JUNTEN NEWS 1. HAWAIIAN PARTY! For the first time ever Junten STARS put on a Hawaiian Party on July 23 after the Closing Ceremony. In previous years we held a Tanabata Party, however, STARS being the international organization that it is decided a Hawaiian Party would be far more of an international event. Junten students were met with an Aloha greeting as soon as they entered the ELC. Aloha greetings with a beautiful Hawaiian scene welcomed the students with exotic decorations of Hibiscus flowers, Leis hanging from the ceiling, and mysterious Tiki images adorning the walls. Accompanying this tropical atmosphere was ukulele music blasting from the loudspeakers. We were almost in the real Waikiki! The first activity of the day was a Hula Dancing Competition. The party members first watched a video of a real Hawaiian Hula Dance. Then they studied and practiced the dance movements before the competition was held. Dance teams of 2 or 3 students then performed the Hula Dance. Their team names were very Hawaiian! We had the Coconuts, the Pineapples, the Mangoes and the Aloha Team. During their performance a panel of judges judged the participants on three points; their arm and hand movements, their footstep movements, and the smiles upon their faces. In the end, the best female and male dancer were choosen by the judges along with the best team. This year's champions were the Mangoes (3 girls from E-Class). Congratulations Girls! Our next activity was Tiki Exploring. For some of you who are not aware of Tiki culture please let me explain. Tiki is a wooden or stone carving in humanoid form. These carvings represent deified ancesters (a god or goddess) and are found in most Polynesian cultures including Hawaiian culture. Anyway, little paper Tikis were hidden all over building 3. Students went Tiki exploring to find the hidden Gods that were scattered around the building. The larger Tikis were worth 20 points and the smaller Tikis 10 points. The top three students with the most points could receive Hawaiian gifts of pineapple waffles. After all these activities the students were famished and had huge Hawaiian appetites. So all the party goers proceeded to building 2 for Hawaiian cooking and tasting for our last activity. As with Okinawan culture Spam is a popular dish. Spam is a tinned meat product made mainly from ham. The spam was fryed with various spices, such as, basil, blackpepper and cinnamon. Along with this real Hawaiian pancakes were made from real taro pancake batter from Hawaii. Instead of using the usual maple syrup from Canada, we used coconut syrup imported from Hawaii. How delicious they were!!! Yummy, yummy!!! All the partygoers were left with full stomachs and were greatly satisfied. The STARS members are already brainstorming for more ideas for next year's Hawaiian Party. Possible ideas could be a Virtual Surfing Contest, a Pineapple Bowling Contest and don't forget the Hawaiian Quiz for 2017. So study up on your Hawaiian facts and remember to bring your Aloha spirit to next year's party! ALOHA .