Moanalua High School

Template:Overly detailed Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox school Moanalua High School (also known as MoHS<ref>to differentiate itself from MHS, the abbreviation associated with McKinley High School and Mililani High School</ref>) is a public, co-educational college preparatory high school of the [[Hawaii State Department of Education|HawaiTemplate:Okinai State Department of Education]], located in Honolulu CDP,<ref>Template:Cite web - The area with the school is on page 4.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> City & County of Honolulu, [[Hawaii|HawaiTemplate:Okinai]].

Serving grades nine through twelve and established in 1972, Moanalua High School is located in suburban Salt Lake near Moanalua. Its first class graduated in 1975. The school is situated on an extinct volcano hillside overlooking downtown Honolulu at 2825 Ala Template:OkinaIlima Street. The campus boasts the copper sculpture Moanalua by Bumpei Akaji and the ceramic sculpture Silent Sounds by Shigeharu Yamada.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of 2016, its attendance boundary includes Fort Shafter, the housing at Tripler Army Medical Center, and portions of the Aliamanu Military Reservation.<ref name="Schoollist">Template:Cite web</ref>

Moanalua High School is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and has achieved the maximum accreditation term of six years, 2012-2018 and once again in 2019-2024.

Robin Martin heads the school as principal.

Origins

Before the school was built, the land was an ahupua. An [[Ahupuaa|ahupuaTemplate:Okinaa]] in [[ancient Hawaii|ancient HawaiTemplate:Okinai]] was a parcel of land that stretched from the mountain to the sea. The ahupuaTemplate:Okinaa of Moanalua was the property of wealthy landowner Samuel M. Damon.

Previous to Damon's ownership of the Salt Lake ahupuaTemplate:Okinaa, 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 also served as a sacred altar as late as the reign of King Kamehameha V.Template:Citation needed 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In Hawaiian mythology, the Menehune are said to be a people, sometimes described as dwarfs in size, who live in the deep forests and hidden valleys of the Hawaiian Islands, far from the eyes of normal humans. The menehune are believed to have a special relationship with the gods and credited with building dams, temples and other structures throughout the Hawaiian Islands.

Admissions

To attend the school, students must be within the attendance zone or apply for a geographic exception. In May 2012, the school admitted about 500-600 students from outside of the attendance zone.<ref name="HillTiffanyTaleIolani">Template:Cite web</ref> A lottery is used to determine which out of boundary students are admitted. In an article for the Honolulu Advertiser, staff writer James Gosner wrote that the admissions process was "nail bitting".<ref name="Gonser">Template:Cite web</ref>

Academics

The school's academics have been praised by different news outlets. In May 2012, Tiffany Hill of Honolulu Magazine wrote that the school had "high-caliber programs" and a strong curriculum.<ref name="HillTiffanyTaleIolani" /> In addition, she also stated that some programs are "nationally recognized".<ref name="HillTiffanyTaleTwop4">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2004, James Gonser of the Honolulu Advertiser wrote that the school had "A reputation for success".<ref name="Gonser" /> He also wrote that "[the school's] many success stories" originated from the "personal attention" and "choices" provided by the school's employees to the students.<ref name="Gonser" />

Per the Hawaii Department of Education, the school utlilizes Common Core Standards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of 2024, the school is ranked #1,618 nationally and #3 in Hawaii High Schools, Honolulu, HI Metro High Schools, and Hawaii Department of Education High Schools on U.S. News & World Report.<ref name="f878">Template:Cite web</ref> On GreatSchools.org, the school has a ranking of 8/10.

Per the Board of Education, the school requires four credits in English, four credits in social studies, three credits in mathematics, three credits in science, two credits in either world language, fine arts, or Career Technical Education, one credit in physical education, half a credit in health, and half a credit for the Personal Transition Plan (PTP), for a total of 24 credits.<ref name="q8993">Template:Cite web</ref>

For dual-credit, the school offers Advanced Placement and Running Start classes. Between 2024 and 2026, the school will offer a total of 17 AP classes. These include courses in English, mathematics, science, social studies, and regular electives. These are AP Literature, AP Language and Composition, AP Calculus AB or AC, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics, AP Environmental Science, AP Psychology, AP Macro Economy, AP Micro Economy, AP Chinese, AP Computer Science, AP Japanese, AP Seminar, AP Spanish, AP Studio Art 2D or 3D, and AP Research.<ref name="q8993" /> As of the 2021-2022 school year, the school has an AP participation rate of 42%, with 29% passing the exam.<ref name="f878" /> Running Start is offered at Leeward Community College, which is a part of the University of Hawaiʻi system.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Career and Academic Planning (CAP) program oversees career education classes, which are considered an advisory period. Beginning in 1997, each CAP class runs for 35 minutes, with each student taking at least one each week.<ref name="HillTiffanyTaleTwop5">Template:Cite web</ref>

Enrollement and demographics

In May 2012 the school had about 2,010 pupils.<ref name=HillTiffanyTaleIolani/> The students tend to have a higher socioeconomic profile.<ref name=HillTiffanyTaleTwop4/>

The following table represents the number of enrolled students from the years 2003 to 2014.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
2,022	2,005	2,016	2,016	1,958	2,017	2,102	2,086	2,010	2,200	2,100	1,999

As of the 2023-2024 school year, the school has an enrollment of 1,933 students. Of this, 32% of the students were considered Asian, 25% were considered Filipino, 9% were considered Native Hawaiian, 8% were considered Pacific Islander, 7% were considered Black, and 2% were considered Hispanic. 24% of the population were considered economically disadvantaged, 7% were considered special education, and 4% were considered English learners.

Athletics

In 2004, the school offered 50 sports. That year, about 800 students participated in them.<ref name="Gonser" />

In the year of Moanalua High School's founding, its athletics department joined the Hawaii High School Athletics Association. The school competes in the Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA), an athletic conference of public schools on the island of OTemplate:Okinaahu. As of the 2024-2025 school year, Moanalua competes in a variety of sports including air riflery, bowling, cheerleading, cross country, football, soft tennis, softball, volleyball, basketball, paddling, soccer, swimming, tennis, wrestling, baseball, flag football, golf, judo, track & field, and water polo.

State championships

<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

• Basketball, Boys' - 1996, 1997
• Bowling, Boys' - 1985, 1990, 2004
• Golf, Girls' - 2006
• Golf, Boys' - 2012, 2016, 2018
• Competitive Cheerleading - 2003, 2004, 2005, 2015, 2016, 2018
• Track, Girls' - 1994
• Wrestling, Boys' - 2022
• Wrestling, Girls' - 1999, 2000, 2001, 2022
• Judo, Boys' - 2010, 2011, 2012, 2018, 2019, 2022
• Judo, Girls' - 2018, 2019, 2022
• Air Riflery, Boys' - 2016, 2017, 2019

Music program

The Moanalua High School music program is operated by the school's music department. The program offers a variety of ensembles, including a Marching Band, Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, Symphonic Band, Concert Orchestra, Concert Choir, Chorus, Jazz Ensemble, and Concert Band. In 2007, the Concert Strings ensemble was introduced, which expanded the department's offerings and provided students with the opportunity to explore string instruments. The school also offers programs in piano and ukulele. These groups, however, do not perform. The program is supported by the Moanalua High School Boosters Association. In May 2012, in an article for the Honolulu Magazine, Tiffany Hill wrote that the orchestra was well reputed.<ref name=HillTiffanyTaleIolani/>

Marching band

The Moanalua High School Menehune Marching Band is a marching band program with an established record as being one of the top and largest marching bands in Hawaii. The band is led by directors Elden Seta, Rhona Barbosa, Cavin Takesue and Todd Oshima.<ref name="Menehune">Template:Cite web</ref>

The x member program holds its own marching festival each year, which is known as the Menehune Classic. It also competes in other annual competitions such as the Kamehameha Tournament of Bands, Mililani Trojan Band Fest, the 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 out-of-state parades such as the Tournament of Roses Parade.<ref name="Menehune" />

The marching band traveled to Osaka, Japan, to march in the Osaka Midosuji Parade. In 2009, the band traveled to Arizona to participate in the Fiesta Bowl Parade.<ref name="Menehune" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Symphony orchestra

The Moanalua High School Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra consisting of hand picked students from grades 9 to 12. The symphony orchestra was the first student orchestra to be invited to perform at New York's Carnegie Hall in 1998.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The symphony orchestra were invited to perform again on March 20, 2005 at the Isaac Stern Auditorium, in which they received a standing ovation where audience members reportedly yelled, "Good job, HawaiTemplate:Okinai!"<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Performing arts center

In 2013, the school completed and dedicated the first phase of a new performing arts facility, which resulted in the construction of a new band room.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2018, phase two was completed, which added an auditorium with a music library, rehearsal and instruction spaces, storage rooms, and other facilities for the school's music and drama departments.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2019, Moanalua High School began construction of the Performing Arts Center, which opened on March 12, 2021. The facility includes a 694-seat auditorium with advanced audio-visual systems and LED lighting. It also provides rehearsal and instructional spaces for music and drama programs, including a dance and choral room, storage areas, and a music library.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The property was a part of American School & University's 2021 Architectural Portfolio.

The center was built to accommodate the increasing number of students in the school's music and performing arts programs. Prior to its construction, concerts were often sold out due to limited seating capacity. The center had been planned for over 20 years. The facility serves both Moanalua High School students and the wider community, providing a venue for various cultural and educational events.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The property was built after the first and second phases of a performing arts facility were built.

The project was initiated in 2019, with groundbreaking ceremonies held in April of that year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

JROTC

The school has an Air Force JROTC; in 2004 it was the largest such program in Hawaii.<ref name=Gonser/>

Notable alumni

• Angela Perez Baraquio (1994), Miss America 2001<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

Further reading

• Template:Cite web - Includes several articles written by students

External links

• Template:Official website
• District website