Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private,
co-educational,
college preparatory school
A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher educat ...
in
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the isla ...
,
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
. More than 3,700 students attend the school from
kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...
through
12th grade.
Protestant missionaries established Punahou in 1841.
In 2006, it was ranked the greenest school in America. In 2017, Punahou's sports program was ranked second nationally in the MaxPreps Cup standings.
Punahou's student body is diverse, with student selection based on both academic and non-academic considerations.
History
In 1795, King
Kamehameha I took the land known as ''Ka Punahou'' in battle. Along with Ka Punahou, he gave a total of of land (from the slope of Round Top to the current Central Union Church, which included a tract of
Kewalo Basin) to chief
Kameeiamoku as a reward for his loyalty. After Kameeiamoku died, the land passed to his son,
Ulumāheihei Hoapili, who lived there for 20 more years. When Hoapili left to become governor of Maui, he gave the land to his daughter,
Kuini Liliha
Kuini Liliha (–1839) was a High Chiefess (aliʻi) and noblewoman who served the Kingdom of Hawaii as royal governor of Oʻahu island. She administered the island from 1829 to 1831 following the death of her husband Boki.
Early life
She was b ...
.
Liliha and her husband, Oahu
Governor Boki, gave Ka Punahou to
Reverend Hiram Bingham, one of the first Protestant
missionaries in Hawaii.
Queen Kaahumanu was a strong supporter of the mission and built a house for herself near Bingham. A portion of the stone wall she had built to protect the compound from roaming
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...
has been preserved.
Punahou School was originally a school for the children of missionaries serving throughout the
Pacific region. It was the first school west of the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...
and east of Asia with classes in English only.
The first class was held on July 11, 1842, and had 15 students.
Daniel Dole
Daniel Dole (September 9, 1808 – August 26, 1878) was a Protestant missionary educator from the United States to the Hawaiian Islands.
Life
Daniel Dole was born September 9, 1808, in Skowhegan, Maine. His father was Wigglesworth Dole (1779–1 ...
was Punahou's first principal.
Punahou has educated members of the Hawaiian royal family, but is not to be confused with the
Royal School. It was known as ''Oahu College'' from 1853 to 1934.
During World War II, the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
, colors =
, anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day)
, battles =
, battles_label = Wars
, website =
, commander1 = ...
commandeered much of the Punahou campus. Castle Hall (the girls' dormitory when Punahou had boarding students) was used as a command center, buildings were connected with tunnels, athletic fields were used as parking lots, and the library was cleared to become sleeping quarters and an officer's mess. The
cereus hedge on the campus lava rock wall was topped with barbed wire. Punahou students volunteered in hospitals and raised enough in war bonds to purchase two bombers and a fighter (among other airplanes), which were named after alumni who had fallen in service.
In the 1970s, Punahou's upper field and gymnasium were used for the
Superstars
A superstar is a widely acclaimed celebrity.
Superstar or superstars may also refer to:
People
* Warhol superstars, the associates of Andy Warhol
* WWE Superstar, a branding term referring to a WWE wrestler
* Superstar Billy Graham (born 1943) ...
nationally televised athletic competitions.
On August 7, 1972, the campus was added to the
National Register of Historic Places listings in Oahu.
Traditions
Many traditional events take place on campus. On the first Friday and Saturday of each February, the junior class hosts the Punahou Carnival. Proceeds from the carnival contribute to the Financial Aid program. The event is an entertainment highlight each year in Honolulu.
The
Holoku Pageant is an annual celebration of the Hawaiian culture and arts. Students perform Hawaiian dances in traditional costumes, from the lovely
hula to the intimidating
ha'a.
The annual Sustainability Fair began in 2007 and included on-campus conservation challenges and off-campus coastline preservation. On Rice Field, classes set up canopies to showcase sustainable undertakings and projects, often including local produce sales and informational handouts.
To celebrate the school's
homecoming
Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...
, students, faculty, and teachers surround a 20-foot letter P, and ignite it at dusk. This event, the "Flaming P", is preceded by a spirit week, where students dress and parade creatively.
Seniors write and perform a Variety Show. This play involves most of the class, over 300 students. Seniors also have
prom at the
Sheraton Waikiki Hotel
The Sheraton Waikiki Hotel is a resort hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii on Waikiki Beach. It was built in 1971 and is currently owned by Kyo-Ya Management Company, Ltd. and operated by Marriott International. The hotel was featured in The Brady Bunch ...
, Skip Day at the Kikila Estate and Pounders Beach, and senior lunch. With each student attired in either a blue blazer or a formal white Hawaiian dress, senior year ends with
baccalaureate ceremonies at Central Union Church, and
commencement at
Stan Sheriff Center (since 2018).
Graduates who started Punahou in kindergarten are members of the Thirteen Plus Club.
In June, the school hosts an Alumni
Luau on campus that the newly graduated class can enjoy with other alumni. The annual luau also functions as a major fundraising event for the school.
Throughout most of the school's history, elementary schoolchildren have been allowed to attend in
bare feet
Barefoot is the state of not wearing any footwear.
There are health benefits and some risks associated with going barefoot. Shoes, while they offer protection, can limit the flexibility, strength, and mobility of the foot and can lead to h ...
.
Aloha shirt
The aloha shirt (), also referred to as a Hawaiian shirt, is a style of dress shirt originating in Hawaii. They are collared and buttoned dress shirts, usually short-sleeved and made from printed fabric. They are traditionally worn untucked, but ...
s were once restricted to Fridays, but dress codes were relaxed considerably during the 1970s.
G-Term is an effort for students to explore extracurricular opportunities over the week after students return from winter break. Students can choose from on- and off-island classes.
Location
All schools in
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the isla ...
(public and private) have an urban residential location. Nearby buildings include apartment buildings, private houses, a retirement home, a Catholic school (
Maryknoll School), several small churches, and two hospitals.
Punahou shares the entrance to
Manoa Valley with the
University of Hawaii main campus and a few other schools such as
Mid-Pacific Institute.
Punahou students are a few minutes away from the trail to
Manoa Falls, the beaches at
Ala Moana
Ala Moana (meaning ''path to the sea'' in Hawaiian) is a commercial, retail, and residential district of Honolulu, Hawaii. It is located between Waikiki and Moiliili to the east, and Kakaako and Honolulu Harbor to the west. King Street, to the ...
and
Waikiki
Waikiki (; haw, Waikīkī; ; also known as Waikiki Beach) is a neighborhood of Honolulu on the south shore of the island of Oahu in the U.S. state of Hawaii.
Waikiki is most famous for Waikiki Beach, which is one of six beaches in the distri ...
,
downtown Honolulu
Downtown Honolulu is the current historic, economic, and governmental center of Honolulu, the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is bounded by Nuuanu Stream to the west, Ward Avenue to the east, Vineyard Boulevard to the n ...
,
Lyon Arboretum, and the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Punahou's location provides many opportunities for off-campus learning: field trip destinations for middle school students have included the
Bishop Museum
The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, designated the Hawaii State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, is a museum of history and science in the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu. Founded in 1889, it is the la ...
,
Waikiki Aquarium,
Waikiki Shell,
Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial,
Kawaiahaʻo Church,
Sea Life Park,
USS Arizona Memorial
The USS ''Arizona'' Memorial, at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, marks the resting place of 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors and Marines killed on during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and commemorates the events of that day. ...
,
Valley of the Temples Memorial Park,
Fort Ruger at
Diamond Head,
Hanauma Bay
Hanauma (; )
is a marine embayment formed within a tuff ring and located along the southeast coast of the Island of Oahu in the Hawaii Kai neighborhood of East Honolulu, in the Hawaiian Islands.
Hanauma is one of the most popular tourist des ...
,
Honolulu Museum of Art,
Honolulu Zoo,
Iolani Palace,
Hawaii State Capitol, and the beaches on Oahu's
North Shore. Clubs and classes often organize trips to neighboring islands, especially to
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and the
Kohala Coast
The districts of the Big Island. From Northernmost, clockwise; North Kohala (highlighted), Hilo,_ Hilo,_South_Hilo,_Hawaii">Hilo,_Puna,_Hawaii">Puna,_ Hilo,_South_Hilo,_Hawaii">Hilo,_Puna,_Hawaii">Puna,_Kau,_Hawaii">Kaū,_South_ Hilo,_South_Hilo, ...
on the
Big Island.
The school in recent years
Tuition was $26,000 for the 2019–20 school year, not including student activity fees. Locals have long regarded Punahou as an expensive school, but its tuition is less than that of
Harvard Westlake School or
Sidwell Friends School, which charge over $35,000.
Tuition does not cover the entire cost of educating a student, and the school's endowment makes up the difference.
Punahou reported its endowment at $239 million in 2014. The land's raw value is considerable for a private school: land values in lower Manoa Valley routinely exceed $1 million per .3 acre, making Punahou's 76 acres worth as much as its endowment. Although these figures are high among mainland U.S. private schools, Honolulu's
Iolani School has a comparable endowment (twice the endowment per pupil), and
Kamehameha Schools has a $5 to $9 billion endowment (30 times the endowment per pupil) with a larger physical plant.
Maui has
Seabury Hall
Seabury Hall is a private college preparatory school in Makawao (on the island of Maui). It is affiliated with the Episcopal Church. It was founded in 1964 and serves middle and high school students. Seabury Hall has been designated as a U.S. D ...
, which has twice the endowment per pupil.
In the class of 2015, three graduates went to Harvard, three to Princeton, and two to Yale, with 22 total at Ivy League schools. Seven attended Swarthmore, Wellesley, Amherst, Tufts, or Vassar. Four attended Stanford, two Berkeley, four MIT, 16 Boston University, and 12 New York University, with 23 total at UAA schools. Students in that class also chose TCU, UND, Vanderbilt, Villanova, RPI, RIT, Michigan, Northeastern, Boston College, Olin Engineering, Norwich Military College, NYU/Shanghai, Erasmus/Rotterdam, Yonsei/S. Korea, Waseda/Japan, and Edinburgh/UK. Six decided to train at a US military academy. Schools throughout California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada are also popular among graduates, and many students choose to attend local schools like the
University of Hawaii and
Chaminade.
The class of 2012 had 30 of Hawaii's 70
National Merit Semifinalists. The class of 2013 had 20 semifinalists, and five of the state's ten
National Merit Scholars
The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a privately funded, not-for-profit organizat ...
.
Punahou's 33
Presidential Scholars were graduates of the classes of '64, '66, '70, '71, '75, '78 (two), '79, '82, '84 (two members), '85, '86 (two), '91, '92 (two), '93, '95, '96, '98, '01, '02, '04 (three), '05, '06, '08, '11, '16 (two), '17, and '21.
In 2006, it was ranked the greenest school in America. In 2017, Punahou's sports program was ranked second nationally in the MaxPreps Cup standings.
Punahou's student body is diverse, with student selection based on both academic and non-academic considerations.
The school is a founding member of the
Mastery Transcript Consortium, and uses a
competency-based learning
Competency-based learning or competency-based education is a framework for teaching and assessment of learning. It is also described as a type of education based on predetermined "competencies," which focuses on outcomes and real-world performance ...
framework in some courses.
A recent study of the class of 1979 showed that 15 had a PhD, 22 had an MD, 39 had a JD, 18 had the MBA, 10 had the DDS, DMD, DVM, or ND (about one quarter of the class reaching terminal degrees). 4 were officers in the US armed services. 12 had degrees from Harvard, Yale, or Princeton, 14 from Stanford, 17 from UC Berkeley, and 26 total from Ivy League schools.
Facilities
About 5,000 faculty, students, and staff work in 44 buildings on 76 acres. The Robert Thurston Memorial Chapel on campus was building designed and built in 1966 by architect
Vladimir Ossipoff and feature textile screens made by local artist
Ruthadell Anderson.
The school is built over a
natural spring
A spring is a point of exit at which groundwater from an aquifer flows out on top of Earth's crust (pedosphere) and becomes surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere. Springs have long been important for humans as a source of fres ...
, the Thurston Chapel wall meets at a pond formed by the spring and features a low hung
stained glass
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
.
Case Middle School
Before plans were made for a new middle school complex,
America Online
AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc.
...
founder and alumnus
Steve Case ('76) donated $10 million.
This led to construction of a new middle school for grades six through eight, Case Middle School, named for Case's parents.
The project earned a
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a
green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, constructio ...
Gold certification
[
] and a Project of the Year award in
Hawaiian Electric Company's Energy Efficiency Awards.
Sensors shut off air conditioners if windows are opened to let in the breeze; the buildings are designed to make full use of the
tradewinds, with the help of the
Venturi effect. There are also sensors in place that turn the lights on or off depending on whether motion is detected, and dim the lights on sunny days and brighten them on cloudy ones. Air conditioning is provided by three ice-making plants, one for each grade level's section. The units freeze and accumulate ice at night when electricity is cheaper, and allow the ice to melt during the day to cool the air.
Case Middle School consists of nine buildings with a total cost of roughly $50 million, made possible solely through donations.
Omidyar K-1 Neighborhood
In late 2010 a new five-building indoor/outdoor section of campus opened for Punahou's youngest students. It was constructed and operated with sustainable living as a principal goal, and the curriculum has a focus on sustainability. With solar energy, efficient landscaping, rain catchment and ecofriendly materials, the complex received a platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.
Teachers are encouraged to personalize their classroom spaces, and each of the 12 rooms has its own outdoor area that is one-third the size of the interior space to which it is attached.
The total cost was $26 million. Individual buildings are named the Mountain House, Forest House, and City House, and historic Wilcox Hall retains its traditional name. Board of Trustees member and
eBay
eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...
founder
Pierre Omidyar
Pierre Morad Omidyar (born Parviz Morad Omidyar, June 21, 1967) is a French-born Iranian-American billionaire. A technology entrepreneur, software engineer, and philanthropist, he is the founder of eBay, where he served as chairman from 199 ...
('84) donated $6 million to the project.
Athletics
Punahou's athletics program is the most successful in Hawaii. It has won more state championships than any other high school in the nation. In 2008 and in 2009, ''Sports Illustrated'' ranked Punahou's sports program the best in the country.
Punahou football plays the second half of its season at the
Aloha Stadium
Aloha Stadium is a closed multi-purpose stadium located in Halawa, Hawaii, a western suburb of Honolulu (though with a Honolulu address). It is the largest stadium in the state of Hawaii. , the stadium ceased fan-attended operations indefinit ...
(where the
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
and
Aloha Bowl
The Aloha Bowl was a National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Bowl Subdivision (then known as Division I-A) college football bowl game played in Honolulu, Hawaii at Aloha Stadium.
History
The Aloha Bowl was established in 1982 by Ma ...
were played). In fall 2014, the varsity football team ranked as high as 15th in the nation.
Athletic facilities include the Olympic-size Waterhouse Pool, a football field, a baseball diamond, two softball diamonds, and an eight-lane track. The school also has a fieldhouse for competitive athletics, an open-air weightlifting facility, a gymnasium for physical education and intramural sports, and a tennis center with eight hard surface courts.
Rocky Hill has been used as a live firing range for
JROTC and competitive target sports. Air riflery uses an indoor firing range.
Students need two athletic credits to graduate, which is a total of four semesters. They can earn these credits through P.E. and ILH sports.
Students compete in 22 sports, including
air riflery
An air gun or airgun is a gun that fires projectiles pneumatically with compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized ''without'' involving any chemical reactions, in contrast to a firearm, which pressurizes gases ''chemica ...
,
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
,
bowling
Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...
,
canoe paddling
A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle.
In British English, the term ...
,
cross country,
cheerleading
Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...
,
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
,
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
,
gymnastics
Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...
,
judo
is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...
,
kayaking
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits faci ...
,
riflery,
sailing
Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' ( land yacht) over a chose ...
,
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
,
softball
Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
,
swimming and
diving,
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...
,
track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...
,
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...
,
water polo
Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with th ...
, and
wrestling
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat s ...
. Punahou has approximately 120 sports teams. The school is a member of the
Interscholastic League of Honolulu
The Interscholastic League of Honolulu (ILH) is an athletic activity league whose membership is primarily private secondary schools in Honolulu, Hawai'i. The ILH has 24 member schools with over 13,000 student athletes participating in 37 differe ...
.
Punahou teams earned 20 championships in 2009–10, out of about 30 varsity I teams fielded.
State championships
Other programs and honors
Punahou requires all students (K-12) to attend
chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...
once a week, where each homeroom is assigned its own seating and attendance is taken. In addition, students attend a mandatory weekly assembly to listen to announcements or watch student performances.
Academy students have required
coursework in
Asian History
The history of Asia can be seen as the collective history of several distinct peripheral coastal regions such as East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East linked by the interior mass of the Eurasian steppe. See History of the Mid ...
, followed by
US History
The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Numerous indigenous cultures formed, and many saw transformations in the 16th century away from more densely ...
and
European History. Punahou also offers French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Latin, and Hawaiian as languages starting in middle school.
Students have access to a jewelry studio, a pottery studio, glass-blowing facilities, technology departments, a dance pavilion, and a dedicated music building. The campus has spaces for school-wide initiatives, e.g., for public service and international studies.
The high school yearbook, ''The Oahuan'', has won awards from the American Scholastic Press Association.
''Na Opio'' is the yearbook for K-8. ''Ka Wai Ola'' is the school's long-running student literary publication. ''Ka Punahou'' is the student newspaper, and ''Punahou Bulletin'' is the alumni magazine.
Punahou has a strong history of academic competition with its math, debate, and academic bowl teams, and at times has had organizations for computing, chess, and gaming. Punahou's
JROTC program was once known for its award-winning
close order drill team with multi-person aerials using
M1 Garand
The M1 Garand or M1 rifleOfficially designated as U.S. rifle, caliber .30, M1, later simply called Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, also called US Rifle, Cal. .30, M1 is a semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the U.S Army during World W ...
rifles.
Enrichment activities have included cultural clubs, dance and theater, funding and service committees, outdoor, environmental, and hiking clubs, pep clubs, and clubs based on sports such as
martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preser ...
and
synchronized swimming. There are men's, women's and mixed choruses, a concert orchestra, and various band groups. ''Hui Le'a Nani'' ("heavenly singers") is the elite choral group.
Academy Clubs include (*=probationary): Academic Team,* Anime & Manga, Asante Ambassadors,* Astronomy Club, Book Club, Chess Club, Chinese Club, Civil Engineering Club,* Club Hospital Helpers,* Cycling Club, Design Thinking,* Easter Seals Club, Environmental Surf Club, European Culture Club,* Fellowship for Christian Athletes, Filipino Club, Film Club, Film Makers Club,* Free Movement Club,* Friends Granting Wishes,* Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), Glass Club, Global Grindz Club,* Go Club, Hale Hawaii, Happy Club,* Hawaii Humane Society Club,* Hinano Hiking Club, Historical Film Club,* Hui O Aloha, IMAGEnation,* Impact and Inspire Club,* INK, Japanese Okinawan Club, Key Club, Korean Club, Lacrosse Club, Lemon Club,* Let's Do Stuff While Making Friends and Getting Exercise (LDSWMFGE), Math Team, Medical Science Club, Military History Club, Mock Trial, Mud Club, Music Club, Nature Nuts,* Neuro Club,* Nihonjin Club, Operation Smile,* Pa'i'ai Club, Pilates,* Polynesian Club, Punahou App Development Club,* Punahou Bible Study, Punahou Interact Club, Punahou Young Life Club, Punavision, Ranger Club, Robotics, Russian Club, Screen Printing Club,* Service-Learning Club, Social E,* Speech & Debate Team, Spoken Word and Poetry Club, Tea Society, TEDx, and Ultimate Frisbee Club.
The Punahou marching band travels periodically, and participated in the
2013 Presidential Inauguration, the 2012
London New Year's Day Parade
The London New Year's Day Parade (LNYDP) is an annual parade through the streets of the West End of London on 1 January. The parade first took place in 1987, as the Lord Mayor of Westminster's Big Parade. The parade was renamed in 1994, and for ...
, the
2009 Presidential Inauguration
The first inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The 56th inauguration, which set a record attendance ...
, the 2007 New Year's Day
Rose Parade
The Rose Parade, also known as the Tournament of Roses Parade (or simply the Tournament of Roses), is an annual parade held mostly along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California, United States, on New Year's Day (or on Monday, January 2 if N ...
, and the 2015 Rose Parade. In 2013, 54 members of the school symphony played four concerts in China.
115801 Punahou is a
minor planet
According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...
named in the school's honor.
Sexual assault allegations and litigation
In April 2020, several former Punahou girls' basketball players filed a lawsuit over alleged abuse committed by their former coach Dwayne Yuen. Days later, the school disclosed additional sexual assault allegations dating back to the 1970s involving a former faculty member and baseball coach.
In January 2021, the school
terminated the employment of a high school teacher based on
allegations of sexual misconduct involving a former student.
The teacher had been suspended from teaching and banned from campus since late November 2020 pending an internal investigation, which he did not cooperate with. The investigation found that the allegations were credible.
Notable students and faculty
(Numerical claims are substantiated in the main article on alumni.
* indicates the class year of an attendee who did not graduate with the class.)
In public leadership
Punahou has produced many leaders in the government of
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
.
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
('79) was the 44th President of the United States. He attended Punahou from 5th grade until graduation.
Sanford Dole (1864) was President of the brief
Republic of Hawaii
The Republic of Hawaii ( Hawaiian: ''Lepupalika o Hawaii'') was a short-lived one-party state in Hawaii between July 4, 1894, when the Provisional Government of Hawaii had ended, and August 12, 1898, when it became annexed by the United State ...
, then
Governor of Hawaii
, insignia = Logo of the Office of the Governor of Hawaii.png
, insigniasize = 110px
, insigniacaption = Gubernatorial logo
, flag = Flag of the Governor of Hawaii.svg
, flagborder = yes
, flagcaption = Standard of the Governor
, image ...
.
Walter Frear (1881) and
Lawrence M. Judd (1905) were also Governors.
Democratic Lt. Governor
Brian Schatz ('90) was appointed U.S. Senator to complete
Daniel Inouye's final term. Republican U.S. Senator Connecticut
Hiram Bingham III (1892) was also elected governor of Connecticut.
Otis Pike ('39*), Democratic Congressman from New York, chaired the
Pike Committee The Pike Committee is the common name for the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence during the period when it was chaired by Democratic Representative Otis G. Pike of New York. Under Pike's chairmanship, the committee inve ...
investigating
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
. Republican
Charles Djou
Charles Kong Djou (born August 9, 1970) is an American politician who served as U.S. representative for Hawaii's 1st congressional district from 2010 to 2011. Appointed by President Joe Biden, Djou currently serves as the Secretary of the Americ ...
('88) recently finished
Neil Abercrombie's term as Congressman from Hawaii. At least three other Punahou graduates have represented Hawaii in the U.S. House.
President
Dwight Eisenhower appointed Judge
Elbert Tuttle (1914) to lead the federal court that desegregated the South (the
Fifth Circuit Four
The "Fifth Circuit Four" (or simply "The Four") were four judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit who, during the late 1950s, became known for a series of decisions (which continued into the late 1960s) crucial in advanci ...
).
HEW Secretary
John W. Gardner
John William Gardner (October 8, 1912 – February 16, 2002) was Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) under President Lyndon Johnson. He was a strong advocate for citizen participation and founded Common Cause; he became known as " ...
('29*) was President
Lyndon Johnson's architect of the
Great Society. Tuttle and Gardner were awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...
.
Sun Yat-Sen
Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...
, the
Founding Father of the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...
(esteemed by
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...
as well as pre- and post-communist mainland China), attended Punahou (''Oahu College'') for a semester of study after graduating from
Iolani School.
Pierre Omidyar
Pierre Morad Omidyar (born Parviz Morad Omidyar, June 21, 1967) is a French-born Iranian-American billionaire. A technology entrepreneur, software engineer, and philanthropist, he is the founder of eBay, where he served as chairman from 199 ...
, billionaire founder of ebay, and of The Intercept and other public-affaires sites. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Omidyar
Omidyar attended Punahou School in Honolulu for a couple of years. (He now serves on its Board of Trustees).
1H
In athletics
Alexander Cartwright III (1869) and his classmates were some of the earliest players of baseball (
Alexander Cartwright
Alexander Joys Cartwright Jr. (April 17, 1820 – July 12, 1892) was a founding member of the New York Knickerbockers Base Ball Club in the 1840s. Although he was an inductee of the Baseball Hall of Fame and he was sometimes referred to as a " ...
, Jr., the official inventor of the game, spent the end of his life in Honolulu). The school claims at least one former pitcher and a former first baseman in major league baseball, and nine minor-leaguers. All-American Glenn Goya ('73) was an NCAA batting title winner.
Justin Wayne
Justin Morgan Wayne (born April 16, 1979) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played for the Florida Marlins of Major League Baseball for three seasons.
High school
Wayne is from Honolulu, Hawaii, and an alumnus of Punah ...
played Major League Baseball.
Five-time women's golf
LPGA
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of wee ...
event winner
Michelle Wie graduated in 2007.
Professional Golfers Association event winner
Parker McLachlin
Parker Nicholas McLachlin (born May 10, 1979) is an American professional golfer and golf instructor who plays on the PGA Tour.
McLachlin was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He graduated from Punahou School in 1997 and UCLA in 2002 with a degree in soc ...
graduated in 1997. Five-time
Association of Tennis Professionals doubles winner
Jim Osborne graduated in 1965. At least three alumni have been surfing world champions, including the five-time women's world tour winner
Carissa Moore
Carissa Kainani Moore (born August 27, 1992) is a Hawaiian American Olympian, world champion surfer and activist. She was the first-ever winner of the Olympic Gold Medal in women's short board surfing in 2020. She was also the 2011, 2013, 2015 ...
('10).
DeForest Buckner
DeForest George Buckner (born March 17, 1994) is an American football defensive tackle for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oregon, and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the f ...
('12) was a 2016 first-round draft pick by the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...
and Pro-Bowl selection; his classmate
Ka'imi Fairbairn ('12) is the
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their home games at NR ...
' placekicker. Linebacker
Manti Te'o ('09) was a 2012
Heisman Trophy finalist.
Punahou has also produced seven
NFL linemen and four running backs, including
Mark Tuinei ('78), who played 195 games over 15 years (team record) for the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
, winning three
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...
s and playing in two
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
s.
Ray Schoenke
Raymond Frederick Schoenke (born September 10, 1941) is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins. He played college football at Southern Methodist University.
Ear ...
('59*) played 145 games for the Cowboys and Redskins over twelve years.
Charley Ane
Charles Teetai Ane Jr. (January 25, 1931 – May 9, 2007) was an American football offensive lineman who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions. He played college football at the University of Southern California.
E ...
('49) was a
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
er and twice-
NFL champion team captain, whose son,
Kale Ane ('71), is the current Punahou football coach, after a career in the NFL. The elder Ane's brothers,
Herman Clark ('48) and
Jim Clark ('48), also played professionally. The four combined for a total of 260 NFL games over 20 seasons for the Packers, Chiefs, Lions, Redskins, and Bears. Pro Bowler and Super Bowler
Mosi Tatupu
Mosiula Faasuka Tatupu (April 26, 1955 – February 23, 2010) was an American professional football player who was a running back for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Southern Cal ...
('74) played 199 games and redefined the importance of special teams.
Punahou's high school All-Americans have played football for Stanford, Michigan State (twice), Santa Clara, and Notre Dame (twice); All-American college football players have played at Harvard (twice), Navy, Stanford, Northwestern, Notre Dame, and Oregon.
Punahou has a tradition of sending athletes to the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...
, with alumni contributing five gold, seven silver, and two bronze medals, competing in many of the modern games ('20, '24, '28, '32, '52, '68, '72, '76, '84, '88, '92, '96, '00, '04, '08, '12, '16, '21), and on every U.S. team since 1968 (Moscow '80 would have been the second of four Olympics for
Henry Marsh ('72) if not for the
U.S. boycott).
Warren Kealoha ('25*) was the youngest gold medalist in swimming when he won the first of two gold medals.
Taylor Crabb and
Carissa Moore
Carissa Kainani Moore (born August 27, 1992) is a Hawaiian American Olympian, world champion surfer and activist. She was the first-ever winner of the Olympic Gold Medal in women's short board surfing in 2020. She was also the 2011, 2013, 2015 ...
competed in 2021, with Moore winning gold in the first Olympic surfing competition.
Punahou teachers and trustees have also won medals at the Olympic Games (see
Punahou School alumni).
In academia
John W. Gardner
John William Gardner (October 8, 1912 – February 16, 2002) was Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) under President Lyndon Johnson. He was a strong advocate for citizen participation and founded Common Cause; he became known as " ...
taught at
Stanford
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. S ...
and
Hiram Bingham III at
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
,
Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nin ...
and
Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
.
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
lectured on Constitutional Law at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
.
Punahou alumni include endowed professors at
Berkeley,
Stanford
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. S ...
,
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
,
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
,
Notre Dame,
Purdue, and
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original cam ...
, and research professors of medicine at
UCSF
The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It con ...
,
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
,
UCSD,
USC
USC most often refers to:
* University of South Carolina, a public research university
** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses
** South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program
* University of ...
,
Stanford
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. S ...
,
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
,
Columbia
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...
,
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...
,
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...
,
Pitt,
Walter Reed, and
Baylor.
John Lie ('78) wrote six books on Asian cultures,
Patrick Vinton Kirch ('68) wrote nine books on Polynesian cultures, and Fred Hoxie ('65) wrote 20 books on Native American peoples. Jesuit Father
Robert Spitzer, SJ ('70) was the president of
Gonzaga University. General George Forsythe ('66*), formerly the academic vice dean at
West Point, is the president of
Westminster College (Missouri). Marie Mookini ('74) was an admissions officer for
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
and then for programs at Stanford's
Graduate School of Business for over two decades in total.
William Richards Castle, Jr. (1896) was a
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
Overseer
Elizabeth Bennett Johns('55) has been a
Guggenheim Fellow
Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...
.
Mount Rex is named for atmospheric science pioneer Lt. Cdr. Dan Rex ('33*).
William Ouchi ('61) wrote a book on Japanese business that is one of the top-100 most widely held books in U.S. libraries. Other prominent works by alumni (over 1000 citations for a single work, at scholar.google.com) are on leadership (Gardner '29*), plasma deformation (Killeen '42*), stability of silicates (Holdaway '54*), bird evolution (Steadman, '54), neuralgia vaccine (Gershon '56), coronary disease (3x, Labarthe '57), communicative acts (2x, Harnish '59*), dynamic choice (3x, Porteus '60), markets and bureaucracies (5x, Ouchi '61), floating point computation (Walther, '62), heart physiology (3x, Lederer '65), assay methods (Bennett, '66), marital conflict (4x, Cummings '68), gender equality (Roos '68), immunology (Umetsu '69), intraoperative melanoma (Wong '71), equal employment law (Krieger '72), bacteria viability (Oliver, '73), AIDS vaccination (2x, Michael '75), autophagy assays (Terada '75), virus expression (3x, R. Chung '78), stem cells (2x, Mankani '79), immunotherapy (Yuen '79), tumor pathogenesis (2x, D. Chung '80), legal construction of race (Haney-Lopez '82), nation building (Latham '86), and criminal records (
Pager '89).
Samuel C. Armstrong (1859) and
Elbert Tuttle were awarded
Honorary Degree
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad h ...
s from
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
. Armstrong founded a
normal school
A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...
(which later became
Hampton University
Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association a ...
) to educate African-Americans and later Native Americans. He was also the founder of the
Hampton University Museum
Founded in 1868 on the campus of Hampton University, the Hampton University Museum is the oldest African-American museum in the United States and the oldest museum in Virginia. It is the first institutional collection of work by African-American ...
, the country's oldest African-American museum and Virginia's oldest museum.
Punahou has a connection to
Mills College
Mills College at Northeastern University is a private college in Oakland, California and part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it w ...
through Punahou's former president, Cyrus Mills, who helped found Mills with his wife, Punahou teacher
Susan Tolman Mills. Queenie B. Mills was a Kindergarten director who helped design the
Head Start program.
In the arts
IMDb.com lists over 100 credits for
Carrie Ann Inaba ('86) (''
In Living Color'', ''
Austin Powers in Goldmember'', ''
Dancing with the Stars
''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...
'') and 150 for
Kelly Preston ('80) (''
Jerry Maguire'', ''
For Love of the Game
''For Love of the Game'' is a novel by American author Michael Shaara, published posthumously in 1991. The book tells the story of fictional baseball great Billy Chapel, thirty-seven years old and nearing the end of his career.
Plot summary
On t ...
'', ''
Only You'', ''
Twins'').
Sarah Wayne Callies ('95), has starred in ''
Prison Break
''Prison Break'' is an American serial drama television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox. The series revolves around two brothers, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) and Michael Scofield ( Wentworth Miller); Burrows has been sentenced ...
'', ''
Colony
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...
'', and ''
The Walking Dead''.
Al Harrington ('54) starred in the original ''
Hawaii Five-O'' and plays a recurring character in the revived series.
Joan Blondell ('25*) has a
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Calif ...
star after 52 years in films and was a nominee for best supporting actress in 1951.
Buster Crabbe ('27), who had won a gold medal in the 1932 Olympics, portrayed
Tarzan
Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...
,
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established '' Buck Rogers'' adv ...
, and
Buck Rogers in film.
Gerry Lopez ('66) is well known for surfing, but is also known as Subotai in ''
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and ''Conan the Destroyer''), ...
''.
Teri Ann Linn
Teri Ann Linn (born April 7, 1961) is an American actress and singer who also worked in Finland and Italy. She originated the role of Kristen Forrester Dominguez on '' The Bold and the Beautiful'', appearing regularly from 1987 to 1990, brief ...
('79) provided the beauty in ''
The Bold and the Beautiful'' for over eight years.
Scott Coffey ('81) appeared in ''
Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' and was in two films with
Naomi Watts (''
Tank Girl'', ''
Mulholland Drive'') before writing and directing her indie bio pic, ''
Ellie Parker''.
Amanda Schull
Amanda Schull is an American actress and former professional ballet dancer. She is known for her lead role in the 2000 film '' Center Stage'', and for her recurring roles on the American television series '' One Tree Hill'' and ''Pretty Little L ...
('96) had the lead role as an aspiring ballerina in ''
Center Stage'' and featured in
''Suits''''. Three alumni danced for the early
Martha Graham
Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide.
Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. She ...
.
Leilani Jones ('75) won a
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...
on Broadway and was on the original casts of ''
Grind'' and ''
Little Shop of Horrors
Little Shop of Horrors may refer to:
* ''The Little Shop of Horrors'', a 1960 film directed by Roger Corman
** ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (musical), a 1982 musical based on the 1960 film
** ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (film), a 1986 film adaptati ...
''.
Ann Harada ('81) starred on Broadway in ''
Avenue Q
''Avenue Q'' is a musical comedy featuring puppets and human actors with music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx and book by Jeff Whitty. It won Best Musical, Book, and Score at the 2004 Tony Awards. The show's format is a parody of ...
'' and ''
Cinderella'', and on TV in ''
Smash''.
Drew Matich '(82) has produced TV shows such as ''
Fairly Legal'', ''
In Plain Sight
''In Plain Sight'' is an American drama television series that premiered on the USA Network on June 1, 2008. The series revolves around Mary Shannon (Mary McCormack), a Deputy United States Marshal attached to the Albuquerque, New Mexico, office ...
'', ''
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles'', ''
Beautiful People'', ''
Joan of Arcadia
''Joan of Arcadia'' is an American fantasy family drama television series telling the story of teenager Joan Girardi ( Amber Tamblyn), who sees and speaks with God and performs tasks she is given. The series originally aired on Fridays on CBS ...
'', and ''
Dawson's Creek''.
Rod Lurie ('80) has directed and produced a dozen films (''
Straw Dogs'', ''
The Contender'') and two major TV series (''
Line of Fire'', ''
Commander in Chief'').
Kevin McCollum ('80*) directs a Broadway production company that claims 18
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...
-winning plays, and a
Pulitzer Prize for Drama, three awarded personally (''
In the Heights'', ''
Avenue Q
''Avenue Q'' is a musical comedy featuring puppets and human actors with music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx and book by Jeff Whitty. It won Best Musical, Book, and Score at the 2004 Tony Awards. The show's format is a parody of ...
'', ''
Rent
Rent may refer to:
Economics
*Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property
*Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production
*Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...
'').
Allan Burns
Allan Pennington Burns (May 18, 1935January 30, 2021) was an American screenwriter and television producer. He was best known for co-creating and writing for the television sitcoms ''The Munsters'' and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show''.
Early life ...
('53) was a 6-time
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
-winning writer and creator, known for such shows as ''
The Munsters'', ''
Get Smart'', ''
Mary Tyler Moore Show
''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. Moor ...
'', and ''
Rocky and Bullwinkle''. Ken Peterson ('26) animated ''
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection '' Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as ...
'', ''
One Hundred and One Dalmatians'', and ''
Sleeping Beauty''.
John Kneubuhl
John Alexander Kneubuhl (July 2, 1920 – February 20, 1992) was an American Samoan screenwriter, playwright and Polynesian historian. He wrote for American television series such as '' The Fugitive'', ''Gunsmoke'', ''The Wild Wild West'', ''Star ...
('38), a Samoan royal, was a writer on ''
Wild, Wild, West'', ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'', ''
Hawaii Five-O'', ''
Gunsmoke'', ''
Mannix'', and 40 other shows.
Bruce Broughton
Bruce Harold Broughton (born March 8, 1945) is an American orchestral composer of television, film, and video game scores and concert works. He has composed several highly acclaimed soundtracks over his extensive career and has contributed man ...
('62) is a film composer (''
Silverado'', ''
Tombstone'', ''
The Rescuers Down Under
''The Rescuers Down Under'' is a 1990 American animated adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 29th Disney animated feature film and the second movie to be produced during the Disne ...
'') and a 10-time Emmy-winner for TV themes (''
JAG'', ''
Tiny Toon Adventures
''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated comedy television series that was broadcast from September 14, 1990, to December 6, 1992. It was the first collaborative effort of Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation a ...
'').
Iris Yamashita
Iris Yamashita is a Japanese-American screenwriter.
She was hired by Clint Eastwood to write the Japanese side of the story of the Battle of Iwo Jima, once rumored to be titled ''Lamps Before the Wind'', then called ''Red Sun, Black Sand'', befo ...
('83*) was nominated for best original screenplay with ''
Letters from Iwo Jima
is a 2006 Japanese-language American war film directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood, starring Ken Watanabe and Kazunari Ninomiya. The film portrays the Battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers and is a companion ...
''.
Scott Moore ('85) co-wrote ''
The Hangover'', for which he received a
BAFTA Best Original Screenplay nomination, and ''
Bad Moms'', which he also co-directed.
Kaui Hart Hemmings
Kaui Hart Hemmings is an American writer. She is best known for her novel, '' The Descendants'' (2007), which was adapted into an award-winning film.
Biography
Kaui Hart Hemmings was born and raised in Hawaii. She attended Punahou School for ...
('94) was author of ''
The Descendants''.
The
Kingston Trio had two Punahou alumni as founders,
Dave Guard ('52*) and
Bob Shane
Robert Castle Schoen (February 1, 1934 – January 26, 2020), known professionally as Bob Shane, was an American singer and guitarist who was a founding member of The Kingston Trio. In that capacity, Shane became a seminal figure in the revi ...
('52), producing five #1 albums on
Billboard's charts, ten top-40 hits, and a #1
Grammy-winning single. The group won a
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is a special Grammy Award that is awarded by The Recording Academy
The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American learned academy of ...
.
Robin Luke
Robin Luke (born 20 March 1942, Los Angeles, California, United States) is an American rock and roll singer who is best known for his 1958 song, " Susie Darlin'". He later worked as a University professor in Marketing. Luke has been enshrined in t ...
('59) was a
Rockabilly Hall of Fame act. Hawaiian
slack-key guitar is represented by the popular music of Henry Kapono Kaaihue ('67) of
Cecilio & Kapono
Cecilio & Kapono were a Hawaiian pop music duo formed in 1973 by Henry Kapono Ka’aihue (known professionally as Henry Kapono, born September 21, 1948) and Cecilio David Rodriguez (born January 1945). The duo released three albums on Columbia R ...
.
Melody Ishikawa ('00) had three top-ten albums in Japan,
Tané McClure ('77*) did much of the
Terminator soundtrack, and
Teri Ann Linn
Teri Ann Linn (born April 7, 1961) is an American actress and singer who also worked in Finland and Italy. She originated the role of Kristen Forrester Dominguez on '' The Bold and the Beautiful'', appearing regularly from 1987 to 1990, brief ...
's ('79) debut CD went gold on the European charts.
In the military
General
Samuel C. Armstrong led a rifle company that repelled parts of
Pickett's Charge at the
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the ...
, and led
U.S. Colored Troops
The United States Colored Troops (USCT) were regiments in the United States Army composed primarily of African-American (colored) soldiers, although members of other minority groups also served within the units. They were first recruited during ...
.
Captain
Francis Wai ('35) was awarded a posthumous
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of val ...
,
Killed in Action in the
Battle of Leyte Gulf. Admiral
Thomas G. W. Settle ('14*) received the
Navy Cross in World War II. General
Donald Prentice Booth ('22*) received the
Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army)
The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. The ...
in World War II and the Cold War. General
Ned Moore ('24) received the
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is the United States Army's second highest military decoration for soldiers who display extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be o ...
in the
Korean War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Korean War
, partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict
, image = Korean War Montage 2.png
, image_size = 300px
, caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...
. General Sidney Wooten ('24*) received the DSC in World War II and, with classmates Ned Moore and General
Walter K. Wilson, Jr. ('24), the DSM during the Cold War. General Philip Lindeman ('26) received the DSC in World War II and DSM in the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. General Tom Stayton ('26) received the DSM posthumously in Vietnam. General Walter Jensen ('27) earned the DSM during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. Admiral
Gordon Chung-Hoon ('29*) received the
Navy Cross in World War II. General
Kelley Lemmon Jr. ('31*) and General Stanley Larsen ('33) received the DSC in World War II and DSM in Vietnam. Admiral
Chester Nimitz, Jr.
Chester William "Chet" Nimitz Jr. (February 17, 1915 – January 2, 2002) was an American submarine commander in the United States Navy during World War II and the Korean War, and a businessman. He was awarded the Navy Cross and three Silver Star ...
('32*) received the
Navy Cross in World War II.
William Robertson Desobry ('36) received the DSM in Vietnam, and General
Ross T. Dwyer ('37) received the DSM (Navy) in Peacetime. General
George Cantlay ('38) received the DSM in Vietnam and a Peacetime DSM (Defense). General
George Patton IV ('42*) received the DSC in the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
and a Peacetime DSM. Admiral Kleber Masterson, Jr. ('50*) received a DSM (Navy) in Vietnam.
Many of the students were children of high level commanders stationed in the Pacific, such as
Chester Nimitz, Jr.
Chester William "Chet" Nimitz Jr. (February 17, 1915 – January 2, 2002) was an American submarine commander in the United States Navy during World War II and the Korean War, and a businessman. He was awarded the Navy Cross and three Silver Star ...
and George Patton IV. Admiral Grant Sharp '(56) and Admiral Stephen Clarey ('58) had fathers who would become
Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet
Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMPACFLT), is the title of the United States Navy officer who commands the United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT). Originally established in 1907 as a two-star rear admiral's billet, the position has been held ...
. General Stephen Fuqua, Jr.'s ('28*) father was Chief of Infantry and Colonel Wallace Greene III's ('50) father was
Commandant of the Marine Corps
The commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) is normally the highest-ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Joint Chiefs of Staff: composition; functions. The CMC reports directly to the secr ...
.
The school can claim at least fifteen Brigadier Generals, eleven Major Generals, six Lieutenant Generals, thirteen Rear Admirals, and three Vice Admirals. Stanley Larsen was the first commander of the
Field Force, Vietnam and commander of the
Sixth United States Army. Ross Dwyer was commander of the
1st Marine Division and George Cantlay was commander of the
2nd Armored Division. Donald Booth was commander of the
Fourth United States Army. Kleber Masterson, Jr. commanded the
United States Second Fleet. Admiral
Thomas H. Copeman III ('77) was
Commander, Naval Surface Forces Pacific and
Commander, Naval Surface Forces Atlantic.
Colone
Farrant Turner('13), Major Alex McKenzie ('29), and Major John Johnson ('31) commanded the
Nisei 100th Infantry Battalion, a.k.a. the "
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...
Battalion." Johnson was
Killed in Action at the
Battle of Monte Cassino
The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino, was a series of four assaults made by the Allies against German forces in Italy during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The ultimate objective was ...
. The destroyer is named after Punahou football star, Gordon Chung-Hoon, who was assigned to the .
Lt. Michael T. McCormick (1964) was shot down in Vietnam War in 1973, recovered in 2002, and now rests in
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
.
West Point graduates Generals
Albert Lyman (1906*) and
Charles Lyman
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...
(1908) were the first ethnic Hawaiians to attain that rank. General C. B. Stewart ('30) was a Ph.D. in nuclear physics and General Frances Mossman ('50) has her J.D. Admiral Alma Lau (Grocki) ('77) was a member of the 2nd
Naval Academy
A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers.
See also
* Military academy
A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally pr ...
class to admit women.
Many Punahou teachers in its history have been military reservists or ex-military. Former computer and math teacher Henry Wells Lawrence was one of the first pilots to respond to the
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...
.
Others
Agnes Baldwin Alexander
Agnes Baldwin Alexander (1875–1971) was an American author and distinguished member of the Baháʼí Faith.
Life
Agnes Baldwin Alexander was born on July 21, 1875, in the Kingdom of Hawaii. She was the youngest of five children born to William ...
(1895) was an author and
Hand of the Cause
Hand of the Cause was a title given to prominent early members of the Baháʼí Faith, appointed for life by the religion's founders. Of the fifty individuals given the title, the last living was ʻAlí-Muhammad Varqá who died in 2007. Hands of ...
in the
Baháʼí Faith
The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...
.
In 2007,
Cox Enterprises
Cox Enterprises, Inc. is a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately 55,000 employees and $21 billion in total revenue. Its major operating subsidiaries are Cox Communications and ...
passed to two former Punahou students who are highly philanthropic like their mother
Barbara Cox Anthony, who ''twice'' married Punahou alumni; daughter, Blair Kennedy ('68*), a former schoolteacher, is now the second wealthiest woman in Australia; son
James C. Kennedy ('65*) was Atlanta's philanthropist of the year 2007, and 61st on the
Forbes 400 list 2012.
Charles Gates, Jr. ('39) has donated $147 million through his Gates Family Foundation (Gates last appeared on the
Forbes 400 list in 2006). As mentioned above, the philanthropic founders of
AOL and
eBay
eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...
were Punahou students, with both still listed on the 2012
Forbes 400.
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
reported that
Pierre Omidyar
Pierre Morad Omidyar (born Parviz Morad Omidyar, June 21, 1967) is a French-born Iranian-American billionaire. A technology entrepreneur, software engineer, and philanthropist, he is the founder of eBay, where he served as chairman from 199 ...
's ('84*) total charitable contributions exceeded $1 billion.
Charles L. Veach ('62) was an astronaut on two shuttle missions.
Nancy Cordes ('91) is a senior CBS News White House correspondent and anchor.
Emily Chang Emily Chang may refer to:
* Emily Chang (actress) (born 1980), American actress
* Emily Chang (journalist) (born 1980), American journalist
{{hndis, Chang, Emily ...
('98) is the anchor and executive producer of Bloomberg news shows.
Punahou students were crowned
Miss Hawaii
The Miss Hawaii competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the State of Hawaii in the Miss America pageant, and the name of the title held by that winner. Hawaii first competed at Miss America in 1948 and has twice won the M ...
or
Miss Hawaii USA
The Miss Hawaii USA competition, previously known as Miss Hawaii Universe, is a beauty pageant that selects the representative for the state of Hawaii in the Miss USA pageant.
Kiana Yamat of Honolulu was crowned Miss Hawaii USA 2022 on Februa ...
in 1977, 1981, 1997, 1999, and 2004 (with
Judi Anderson ('76) becoming
Miss USA and
Brook Mahealani Lee
Brook Antoinette Mahealani Lee (born January 8, 1971) is an American former beauty queen who was crowned Miss Hawaii USA 1997, Miss USA 1997, and Miss Universe 1997. Lee is the first native Hawaiian to win the title of Miss Universe.
Early lif ...
('89*) becoming
Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall St ...
).
Punahou students appear across the political spectrum, from
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
's "favorite economist" and former
Enron
Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was founded by Kenneth Lay in 1985 as a merger between Lay's Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both relatively small regional compani ...
board member
Wendy Lee Gramm ('62); Ryan Henry ('68) and Robert Silberman ('75), Deputy Under Secretary of Defense and Assistant Secretary of the Army, respectively, for
George H. W. Bush; to centrist
Ray Schoenke
Raymond Frederick Schoenke (born September 10, 1941) is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins. He played college football at Southern Methodist University.
Ear ...
('59*), a former Democratic candidate for Maryland Governor who founded the
American Hunters and Shooters Association (an alternative to the
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying organization while cont ...
); to
Jerry Berman
Jerry Berman (1903, Pikeliai, Kėdainiai, now Lithuania – 1979, Cape Town, South Africa) was a South African engineer. He was a witness of the Holodomor, who left vivid testimonies in his letters to relatives and friends, which are currently ke ...
('58), chief counsel of the
ACLU
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". ...
.
Ellery Chun ('27) invented the
Aloha Shirt
The aloha shirt (), also referred to as a Hawaiian shirt, is a style of dress shirt originating in Hawaii. They are collared and buttoned dress shirts, usually short-sleeved and made from printed fabric. They are traditionally worn untucked, but ...
.
Punahou in fiction and literature
* "He started his scholarly investigation while still at Punahou, although he later took his B.A. at Yale, his M.A. at Harvard, his Ph.D. from Oxford and his D.Litt. from the Sorbonne. He received honorary degrees from eleven major universities, but when he died in 1914 the Honolulu ''Mail'' announced simply: 'The great scholar was educated at Punahou.' None of the rest really mattered." (
James Michener, ''Hawaii'')
* "Gramps grabbed me by the arm. 'Hell, Bar,' he whispered, 'this isn't a school. This is heaven.'" (Obama, ''Dreams from My Father'')
* "I wanted a station wagon like the family in ''The Brady Bunch.'' I wanted to go steady with someone like Marcia or Jan, girls who dressed mod and spoke cool. My new school was full of girls like Marcia and Jan. I'd just started seventh grade at Punahou" (Wright, ''Punahou Blues'')
* In the ''Descendants,'' Matt (George Clooney's character) accuses Sid of being "a hundred miles away from Smartville." Sid responds that he is "Vice President of the Punahou chess club".
* In ''
Hawaii Five O'', Charlie Fong, the "extremely capable lab technician", is a Punahou graduate.
* "As part of chapel every year, the school held a special memorial day ceremony. ... The JROTC cadets dressed in full gear and stood at attention the whole time. Arm in arm, a boy and girl from each grade level ... walked slowly down the aisle with a wreath of flowers ... while the names of all of those in the Punahou family, former students of the school who had been killed in war, were read off. ... By the end, the entire floor at the front of the chapel was filled with flowers." (Lum, ''Letting Go'')
* "We had attended high school together at Punahou, the most exclusive private school in Hawaii." (Charley Memminger, ''Aloha, Lady Blue'')
* "'What do people do here in the evening? The movies?' 'Just at present,' the girl told him, 'everybody visits Punahou ... to see the night-blooming cereus. It's the season now, you know.'" (Biggers, ''House Without a Key'')
Alma Mater
Oʻahu A
Oʻahu a, Oʻahu a
Punahou, our Punahou;
Mau a Mau, oh mau a mau,
Punahou, our Punahou.
Throughout the years we've shown our light,
We glory in Oʻahu's might;
The Buff and Blue's a glorious sight,
Punahou, our Punahou.
The song is sung to the tune of ''
Maryland, My Maryland
"Maryland, My Maryland" was the state song of the U.S. state of Maryland from 1939 until 2021. The song is set to the melody of "Lauriger Horatius" — the same tune " O Tannenbaum" was taken from. The lyrics are from a nine-stanza poem written ...
'', also known as "O Tannenbaum". The lyrics are taken from a poem, "Oahu Wa," by then student Wilhelm Albert Gartner (1902).
School shout
Ready? Hit it!
Strawberry Shortcake, Huckleberry Pie
V-I-C-T-O-R-Y
Are We In It? Well I Guess!
Punahou, Punahou, Yes, Yes, Yes!
This cheer is typically shouted by the marching band and cheerleaders at Punahou, at events such as football games and other sports activities and gatherings following the alma mater.
School mascot
Punahou does not have an official mascot. The closest thing is the
hala tree, whose image is used in the school's seal. Fans often refer to athletic teams as the "Sons of Oahu", or "Buff & Blue". In 1890 the colors buff and blue officially became Punahou's school colors, representing sand and the sea. In 1890, long before the development of high-rises and hotels in Waikiki, all that was visible in the distance from the top of Punahou's campus was the buff-colored sand and blue-colored sea of Waikiki Beach.
See also
*
List of Punahou School alumni
References
Further reading
* A. Alexander, "Baseball at Punahou Thirty-Seven Years Ago", ''Oahuan'', June 1906.
* Mary C. Alexander, C. P. Dodge, William R. Castle, ''Punahou, 1841–1941'', U. California Press, 1941.
* John B. Bowles, ''Day Our World Changed: December 7, 1941; Punahou '52 Remembers Pearl Harbor'', Ice Cube Press, 2004.
* "Punahou School: a private school with a public purpose", ''Hawaii Business'', September 1, 2003. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_go2021/is_200309/ai_n9142055
* T. K. Chow-Hoy, "An inquiry into school context and the teaching of the virtues", ''Journal of Curriculum Studies'', 2001.
* D. Cisco, ''Hawaii Sports: History, Facts, and Statistics'', University of Hawaii Press, 1999.
* Ethel Mosely Damon, ''The Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Pageant Punahou'', published by the author, 1916.
* Charlotte P. Dodge, ''Punahou, The War Years, 1941–1945'', 1984.
* Nelson Foster, ed., ''Punahou: The History and Promise of a School of the Islands'', published by Punahou School, 1992.
* James A. Michener, ''Hawaii'', New York, Random House, 1939. .
* Norris W. Potter, ''The Punahou Story'', Pacific Books, 1969.
* Punahou Class of 1957, Na Halia Aloha o Punahou Class of 1957, June 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20071127163651/http://www2.punahou.edu/pdf/Bulletin/Classof57BookWeb.pdf includes many historical photos and legend of founding.
* M. Tate, "The Sandwich Island Missionaries Lay The Foundation for a System of Public Instruction in Hawaii", ''
The Journal of Negro Education'', 1961.
* Kirby Wright, ''Punahou Blues'', Lemon Shark Press, 2005. .
External links
*
Campus map* (transcription of 1857 text about early history of the school)
*
*
*
*
{{Authority control
1841 establishments in Hawaii
Educational institutions established in 1841
Historic American Buildings Survey in Hawaii
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii
National Register of Historic Places in Honolulu
Preparatory schools in Hawaii
Private K-12 schools in Honolulu
School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii
Christian schools in Hawaii
Schools founded by missionaries