LONG BEACH PRESS TELEGRAM FEATURE

NPIEN would like to thank the Long Beach Press-Telegram (California) for its feature in the May 29, 2008 edition, on Pacific Islanders, the mission of NPIEN, and the ukulele instruction class taught by Henry Kamae at Stanford Middle School. A special thanks to Kevin Butler, Education Reporter, Gayle Knapp, Education Services Manager, Kelly Puente, News Reporter, and Steven Georges, photographer, for your commitment to the Pacific Islander community. Read the article on-line at www.presstelegram.com

PACIFIC ISLANDER DAY AT PRARIE VISTA

I visited Prarie Vista Middle School in Hawthorne, CA, as a part of their Pacific Islander Day Celebration. Prarie Vista is a modern school facility, located not far from LAX. Eleven students attended, all from Tonga. Eight of the ten are like me, first generation American born. I enjoyed speaking to the students about "being the only one" in my school and profession, and being mentored by many who were not from the Pacific Islander community. The students were very bright and well spoken, and quite humorous. Counselor Janna Marks arranged for and hosted this event, and we ate some delicious pizza and Spam musubi. You can see a picutre of the students on the home page of www.npien.com

NEW NPIEN OFFICERS TAKE OFFICE JULY 1st

NPIEN members recently elected new officers for the 2008-2010 term:

President Falanai Ala, Long Beach Unified School District Facilities Manager
Secretary Eugene Mafi, Teacher, Wilson High School, Long Beach USD
Treasurer Martha Donnenfield, Teacher, Longfellow Elementary School, Long Beach USD
Past President Bianca Larson, Teacher, Paramount USD

Congratulations to the new board, and a special thanks to outgoing president Bianca Larson for all of your hard work.

Stanford Middle School Celebrates API Month

Stanford Middle School in Long Beach, CA, the Long Beach Unified School District, held its second annual API Month Celebration. Renown singer and ukulele extrordinaire Henry Kamae taught students, teachers, and community members how to play the "flying flea," or ukulele. The celebration included some delicious Spam Musubi for lunch. Kathy Cruz, Stanford Principal, welcomes NPIEN's return next year. Mrs. Cruz'es husband is from Guam.

COMPTON USD API CELEBRATION

Compton (CA) Unified School District (USD) will host an Asian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebration on Wednesday June 4, 2008, 1:00 p.m.at Kennedy Elementary School in Compton, CA. Cultural dances and food will highlight the event. NPIEN Executive Director Dr. Victor Thompson thanked the Compton USD governing board at its regular meeting for its resolution recognizing the National Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month.

REPORT: PRESIDENTIAL TOWN HALL MEETING

Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote sponsored the historic Presidential Town Hall featuring Presidential on May 17, 2008 at the Bren Events Center at University of California, Irvine. NPIEN President Elect Falanai Ala, Treasurer Elect Martha Donnenfield and husband Steve, NPIEN Chief of Staff Tino Andres attended and sat with June Pouesi, Executive Director of the Office of Samoan Affairs. There were many representatives from the Hawaiian community, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs was a major sponsor. NPIEN was the only education organization listed as a sponsor. Although the 1,000 who attended were disappointed that the candidates were not there in person, it was good to at least view a satellite presentation from Hillary Clinton and a telephone conversation with Barack Obama, including questions and answers. The Pacific Islander presence was very good, and we look forward to seeing more in the future. Regardless of who you support, (We had quite a debate among NPIEN members)we encourage all to vote.

SOUPLANTATION FUNDRAISER

The Souplantation in Lakewood, CA sponsored a fundraiser to benefit students. Funds raised will be given as grants to support Pacific Islander Student Clubs. The American University of Health Sciences (AUHS) of Long Beach, CA made a generous Bronze Level donation. On the scene were NPIEN TEAM Referral Network partner Rynette Labostrie-Barr and her family, Pastor Gregory Johnson, AUHS COO, Board Members Falanai Ala, Eugene Mafi and their families, NPIEN Staff Members David Brown, Desma Thompson, and Tino Andres. Thanks to all for your support!