The Soul of the School is Spirit

Lahainaluna has just concluded its 2025-2026 homecoming week after students of all grade levels came together to participate in school-wide activities. After the Covid pandemic of 2020 and the Maui Wildfires of 2023, isolation and then trauma hindered student morale, but with time, students are experiencing a rebirth of school spirit.  

Speak to any student, teacher, or alumni, and chances are they’ll have a story to tell about the impact school spirit had on their lives. Spirit encourages community engagement and gives students a sense of belonging.

“My experience in high school all came down to my peers and I’s school spirit,” says Linda Ortiz, a 2018 Lahainaluna Alumnus. Ortiz remembers dance fever and that there was “a ton of participation,” which “bettered the experience.”

Yet, right after Ortiz graduated, Lahaina experienced the Covid pandemic and devastating Maui Wildfire, leading to decrease in student participation and student morale. 

Noah Dela Cruz, 2024 Lahainaluna alumnus reflects on the impact of “the trials class of 2024 had to endure.” According to Cruz, this resulted in “an extreme lack of school spirit.” “Honestly,” he said, “our participation sucked and our class felt so distant.” 

According to student Council members, this year’s participation rate reached an impressive high across all grade levels, an impressive resurgence given the turnout in recent years. 

The successes of homecoming week are proof of how committed our school leaders are to reassembling the Lahainaluna community. Compared to previous years, this one feels like “we’re coming back to normalcy,” junior Class Treasurer, Lucia Mejia, said. 

Last school year, the freshman class only had one volunteer for the Dance Fever event. This resulted in the sophomores and freshmen creating a combined team for the activity, due to the lack of participation. The spirit that one freshman leader showed seems to have had a powerful effect on their peers and this year the sophomore class had all the volunteers they needed to win first place in the Dance Fever competition.

Sophomore, Constance Kaniho is proud of herself and her class “for building up the courage to perform in front of the whole school.”

Confidence like this is contagious. Freshman, Khloe Dela Cruz said “I will definitely participate in the next dance fever,” and Freshman, Ferdinand Palacio admitted  “imma join next dance fever,” despite the fact that he “was lowkey scared to join this one.” 

Despite this success, students still tend to back out of school-planned activities fearing embarrassment or the inability to juggle busy schedules. Though once they manage to overcome these initial doubts, they will note that the experience was valuable. The benefits they receive from participating in these activities outweigh their fear.

Freshman Shantelle Semillano spoke about how fear held her back, though she feels proud of everyone who participated. “I wish I would’ve joined, but I was too scared.” Similarly, freshman Shari Silao regretted not being more involved after the performance, saying “Man, if only I weren’t so busy.”

The performances of Homecoming Week may have recruited new participants. “Bro, im so glad I joined dance fever last minute,” said freshman Lindsay Saturnio who danced to Disney hits, trending songs, and pretended to be characters from nostalgic shows. Students watching also approved of the choice of music such as “Falling For Ya” from the iconic “Teen Beach Movie.”

Some in the audience even felt that they had missed an opportunity. “I regret not joining, I didn’t know it was gonna be that fun,” said Freshman, Kendyl Talaroc after the performance. 

Many students overthink the high school experience, or the reputation they must uphold. But what these students fail to realize is that time waits for no one. By participating in school-planned activities, students gain and build community pride, respect from their peers, and even trophies.

“It made me so happy being able to create core memories with my friends,” said junior Alise Tufaga who performed a Samoan cultural dance during the event.

Freshman, Augustine John Doctor, spoke about the benefits he and others gained from having school spirit, and how “it shaped students’ emotions and reactions.” 

Students on and off stage felt empowered by school-planned activities and many kids stated that they felt a greater sense of belonging at school. When students have pride in their school and who they are, it improves their well-being. Freshman Drew Briones thinks that “the soul of the school is spirit.”

“We want participation,” says freshman Travis Utrillo, a Dance Fever choreographer and a part of StuCo Leadership Team. Utrillo danced to every song in the freshmen line up and played the part of several eye-catching roles. “We only have four years of high school together and we should make the most of it,” he said.