Farrington High School’s Gay-Straight Alliance has won a national award from the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network.
Farrington won the GSA of the Year award, which honors a student club that has demonstrated extraordinary leadership to ensure all students in their school community feel safe and treated with respect regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity/expression, GLSEN said in a news release.
The award was announced Monday and will be presented at GLSEN’s Respect Awards in New York City on May 20.
Farrington’s club has brought awareness abut gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students through weekly after-school meetings, field trips, a public service announcement and community events such as the AIDS Walk.
"Winning this award, through an organization I’ve been with since the beginning, makes me feel so accomplished," said Farrington senior Jonah Saribay, a GSA member. "It means a lot, especially since the GSA is an organization I love being in and have dedicated so much time and effort to help spread equality and acceptance in my school."
Other honors:
» Kapiolani Community College’s culinary team is headed to the national finals after winning the Western Regional Championship of the 2013 American Culinary Federation competition April 15 in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho.
"This is really a testament to the quality, hard work and dedication of our students, staff and faculty," KCC Chancellor Leon Richards said.
California took second place in the regional competition, followed by Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Arizona and Montana.
KCC’s team is composed of students Joy Yamane, Ian Sagayama, Emi Akiyama, Bickna Sim and Hwanjae Lee and coaches Dave Brown and Grant Sato.
The team will compete in the national championships held during the ACF National Convention, July 21-25 at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
KCC’s culinary competition teams also won the regionals in 2009 and took second place in 2010 and 2012. The 2009 team went on to win the American Culinary Federation national championship.
» University of Hawaii at Manoa oceanography professor David Karl received the Alexander Agassiz medal for excellence in oceanography from the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., on Sunday.
"I thank the UH ohana, my students, post-docs and staff, and my many colleagues at UH and from around the world for their invaluable contributions to my career," said Karl, a professor at the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. "With so many remaining scientific challenges, it should be a thrilling next decade."
Karl was recognized for establishing ocean-observing systems for detecting significant changes in the ocean ecosystem.
He is perhaps best known for his work on the Hawaii Ocean Time-series program, which he co-founded. It made the significant discovery that climate change and the rising atmospheric carbon dioxide are making the ocean more acidic and affecting the ocean ecosystem.
» Kahaluu Elementary School Principal Naomi Matsuzaki was named the 2013 National Distinguished Principal for Hawaii at an awards luncheon Sunday.
Matsuzaki was chosen by a committee of the Hawaii Elementary and Middle School Administrators Association.
The other nominees were Jan Iwaseof Hale Kula Elementary, Bonnie Taborof Waikiki Elementary, Wendy Takahashiof Nanakuli Elementary, Beverly Stanich of Wailuku Elementary and Corey Nakamuraof Hanalei Elementary.
Matsuzaki and other award-winning principals will travel to Washington, D.C., in October to attend a two-day event honoring their accomplishments.
» Alvin Parker, principal of Ka Waihona o ka Na‘auao Public Charter School in Nanakuli, was chosen as Charter School Leader of the Year by the Hawaii Public Charter Schools Network.
University Laboratory School was recognized as Charter School of the Year.
The organization also named four teachers to its "Circle of Teaching Excellence": ‘Ululani Victor of Ke Kula ‘o Samuel M. Kamakau Laboratory Public Charter School in Kaneohe, Sally Bobb of Innovations Public Charter School in Kailua-Kona, Terri York of Hawaii Academy of Arts and Science Public Charter School in Pahoa on Hawaii island and Shelby Dabin of Kanuikapono Public Charter School in Anahola, Kauai.
The honorees were recognized at an awards dinner Friday night.
