The freshman class was given the lei of victory on Friday, May 6, as they were awarded Ka Maka o ka Ihe during the annual song fest at Kaʻulaheanuiokamoku Gymnasium. The class of 2014 serenaded the audience with their rendition of Keawaiki, composed by Helen Desha Beamer and led by Madison Vaught.

Freshman Kela Killam was proud of her classʻs achievement. “Our class was like a family from the beginning, tonight’s win proves that when we work together we can do anything,” she said.

The song in the winning performance speaks of the home of Francis ʻIʻi Brown in Kona, Hawaiʻi, the home by the sea that welcomes all to its “calm whispering waters” and “crystal clear cold water.”

Every year, Na Kumu Kalei Aarona-Lorenzo and Mr. Dale Nitta choose the songs for each class. Classes are judged based on not only their performance, but also how well the class works together during rehearsals.

“We look for a nice match between the song and the class that will sing it.  For this, we need to determine the difficulty of the song and the maturity required to perform the song in the way that it was intended,” said Kumu Aarona-Lorenzo.

Junior Rachel Bega was surprised. “ Itʻs exciting that the freshmen won, and that they were able to make history,”  she said.