Congratulations to principal Sheena Alaiasa

Kaneohe is cheering for the national honor accorded to one of its finest: Sheena Alaiasa, principal of King Intermediate School.

Alaiasa last week became the first from this state to be named National Middle Level Principal of the Year, a distinction awarded by MetLife and the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

Among her credentials was her role leading the school out of "restructuring," an upheaval mandated as a consequence for poor performance under the No Child Left Behind law. Alaiasa helped "create a safe, personalized environment in which all students feel welcome and valued," said an association official.

Getting middle-schoolers in line is no small task — ask any parent. Accomplishing that for a student body of 600? Pretty heroic.

The whole state should applaud this feat.

Here’s why ‘The Y’ has been upgrading

What is up with all the action at the Y? There’s the Central YMCA redevelopment project, for starters.

And now the YMCA of Honolulu — the metro organization for the locations on Oahu — is exploring a whole range of upgrades, including at its most active facility in Nuuanu, and even may build a new branch in Waianae.

As it turns out, this kind of facelift is going on at Y’s across the country. Part of the genesis, said spokeswoman Lisa Ontai, is the 2010 initiative to refocus and rebrand the organization, something that’s clear from a visit to any website. People told the organization they like the Y, she said, but they didn’t know what it did.

There’s a new logo, reflecting the official name as "The Y," and the three-part mission: youth development, healthy living, social responsibility. Clearly, officials figured, some of the older buildings were just not meeting the needs.