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On September 10, the Lahainaluna Band & Choir held an induction ceremony at the Samuel M. Kamakau Library for 26 members, marking the return of the Tri-M Music Honor Society after 61 years. Most students at Lahainaluna High School get recognition through academic or athletic honor societies. Organizations such as the National Honor Society, National Math Honor Society, or the National Spanish Honor Society are formally recognized societies that can help prepare students for college and provide unique leadership and service opportunities. For the first time since 1964, Lahainaluna will add a music honor society to the lineup. The Tri-M Music Honor Society is a program of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). Tri-M was founded by Alexander Harley and his wife in 1936 at Maine Township High School in Park Ridge, Illinois. Before being called Tri-M, it was called the “Maine Music Masters,” but the name was later changed in 1983. The Tri-M Music Honor Society is the sole national honor society for student musicians and performers in the United States. There are over 2,100 chapters across all 50 states. Lahainaluna High School was originally affiliated with a Tri-M chapter in 1964, but the reason behind the loss of that connection is unknown. Tri-M advisor and Lahainaluna High School Band and Choir director, Mr. Baraoidan, explains that the society “can highlight the students who work really hard, and, going the extra mile for our program will benefit how they are seen. Students can show it by their academics, behavior, and music ability.” “I think future members of Tri-M can find this program to be beneficial to their leadership skills. Being in Tri-M means to also carry the responsibility of setting a good example within the music program,” said Precious “Zen” Pante, Band & Choir and Tri-M President. Kristina Meguro, Band & Choir and Tri-M Vice President, added that, “Being in an honor society is something that should strengthen and set higher expectations for our community and members of the band.” According to the NAfME website, Tri-M has more than 84,000 students from grades 6 through 12 who collectively contribute over 750,000 service hours to their communities annually. It offers opportunities for students who have proven their musical and academic potential, such as leadership development, scholarships, and community engagement. Tri-M member Jeremy Langaman explained, “I think community service is important as it's a way to get Tri-M more known to the community and get more people interested.” He added, “It also helps build skills like leadership and teamwork.” “Students deserve all the accolades they work for, and Tri-M will help with that,” Mr. Baraoidan said regarding the members.

Compared to previous years, the cafeteria has been busy, says Cafeteria Manager John Alexander. It’s “almost back to before covid.”  The reason that lunch is back? Itʻs probably better food. This year, “the state has finally updated the menu.” Alexander notes. “So we're having some newer stuff.”  Yet, there’s a new problem: food waste.  The problem is not just that students waste the food on their trays. Students arenʻt picking up lunches that have been prepared for them, so the cafeteria staff must throw it away. Wasted lunch costs the school a lot of money. School lunches, Alexander said, have become 42% more expensive to make compared to costs in 2020. According to Alexander, the school pays for roughly $7,000.00 worth of food each week. When I interviewed him, he mentioned that he had just spent about $3,500.00 worth on just fresh vegetables and fresh produce, like fruits and vegetables. He was sad to say that during the first week of classes, “I threw away about $2,500 worth of product. These last couple weeks have been a lot better because more students are eating.”  “The biggest thing that's helpful,” said Alexander, “is if the students are just consistent in eating lunch.” “It is a bit concerning how much food goes to waste,” said Brianne Lagazo, junior class president. “I often think about the people out there who need food and there are some people who toss away food like it’s nothing.”    “...they have got some alfredo going on…” Last year, Lagazo’s Council helped to advocate for improved lunches in regards to portion size, physical appearance, (to make it more appealing or appetizing), and to implement local foods and local businesses to provide food more familiar to students.  In the fall of 2024, they organized leadership from every class to sign a formal letter to Don Saito, our menu committee member who represents Maui County Schools. Alexander commented that, “I do think it made a difference. I think it will continue to make a difference.” This year, new menu items like the grilled chicken pasta, orange chicken, and the chicken and cheese burrito, have students looking forward to eating at lunch. If there are more lunches like this, students say that they would eat more often.  Before the change, senior Alexander Romo says he “barely ate it at all.”  But now, with the new menu, “Imma eat it more,” he said. Students are generally commenting positively on the quality of school lunch since the menu change. In a recent Ka Lama  survey asking students to rate lunches such as the orange chicken and grilled chicken pasta, many students rated lunch highly.  Freshman Lily Hardy said, “I feel like last year's lunch (at Lahaina Intermediate) wasn't that good, but this year (at LHS) was definitely better.” Junior Keyla Jimenez agrees. “They've been better, honestly, like they have got some alfredo going on. It's definitely improved from last year.”   On a scale of 1-10, freshman Keely Benson rated the lunch 9.7. “Yeah, it was really good,” she added. Juniors Daren Bagusto, Dayson Duque, and Jireh Lunes rated the lunch, “10/10,” “100/10”, and “1,000,000/10” respectively.  While many are positive, some students still think there is room for improvement. Romo said, improving the quality of the dishes would encourage him to eat school lunch more. “ I know it's good now, but like it can always be better.” Along with that, multiple students remarked that if the lunch looked more appetizing, they would be more likely to eat it. Bagusto said “Just seeing the food that it improved. Better looking food you know better quality food.” Freshman Sasha Miller said the lunch was “Very bad–jk–itʻs okay.” She added, though, that “sacred hearts was better.”    Solutions? Several students have suggestions on how we could reduce our waste on our lunches.  Sophomore Ayden Elyado suggested “we could go back like (Lahaina) intermediate, we can have those compost bins and reuse them for like the soil and stuff.” Junior Liam Dagupion similarly said to “give it to like the animals, like composting and stuff.” According to Gretchen Losano, co-founder of West Maui Green Cycle at LIS, “instead of throwing everything away in trash bins, they sort drinks, food, plastics, cardboard trays, unused and unopened items, and non-recyclable trash. Food waste is then carried in buckets to the Zero Waste Station, where it is converted into compost.” Lagazo mentioned other ways to reduce student-driven food waste, such as having self-serve lunches and educating students more on the importance of reducing food waste.  Alexander thinks that knowing student preferences will ensure that the cafeteria and students waste less. “At some point in the school year, be honest with me,” he said. “Tell me the stuff that you like and the stuff that you don't like. Because that's ultimately, in my opinion, what's going to make the change.”

This school year, student council members are navigating a new system with a combined poʻokela class, a change that has brought both improved communication and new challenges for students trying to manage their academic workload. Starting this school year, all student council and ASB members—excluding freshmen—were put into the same poʻokela class, instructed by the Student Activities Coordinator, Auntie Cass Jacinto. This system is relatively new, and class discussions revolve mostly around council priorities. “It's absolutely different, but I personally enjoy the time to meet together to plan,” says ASB vice president Lake Tavernese. Junior class president Brianne Lagazo has similar feelings and enjoys “having poʻokela with my council.” In poʻokela, she says, “I can communicate better in person rather than online and only having meetings during lunch.” According to several council members, including sophomore Vice President Grayson Guzman, this change was implemented so that ASB students wouldn’t need to give up a class for leadership. Last year, there was a lack of ASB signups, and Tavernese explained that “people did not have room in their schedule for the leadership class and therefore were not signing up.” A More Productive Class Many council members like the new change, as they find it enhances communication and makes planning more efficient. Lagazo likes that the council can “communicate better and get things done in a timely manner.” Similarly, Mina Nagasako, the junior class Secretary, feels “more productive,” as all the council members together in one po’okela lets everyone “create better ideas and it makes it mandatory for us to be present.” “We’re all there instead of hosting meetings and having people not show up,” said ASB President, Kelani Gonzalez, who also notices the council getting more involved. She thinks the period helps them plan and organize things easier. Po’okela helps “keep us on track with our activities and whatever we have planned,” Guzman notes. A Time Crunch Reactions aren’t completely positive, however, and some students note that they've lost the opportunity to work on other assignments and other things they need to complete. The entirety of the class, they claim, is taken up with discussions about campus events, assembly plans, and other council activities. “Our time that we have to do our po’okela work is limited,” Guzman mentions. After StuCo business, he says, “we got around 10 minutes or less to ourselves to do work for po’okela.” “So far it feels like there’s very little time for it,” said Tavernese about the PTP assignments that students would usually work on during poʻokela period. PTP, or Personal Transition Plan, requires the completion of certain material for a portfolio—and it’s a requirement needed to graduate. This has a particular impact on seniors, says Tavernese, as many were “unaware of what PTP they had to accomplish and need it all done by the end of the semester.” Gonzalez agrees: “there’s 3 grade levels and we all have different things to do,” emphasizing that seniors have a lot going on. Especially with senior project, PBA’s, and graduate preparations, she added. Freshmen Feeling Left Out “I'd look at my GroupMe, and then I'd look at my HowAbout, which is just a calendar that I'm in with the rest of the student councils,” says Freshman council candidate Harana Peralta. These are the two main resources freshman council members use to stay informed and connected. Because the freshman council isn’t included in the same po’okela as other council members, they mainly get their information through online communication and occasional lunch meetings. This seems to be going okay so far, though the freshmen do miss out a little since they aren’t involved in council discussions during poʻokela. “I don't know how much the freshmen are caught up with us. Since they're separate, it might be hard to keep them up to date,” says Nagasako. When freshman Brielle Ramelb was asked if she felt like she understood what the council was currently working on, she said “I think so—sometimes,” before adding “not really, though, since we're freshman, so I don't get that much information.” She mentioned that it would help her feel more included by “having better communication with the other councils like other than Groupme.” “While they do miss a lot of important discussions, they are still filled in,” Lagazo asserted. Monthly meetings show the freshman council what is being planned. Tavernese says this should “hopefully keep them up to date for most of the year.” Guzman notes, however, that “we need to work more on prioritizing the important information” when it comes to those meetings. He explained that in the last meeting with freshmen, they got “sidetracked” with less important plans. What This Can Accomplish for Student Council Challenges aside, there is quite a bit of evidence that the new leadership po’okela has given the council more opportunities to be actively engaged with each other. Sophomore Eli Hegrenes has noticed a difference on social media where StuCo has “been a lot more active.”

A sudden schedule change caused confusion for dozens of early college students in early August, threatening the cancellation of a core advanced placement class.  In an email sent August 5th to all sophomores enrolled in the Early College Program (EC program), Early College and Career Counselor Kristy Arakawa announced that a scheduling conflict had occurred with an early college course that required a sudden schedule change for 25 EC students. Hours later, the students were scattered into various classes they hadn't registered for.  EC students were taken out of various classes including electives and core classes to fix the scheduling conflict with the early college History Course, HIST 151, which had originally been scheduled for period three.  Ms. Zupancic, the Curriculum/Title 1 Coordinator, explains that the school uses Infinite Campus to make a schedule and that can create issues. She also added that the process is difficult since there’s someone who manually goes in to re-examine the schedule and “move the puzzle pieces around to make things work”. “I had to switch my band class with the HIST 151,” said EC student Jake Albiller.  “I wish they asked instead of just emailing us and dropping classes.” Following the schedule fixes, another EC student, who chose to remain anonymous, was put into two classes for period three. “Where am I supposed to go tomorrow?” they said at the time. “Do I not go to a class?” Maui Villanueva, a junior in the EC Program, says that she was pleased about the schedule change. Before the change, the HIST 151 course conflicted with a CTE course she had been taking since freshman year. Her schedule had a conflict that was actually resolved by the change.  An ELA 10 research class, AP Seminar, was particularly impacted. Ten out of the fifteen AP students enrolled were suddenly removed, leaving only five enrolled. AP Seminar requires a minimum of six students, so the class was set for cancellation.  Gisele Miller, an EC and AP Seminar student, was put into a general education ELA class to replace AP. After the switch, she was disappointed at the loss of AP as she was looking forward to using that class “to improve my skills for writing, researching, and working together with my classmates.” Fixed? Staff decided on a solution to the AP problem in a meeting the following day. They swapped the Hist 151 period with the AP Seminar period, saving the class from being cut. Yet, five students who weren’t part of the EC program continue to feel the effects.  Currently, AP has been moved to period 1, and Students like Erica Domogma, who was only enrolled in AP and not part of the EC program, was suddenly called to make a choice between Algebra 2 Honors, her period 1 class, and continuing on in AP Seminar in its new period. “If I kept those two classes, I would’ve had to switch my entire schedule,” she said. “That would confuse me since I already adapted to my schedule that was given before school started.” Christopher Apilado, an AP Seminar student in the same situation as Erica, also had to choose between AP Seminar and Algebra 2 Honors. Choosing Algebra 2 Honors would have meant he would be moved to general ed English to replace AP. Instead, he chose to keep AP because he feared that, in a general education class it would just “be like a review of what we’ve done in 9th grade honors.” Hanan Oleiwan, another AP Seminar student, says that although the change caused her Ceramics elective, AP, and Geometry to be altered, she thinks that the schedule change wasn't so bad since it only affected her and a small number of students.

Dear kaia: My name is Shy Luna  and I have a crush on a guy. I am not sure what I should do about it. He is very sweet, but the only problem is that we aren't very close and I am scared to tell him. I really like him and think that he is very sweet. He is also very shy and isn't very outgoing. I really like him and need some help on how to approach him.  SL Hi Shy Luna! You seem to be having some trouble figuring out what to do. Let me see how I can help. From what I understand, you’re having trouble trying to confess to your crush. In my opinion, crushes are a good experience to have and can benefit you in many ways. One of the bigger ways is motivation. If your crush is somewhere you wouldn’t want to go often, like school, they can motivate you to be happy and excited to go there so you can see them. It may even help boost your cognition and thinking skills. From my experience, going to school is a lot better when I get to see my crush and talk to him! From my experiences with crushes, I think there are different things you can do to try and confess to your crush. Given that he is shy, it’s probably unlikely for him to ask you out or approach you first. One thing I wouldn’t do is have someone else tell your crush for you. Depending on how they word it, it may come off really strange to the person being confessed to. Instead, I think you should try it straight on. Maybe even try to get closer to them—ask if they want to walk around during breaks or sit with you during lunch. These are good ways to get closer to them and learn more about them. These activities may help you find ways to connect and get to know each other better, creating a bond between you two. This makes it more likely that, when you do decide to confess, the answer will be yes! Lastly, be yourself; you don’t want to be with someone who will change you in a negative way. Overall, make sure they like you for you, and tell them how you really feel. Expressing your true feelings might lift some weight off your shoulders, leaving you feeling a little better, even if you stop liking them or grow out of your feelings.

Dear Kaia, My name is Sadness Sally, and I'm heartbroken. I met a boy from North Carolina who I believe is the love of my life. I got his number, and we've been talking for a while. Every time I tell him I love him, he says he's going to block me. Yesterday, he actually blocked me. I know he's probably joking, but it really hurts my feelings. What should I do about this? Hi Sadness Sally, It sounds like you're having trouble expressing your feelings to this boy, and his reactions are upsetting you. Let's see if we can figure this out. From what I understand, you really like this boy, but his jokes are consistently hurting your feelings, and you're unsure how to address it. I think talking to him directly about this would be beneficial for several reasons. Having a genuine conversation with him – not just a brief exchange – can help build trust between you. Also, sharing how his words make you feel uncomfortable could eliminate some of the awkwardness you're experiencing. In my experience, and from observing the relationships of friends I've helped, NO relationship will ever survive without communication. If it does, your relationship is not going to be stable. A stable relationship thrives on open communication. I believe that you genuinely like this boy, and he seems to like you too. However, it does seem like he is also uncomfortable with you telling him that you love him. Do you really think that his response is just a hurtful joke? Only knowing this much about your relationship with him so far, my primary advice is to talk to him. You have nothing to lose right now and if you wanna stay in contact with this boy. I would definitely recommend you to just talk to him and tell him how you feel. He is not a mind reader, and I have a feeling that he doesn't realize that you are really upset about this. This conversation could lead to more open communication between you later. Just make sure that you guys communicate and not let it fall out. Otherwise, you will just end up going in circles and not getting anywhere with your relationship. Overall: don't overthink it, and make sure you talk to him. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. This could be a big growing point in the relationship and an opening to something bigger. It could teach you to be real to each other and even grow respect and trust just with time.

Pleased to meet you. I am a student here at Lahainaluna and I like to take on other people's problems. Write me and I'll respond to them by giving advice. The advice that I give is based on my personal opinion and experience. The advice isn't the best but hopefully you will at least find it entertaining--and maybe a little bit helpful! If you write me, you'll stay anonymous to make sure that no one knows who you are or who you are talking about. LHS is a small place! Just go to the bottom of our contact page!

Do you have an opinion about everything? We want to publish it. Please submit your opinion writing to our contact page or come to J-104 to pitch an idea. Please click here for examples of format and tone. Submission guidelines: All Talk Story submissions no less than 150 and no more than 250 words. Submissions must be free of grammatical errors. Submissions must be appropriate. Any submission that describes another student negatively will be rejected. Submissions must do four things: Give readers a catchy or interesting hook or lead . Click here for descriptions of different kinds of leads. Connect your lead to your point or the purpose of your submission , e.g. "When things like this happen, most people on campus are confused and look to teachers for answers. But teachers don't always have the answer. Who does?" Describe the problem . Describe the solution or ask for a solution if you can't think of one.

Now that school has started, many people are coming out of summer with new clothes and a change in personal style. As someone whose favorite fabric is denim, I love wearing jeans, but it's just too hot at school to wear them all the time. One solution for denim lovers in this hot weather is JORTS!! Now, what are jorts? Why are they called jorts? Where did they come from? Jorts that we know now-a-days are simply jean shorts that, unlike daisy dukes, are typically longer and sometimes go below the knee, depending on the style. These types of jorts originated in the 90s, through hip hop culture, and later on in skate culture. To this day, those communities use jorts as a form of self-expression and style. Some questions I’ve been asked before were, “How do I get into jorts?” “what style should I get?” and “where do I even get them from” to that I say, to get into jorts you need to learn how to step outside of your comfort zone. I recommend going to places like Zumeiz or Ross to try on different styles (just a warning they can get a little pricey, but aren't all clothes?). After trying different lengths and styles buy whatever you feel the most confident in.   Overall, I love jorts. Yeah, I did get made fun of for wearing them at first, but I don’t care. They are comfortable, convenient, and match with almost every top. I’d like to say, “Jorts are like jeans without the commitment” and they are a versatile piece of clothing that everyone should have in their wardrobe. HI! I'm Sam: This is the first post of many in which I discuss fashion trends in school, mine and others' opinions on these trends, and just about fashion overall.