As new students adjust to the McKin-ley curriculum, returning Tigers start the school year with a little familiarity. The pilot of T.I.G.E.R. Time continues, but with a few changes from last year.

The plan, Targeted Intervention Growth, Enrichment, and Review Time, was started as a pilot in January 2011.

While most acknowledge the benefits of this new-found tutoring tactic, con-cerns still exist over its efficiency. Per-rine Matsuzaki, math teacher and mem-ber of the T.I.G.E.R. Time committee, stated, “T.I.G.E.R. Time was introduced because the kids who needed tutoring weren’t coming in on their own time to get help. So we decided to make it a part of the school day.”

T.I.G.E.R. Time gives students an op-portunity to get extra help if they don’t understand something in class, or make up tests. Teachers also get more one-on-one time with any struggling students. Sheryl Miralles (11) said she benefited from T.I.G.E.R. Time because it gave her time to do her homework when she was

“still in the learning mood.”The committee, which consists of nine

teachers, Vice Principal Lorene Suehiro, and two students, has been discussing ways to improve T.I.G.E.R. Time. Sev-eral teachers have been flustered with the over-crowded fifth and sixth periods. “We decreased the amount of passes this year,” said Matsuzaki, in regards to this certain drawback.

Other teachers have been complaining about students not following the policy and, instead of studying, spending the time socializing. As for assuring students are productive, that may mean teachers, for example, separate students who so-cialize.

Last year, many misplaced passes were reported, so the committee decided to distribute different-colored passes quar-terly, so they can’t be re-used.

There are still a few disadvantages that the committee recognizes. A few teachers have suggested that T.I.G.E.R.

Time periods alternate, so that it doesn’t only affect fifth and sixth period, one reason being that students are often tired at the end of the day. The language arts department has been concerned with the reduction of D.E.A.R. time. Teachers also say that when it’s time for the actual D.E.A.R. period, students would rather do their homework.

As the committee proceeds to address these dilemmas, they’ve also begun to calculate ways to benefit students more. English teacher Barbara Abrew, who is also on the committee, has mentioned that a plan is in the works to allow ca-pable students to tutor during the period. They would be able to gain community service credit hours for doing so. “We’re still working out the logistics of it, and how it would be implemented,” she stated.

“It helped,” Matsuzaki concluded as a result of T.I.G.E.R. Time. “It helped a lot, and it’s good for the students.”

September 26, 2011Vol. 90, No. 1 McKINLEY HIGH SCHOOL’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

by Kelsey David

RS 12-0343

Ashley Turner (9) said that Tiger Time “is helpful and I like it”. Photo by Kelsey David (11)

Second year of tutoring plan sees changes

President William McKinley High SchoolThe Pini n

2 THE PINION September 26, 2011

New initiatives applied in schoolStrategies engage learningby Brannagan Mukaisu

Have you walked into your classes and noticed anything different?

In the summer, teachers at-tended a workshop where new strategies like Can O’ Sticks and Four Corners were in-troduced to get students engaged in learning.

A former teach-er, David A. Shepa-rd, held the workshop and now helps develop and refine educational programs.

McKinley High School is now including these initiatives into the classrooms.

Irene Limos (12) said, “(The strategies are) a great idea because they get students involved in the lesson that we are learning” and make “class more interesting and alive rather than having it quiet and boring because everyone hopes that the Pop-sicle stick does not have their name on it, but it does.”

Sidney Li (12) also likes the strate-gies because “students are treated equally with no favoritism.” Ricky Cheng (11) said the initiatives “benefit everyone.”

Jessica Uehara (12) said, “I think (the strategies are) a great idea because they are something new and interesting for us. I think sometimes change is good

once in a while.”Kay Nguyen (12) said the strategies

benefit students “because we get to know each other a little more.”

In Eric Bott’s AP pschology classes, he has been using the Can O’ Sticks strat-egy and feels the strategy “does seem to be working.” Bott said, “Overall these strategies seem to be classroom-tested” and “overall a good thing.”

In Yvette Lam’s history class, she has introduced the Roll Call Activity, but the activity is not used everyday because it “takes a little more time.” She said these new school-wide initiatives make the

students “more attentive” by allowing them to “take a part,” as well as being “a wonderful change of pace.”

Lam also finds the strategies intro-duced by Shepard to be “low-cost.” Lam

said, through these initiatives, “teachers just like students need to

challenge themselves.”Lam posts up the class-room rules and refers to the rules more, just as Shepard suggested to do. Now students

know what is expected of them. This strategy helps the students be aware of what their roles are

when in the classrooms. To incorporate her own ideas, Lam is

going to do an electronic version of the Multiple Choice strategy. This idea of hers is going to allow students to give “more immediate feedback.”

The idea is similar to Shepard’s Multi-ple Choice strategy, except it is electron-ic. The strategy suggests that a teacher give each student Multiple Choice letters from A-D and when the teacher asks a question the student will raise the let-ter matching the answer they choose. Overall, Lam thinks the strategies are a wonderful idea.

The strategies are being incorporated into the classrooms by having each teacher choose a strategy and record-ing the information on a form. Now, the school’s administration can monitor the effectiveness of the new school-wide initiatives. The school administration even went out and bought every teacher Popsicle sticks, to enforce the new strat-egies. Since the teachers are taking initiative, the “students have to try too” and be “open minded,” said Lam. With this, students have to help be in charge of their own learning too, so everyone can achieve success through these new school-wide initiatives.

Illustration by Clarisse Lee (12)

Aloha McKinley Tigers!

We are well into our new school year and I hope that you are just as excited as I am to get this year going! It will be a year full of exciting and challenging events and ac-tivities and I hope that you will be up for it!

I would like to welcome our newest members to our Tiger Ohana, our Freshmen, and hope that all of you have a very good and productive first year here at McKinley! To the rest of the upperclassmen, I hope that you will be great role models to our new family members!

Seniors, this is your last year here at McKinley! Let’s make this year the very best and set the bar high for those who will follow you!

So with all that said, “Let’s all have a great year!!”

Mahalo,Mr. Ron OkamuraPrincipal

Juzhen Zhang(12) 将为这篇文章提供在线简短的中文版本。 你可以到·myhsj.org/Pinion阅读此中文版本。

A glimpse at senator Dan Inouye’s life

March 1943- Enlisted in U.S Army’s 442nd Regimental Combat Team, all second generation Japanese-Americans

1945- Fought in war at Italy. Lost his arm by nearby German rifle grenade

1947- Spent 20 months in Army Hos-pital recovering from losing his right arm in Battle Creek

1950- Graduated from UH with a bachelor’s degree in government and economics under the GI Bill

1962- Elected to U.S. Senate

2004- Re-elected to U.S. Senate for eighth term

September 26, 2011 THE PINION 3

by Pauline Yang

Inouye visits McKinleySenator Daniel Inouye spent August

strolling down memory lane. He visited three of his former schools, Lunalilo Elementary, Washington Middle, and McKinley High School, where he be-longs to the graduating class of 1942.

On August 23, Inouye was given a tour in the hallways of A-building and presentations of four different programs in McKinley. The programs were Stu-dent Body Government, Robotics, Math Team, and JROTC.

Maggie Kwock (12) was impressed with Inouye. She said, “The senator humbled himself when addressing his audience and he’s just like a grandfather giving advice.”

Inouye said that growing up peer pres-sure made him join a variety of physical activities. One sport he did well in was boxing. He also took part in running. “I was never fast, but I had good condition so they would put me in the long runs,” he said. “I would always finish.”

He was in the band. He didn’t know much about marching, but knew how to play the tenor saxophone and clarinet. Inouye was the assistant to the conductor.

Throughout his visit, he was surprised at how our school is so different from what it was when he went here. He said that our courses are so advanced that if

he were to enroll now, he wouldn’t make it. Another thing is how graduation con-trasts. They didn’t wear caps or gowns like today, but khakis, white shirts and, by law, gas masks. They had to wear gas masks because his graduation was some months after the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941.

“Graduation for me was something different,” he said. “The commencement speaker was an army colonel who carried a 45-caliber pistol on his side when he spoke. You don’t forget something like that.” After graduation, he volunteered to serve in the army and was a squad lead-er. He went to Central Europe where he lost his arm, but showed great bravery.

Inouye had no student body govern-ment experience at all. Despite this, he was elected senator for Hawaii in 1962. He was re-elected as senator for his eighth term in 2004. “Everyday, there are new challenges. I want to make sure I don’t disappoint you,” Inouye said.

What got him into his present posi-tion was his willingness to help out the country. “The past two to three genera-tions after Inouye’s generation, lives with luxuries as a result of his help. He proved loyalty to America,” said Jon Furukawa, math team adviser.

Senator Daniel Inouye said MHS has a “good disciplined group.” Here Inouye poses with Executive Council Clarisse Lee (12), Sally Ky (12), Manabu Sakurai (12) and April Jingco (11). Photo by Dennisa Manuel (12).

Juzhen Zhang(12) 将为这篇文章提供在线简短的中文版本。 你可以到·myhsj.org/Pinion阅读此中文版本。

4 THE PINION September 26, 2011

“No one is staring at you, No one is staring at you.” is what you may be thinking when you arrive on your first day of school.

Most of us think that we are the only ones that experience being “new” to a school, a state or a country. We only focus on what others will act or say to-wards us. But all you want is to feel that you belong. Well, you are not the only one.

I was new at this school last year, I came from the Philippines. When I first came to McKinley, I felt nervous. I didn’t know anyone in my class, and I came here late, near the end of first quarter. Many students stared at me on my first day. I didn’t know anyone except for the teacher. I felt scared that no one would talk to me. I felt alone and thought no one liked me. It is difficult to be the only one that is new. You feel lonely and scared.

What I noticed in all of my inter-views, freshmen didn’t find it difficult to adjust to their new school because everything is new to all of them.

It’s the new 10th, 11th, or 12th grader who struggles. Every person that is new to this school or this island has different things to worry about. Some are worried about their classes, Some are worried everybody will stare at them. Some are

worried about their grade. “I didn’t re-ally expect anything different, except possibly harder classes since that’s what I’ve been told from other people,” said Rebekah Waldhauer (10). “I expected it to be very different. I’m used to being in a smaller school. And I knew everyone was going to stare at me,” Marc Davis (10) said. “I expected things to be much more scary, with all the other kids,” said Saige Miller (9). “I’m worried about my grades,” Pieryl Rizan (9) said.

Some students get left behind because they can’t understand what the teacher is saying. It is either new to them or they are used to speaking in their own language rather than English, examples of these are: Chinese, Chuukese, Taga-log, Ilocano, Korean, etc. “Sometimes, I can’t understand what my classmates or teacher are saying,” Zhi Hui Yan (9) said. “I have a language problem,” said Jia Hao He (10).

Do you have a teacher or a peer that treats you coldly? Like, they don’t want you to be in their class? Don’t help you when you are having difficulty on a class activity? Or you can’t approach them because you are not fluent in English? How our teachers and peers treat us can affect our self-esteem. For example, if the teacher or my classmate is treating me coldly, I will be scared of them. If I have difficulty on a les-

son, I’ll be afraid to ask someone about it because I feel that the teacher or my classmates don’t like me. Also, I can’t approach them because I am not fluent in English, I won’t be able to express what I want to say. I will just choose not to talk at all.

If you have any difficulty, whether you are shy or can’t express yourself, join clubs, school activities, sports, or grade level activities. Make friends (real and live friends, not the imagi-nary.) Maybe in the future there will be someone who is new to your class and you can help them if they ever have dif-ficulty or you can share your experience with them.

I hope all of the teachers, admin-istrators and students help these new students. Especially the ones who are not fluent or don’t understand English. We should help them if they are having a difficult time with their studies or their social interaction. We must let them feel that we accept them, that they belong. If they are afraid to approach us, we should approach them and understand what they say or want to do. Being a united community, we all need to par-ticipate and work together, not leaving others behind. If you think you are the only new student at school, you are not. There are many students like you. Re-member, you are not alone.

by Jocel Siapno

If people don’t talk to you, it doesn’t mean you should be afraid of them. Illustration by Aira Siapno (12).

New students: You aren’t alone

Check out more photos on Senator Dan Inouye’s visit by Jeremy Chang (10) and Dennisa Manuel (12) at

myhsj.org/pinion

Editorial

The Pinion’s second photo con-test theme is School Spirit. Sub-mit your photos by September 30 to mhspinion@gmail.com

September 26, 2011 THE PINION 5

Newspaper launches 90th year

Bottom left to right: Jocel Siapno (11), Brannagan Mukaisu (12), Pauline Yang (11). Top left to right: Kelsey David (11), Amanda Muramoto (11). Photo by juniors Carmille Junio and Michelle Ann Dela Cruz.

This school year marks the 90th year of McKinley High School’s newspaper, The Pinion.

As editor, I hope to make this year’s paper informative and entertaining with stories that catch the student’s eye. I would like to incorporate your feedback or ideas on stories and issues.

We would like to stick to traditional ways and distribute a printed newspaper. You can also find The Pinion online at myhsj.org/Pinion for things that we do not mention in the printed version.

We welcome your comments online, letters to the editor, and submissions of art, drawings, stories, or ideas that you would like to see in The Pinion.

We are looking forward to a great year!

by Amanda Muramoto

Juzhen Zhang(12) 将为这篇文章提供在线简短的中文版本。 你可以到·myhsj.org/Pinion阅读此中文版本。

6 THE PINION September 26, 2011

Pinion Staff Adviser: Cynthia Reves Editor: Amanda Muramoto Reporters: Kelsey David, Brannagan Mukaisu, Pauline Yang, Jocel Siapno

Publication InformationTHE PINION is published by the

Newswriting Staff and printed by the Reprographics Learning Center.

The PinionMcKinley High School1039 South King Street

Honolulu, HI 96814Email comments or questions to

mhspinion@gmail.com

First agenda designed by studentJ.P. Arios shows true spirit and dedicationby Pauline Yang

J.P Arios (11) is the first student agen-da cover designer. Near the end of last school year, April Nakamura, student activities coordinator, realized we hadn’t gotten our agenda cover design yet. Tyler Guieb, one of the officers from last year, referred her to Arios, who enjoys doing graphics.

Arios met with Nakamura and agreed to help make the design. In all the past years in McKinley, no student created the design. The agenda designs were made by outside people from a company.

As Arios went through the process of designing the cover, he went through many cover drafts. Arios did five drafts until it was approved. He had to change fonts and the size and input the require-ments. The requirements given by Naka-mura were to have a tiger, the Hawaiian islands, and the year. The format of the design was up to him. Arios did not give up after so many trials though. His deter-mination pulled him through.

As difficult it may sound, planning out the desired design wasn’t such a hard obstacle to get around. “It (the process of creating the design) was a little frustrat-ing at first,” said Arios. “But I was really happy and challenged. Just keep work-ing at what you love most. It may take a

while, but the result will be good.” “I think the agenda is pretty nice. It’s

different and really artisitic,” said Shay-na Fujimoto (10).

Arios learned everything by himself and it took some time to get used to all the technical uses (how different tools and functions work), but he got the

hang of it by just reading and following instructions online. His graphic skills developed in 6th grade. He started to get into graphics by seeing how his friends and other people used Photoshop to edit pictures. From there, he was inspired to do graphic designing.

Nakamura said that participation in school activities like this can benefit you. “All students have many different talents and abilities, but are not inclined to show others. In participating in such activities, students gain more pride in their school, and overall just have fun. Not only does it give you the advantage of being proud of your school and yourself, but it also gives you the opportunity of a good life in the future.”

Take Arios as an example. “He could pursue a great career in the graphics field. Interests in subjects like art, music, or academics grow from that point and lead you towards many experiences out of high school,” said Nakamura. “It also prepares you for the future.”

... and I laid down the rulesStudents add stanzas to Shel Silverstein’s “Crazy Dream” poem

I said to write a 100 paged essayAbout the birth of spagetti.And if they didn’t do it rightI’d bring out my machete.By: Janet Fukushima (10), Cecilia Aumua (10) and Shelby Baradi (10).

I made ‘em write an essayWith only words that start with “E”.They had to write a 1000 wordsOr they’d lose their right to pee.By: Hanae Matsumoto (10), Corwin Shapiro (10), Arman Nazarian (10), Yu Zhang(10).

I gave ‘em stay ‘til 10 at nightTo eat, they couldn’t leave.And if they ever made a soundI hang ‘em by their knees.By: Francis Vilar (10), Jane Yang (10), Cha-nel Nakatani (10).

I gave ‘em 100 vocabulary wordsTo define in just one night.And sent ‘em home, a miscerable sightTo study ‘til they see sunlight.By: Kelli Liu (10), Gavin Mateo (10), Anne Lau (10), and Alex Ku (10).

Arios had to go through five draft covers until it was approved. Photo by Carmille Junio (11) and Tenemane Malufau-Howell (12).

Wanted!True, scary experiences!

Ever found yourself getting goose-bumps while recalling a frightening experience that happened to you? We would be glad to receive any of your true, creepy, or plain old ter-rifying experiences by September 30 to wmhspinon@gmail.com. Top three submissions will be featured in the October issue of The Pinion and the rest can be read on the online version.