Monday, May 23, 2022
PAAC’s network of extracurricular clubs and classes spans 14 public, private, and charter schools across the state and includes over 150 high school student members. Congratulations to PAAC Clubs at Kealakehe, Maui, King Kekaulike, Hawaii Technology Academy, Farrington, Sacred Hearts Academy, St. Andrew’s Priory, and Waialua High School who earned the title of Distinguished Clubs of the Year for the 2021-2022 school year!
Gold Level
Hawaii Technology Academy
Hawaii Technology Academy has a solid member base with 17 members! This year the club carried out two Global Action Projects (GAPs). In the fall, in service to their community and in response to their learning from topics of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Curriculum Suite, they created and launched a collection drive for donations for Child and Family Services. Through this drive, they collected 1,037 items in clothes, baby care, personal hygiene, home cleaning, and school materials.
In spring, in response to what they learned from Dr. Mark Hixon, at this year's Global Vision Summit, Water is Life | Ka Wai Ola, and what they studied in the SDGs module on plastic waste, #12 Responsible Consumption, they created a bottle cap drive to bring awareness to the issues of recycling plastics and how much goes to our landfill. They created a uhu (parrotfish) and honu (honu, green sea turtle, is the school's mascot) art design to bring awareness to the need to protect the uhu from overfishing by local fishers. Check out their artist statement here.
“I really enjoyed this project. I felt that it was very organic and we hadn’t really done something like it in PAAC before. And it really opened my eyes to all the plastic waste just in bottle caps alone we produce. I would definitely like to see more art projects with waste/pollution to spread awareness. Since it is such a cool and creative project.”
-Nerissa G. 11th
This club also:
1. Completed 7 SDG lessons
2. Held a leadership workshop (run by PAACs Roya Dennis) on Culture and Blind Bias.
3. Attended GVS and competed in WorldQuest!
Mahalo nui to their fearless and energy-rich advisor, Shiloh Francis.
St. Andrew’s Priory High School
This very active Eco-PAAC Club of 24 members focused their efforts on the UN SDG Goal #5 Gender Equity and Goal #4 Quality Education. In collaboration with their school’s Interact Club, their Global Action Projects sought to create better access to feminine hygiene products while educating about more sustainable ways to deal with monthly menstrual cycles. They sewed washable, reusable menstrual pads, from recycled materials, and distributed them to women's shelters. They continued their work and learning by maintaining a permaculture school garden and teaching younger students about this process. Finally, in celebration of Arbor/Earth Day, they created an educational unit where they labeled the trees around campus and talked about their properties.
This club also:
1. Created a new personalized t-shirt design for their club members
2. Referenced SDG lessons
3. Used our Guest Speaker list to invite Peace Corps Volunteers to speak to their school
4. Attended GVS and competed in WorldQuest
Led by their committed advisors, Alden Watts and Murielle Sipola, this club of young women, continues to impress!
Maui High School
This club engages 30 service-oriented, globally-minded students. This year, in collaboration with the Interact Club, this club's Global Action Projects focused on SDG Goal #1, No Hunger, and Goal # 14 Life Below Water. In fall, they ran their annual food drive to support hungry families on Maui by providing healthy foods during the holiday season. In spring, they participated in a beach clean-up with other Rotary Clubs on Maui to service the community of Waiehu.
This club also:
1. Completed 5 SDG lessons
2. Had multiple teams for WorldQuest!
Led by the dedicated Janyce Omura, this club shines!
Silver Level
Farrington High School
This small and mighty club of six continues to persist! This year, they focused their efforts on the need for Global Goal #11, Sustainable Communities, by creating school gardens. In collaboration with the Interact club, they worked to create a food garden for their school. In addition, they spent a day learning about the food and the forests of Kalihi through a community service day at Ho‘oulu ‘Āina, a 100-acre nature preserve nestled in the back of Kalihi Valley.
This club also:
1. Participated in GVS and WorldQuest
Mahalo to their advisor, Elizabeth Shiraki, for your continued hard work for these awesome students!
Bronze Level
The following clubs achieved Distinguished Club status at the bronze level for their work this year. They continue to think globally and act locally. We are grateful for all they continue to do to make the world a better place.
- Kealakehe High School | Advisor, Justin Brown
- King Kekaulike High School | Advisor, Edith Middleton
- Sacred Hearts Academy | Advisor, Gloria Trueba
- Waialua High School | Advisor, Jasmine Ortogero
Awards:
This year all clubs achieving recognition as a Distinguished Club received our exclusive club sticker pack. Clubs with Gold and Silver standing received funds to celebrate or do an activity of their choosing.
Mahalo Club Advisors
PAAC would like to thank all our dedicated teacher advisors, without whom these clubs would not exist. Teacher advisors offer their classrooms as meeting spaces, work with student officers to coordinate logistics and give their time on weekends to chaperone students at PAAC events. PAAC is fortunate to be able to work with such generous and supportive teachers.
Note: Distinguished Clubs are selected based on overall membership, participation in PAAC events, community engagement, and reporting. View a list of all requirements by level (gold, silver, and bronze) here.