After school on Friday May 24, freshmen adorned in colorful aloha shirts and leis gathered together for a luau themed social filled with dancing, picture taking, performances, and a large array of Hawaiian food.
For the main event, the Freshmen Class Council planned a lip sync battle and talent show in the gym with performances from students and teachers. Students were judged on their performance from either the talent show or the lip sync battle, since some students participated in both events. “My favorite part of the social was definitely the talent show,” said freshman participant Zachary Fujita. “It gave our whole class the opportunity to express ourselves, relax, and just have fun which isn’t something we get to do often.” Fujita’s performance of the song “Pompeii” by Bastille with the Six P.M. band members including himself, Lucas Chun, Matthew Chun, Preston Iha, and Timothy Chang, won second place.
Another significant performance came from Jewel Tominaga, who sang and played piano to “Love Song” by Sara Bareilles earning her the number one spot overall. Tominaga received an artificial trophy bought by the Freshman Class Council from Trophy House.
Anika Keuning, freshman recording secretary, performed with her friend Kayla Wong the song “The Nations of the World” by Animaniacs, placing fourth. “It was crazy because we were just performing for the fun of it, but we actually won. There was a no-stress and no-judgement vibe, so it wasn’t scary or anything to perform, which was nice,” said Keuning.
[one_third]“The social wasn’t lacking in anything. From the leis to the Hawaiian food, everything was planned and executed perfectly.”
Freshman Zachary Fujita
[/one_third]According to class president Megan Yamauchi, all the officers in class council were encouraged to participate in either the talent show or the lip sync battle to show their grade “it’s okay to get out of their comfort zone.” Yamauchi lip synced to youtuber Ryan Higa’s song “Nice Guys” with Blythe Yoshikane and Maia Kawelo. Third place winners Jalen Sur and math teacher Aaron Kondo lip synced to the love song duet “Lucky” by Jason Mraz featuring Colbie Caillat.
An essential part of having the luau themed social was the food. Beef stew, lomi lomi salmon, kalua pig, chicken long rice, haupia, haupia pineapple cake, among other dishes lined the mall area tables. A portion of the Freshmen Class Council budget, along with a donation from Lucas Chun’s parents, went toward purchasing the food from Helena’s Hawaiian Food. “Trying to organize the food situation was sort of tricky,” said Keuning. “Figuring out where to buy the food, what type, how many people were going to come and eat, the budget, all of that was difficult.”
The council also set up a makeshift photo booth area, complete with a Hawaiian themed backdrop and a mixture of props, including grass skirts and coconut bras. In between events in the gym, students danced to the “Cha-Cha Slide,” “Cupid Shuffle,” and “Bring Em Out.”
“The social wasn’t lacking in anything,” said Zachary Fujita. “From the leis to the Hawaiian food, everything was planned and executed perfectly.” He also added, “[This year’s class council] worked really hard and helped us through Spirit Week and the socials…They had to deal with the pressure of pleasing everyone, which some people can’t always accomplish. Overall, they did a great job and I hope they all run again next year.”
Other than the luau themed social, the class council planned a Divergent social at the beginning of the year. Yamauchi looks back at their progress saying, “I think we did a pretty good job considering it was our first year. We really bonded together, learning to depend on each other when we had problems.”
