Quentin Lee, a director/producer of films based out of Los Angeles, was here on the islands to promote his film for the Hawaii International Film Festival. The Middle School students had the privilege of meeting Mr. Quentin Lee on October 19. His film 0506hk, which was previewed during classes, is about Quentin Lee’s contemplation of whether to stay in the United States or move back to his hometown of Hong Kong. During his return to Hong Kong, Quentin Lee meets and interviews his family members and colleagues from the film industry.

During his talk with the Middle School, Mr. Lee first discussed his career and how he got started in filming. He said he had been interested in filming from a very young age. He produced a horror film with a friend of his when he was a teen. When students asked about his favorite genre, Mr. Lee said that he has always enjoyed horror films.

Mr. Lee also had a few Middle School students who were interested in filming come up to share their current film projects. He also had some students, who had interests in writing scripts, come up and make pitches. Mr. Lee taught us that another part of filmmaking is pitching and promoting your film. A film pitch is where you go up in front of people and talk about your movie to try to draw an interest in your film. Mr. Lee also shared his experiences with actors, producers, and directors. We learned that even though you do not always get along with everyone working on the film, you still need to compromise and work together as a team to get the job done.

Towards the end of the event, Mr. Lee showed a clip called A Chinese Class. The clip was a record of his experiences while he was enrolled in a Chinese language course. He met a young woman who wanted to learn Chinese, a man who wanted to learn Chinese to be able to communicate with his wife’s family, and a woman who just wanted respect from men who did not think she could do anything because she was a female.

Mahalo to Dr. Riley, Mrs. Yagi, Mrs. Jacobs, and Mrs. Viloria for your support in making this event possible.

I hope you have had a fun October. Student Council Vice President, Kelsie Fukuda, was in charge of the Halloween Parade / activities this year. She was advised by Mrs. Lee (K-1) and the rest of the advisors. Our theme this year was Where the Spooky Things Are. But you didn’t have to dress up as a spooky thing. Actually the student council encouraged everyone to dress up as a book or movie character.

Besides the costume parade, we had an IRON CHEF COOKING SHOWDOWN. One representative from each grade level was given a bagful of secret ingredients and in ten minutes they created a dish with a plate. Criteria for judges (Dr. Riley, Mrs. Yagi, and Ms. Cha with officers: Kelsie, Kiana, and Janelle) included: taste, creativity and presentation. Yummy! Students from grades 5-8 participated. Megan Viloria from 8th grade was the first place winner and Korey Miyakawa, Grade 5, came in second. Other participants were: Spencer Gee and Kristi Sumida, sixth graders, and from seventh grade, Jared Minami.

This year our snack bar is doing great; we usually sellout the items we put out. We have several healthy snacks to choose from, like Korean pears, frozen grapes, li hing mui apple, ice cakes, and pudding. THANK YOU for supporting our Snack Bar. Funds raised from the sales help to fund our activities. Please note that the snack bar will be closed from October 30-November 9th due to the abundance of Halloween candy and Parent -Teacher Conferences.

Tyler Fukuroda, Tyler Tabata and Mrs. Young are planning our next activity for November: helping a charity. The student council chose “Helping Hands” which is a clearing house to help those in need. We will be collecting household items such as sheets, towels, blankets, (gently) used clothes, toiletries, and canned goods as well. Watch for more information from your student council representatives.