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Advertiser Regional Reporting Team

A wall of words is being built at Moanalua High School today as a memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on America. Rather than a wall to divide, this wall is designed to help with the rebuilding of America and our community.

A 6-feet-by-4-feet mosaic of paper and photographs was created by Hawaii Baptist Academy students Stacie Sueda, 14, and Cassie Wong, 13, and HBA English instructor Debra Tenney to commemorate the Sept. 11 attacks. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

"Bravery," "compassion," "freedom," "pride" and "patriotism" are typical. The boxes are being piled into a memorial around the school's flagpole.

Schools across the state are struggling with how to best commemorate the tragic events of 9/11. Teachers don't want to create unnecessary fear in school-age children by reliving the attack, but know the historic moment can't be ignored.

An advisory was sent to all public schools from the state Department of Education last week informing them about the statewide plan to remember the victims of the terrorist attacks with a bell-ringing at 10:05 a.m. followed by a moment of silence. Most schools intend to take part in that simple remembrance, but others felt the need to do more.

What has emerged are simple, low-key and heart-felt remembrances, many planned and organized by students.

Having the children participate in commemorative activities helps with their understanding of the attacks, said Susan Hirokane, principal of Pearl City Elementary School.

"It helps the children understand, process and appreciate," she said. "It's for them to understand what the country has done for them. We try to explain to them what happened so they can appreciate what the nation went through."

Pearl City Elementary will begin by encouraging the wearing of red, white and blue tomorrow.

After the statewide moment of silence, students will sing patriotic songs in their classrooms and wave signs to cars passing along Waimano Home Road in front of a patriotically decorated chainlink fence.

At Kaiser High School in Hawai'i Kai patriotic music will be piped in via the public address system campuswide in honor of Maile Hale, Kaiser's 1993 class valedictorian, who worked in Boston and was at the World Trade Center for a conference when the attacks occurred. She died in the attack.

Tomorrow's commemoration, planned by the students, will be a low-key affair, said Gayle Sugita, school principal.

There will be patriotic music from from 7:30 to 8 a.m. That will be followed by a short speech by student-body president Maegan Brandt, and a moment of silence. A bugler from the Pacific Fleet Band will play "Taps."

Samuel Wilder King Intermediate School in Kane'ohe will start the day with a five-minute historical perspective about 9/11 set to the song "Proud To Be An American" during the regular morning bulletin that is broadcast on closed-circuit TV.

Teachers plan lessons and discussions, said Patrick Macy, school vice principal.

At noon the Student Council has organized an event around the flagpole that includes a dance contest involving a couple from each home room, Macy said.

Their reasoning was that they would not let other people's actions destroy their lives, that life must go on, he said.

Kahuku Elementary School will assemble at 9:45 a.m. to sing patriotic songs. Sixth-grader Jonathan Lautaha will give a speech, followed by the statewide ringing of the bells and a moment of silence, said Frank Kalama, school principal.

Lautaha said his message will be that, "We need to show love to people we care for because in a moment they could be lost."

At Waialua Elementary School, students have been practicing patriotic songs for a 10 a.m. school-wide assembly themed "Live Aloha" in a grassy area outside two classroom buildings.

A representative from each class will come forward with the name of someone they know who is a firefighter, police officer or soldier, and call them heroes.

"We're just going from the perspective of remembering and honoring the heroes of that day one year ago," said principal Sandra Watanabe.

Among other school activities:

• The Nanakuli Intermediate and High School student government is sponsoring a door decorating contest themed, "Celebrate the Red, White and Blue."
• At Kaleiopu'u Elementary School in Waipahu, all 950 students will tie a red, white or blue ribbon to the chainlink fence in the parking lot to create a huge American flag.
• Students at Hawaii Baptist Academy worked on a mosaic using paper and photos creating the American flag and the school's eagle mascot.
• Hanalani Schools in Mililani plans a tribute in song to fire, police, emergency and airline workers at 10:30 a.m.
• Damien Memorial High School students will begin the day with a prayer service and a speech by Arnie Cole, chief of community and family activities, U.S. Army Pacific, who lost several friends at both the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

At Moanalua High, where a majority of the students' parents are in the military, English teacher Inga Kelly hopes the wall of words project she organized will help students share their feelings and experiences with others and help those who are troubled by the memories and emotions of Sept. 11.

O'ahu regional writers Eloise Aguiar, James Gonser, Suzanne Roig and Catherine Toth contributed to this report.