1st Place! Malama Pu’uloa 5,000 Flats Contest

What does a school do to earn a prize of pizza for a hundred people? Well, they plant plants! Lots and lots and lots of plants! This year, Highlands Intermediate participated in the Malama Pu’uloa 5,000 Flats Contest, a contest among the schools of Hawaii to plant as much 'ākulikuli, a Native Hawaiian plant, as possible. These 'ākulikuli would then be planted at Pearl Harbor to help restore its glory. And with the help of the Highlands Aquaponics class, Aloha Aina, and Student Council, we were able to plant the most 'ākulikuli of all the schools, earning the first place prize- pizza for a hundred students! So, on May 16, 2022, we gathered up all of the impressive students that made this possible into the cafeteria for their celebration party! That day, the kids celebrated their year-long efforts that have made Pearl Harbor a healthier place! Congratulations to everyone! Mia, Student Government Vice President

Staffulty Power Up 5 - Video Game REWIND!

Teachers & Staff, rallied to Campus Center for our monthly breakfast social! Everyone "powered up" with healthy breakfast options and also earned tons of spirit points on Mr. White’s vintage stand up arcade! Spirit Points challenges were also held on Nintendo Switches by playing Just Dance 2020 & 2021 and Mario Kart Deluxe 8!!!  This has to be our favorite staffulty bonding event of the year... check out the video below by clicking on the event flyer!

Chicken Skin Tales 5 w/ Special Guest Lopaka Kapanui!

The week before Halloween, everyone crammed into the library hoping that they would have a fun and memorable time... Let’s just say that it was very memorable, but definitely not fun! On Wednesday, October 23, we had a very special guest -- Lopaka Kapanui! He is one of Hawaii’s most famous storytellers and every time leaves his audience with “Chicken Skin.”  For more than a decade, he has led after-dark ghost tours around the island of Oahu and has written several best-selling books such as "Haunted Hawaiian Nights", "The Legend of Morgan's Corner and other Ghost Stories of Hawai'i", and "Mysteries of Honolulu." Students gathered in the library, decorated with Halloween inflatables and glow in the dark decorations, for a chance to listen to native Hawaiian storyteller, Lopaka Kapanui, share some of his amazing and unbelievable experiences with paranormal events. Lopaka had the entire sold-out audience on the edge of their seats throughout the entire time! The energy in the room was overwhelming!!! People were shocked and frightened, but at the same time extremely entertained. Lopaka's eerie storytelling voice and self made sound effects paired with the effect of our decor set the mood perfectly for this chilling experience. The best part of the event was at the grand finale, climax of his last story that no doubt left everyone with "chicken skin" as advertised! Abby & Kierynn, 8th Grade Council

Highlands Hunger Games 5: "War of Justice!"

The War of Justice and the Highlands Hunger Games collided as a mad battle between the 7 Highlands teams and for spirit points and eternal glory! On November 22, 2017, was our annual -- and definitely the best yet -- Highlands Hunger Games 5: “War of Justice!” What better way to start Hunger Games than hearing local talent sing our anthems with their beautiful voices? Graciously singing the National Anthem, Callie Ivy, and singing Hawaii Pono’i, was Keilani Aea-Purnell. We also want to thank our amazing emcee, Mr. Karwiel for delivering so much enthusiasm to the crowd, and help keep the assembly running smoothly. And finally, the Highlands cheerleader’s energy really set the mood and showed lots of Colt spirit! For our 5th time running this exhilarating assembly, we used the usual grenades, crossbows, sponsor parachutes, velcro vests, and goggles, but we added a whole lot of new gear: the 15 shot Stratobow and flag football belts! All 7 Highlands Districts showed their pride with flags, posters, and war paint! There were 6 Hunger Games rounds and 2 Tributes from each District began at their District’s icon equidistantly apart from the Cornucopia… When the countdown hit zero, adrenaline rushed as all 14 Tributes desperately ran to the Cornucorpia or hid and waited the carnage out. In addition to all the chaos on the ground, Sponsors shot 5 parachutes, 1 per minute, into the area; each parachute = 25 spirit points! The winner -- the sole survivor -- of each round received 100 spirit points, or after 5 minutes, the points were split between the survivors. This year, District B -- Hui Mana’o took the prize for most spirit points with 250!! Congratulations to all the Tributes and thank you to all the performers -- we simply can’t wait for Highlands Hunger Games 6!!! Jenna, Assembly Committee Chairperson

Hunger Games 5 Training Centers

The Hunger Games Training Center was a great opportunity for the 7th and 8th Tributes to get a taste of what they'll be doing in the actual Highlands Hunger Games come Wednesday -- November 22, 2017. The Hunger Games Training Center took place in the Student Council Room and it was loaded with fun weapons and other surprises!  The room was awesomely decorated with walls -- both in the theme of Hunger Games and Gotham City -- and a fully loaded shooting range! Student Council members helped with all 3 Training Center areas: shooting range, grenade toss, and capture the flag. The Tributes looked like they had so much fun as was evidenced by the excitement and wonder on their faces! Being a part of the hunger games training center was an amazing experience for both the Tributes and the Trainers ;)  Keilani, Assembly committee Chairperson

Highlands Hunger Games 5 Play Test

The Highlands Hunger Games 5: “War of Justice!” was an awesome SUCCESS!!!! But how would we know what flaws were made and what we could improve on? By conducting a play test, of course! On Tuesday, November 11,  Highlands Student Council members came down to the StuCo Room to play test this year’s version of the Hunger Games early in the morning. Two teams were split up with half of us play testing and half of us being referees and launching the parachutes. The first thing most Tributes do is make alliances with other Tributes -- strategy! Regardless, most ended up in the corners to protect themselves from getting shot and bide their time in order to make a break for it! And whenever the parachutes were launched into the arena, everyone ran towards them for extra points! Eventually, the first round ended (probably the most boring, hahaha) and the second round began by having the groups playing switch out with the people referring the game. By contrast, the second round went by sooo fast as people knew what little time we had left resulting in no alliances being made.  Tributes went complete savage until the starting bell of the day rung, which concluded our play test for the Highlands Hunger Games 5!  In the end, we concluded that we needed to just play with 1 flag hanging like a tail on the back side of each Tribute as opposed to two flags hanging on either side which was way too easy for Tributes to get eliminated. We also got to learn our roles better and as a result we will have a better game and an even better assembly!  Merrick, Athletics Committee Chairperson