Don Ho High - Home of the Dukes

The islands of Hawaii have been developed for fruit, sugar, coffee and tourism due their majestic beauty, climate and strategic location in the Pacific Ocean. For centuries, perhaps millennia, people have migrated from Asia, and more recently from the Europe and the Americas to inhabit or even visit this exotic chain of islands.

Naming our school after Don Ho, who died on April, 14, 2007, would honor this native singer and songwriter, whose catchy hit "Tiny Bubbles" helped bring him fame. Born in Honolulu, HI, Don Ho's heritage-Hawaiian, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, and German-is a product of this influx of people, represented the variety of people who have settled in this land. He was born in Kaka'ako, a district of Honolulu. Read about this area's development around the time he was born.

Because this land is such a paradise, many nations have tried to conquer and rule it. The western culture of capitalism has taken hold, and this is why native people and residents are fighting to keep Kaka'ako from being sold and developed. Read more about the development of this community here in the Honolulu Weekly.

We must honor American legends, especially those who come from the location where we go to school. Let's call ourselves the Dukes, in honor of yet another legendary Hawaiian: surfer and Olympic swimmer, Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku. Don Ho got his start at Duke's a famous Wakiki restaurant named for and owned by The Duke himself. In the tradition of the islands and their heroes, we can learn to build a community. Through education, we can teach the children about their interesting and valuable history. We should help the people who live here in fighting to keep the land from being developed more that it already has been. Our mascot should be based on The Duke and show a surfer catching an awesome wave and conquering it, as we will conquer our opponents in academics, athletics or anywhere in the world.