LIHU‘E — Gov. Neil Abercrombie declared Sunday as the fourth annual Jaycees Adopt-A-School Day, and a group of Kaua‘i Community College students said it’s time the Garden Island gets into the spirit. Pamantasan, a Tagalog word meaning higher education, is
LIHU‘E — Gov. Neil Abercrombie declared Sunday as the fourth annual Jaycees Adopt-A-School Day, and a group of Kaua‘i Community College students said it’s time the Garden Island gets into the spirit.
Pamantasan, a Tagalog word meaning higher education, is a KCC club of Filipino-American students that support one another while they also promote culture, heritage and history. October is Filipino-American Month and Pamantasan is starting its month of activities by showing pride in their school.
Pamantasan President Jonathan Ibanez said the event was labor intensive for the dozen students who showed up, and the sense of accomplishment made it all worthwhile.
“It was a way to create teamwork and to get our newer club members to know each other,” said Ibanez.
The Hawai‘i Jaycees organize the events and although this is the fourth year, Pamantasan co-advisers Frances Dinnan, a counselor, and Ramona Kincaid, an administrator, said it was time that at least one event be held on Kaua‘i, as 120 schools have related events on the other islands.
“It’s about community service to the schools,” said Dinnan. “We decided to start with our own school for this first year, and then next year perhaps we can spread out and help out more schools in that way.”
Kincaid said it is about helping to beautify their school, but that it’s also to promote the club and involve the community.
The event started at 8:30 a.m. with a sidewalk scrubbing in front of the One Stop Center. They had to hurry as Brian Yamamoto, professor of science and botany at KCC, reminded the group that they had only a half hour of water before it was turned off for ongoing road construction.
The students had the walks all scrubbed in time and then turned their attention to weeding the plant beds in front of the building. They used up all the trash bags and filled pickup beds several times over — and all by lunchtime.
Yamamoto was also there to ensure the weeds and purple vine overgrowth got pulled without harming several native Kaua‘i plants. He said the turnout was good and was happy that the students cared enough to get involved in something outside of classes that also gave them a sense of community service.
“It is important that they take pride in their club,” he said.
The participants said they were there to support their club and to do something good for their school and the community. After the work the group had pizza and practiced kickball to prepare for a Nov. 10 Toys for Tots fundraiser tournament in Waimea.
The students included Mark Abella, a freshman from ‘Ele‘ele; Mary Joy Janiec, an accounting sophomore from Kekaha; Gerrlyn Mabiog, a pre-nursing sophomore, and her 12-year-old sister Genievelle from Kapa‘a; Gerlieann Lacerona, an accounting freshman from ‘Ele‘ele; Justin Joy Montemayor, an accounting freshman from Kapa‘a; Arvin Fernandez, a freshman from Kapa‘a; Michelle Iloreta, a hospitality and tourism sophomore from Kapa‘a; and Rhoda Agpaoa, a sophomore from Lihu‘e.
Gerrlyn Mabiog said she hopes the work would inspire others into volunteerism. Her sixth-grader Genievelle said she wanted to help because she wants to attend the school some day.
Janiec said he wanted to help make her school cleaner and more pretty, while Agpaoa said it was a way to benefit their club and school without expecting to be paid.
Hawai‘i Superintendent of Education Kathryn S. Matayoshi said in her Adopt-A-School Day message that the country continues to face economic and budgetary challenges, and that it is community efforts like this program that make a positive influence in classrooms and schools.
• Tom LaVenture, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or by emailing tlaventure@ thegardenisland.com.
