Dear readers of the What’s New,
A big piece of news we’ve sat on since this summer – that got lost in the shuffle of readying for the new year, then the start of school, then the din of the Delta-variant that has necessarily occupied our researches and preparations – is the phenomenal showing Class of 2022 senior Naho Umitani achieved in the National Speech and Debate Tournament this past June.
We had previously reported that Naho won the state championship of the Hawaii Speech League (HSL) in mid-March for the Informative Speaking event for her disquisition on “The Perils of Fast Fashion.” The NSDA nationals pitted Naho against 330 other state champions and runners-up from around the country.
Because of COVID-19, the tournament was virtual, which meant that Naho had to begin her days a little earlier than the other competitors. “Due to the time difference,” she said, “I needed to wake up at 4 a.m. to compete in my first round at 5 a.m.”
Naho made it deep into the competition. “There were three or four rounds every day,” she said, “and I made it till the middle of the third day! Each round, I competed with eight competitors, and I was able to watch and learn from their amazing performances.”
Naho narrowly missed qualifying for the top 30 round. “At the beginning of the tournament, I thought I would be eliminated after the first round. The fact that I made it to the top 60 of 330 surprised me, and I have learned to have a little more confidence in myself.”
Following Naho’s superb showing, the returning debaters and I met virtually this summer to plan our 21-22 Speech and Debate tournament season with high hopes of achieving even more this year. “I plan on competing in Informative Speaking again this coming season,” Naho said. “I have some excellent ideas on topics and techniques after watching the other amazing competitors.”
As PBA’s Speech and Debate coach, I am very enthusiastic about our squad’s future. Four new students joined the squad, and a few others are threatening to give the club a shot. We look forward to good performances, good fun, and good argumentation and persuasion! Many congratulations to Naho for her achievement.
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The other piece of community news to report is the stepping down of the Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin Executive Director Stacy Bradshaw. As all of you are aware, PBA’s school campus is located on the temple campus of the Betsuin. Stacy has served as the Betsuin ED for the past seven years, and, as Betsuin President Dexter Mar stated, “She has been instrumental in sustaining [the Betsuin’s] resilience as an organization and community, overseeing temple facilities, ensuring strong fiscal management, supporting temple members, and guiding us through the challenges of the pandemic.”
I have known Stacy since she began working for the Betsuin 15 years ago, well before I became the Head of School at PBA. She has always been a friend and supporter of the PBA Sangha. When she worked the front desk of the main office at the Betsuin and I was a humanities teacher, PBA administrator of various stripes and/or PBA dance chaperone, I often relied on Stacy’s generous assistance to access various spaces we hoped to use for school activities.
And Stacy was instrumental in supporting PBA as we worked to accomplish the construction of the PBA Weinberg Building. Stacy helped to explain to the Betsuin community the importance of our project for the PBA sangha.
I am very grateful to Stacy for her work, wish her and her family well, and look forward to seeing her as she continues her involvement with the Betsuin community.
I look forward to continued good work this school year, and thank all of you for your support of our school. Please be healthy and mind the guidance of the public health officers who are working to keep our community safe.
Warmly,
Josh Hernandez Morse
Head of School
