Our AmeriCorps School Outreach Coordinator, Lanette Ava, at Thomas Jefferson High School, advises the school’s Pacific Islander Club. The Club recently performed at the school’s Multi-Cultural Night in-front of an audience of over 100 people, as well as their school’s talent show, where they provided entertainment during intermission and at the end of the show. April will be a very busy time for the club, with performances happening at least once a week! The club is currently raising money for new performance costumes. Their goal is to raise $300. If you would like to donate to the club for new costumes click here and designate your donation to the PI Club.
The Pacific Islander Club’s (PI Club) mission is to discover and develop talents through music and singing, and learning and performing cultural dances. These students are very dedicated to the club, meeting Monday-Thursday after school from 2-4 pm and during Advisory periods on Fridays. There are 15 students who participate regularly, and they have grown very close and consider themselves a family.
Lanette took these students to the UPRISE Education Summit at Clover Park Technical College in October, and will be taking them to Polynesian Day at the University of Washington in May. These field trips provide even more enrichment opportunities for our Pacific Islander students to honor their heritage, network with other students, develop leadership skills, and gain the knowledge, skills and resources to advocate for their education and pursue their dreams.
The TJHS Pacific Islander Club will be showcasing their talents at our 2017 Annual Fundraising Breakfast on April 28th at the Federal Way Community Center.
About UPRISE: is a conference that brings together Pacific Islander High school students, their families, and school staff for critical thinking, knowledge building, problem solving about the unique needs that P.I students have so they can be successful in school.
About Poly Day: a celebration of the Polynesian culture that showcases authentic Polynesian and Pacific Islander music, dance and regalia from the islands. Students participate in workshops featuring keynote speakers that cover the university admissions process and Polynesian history. The event aims to voice the presence of a lively and active Pacific Islander community on campus and motivate younger generations of Pacific Islanders to pursue higher education at the UW.