St. Andrew’s, just for the boys

St. Andrew’s Priory is playing to its strength by eschewing the typical solution for single-gender schools facing declining enrollment. Rather than going co-ed, the Priory is adding an all-boys elementary school within its existing campus. This approach fills a niche — St. Andrew’s Preparatory School for Boys, or The Prep, will be the only K-5 private boys school in Hawaii — while preserving St. Andrew’s core all-girls cohort.

Like many small private schools in Hawaii, St. Andrew’s enrollment has fallen over the past few years, from 544 girls in 2006-2007 to 353 last school year, according to the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools’ annual reports. While other schools have altered their missions or closed their doors, this approach expands options for families committed to single-gender schooling. Surely some of those Priory girls have little brothers?

We can see a new galaxy from here

When cosmic news breaks out, home-town pride may seem cosmically silly.

But there you have it: Using the Keck Observatory at Mauna Kea as well as the Hubble Space Telescope, scientists have identified the most distant galaxy discovered so far. And we’re claiming our Hawaii island bragging rights.

The galaxy, known by the cold-as-space moniker "z8-GND-5296," is estimated to be 30 million light-years away. And yet it’s our baby, and we could just reach out and drop a lei on it.

Seriously, congratulations to the research teams involved in this find. Science is awe-inspiring, and Hawaii is happy to be engaged in the work.