» Kapolei and Waianae high schools were among top winners of this year’s fifth annual Internet Safety Awards. More than 150 students from 14 schools statewide submitted 52 public service announcements addressing Internet safety in three categories: cyberbullying, online piracy and plagiarism, and online predators and social networking precautions. The winners:
Cyberbullying: First, Kapolei High School, "Words Can Pack a Punch"; second, Waianae High School, "Words Hurt"; third, Moanalua High School, "Know Your Rights"
Online piracy and plagiarism: First, Kapolei High School, "Plagiarism Fail"; second, Kapolei High School, "The Other Side of the Story"; third, Waianae High School, "Respect the Artist"
Online predators and social networking precautions: First, Waianae High School, "Cyber Ninja"; second, Waianae High School, "Practice Safe Friending"; third, Aina Haina Elementary School, "You’re Not Alone"
Best of show (tie): Kapolei High School, "Words Can Pack a Punch"; Waianae High School, "Cyber Ninja"
People’s choice award: Waianae High School, "Respect the Artist"
The 2012 Internet Safety Awards were sponsored in part by the Hawaii Department of Education, Bank of Hawaii, CyberW0rx.8o8/ Aikea808, Hawaii News Now, Maintec Inc., Microsoft, Oceanic Time Warner Cable, True Digital/Hawaii PI and Torch Entertainment.
» A 12th-grader from Kamehameha Schools was the grand prize winner for Oahu in the 13th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Poetry Contest.
Dane Olaso was selected from a field of more than 775 student entries from Oahu.
Honolulu city Deputy Managing Director Chrystn Eads presented Olaso with the oil painting "Sailing VI," by Rick Lawrence, donated by Sargent’s Fine Art and Jewelry in Lahaina.
Olaso’s winning poem, "Ode to a Martyr," explores the inspirational nature of King’s legacy.
In addition to Olaso, the project recognized more than 60 student winners.
All winners received a certificate of achievement and a prize poster donated by the International Peace Poem Project.
» Alan Sekiguchi of McKinley High School was named a recipient of the United States-Japan Foundation’s Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Awards.
Sekiguchi is a technical education teacher at McKinley.
The award recognizes exceptional teachers who further mutual understanding between Americans and Japanese, and includes a $2,500 award and $5,000 in project funds.
Sekiguchi is a classroom teacher but also teaches karate at Hawaii Shotokan Karate.
The foundation is dedicated to strengthening cooperation and understanding between the U.S. and Japan, and governed by a board of prominent Japanese and American private citizens.
» The HMSA Kaimana Awards and Scholarship Program in June honored 30 Hawaii high schools and 22 student athletes, awarding more than $90,000.
"The HMSA Kaimana Awards & Scholarship Program is the only program in the state that rewards academics and athletics as well as sportsmanship and community service," Robert P. Hiam, HMSA’s chief executive officer, said in a news release. The program is sponsored by HMSA and administered by the Hawaii High School Athletic Association.
Twenty-two students received scholarships worth $3,000, and five were named distinguished scholars and received an additional $2,000 each: Erin M. Carvalho, Kamehameha Schools Hawaii; Lauren Claypoole, Island School; Penina Lima, Kapolei High School; Charisse L. Manley, Molokai High School; and Cheyenne K. Pico, Hana High School.
Thirty high schools were recognized for achieving the highest program scores in their league and division in athletics, academics, sportsmanship and community service. The 10 highest-scoring schools received a check for $1,500.
» Taryn Kaili, an undergraduate at the University of Hawaii, and Lance Jackson, an alumnus of Hawaii Pacific University, have been named 2012 Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellows by the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. The Pickering Fellowship, funded by the U.S. Department of State, will provide support for completion of the recipients’ undergraduate and graduate degrees as they prepare academically and professionally to enter the U.S. Foreign Service.
» Mililani High School teacher Cynthia Tong was named the 2012 Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year, Senior Division, at the National History Day Awards Ceremony in June at the University of Maryland at College Park.
Hawaii History Day, an affiliate of National History Day, is a program of the Hawaii Council for the Humanities.
The national award Tong received recognizes outstanding teachers, one at both the junior level and senior level, in each state, the District of Columbia, Department of Defense schools, International Schools-Asia, and the U.S. territories. The national winner receives a $10,000 prize. This is the second year in a row a teacher from Hawaii has won the national award.
Tong has taught at Mililani since 2002 and has been involved with the History Day program for the past 17 years.
