Vietnam War, because of their competition with white fishermen as they worked to pursue their economic livelihoods in their new U.S. homes.

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What's New at PBA - April 2, 2026

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 04:00:00 +0000

PBA Resumes the West Coast College Tour as a Regular Part of Its School Experience

Anyone that’s known me any length of time knows I am a big fan of Mexican food. It’s a family trait: when my parents were still in their traveling years and would visit me from Oregon once or twice annually, they typically set about finding every Mexican restaurant they could, then complained it didn’t compare to the Mexican fare they could get back home. “Let’s go for lau lau, Mom,” I replied.

So when Dean of Students Liane Viloria, seven PBA sophomores and juniors and I landed at the Long Beach Airport for the first leg of the California College Tour the day after the wrap of our 20th Annual Festival, I had my eyes peeled for the taquería closest to the home we’d rented for our first week in southern California.

Fullerton, CA did not disappoint. After depositing the students and Mrs. Viloria back home to enjoy their midnight Popeye’s dinner, I made a quick jaunt for the flashing lights and long line outside Tacos las de Allison, the first of several burritos I enjoyed while in California.

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What's New at PBA - March 19, 2026

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Okagesamade: A Taiko Festival Story

While the Taiko Festival takes place every second Sunday in March, each performance represents a culmination of a year, or even years, of dedication. Many students begin their journey with Sensei Jay Toyofuku even before they enter high school. By the time they arrive at Pacific Buddhist Academy, Zachary Agcaoili meets them as freshmen, recognizing potential they may not yet see, and guiding them toward becoming future members of Hyaku Sen Ki Kai.

Fundraising for the show is also a year-round effort, sustained by the generosity of the community. New happi coats from Japan were made possible for the 20th Annual Show through a grant awarded by the Japanese Women’s Society Foundation.

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What's New at PBA - March 5, 2026

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Pacific Buddhist Academy Robotics Team Places Third at Hawaiʻi State VEX Robotics Championship

PBA’s robotics team Dragon Mechs earned third place at the Hawaiʻi State VEX Robotics Championship held in February. The event served as a qualifying competition for the global VEX Robotics World Championship, bringing together top robotics teams from across the state.

“Although I will forever lament missing second place by one point,” said senior year captain Collin Hanney, “I think we did really well this year, and I'm proud to call myself part of the Dragon Mechs."

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What's New at PBA - February 19, 2026

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 05:00:00 +0000

PBA Go Club Participates in Kisei-sen Tournament Experience

When the idea of starting a “Go Club” at PBA was first pitched to me last year by Advancement Director Megan Lee, I can’t say I was very familiar with the complexities of the game. I knew of its long history in the East and its ties to Buddhism, but had never tried playing it. However, accepting a recent invitation from the Japanese Consulate to attend the Kisei pre-match reception opened my eyes to the strong cultural ties Go fosters between our students and the broader Japanese community.

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What's New at PBA - January 23, 2026

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Dragons Return from the Big Island and a Great Speech and Debate Tournament

When we touched down in Kona last Friday, I saw the familiar sprawl of lava field and long tufted brown sedge. I returned as chaperone for the Dragons Speech and Debate Team – one senior, two sophomores, one freshman excited to compete in the 2026 Neighbor Island Tournament of the Hawaiʻi Speech League at Parker School.

For the freshman, it was her first neighbor island trip. I looked at her and wondered if she had the same reaction to the landscape I did when I first arrived to the Big Island in 2002, shocked somewhat at what seemed its barrenness, not having experienced the rolling pastures or windswept forests of Kohala, or the lush jungle lowlands of Hilo, or the upcountry coffee pastures, or the active volcano.

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What's New at PBA - January 8, 2026

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 05:00:00 +0000

PBA’s Walk/Run for Peace and the Peace Core Curriculum at the School

I’m a little torn about how to approach my entry for the first issue of the What’s New at PBA for 2026. Peeling back the veil a little, we ordinarily feature the Walk/Run for Peace in the new year’s issue. PBA’s edition of the walk-a-thon gets branding as a peace-related event, being scheduled so near the remembrance of one of our heroes in Martin Luther King, Jr., but given the global and national disruptions to peace in the recent overthrow of Nicolás Maduro and the killing of a U.S. citizen by federal agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, it feels trite somehow to publicize our modest walk and ask supporters to give in support of our programs for tuition assistance at PBA.

But then I look at our programs. We do/are doing significant training in peace education in support of PBA’s mission to develop students’ courage to nurture peace. Advancement Director Megan Lee and I rejoined the classroom this year to lead seminars in peace practice that build on the work of the other educators at the school.

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What's New at PBA - December 11, 2025

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 05:00:00 +0000

Reflections to Conclude the Year: Kyoto by moonlight, a short journey with Bishop Toshiyuki Umitani

Last week, for the first time since before COVID-19, I traveled with Bishop Toshiyuki Umitani to Kyoto for the semi-annual gathering of the school leaders of the Ryukoku Sogo Gakuen (RSG), the network of 24 Shin Buddhist schools of which PBA is a member, and the lone representative outside of Japan.

The winter gatherings, which are always held in Kyoto, have an identical format. The RSG board, of which Bishop Umitani is a member, is held in the morning. The full delegation meets in the early afternoon to review the year’s financials, upcoming year’s budget, and to learn about programs. School leaders make announcements about special programs they are launching. There is always a presentation on a topic of emerging interest. One year, we heard a presentation about a hospice program run as a program of Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, the Shin Buddhist denomination. And following the formal meetings, we attend a big banquet, which is where the real work seems to get done.

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