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In December, the 8th grade held their annual Science Fair Open House. Students had projects on display that ranged from Astronomy to Zoology. The top 20 projects will be selected to represent MPI at the HAIS District Fair in February. Thank you to all of the faculty and parents that stopped by to view the projects.
Posted on 11:39 AM| Permalink
The 6th grade had the privilege of hearing Mr. Tokuji Ono speak about his experiences during World War II. Mr. Ono is the father of MPI trustee, Mrs. Diane Ono, and the grandfather of MPI alum, Kristen (Young) Unten, class of ’01.
Mr. Ono was drafted into the United States Army at the age of 21. He was drafted just prior to Pearl Harbor. After the United States entered into the war with Japan, his unit was sent to Ft. Shelby in Mississippi for training. There, he and the men of B Company were shipped to Cat Island, Mississippi, for dog training.
The premise of the training was that dogs would be able to detect differences between people of different ethnic groups. The dogs were being trained detect people of Japanese heritage. As Mr. Ono and his fellow soldiers put it, they were dog bait. Although he was clothed in thick protective clothing, Mr. Ono says that he could feel the pressure of the jaws of the large German Shepherds as they attacked. He told us that he will never forget the words of the dog trainers as the dogs were let loose, “KILL!” The experiments failed, the dogs detected no differences. After the training ended, Mr. Ono served in Europe, fighting with the 100th Battalion.
The 6th grade has just completed an intensive study of World War II. In social studies, they investigated the causes leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. They visited the Pearl Harbor Memorial. This was followed by a teleconference with Pearl Harbor survivors, Mr. Cale and Mr. Rodriques. In language arts, the students read the works of Graham Salisbury, Under the Blood Red Sun, The House of the Red Fish, and Eyes of the Emperor. These books are about the Pearl Harbor attack and World War II from a local perspective. Mr. Ono and the men of B Company were the inspiration for the main character, Eddy Okubo, in Eyes of the Emperor.
We, the 6th grade, will always be grateful to Mr. Ono for sharing his story with the students. The men who fought in World War II are truly the greatest generation. They helped to shape our lives as we live them today. We view them as heroes, yet they will humbly tell you they were doing what needed to be done.
Thank you Mr. Ono for the gift of your wisdom.
Posted on 12:18 PM| Permalink