This year, Sacred Hearts Academy celebrated 115 years of all-girls Catholic education. From balloons to banners, the Kaimuki campus gets colored with white and gold birthday decor. The festivities included dress-up days to display school pride and delicious treats. The most anticipated for many is an assembly in the gym, and this year, for the first time, alumnae were invited to attend.
The sisters are joined by Father Jeremy Sabugo and several graduates at the front of the gym. Many of these graduates returned to the Academy as faculty, staff, teachers or volunteers who help with the school festivities. (Second row, middle in light yellow dress) Kehau Bugado ‘97, a daughter of the Academy and theology teacher said, “I feel like I’m at home when I teach here, (especially) being surrounded by my friends that I call sisters and who I also went to school with.” All photos by Corilee Harbottle.Senior and daughter of the Academy Ofa Tuiafitu handed out yellow roses to the graduates, as their names were called at the start of the assembly. Many graduates have children who also attend the school, continuing their legacy. Alumnae say that the opportunities, in and out of the classroom, keep their families coming back, generation after generation. “Handing out roses was an honor because I’ll be an Academy alumna in six months,” Tuiafitu said. “Seeing all the women who made it possible for me to attend (this school) was great.”Sister Regina Mary Jenkins and Sister Rose Henry Reeves shared memorable stories about their time at the Academy, including their favorite experiences, reasons for becoming sisters and recollections of what it was like when they went to school as Lancers decades ago. Jenkins also described what the school looked like when she was a student. One memory included a big tree that used to be where the fountain in front of the Performing Arts Center is now located.Let’s go, Lancers! The Lancer cheer team brought fun and enthusiastic spirit to the birthday assembly. The girls represent the school in gold and white at athletic events and recently competed in the state championships for the third consecutive year. The band and color guard students also continued to boost school pride, as they showcased their talents with a lively performance in the gym. The band and color guard can also be seen throughout the community, participating in athletic events and parades. “I enjoyed being able to perform for the SHA birthday because I loved hearing the different parts of the song and hearing it become a very nice sounding piece,” sophomore Ally Yokoyama said. “As for color guard, because it’s something that I’m very passionate about, seeing the different techniques that (we) can do and seeing how far we (have come) as a whole band (meant a lot).”Father Jeremy Sabugo closed out the assembly and got everyone in the worshiping spirit. As the school’s first chaplain, Sabugo prayed over each division, starting from the Lower School and continuing on to the Upper School. Attendees joined in on the prayer as well. “I enjoyed being a part of this assembly,” Sabugo said. “It was such a blessing to be able to bless all these students, teachers, faculty and other graduates who decided to join us on this special day. It is important we were able to bless everyone to have a great school year and on their journeys, inside and outside of school.”
Corilee is a first-year Journalism student and a senior at the Academy. This year she hopes to be more involved in the school community and to strengthen her skills in communication and writing newspaper articles about different sports. Corilee enjoys spending time with her family and shopping in her free time. A fun fact about Corilee is that she's very outgoing and likes trying new things.
