OUR SCHOOLS • KAISER HIGH SCHOOL
Cougars active in service to the community

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer

HAWAI'I KAI — There is never a dull moment at Kaiser High School.

Nanette Umeda, college counselor at Kaiser High School, goes over a college brochure with Jenna Akiyama, 17, in the school's College and Career Resource Center. Students at the Hawai'i Kai school are active in a wide range of activities and community-service projects. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

It's the way a high school is supposed to be — full of activity and excitement. Nearly a dozen clubs are active on campus, and students take part in 27 different sports ranging from soft tennis to football, paddling to bowling.

"The students here set us apart from other schools," said Rinda Fernandes, Kaiser's student activity coordinator. "The students are very capable, verbal and inquisitive. It's challenging and I don't mind it. That's what I like about Kaiser."

Principal Gayle Sugita said it's the student energy that makes the school special.

"Every club on campus is involved in a service project," Sugita said. "They're often not given enough recognition."

"Every club on campus is involved in a service project," Principal Gayle Sugita said. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

"It's not just scholastic," Sugita said.

Character also stands tall at Kaiser, like last year when three students in a math competition pointed out a judge's error in their score even though it meant they had to give up the state championship trophy.

• What are you most proud of? "I'm most proud of my students. If you open our yearbook, we look like a United Nations. That kind of internationalism creates tolerance. We have our spats, sure, but we integrate the different cultures."

• Best-kept secret: "The amount of community service that our students do in Hawai'i Kai and beyond without school credit," Sugita said.

• Everybody at our school knows: Diane Ueki, the library assistant who is out on medical leave. "She is our Miss Aloha, the consummate Kaiser-ite. She's the person kids go to when they have trouble. She is the hub, the heart, the soul and spirit of our school."

• Notable alumni: Sid Fernandez, class of 1981, who retired from professional baseball in 1997. "Akebono" (Chad Rowan), class of 1987, who became a sumo champion in Japan. And Claudia Vasquez, class of 1998, who is a member of the noted musical group Sunland.

• Our biggest challenge: "Finding enough time to communicate with everyone I need to during the day," Sugita said. "I participate in a lot of activities and many are in the evenings."

• What we need: More money and a dean of students to handle student discipline and student services, which would free up the vice principal.

• Special events: Twice-a-year food drives, an annual drama department production and the usual proms and homecomings.