Hilo High School is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

of the

Hawaii State Department of Education The Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE) is a statewide public education system in the United States. The school district can be thought of as analogous to the school districts of other cities and communities in the United States, but i ...

, and serves grades nine through twelve. Established in 1906, its first class graduated in 1909. Hilo High School is near the

Wailuku River The Wailuku River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 28, 2011 water course on the Island of Hawaii in the Hawaiian Islands. It is the longest river in Hawai'i and ...

Hawaii County 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 state ...

on the Big Island 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 ...

, United States. The campus boasts the black marble terrazzo and gray gravel sculpture ''Matrix'' by

Ken Shutt Ken Shutt (1928-April 2, 2010) was an American sculptor and watercolorist who was born in Long Beach, California. He grew up in Whittier, California, and graduated from Pasadena City College, the Art Center College of Design and the Chouinard Ar ...

in the middle of its two patios in its courtyard. The school is situated at 556 Waianuenue Avenue on across the street from Hilo Intermediate School, one of its two feeder schools, the other being Kalanianaole Intermediate School. Hilo's symbol and

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

is the

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

and its

school colors School colors (also known as university colors or college colors) are the colors chosen by a school as part of its brand identity, used on building signage, web pages, branded apparel, and the uniforms of sports teams. They can promote connectio ...

are

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

and

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

. Hilo High School celebrated its

centennial {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...

during

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. ...

of 2006. Hilo High School's crosstown rivals are the Warriors of

Waiakea High School Waiākea High School is a public, co-educational secondary school in Hilo, Hawaii. The school's mascot is the Warrior. It is part of the Hawaii State Department of Education. The school graduated its first class in 1980, and has about 1300 studen ...

History

Hilo High School was started by the school authorities in September 1905. The idea for a high school is attributed to Josephine Deyo, principal of Hilo Union School. The weak public interest eventually grew stronger as the public realized the benefits from a high school in

Hilo, Hawaii Hilo () is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaii. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. It is the fourth-largest settlement i ...

. At the time, the only High Schools on the island were

Kau High and Pahala Elementary School Kaū High & Pāhala Elementary School is a public, co-educational high school, middle school and elementary school of the Hawaii State Department of Education. It serves kindergarten through twelfth grade and was established in 1881. It was th ...

and

Honokaa High & Intermediate School Honokaa High & Intermediate School is a public, co-educational high school and middle school of the Hawaii State Department of Education. It serves grades seven through twelve and was established in 1889. It was added to the Hawaiʻi Register of ...

, both over 30 miles away in rural sugar communities that were disconnected from most of the island and were only accessible by railroad. Most students who wished to attend high school went to boarding school in

Honolulu, Hawaii 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 island o ...

. The school changed location in 1907 to the District Annex location and was then named Hilo Junior High School, and moved yet again in 1922 to its present location on Waianuenue Avenue.

Timeline of the 556 Waianuenue Ave. campus

*1922- First Building- Makai Building *1926- Miss Margaret Way's music class created the Hilo High Alma mater *1927- Auditorium Building donated by the Alumni Association. *1931 and 1934-Cafeteria built (Now known as F building) *1935- First stage of the Mauka Building built *1936- Second stage of the Mauka Building built *1939- Third stage of the Mauka Building built *1937- Original gym and wood shop built *1961- Administration Building Built *1962- Swimming Pool donated by Mrs. John M Ross and Mrs. Isabel Kennedy *1963- The Library and Multi Purpose Room was built *1968- The Cafeteria was built *1970- R-Building *1977- Mauka Building burns down *1979- 100-car parking lot built *1980- C Building built *2014- New Gym built at the old annex location.

Hilo High School Foundation

The Hilo High School

Foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

was formed in 1990, with the purpose of creating and maintaining an

endowment Endowment most often refers to: *A term for human penis size It may also refer to: Finance *Financial endowment, pertaining to funds or property donated to institutions or individuals (e.g., college endowment) *Endowment mortgage, a mortgage to b ...

fund that would fund educational programs and activities at Hilo High School that would not or could not be funded from

State 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 state ...

funds. It annually provides the school with the interest earnings for distribution to programs. A

committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

designated by the Principal solicits and reviews proposals from faculty for new and innovative programs that benefit the educational experience of Hilo High School students. To date, the Foundation has distributed a total of over $130,000 to Hilo High School. Its 2005 Financial Report place its assets at $724,063.44.

Class mascot and colors

*Class of 2025:

Jaguars The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the thi ...

, White and Gold *Class of 2024:

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, Black and Blue *Class of 2023:

Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...

, Black and Red *Class of 2022:

Dragons A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

, Black and White *Class of 2021:

Panthers Panther may refer to: Large cats *Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis'' **''Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards. ***Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in Sout ...

, White and Gold *Class of 2020:

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

s, Black and Gold *Class of 2019:

, Black and Silver *Class of 2018:

Honu The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exten ...

s, Teal and White *Class of 2017:

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

s, Black and Red *Class of 2016:

Shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimo ...

s, Black and White *Class of 2015:

, Blue and Gold *Class of 2014:

Pink Panthers The Pink Panthers are an international jewel thief network responsible for a number of robberies and thefts described as some of the most audacious in the history of organized crime. The organization has roughly 800 core members, many of whom ...

, Black and Pink *Class of 2013:

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

s, Black and Red *Class of 2012:

s, Black and Blue *Class of 2011:

, Black and Green *Class of 2010:

, Black and Gold *Class of 2009:

Sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimorp ...

, Black and Red *Class of 2008:

s, Black and Silver *Class of 2007:

s, Blue and Silver *Class of 2006:

Panther Panther may refer to: Large cats *Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis'' **''Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards. ***Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in Sout ...

s, Black and White *Class of 2005:

, Black and Green *Class of 2004:

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

*Class of 2003:

s, Black and Red *Class of 2002:

Monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

s, Blue and Silver *Class of 2001:

Elmo Elmo is a red Muppet monster character on the long-running PBS/ HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street''. A furry red monster who has a falsetto voice and illeism, he hosts the last full five-minute segment (fifteen minutes prio ...

, Black and White *Class of 2000:

, Black and Green *Class of 1972:

Super Chicken ''Super Chicken'' is a segment that ran on the animated television series '' George of the Jungle''. It was produced by Jay Ward and Bill Scott, who earlier had created the ''Rocky and Bullwinkle'' cartoons. It debuted September 9, 1967, on ...

, Red, White and Blue *Class of 1971:

, Pink and Purple

Commencement

Hilo High School's commencement exercises are normally held during the end of May. Hilo High school has several commencement traditions that stretch back to the school's first graduation in 1909. The graduating class recites a variation of Gaudeamus Igitur with lyrics directly referencing Hilo High, and members of the Hilo High School Alumni Association pass out a lei to every graduate. This latter tradition is attributed to the

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

of the Tong family, who was among the school's first graduates and supposedly gave a lei to a fellow graduate who was without one during their commencement ceremony. The Tong family also awarded the school's

Salutatorian Salutatorian is an academic title given in the United States, Armenia, and the Philippines to the second-highest-ranked graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. This honor is tradi ...

award and trophy with a cash prize until 2003, when the Salutatorian returned the cash prize out of respect for the family's disagreement with the school's current practice of awarding the

Valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

distinction to more than one student. The

trophy is maintained by the Hilo High School Foundation. Now, with the introduction of AP classes to Hilo High, it is possible for more than one student to become a valedictorian within the same graduating class since AP classes allow the student to get over a 4.0. The current requirements for becoming a valedictorian include getting the distinguished BOE diploma as well as getting a weighted GPA of at least 4.0.

Clubs

Hilo High supports an array of clubs that promotes and supports the talents, knowledge, ambitions and abilities of the students. The clubs also train and prepare students for future professional careers, and allows the school and students to give back to the community through community service events. * DECA *

Key Club Key Club International, also called Key Club, is an international service organization for high school students. As a student-led organization, Key Club's goal is to encourage leadership through serving others. Key Club International is the hig ...

*KVIKS Media *

Leo Club Leo clubs are a youth organization of Lions Clubs International. Leo clubs encourage youths to develop leadership qualities by participating in social service activities. They are dependent on a Lions club to sponsor and initiate a Leo club. Le ...

Math League Math League is a Math competition for elementary school, elementary, middle school, middle, and high school students in the United States, Canada, and other countries. The Math League was founded in 1977 by two high school mathematics teachers, Ste ...

*Performing Arts Learning Center (PALC)
Robotics

Notable alumni

James Kealoha James Kimo Kealoha (April 29, 1908 – August 24, 1983) was an American politician who served as the first lieutenant governor of Hawaii in the administration of Governor of Hawaii William F. Quinn. Prior to his election as Lieutenant Govern ...

(1926), first lieutenant governor of Hawaii *

Pat Saiki Patricia Hatsue Saiki (''née'' Fukuda; born May 28, 1930) is an American politician and former educator from Hilo, Hawaii. She served as a Republican in Congress from 1987 to 1991 and then as Administrator of the Small Business Administration un ...

(1948), United States Congresswoman *

Yoshi Oyakawa Yoshinobu Oyakawa (born August 9, 1933) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in the 100-meter backstroke. Oyakawa is considered to be the last of the great "straight-arm-pull" backstrokers ...

(1951), Olympic swimming gold medalist in the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

Gil Kahele Gilbert Kahele (May 15, 1942 – January 26, 2016) was an American politician and a Democratic member of the Hawaii Senate from January 16, 2011, representing District 1. He was appointed by Governor Neil Abercrombie to fill the vacancy caus ...

(1960), American politician and Democratic member of the Hawaii Senate *

Robert Kiyosaki Robert Toru Kiyosaki (born April 8, 1947) is an Japanese-American, American entrepreneur, businessman and author. Kiyosaki is the founder of Rich Global LLC and the Rich Dad, Rich Dad Company, a private financial education company that provides ...

(1965), author of

Rich Dad, Poor Dad ''Rich Dad Poor Dad'' is a 1997 book written by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter. It advocates the importance of financial literacy (financial education), financial independence and building wealth through investing in assets, real esta ...

Jennifer Doudna Jennifer Anne Doudna (; born February 19, 1964) is an American biochemist who has done pioneering work in CRISPR gene editing, and made other fundamental contributions in biochemistry and genetics. Doudna was one of the first women to share a ...

(1981), American biochemist, developer of the

CRISPR CRISPR () (an acronym for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) is a family of DNA sequences found in the genomes of prokaryotic organisms such as bacteria and archaea. These sequences are derived from DNA fragments of bacte ...

-Cas9 genome editing method, 2020 Nobel laureate *

Lorraine Inouye Lorraine Rodero Inouye (born June 22, 1940) is an American politician from the state of Hawaii. A member of the Democratic Party, she serves in the Hawaii State Senate, representing District 4. She is of no relation to prominent U.S. senator from ...

, Hawaii County Mayor and State Senator *

Lois-Ann Yamanaka Lois-Ann Yamanaka (born September 7, 1961) is an American poet and novelist from Hawaii. Many of her literary works are written in Hawaiian Pidgin, and some of her writing has dealt with controversial ethnic issues. In particular, her works confro ...

(1979), author *

BJ Penn Jay Dee "B.J." Penn III (born December 13, 1978) is an American former professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. Penn competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and in K-1. Penn was th ...

(1995), retired

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

Fighter former

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Lightweight and Welterweight Champion and

UFC Hall of Fame The UFC Hall of Fame is a List of halls and walks of fame, hall of fame which honors mixed martial artists and MMA personalities, established and maintained by the U.S.-based mixed martial arts promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). In a ...

Member

Gallery

File:Hilo_High_School.jpg, Main Office File:Hilo_High_School_Gymnasium.jpg, The School Gym

References

External links

*
Hilo High School FoundationHilo High Robotics Official Website
{{Authority control Educational institutions established in 1906 Schools in Hawaii County, Hawaii Public high schools in Hawaii Buildings and structures in Hilo, Hawaii 1906 establishments in Hawaii Hawaii Register of Historic Places in Hawaii County, Hawaii