This year’s 93rd annual Kamehameha Schools Song Contest held on March 22, 2013 celebrated Native Hawaiian traditions and customs. A new generation of students inspire Native Hawaiians to maintain the spiritual relationships with one another and with their community that are crucial to living a life enriched through the exercise of traditions and customs. The Kamehameha Schools are a symbol of hope representing Native Hawaiian people’s heritage and culture. The Kamehameha Schools’ mission addresses issues of equity and justice, and this yearly event demonstrates how by fulfilling its unique purpose of serving a population of students that are not otherwise well served - Native Hawaiians, the Schools are a tremendous benefit!
The a cappella choral competition between the graduating high school classes of the Kapālama campus of the School is held annually in March. Students participate as a graduation requirement. Each class, directed by one of its students, sings Hawaiian songs as a single, cohesive choir. Each grade sings a coed arrangement, and students in grades 10–12 perform a men's and a women's song. Five judges evaluate the musical performance and use of the Hawaiian language. After the hōʻike, an exhibition of hula and Hawaiian music, six trophies are awarded to the best performances.
The Contest is televised live throughout the state of Hawaii on KGMB. It is also webcast live on the school's website and has previously been simulcast on the radio statewide, most recently on KUMU. The 93rd competition, "He Lei Poina ‘Ole Ke Keiki: A Beloved Child is a Lei Never Forgotten," was held on Friday March 22, 2013. This year the seniors made a clean sweep winning all of the contests. Interestingly, a young sophomore tied with a senior for the outstanding student director award. Here's the list of 2013 Winners.
2013 Winners
Louise Aoe McGregor Award Outstanding Student Director (TIE)
Cali Kinimaka, Class of 2013 (Senior Womens)
Dezarae Le'i, Class of 2015 (Sophomore coed)
Richard Lyman, Jr. Trophy ‘Ōlelo Makuahine Award
Class of 2013 (Senior Coed)
George Alanson Andrus Cup Boys’ Competition Award
Class of 2013 (Senior Men)
New England Mothers’ Cup Girls’ Competition Award
Class of 2013 (Senior Women)
Helen Desha Beamer Award Best Musical Performance
Class of 2013 (Senior Women)
Charles E. King Cup Combined Class Award
Class of 2013 (Senior Class)
About the School: According to the information on its website, the Kamehameha Schools operates a statewide educational system enrolling over 6,900 students of Hawaiian ancestry at K-12 campuses on O`ahu, Maui and Hawai`i and 30 preschool sites statewide. Over 45,000 additional Hawaiian learners and caregivers are served each year through a range of other Kamehameha Schools' outreach programs, community collaborations and financial aid opportunities in Hawai`i and across the continental United States.
Kamehameha was founded under the terms of the will of Bernice Pauahi Bishop, a direct descendant of Kamehameha the Great. Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop's will established a trust called the 'Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate' that is Hawai'i's largest private landowner. Originally established as an all-boys school on the grounds of the current Bishop Museum, Kamehameha opened its girls' school in 1894 and became coeducational in 1965. The 600-acre Kapalama campus opened in 1931, while the Maui and Hawai'i campuses opened in 1996 and 2001, respectively.
Today, the $7.7 billion Kamehameha Schools organization is one of the largest private college-preparatory education systems. Kamehameha Schools operates three K-12 co-educational campuses in Kapālama, Oʻahu, Pukalani, Maui, and Keaʻau, Hawaiʻi, 31 pre-schools serving 1,500 3-and-4-year-olds and provides a wide range of community focused programs that impacts the lives of over 38,000 Native Hawaiians. The schools' admission policy prefers applicants with Native Hawaiian ancestry. In the 2011–12 school year, Kamehameha had an enrollment of 5,398 students at its three campuses and 1,317 children at its preschools, for a total enrollment of 6,715. Beyond its campuses, Kamehameha served an estimated 46,923 Hawaiians in 2011 through its support for public schools, charter schools, and families and caregivers throughout Hawai’i.
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