Related: Ready for a New School Year
Convocation marked the kickoff to the new school year with the unveiling of the Chapel theme and the new Punahou Pledge. Students and faculty from grades 2 – 12 gathered on Alexander Field Wednesday morning to celebrate Convocation with excitement. A special Keiki Convocation for first graders was held the Omidyar K – 1 Neighborhood.
As is tradition at Convocation, Punahou revealed the Chapel theme for the school year: “E Hoʻomoeā: Our Home to Dream and Discover.” This theme is rooted in Punahou’s mission to spark a love for learning, creativity and exploration from kindergarten through life, encouraging everyone to find their unique gifts and passions. We are eager to see how this theme inspires the community throughout the school year.
This year, Punahou also introduced the “Punahou Pledge”: He Pono Pū (We are pono together), He Pono Mau (We are pono always), He Punahou (We are Punahou).
“Punahou is our home to dream and discover, and we want everyone in our community to feel included and truly belong – to feel that they are at home,” President Mike Latham ’86 told faculty and staff at a Chapel gathering as they prepared for the new school year.
The Pledge was born from this idea, offering a way to live out the School’s mission every day with a focus on treating each other with kindness and care. Developed last year by a group of faculty and administrators, the Pledge aims to strengthen the sense of belonging and community at Punahou.
Grade 11 Dean Jonah Ka‘akua ’97 and Grade 6 Administrative Dean Rianne Graves-Grantham ’93, who were part of the team that created the Pledge, shared it with faculty and staff. While “pono” has over 30 definitions in the Hawaiian dictionary, Ka‘akua explained that at its core, pono is about doing the right thing for ourselves, our community and the environment. “Being pono challenges us to live a virtuous, honest, compassionate and righteous life in harmony with others and our environment, understanding that we are all part of a greater community,” he said.
They also talked about their hopes for the Pledge to inspire the community – whether it’s exploring what pono means with students and colleagues, practicing pono in daily life, taking care of ourselves through rest, or managing classroom disagreements by asking if actions were pono.
After being shared with faculty and staff at the Chapel gathering ahead of the new school year, the Pledge was then recited by students at Convocation as one community, embracing the commitment to live pono.