HAWAII BAPTIST ACADEMY NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION 420 WYLLIE STREET U.S. POSTAGE HONOLULU, HI 96817-1729 PAID PERMIT NO. 944 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED HONOLULU, HI For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ISAIAH 9:6 May you and your loved ones experience the hope of Jesus Christ this holiday season. www.hba.net Winter 2019 HBA Hawaii Baptist Academy is a Christian college preparatory school that equips students spiritually, intellectually, physically, socially, and emotionally, Soaring so that they bring honor to God. www.hba.net Eagle News from Hawaii Baptist Academy INSIDE: Christian Emphasis Week Aloha on the Mainland Alumni Chronicles: Rhianna Taniguchi ’09 Alumni Week 2019 Hawaii Baptist Academy Located in Nuuanu Valley on the island of Oahu, Hawaii Baptist Academy (HBA) is a Christ-centered, co-educational, college preparatory school for kindergarten through grade 12. Established in 1949 by missionaries of the Southern Baptist Convention, the school is affiliated with the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention. HBA is a member of the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools and the Association of Christian Schools International, and accredited by the Western President’s Message Association of Schools and Colleges. HBA is licensed by the Hawaii Council of Private Schools. Dear HBA Ohana: Hawaii Baptist Academy Board of Directors Walter Agena, Chair Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! As 2019 Terrance Arashiro, Vice Chair ends, and we wrap our 70th anniversary year, I am Dominic Dumlao, Secretary filled with joy and gratitude for God’s faithfulness and Jensen Kono, Treasurer Dr. Kent Davenport provision for our school. As we look forward to 2020, Ken Hensarling and the many years to come, we remain committed Hayden Hu to our school’s mission which is to provide a college- Ernest Lum Jean (Omiya) Nohara ’61 preparatory education rooted in faith. As an alumnus, Dr. Glenn Young I can testify that there is no greater gift than receiving Ex-Officio an education that is built on the transformative love of Jesus Christ. Chris Martin, Executive Director, It is our greatest desire to continue this legacy, and to raise up the next Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention generation of leaders for His kingdom in our islands and around the world. Steve Irwin, President, Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention Thank you for supporting the ministry of Hawaii Baptist Academy. Your partnership has played an integral role in the lives of hundreds of young President Ronald Shiira ’75 men and women. Senior Leadership This summer was filled with many celebrations and reunions. In July, Amy Vorderbruegge, Elementary Principal we hosted Alumni Week, which included the return of Hoolaulea. We George Honzaki, Middle School Principal also hosted our very first Alumni Legacy Dinner, celebrating multiple Marsha (Ishida) Hirae ’72, High School Principal Stephen Arita, Dir. of Human Resources generations of HBA alumni. It was truly a family celebration. Cody Barretta ’06, Dir. of Finance Billie Takaki Lueder ’94 We invite our MAC friends to join us for MAC Week, February 18–21, here Dir. of Institutional Advancement in Honolulu. Please make plans to attend and RSVP online at www.hba. net/MAC. We look forward to your visit and reconnecting with you soon. Mission Statement Hawaii Baptist Academy is a Christian We also invite our alumni and HBA ohana to attend our annual Fun Fair college preparatory school that equips on Saturday, April 4, at the Richard Bento Elementary Campus. The fair is students spiritually, intellectually, physically, our school’s largest fundraiser, with all proceeds going directly to student socially, and emotionally, so that they bring programs. Please join us for a time of good food and fellowship. honor to God. Sincerely, Soaring Eagle is a publication for alumni, parents, friends and supporters of Hawaii Baptist Academy. It is produced by the Communications Department for: Ron Shiira ’5 Office of Institutional Advancement 420 Wyllie Street PRESIDENT Honolulu, HI 96817-1729 An online version of this newsletter is available at www.hba.net. Please send address changes to: [email protected] or call (808) 533-7094 www.facebook.com/HBAEagles www.facebook.com/HBAAlumni www.twitter.com/HBAEagles www.instagram.com/HBAEagles www.instagram.com/HBAAlumni www.youtube.com/HBAEaglesTV HBA Soaring WINTER 2019 Eagle NEWS FROM HAWAII BAPTIST ACADEMY Contents 1 Theme: Cultivate 2 Christian Emphasis Week 3 Mascot and Time Capsule The all-school theme for the 2019–2020 school year is “Cultivate.” 4 Aloha on the Mainland: Warren Baptist Church hosts Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary offers four definitions for this word. Aloha Reception for President The first two are both related to farming, where a farmer prepares Shiira in Augusta, Georgia the soil to grow crops and then, fosters the growth of these crops. 5 Golf Tournament It is also used in the context of improvement and encouraging growth. 6 Alumni Chronicles: This year, it is our desire to continue cultivating the sensibilities of Rhianna Taniguchi ’09 humility, curiosity, love and commitment in our students, as stated 8 Alumni Week 2019 in the preamble of our school’s Expected School-Wide Learning Results. 9 Hoolaulea By doing so, we bring faith and learning together, so that we may join 10 Alumni News & Reunions God in the formation of people and the transformation of the world. 11 Ohana News: Weddings, Baby Eagles So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live 12 In Memoriam your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. COLOSSIANS 2:6-7 On the front cover: Nick Smith of Content in Motion On the back cover: Derrek Miyahara of Island Digital Imaging All photos for Alumni Week, Hoolaulea and the Golf Tournament by Derrek Miyahara of Island Digital Imaging. Christian Emphasis Week: HAWAII BAPTIST ACADEMY hosted Christian Emphasis Week (CEW) at the start of second quarter. At the elementary school, CULTIVATEstudents explored 1 Corinthians 16:13-15, where they were encouraged to be brave, stand firm in their faith, be strong and to do everything in love. The guest speaker was James Blay, a pastor from College Park Baptist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. Originally from Nigeria, Blay shared about his childhood growing up in refugee camps. “James background was also very relevant because we’ve been exploring different cultures around the world each week in chapel, such as Nigeria, Mongolia, and much more. So it was a real treat for the students to meet someone who grew up so far away,” said Cindy Gaskins, Christian Ministries Coordinator at the elementary school. Third graders decorate shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. Photo by Traci Morihara. The students attended daily worship and chapel services, followed by workshops and preparation for service projects. Elementary students collected canned goods for the Olivet Baptist Church Food Pantry, and created wall art and encouragement cards for patients at Kuakini Health Care System (KHCS) and Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific (RHP). On Friday, all of the elementary students participated in nine different service projects. Some delivered canned foods to Olivet Baptist Church, others sang songs and played bingo with senior citizens, delivered artwork to patients at KCHS and RHP, and much more. The students also prepared boxes for Operation Christmas Child, a non-profit organization that delivers shoe boxes filled with school supplies, hygiene products, Taylor Morton, student pastor at Valley View Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa, and small toys, to children in need from around the world. Alabama. One of the highlights of the week was the All-School Fellowship. The theme at the middle and high school was “Cultivate.” The On Wednesday, the middle and high school students walked guest speaker was Taylor Morton, student pastor at Valley down to the elementary school to fellowship and worship with the View Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Each day, Morton younger students as one student body. encouraged the students to cultivate different characteristics, including perseverance, hope, love and healing. James Blay, pastor at College Park Baptist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. Sixth grader Samuel Mokan, left, and Kate Iida, right, organize canned foods that were donated to the food pantry at Olivet Baptist Church. Photo by Traci Morihara. 2 SOARING EAGLE 70th Anniversary Celebration Concludes with Naming of Mascot and Time Capsule The HBA mascot, left, was officially named Endurance, at the All-School Chapel on October 30. Photo courtesy of the Eagle Eye Staff. Sample items curated for the time capsule collection: eagle plush toy figure (inset above), Ho‘omana T-shirt, May 2019 issue of the Eagle Eye student newsletter and 3-D printed HBA STEM medallion (below, right). SINCE 1961, the eagle has been HBA’s mascot. On October 30, The celebration concluded with Endurance packing the 70th the school concluded its 70th Anniversary Celebration by officially Anniversary Time Capsule. In the capsule he placed several items naming the eagle mascot Endurance at the All-School Chapel. suggested by the students, including a student identification card The mascot is named after the mounted bald eagle that is displayed with Endurance’s photo, a uniform polo shirt, a plastic medal in the trophy case at the high school gymnasium. In 1982, MAC made by the 3-D printer for the middle school’s very first STEM member Betty Ellerd, from Tulia, Texas, was inspired by the words (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) Day, class of the alma mater and decided to give the school a stuffed bald t-shirts, a soup cup from Flik Dining Services, a 70th anniversary eagle as a gift.