Everyone wins without homecoming competition
a recap of Homecoming 2015
Photo by Alyssa Urayanza
Students jam out to ‘Ekolu during Mondayʻs assembly, the first of many team-building events at the fall spirit week, Sept. 14-19. This year, the student government agreed to focus on all-school unity for homecoming and moved the traditional clash of the classes to the spring spirit week.
Kamehameha Maui students dressed up and got into the spirit during homecoming week, Sept. 14-19, despite having the class competitions moved to spring in hopes of making homecoming a time where students can come together in unity rather than competing against each other.
“It was something that has been talked about over the past few years and our student government officers were willing to try it,” Mr. Leo Delatori, vice-principal said. “It went well. More students had fun in a different way with more unity and less class competition.”
Some Kamehameha alumni also weighed in on the changes.
“Honestly, I think itʻs a little off,” Aukai Monte (’14) said, “but this whole unity thing that theyʻre trying to propose, I think itʻs good. I think itʻs going to be able to unite all the classes and make them a little more friendlier so when the battles really do happen, they won’t be as bad.”
Shane Borge, also a 2014 Kamehameha graduate, agreed with both opinions.
“I was kinda bummed to hear about it,” he said, “but the unity thing that they wanted to bring out this year is a really good idea. Iʻm still all one for competition though, so Iʻm gonna miss that.”
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Monday started off with “Blues Day” where students dressed all in blue and attended an assembly in the gym at the end of the day. Students got a big surprise when the band ‘Ekolu began to play and high school and middle school students crowded onto the court to listen up close. As the band continued to play, students began to dance and jam out to the local music.
Tuesday was Sports Day, and students were able to sport their jerseys and represent their favorite sports teams. At lunch, students and teachers battled it out in a flag football game known as the Poi Bowl. Once again, the teachers proved to be more than the students could handle and took the game 14-0.
“My favorite event was the teacher versus student football game. It was really fun,” senior Hiʻilei Aniban said.
Students came to school on Wednesday dressed alike. Wednesday, also known as #Squad Day, was a day for students and a group of friends to dress alike. The “squads” varied from students wearing their class shirts to a group of junior girls who dressed up as history teacher Mr. Kevin OʻBrien. Wednesday was also Wii Wednesday because there was a Wii console set up in the dining hall at lunch. There, students laughed and had a blast while dancing it out to one of the games.
Bright colors spread throughout the campus as students donned brilliant tie-dye shirts and apparel on Thursday. Students could also bring $5.00 to buy themselves a cool cup of Jamba Juice at lunch. The line was so long that it stretched from the front of the dining hall all the way to the beginning of the X-building bridge.
“My favorite [dress-up] day was Tie-Dye Day because that was a lot of fun, and everything was so bright and colorful,” Aniban said.
“More students had fun in a different way…
— Mr. Delatori
Friday was a White-Out day. The entire student body wore their white homecoming t-shirts. Friday also featured a pep-rally at the end of the day where the student government introduced a new mascot — a warrior.
During the rally, the team captains from each fall sports team made a short announcement about the season. They also gave the crowd a heads up as to when and where their next games would be held.
A team of elementary school cheerleaders also performed a short routine for everyone as part of Hannah Patrickʻs senior project.
The Associated Students of Kamehameha Maui organized a homecoming carnival, held on Saturday from 3-6 p.m. before the homecoming game against Maui High School. At the carnival there were about ten different booths offering different activities ranging from games to face painting and tattoos.
Everyone was given free scrip at the entrance, which they could use at any booth. When they used the scrip to play games, they were given prize tickets, which they could exchange for homecoming game goodies like cow bells and pompoms.
Afterwards, Kanaʻiaupuni Stadium filled to capacity as the Maui Warriors took on the Sabers. Although Maui High won the game, Kamehemeha students won the week and enjoyed the cheering, band, floats parade, and fellowship at the final event of the newly structured homecoming.
