Moanalua High School

Origins

An ahupuaʻa in ancient Hawaiʻi was a parcel of land that stretched from the mountain to the sea. The ahupuaʻa of Moanalua was the property of wealthy landowner Samuel M. Damon.

Previous to Damon's ownership of the Salt Lake ahupuaʻa, the volcanic hillside on which Moanalua High School sits was used by native Hawaiians in the Hawaiian religion. As one of the highest points overlooking what would later become the city of Honolulu, the volcanic hillside was revered as a place where the faithful could be closer to the ancestral spirits and gods. It served as a sacred altar as late as the reign of King Kamehameha V. The volcanic hillside's religious value was neglected during the urban development after statehood in 1959. Moanalua High School adopted the menehune as their mascot: with a special relationship with the gods and credited with building dams, temples and other structures throughout the Hawaiian Islands.

Symbols

Traditionally, the alma mater and anthem are sung during the presentation of the school's flag — a blue crest in the center of a field of blue and trimmed at the edges with white. The school's colors are royal blue and silver, influenced by the colors of the United States Marines with which the school has shared a special relationship since its founding.

Students

The following table represents the number of enrolled students from the years 2003 to 2014.

Source:

As of the 2012 school year, the racial/ethnic composition was as follows:

Moanalua High School has one of the largest military dependency student populations within the United States Pacific Command. It serves the children of enlisted personnel and commissioned officers of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy. Students who are not military dependents are usually children of professionals living in the Salt Lake and Moanalua subdivisions, neighborhoods that have been classified as upper middle class.

Each graduating class averages 400 students. Approximately sixty percent become enrolled at four-year colleges and universities throughout the nation while thirty percent become enrolled at two-year colleges. Eight percent go straight to the workforce while four percent join the armed forces. About five percent enroll in technical schools while three percent are usually unsure of their post-graduation plans.

Focus on Technology

Moanalua High School is home to more than 800 computers attached to its local area network, one of the largest school networks built and maintained in Hawaii. While other schools require parental permission to "opt-in" to use technology on campus, Moanalua High School makes the use of technology mandatory. Parents must give compelling reasoning to the administration should they choose to have their child "opt-out" of technology use.

Sports

With the absence of professional sports teams in Hawaiʻi, the popularity of high school athletics is considerably high in the state. In the year of Moanalua High School's founding, its athletics department joined the Hawaii High School Athletics Association. It currently also competes in the Oahu Interscholastic Association, an athletic conference of public schools on the island of Oʻahu. Moanalua High School competes in air riflery, baseball, basketball, bowling, canoe paddling, cheerleading, cross country, football, golf, judo, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, wrestling and water polo. Sports are divided into boys' and girls' teams as well as varsity and junior varsity distinctions. The most popular sports based on attendance are football, basketball and wrestling. The Athletic Director currently is Joel Kawachi.

State Championships

Basketball, Boys' - 1996, 1997

Bowling, Boys' - 1985, 1990, 2004

Golf, Girls' - 2006

Golf, Boys' - 2012, 2015

Competitive Cheerleading - 2003, 2004, 2005, 2015

Golf, Individual - 1976 Maurice Jeanpierre (coached by Leslie Higashi), beat top players Kalua Makelena, Tommy Hines, D. Hurter, Robert Black, Wade Nishimoto, Brandon Kop and R. Castillo.

Track, Girls' - 1994

Wrestling, Girls' - 1999, 2000, 2001

Judo, Boys' - 2010, 2011,2012

Air Rifle, Boys - 2016

State Runners-up

Baseball- 2011

Basketball, Boys' - 1978

Basketball, Girls' - 1992

Bowling, Boys' - 1984

Bowling, Girls' - 1979

Cross Country, Boys' - 1987

Cross Country, Girls' - 1991

Competitive Cheerleading - 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012

Golf, Boys' - 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014

Soccer, Boys' - 1981, 1998

Soccer, Girls' - 2005

Track, Girls' - 1991

Wrestling, Girls' - 1998, 2002, 2003

Judo, Boys' - 2008, 2009, 2013

Judo, Girls' - 2014

The 2007 Boys' Basketball Team returned to the state tournament for the first time in ten years. Qualified again in 2008 and made it to the Semi-Finals before having to forfeit all of their tournament games for the use of academically ineligible player.

Music Program

The Music Department consists of a number of various ensembles. The list includes the Marching Band, the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, Symphonic Band, Concert Orchestra, Concert Choir, Chorus, Jazz Ensemble, and Concert Band (usually consisting of incoming freshmen).

In 2007, the Concert Strings ensemble was introduced into the Music Department.

Also offered at Moanalua High School is the Piano and program. Later on in 2015, Ukulele was offered. These groups, however, does not perform.

In 2013, Moanalua High School's music building was completed.

Marching Band

The Moanalua High School Menehune Marching Band is a marching band program (students grades 9-12) with an established record as being one of the top, and largest marching band in Hawaii. It is led by directors Elden Seta, Rhona Barbosa, Cavin Takesue, and Tadahiro Meya, and is widely acclaimed to be one of the best in the United States.

The 220+ member program holds its own marching festival each year known as the Menehune Classic. It also competes in other annual competitions such as the Kamehameha Tournament of Bands, Mililani Trojan Band Fest, the Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) Festival, and the Rainbow Invitational. It usually marches in at least one parade each year, such as the Aloha Week parade, and is frequently invited to march in parades abroad such as the Tournament of Roses Parade.

Signature elements in its half-time shows include a set of three or four pieces (including a quick, visual opener, a fast-paced main piece, and ending with a ballad), expansion sets, a single company front (usually in the final piece), horn flashes and sets that spill into the pit area. Not usually in the shows (but common elsewhere) are spinning drills, park and wail (punch/shout) segments, follow the leader drills (AKA snake), and park and play (standing) segments.

The marching band traveled to Osaka, Japan to march in the Osaka Midosuji Parade. In the winter of 2009, the band traveled to Arizona to participate in the Fiesta Bowl Parade.

Symphony Orchestra

The Moanalua High School Symphony Orchestra consists of hand-picked students from grades 9 to 12. The Symphony Orchestra was the first student orchestra to perform at New York's Carnegie Hall in 1998. The Symphony Orchestra did it a second time in 2005, performing at the Isaac Stern Auditorium on March 20, 2005. Out of the three ensembles to perform that night (the other two being the New England Symphonic Ensemble and the Greater Miami Youth Symphony, only they received a standing ovation in which audience members reportedly yelled, "Good job, Hawaiʻi!" Moanalua High School Symphony Orchestra performed at Carnegie Hall again in 2013.

Symphonic Wind Ensemble

The Moanalua High School Symphonic Wind Ensemble, consists of the most competent wind and percussion musicians in the Moanalua High School band program. The Symphonic Wind Ensemble has received consistent Superior ratings at the Oʻahu Band Directors' Association Parade of Bands. The Symphonic Wind Ensemble plays at winter and Aloha Concerts, the OBDA Parade of Bands, and the Central District South Parade of Bands. The Ensemble has also traveled to Japan in the spring of 2004 and winter of 2006 where they represented the United States in the All-Japan Band Festival in Hamamatsu, Japan. The wind ensemble has most recently represented Hawaii during the 2015 Music For All National Festival in Indiana.

Homecoming

Homecoming at Moanalua High School usually falls around mid-September. Classes compete against each other in volleyball, floorshow, trivia, cheer, banner, and parade for spirit points. The week ends with the homecoming game and a performance by the marching band at half-time.

Graduation

Moanalua High School is the first in the state to graduate its students. Graduation and commencement ceremonies are held at the athletic field and stadium. It is attended by the school superintendents, state legislators, city council members and sometimes the Governor or Lieutenant Governor of Hawaiʻi. A high-profile media event, portions of the ceremonies are broadcast throughout the state by the major Honolulu-based network affiliates: KFVE, KGMB, KHNL, KHON-TV and KITV. The event attracts large crowds and often results in confusion among those trying to give lei to the graduates. In 2015, the lei ceremony was held at the baseball field because the newly remodeled football field was not ready for graduation at the time.

Moanalua High School has many valedictorians each year, in comparison to the other schools of the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education. Many students graduate with the honor in a single class, with 20 in 1998.