Reyna Iwamoto
STAFF WRITER
During the 2017-2018 school year and throughout the summer, MoHS began and finished the construction and renovation of many different areas and classrooms across campus. Here are the newly finished updates of the construction projects:
Dance and Drama Room (U102D)
The new addition to the band and orchestra room (U101) has given Creative Dance teacher Jill Tengan and Drama Teacher Mark Ikenaga the opportunity to move their classes from F102 and the Student Center to a classroom connect- ed to the rest of the Fine Arts programs. This newly renovated room has full body mirrors and a dance floor. Tengan explained how the new dance floor in the room has given her class more room to
dance. “As dancers and actors, we have a lot more freedom when there’s room to move. We can move with our whole bodies now and feel safe doing it,” Tengan said. Ikenaga commended the new classroom as well, stating how it will come to great use for the students. “There’s a lot of space in there and everything is updated- all the technology and electronics in there are all state of the art for the kids, so it will definitely come in handy,” Ikenaga said.
Girls Locker Room
First proposed in 2006 due to the size and condition of the lockers, the renovation of the girls locker room and varsity locker rooms were finally given funding by a state facilities budget called Special Projects and was finished during the summer. The newly renovated girls locker room includes brand new lockers, benches, and the installation of a TV. Physical Education teacher Kelly Kaholokula shared her thoughts on her new classroom, saying that the new lockers especially help. “First and foremost, we are very thankful that we got a new locker room...now that the girls actually have a decent sized locker they don’t have to be worrying about their things being stolen,” Kaholokula said.
Varsity Locker Room
Many improvements have been made to the interior of the varsity locker rooms, including the addition of new six foot lockers, stools with the Moanalua emblem on it, and surround sound Bose speakers. Head football Coach Savai’i shared his gratitude for the newly renovated locker rooms. “I love it, it’s so awesome. It looks like a college locker room and all my players really enjoy it. The timing of the rooms being released to us on the week of our first game was just perfect- it brought the team morale up for sure and gave us the opportunity to have stronger pride,” Savai’i said.
Currently, only the football team has access to the varsity locker rooms, however Principal Robin Martin explained that due to a Title IX lawsuit, the school must allow for girls to use the varsity locker rooms and for boys to use the girls locker rooms.
“I hear talk coming down the pipeline that they might give access to other teams over time. I would think that would happen but I’m not too sure and I’m not entirely at liberty to discuss it. Either way, we’re willing to share the lockers. Moanalua football family is only a part of the Moanalua family, and we take care of our other family members,” Savai’i said.
Gym Bleachers
The original idea for the renovation of the bleachers was first proposed in 2007, however at the end of the 2017-2018 school year, the bleachers broke, leaving many students to sit on the gym floor during assemblies. The renovation of the bleachers, like the locker rooms, were funded by the state as a part of Special Projects and took place during the summer before the start of this school year. The new bleachers now allow for students and teachers to sit comfortably at assemblies and for spectators to watch various sports events in the gym.
Chorus and Piano Classroom (U103C)
The new chorus and piano classroom is located on the opposite side of the new dance and acting room. This classroom and the new dance room are Phase III of the music department construction projects, which was first proposed in 1999. This project is a Capital Improvement Project and was given $15,000,000 for construction by the Legislature. The classroom has allowed chorus and band teacher Rhonda Barbosa and piano and orchestra teacher Todd Oshima to move from their original of offices in F101, into U building along with the rest of the music department teachers. Barbosa shared her thoughts on the new room, saying, “The acoustics are just amazing and my students can finally hear themselves. It’s also really nice to finally be together with the entire music department instead of us being split.” Oshima expresses his gratitude for the new classroom as well. “The new room is really beautiful- everything is very technologically advanced and there is a lot more space. We are really thankful that it is there,” Oshima said.