They are sharing culture and building community in a class, that’s also a club, called “People of the Pacific” at West Jordan High School.
On this episode of the Supercast, find out how students are unleashing lots of talent, taking to the stage in dance competitions to showcase their rich cultural traditions from various Pacific Island nations. They are students proudly supporting one another on a path to greater academic success.
Audio Transcription
Auro Sosi:
This is competition season for us. The "People of the Pacific" are involved annually in the annual Who Got Roots competition.
Carl Talanoa:
So we do dances and we even do sometimes we practice our languages and even music.
Auro Sosi:
The idea of their identity through their culture, cultural practices and rituals so that way they can still stay connected even though they're far away from their motherland.
[Music]
Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They are sharing culture and building community in a class that's also a club called "People of the Pacific" at West Jordan High School.
On this episode of the Supercast, find out how students are unleashing tons of talent and taking to the stage in dance competitions to showcase their rich cultural traditions from various Pacific Island nations. They are students proudly supporting one another on a path to greater academic success.
[Music]
We are here at West Jordan High School talking with Auro about the competition that's coming up. Will you introduce yourself? Tell us about your position here and what the "People of the Pacific" group has been up to these days.
Auro Sosi:
Yes, so my name is Auro Sosi. I'm the "People of the Pacific" teacher and advisor. I also run the Reset and Restore room here at West Jordan High School. Just students who are assigned mostly by admin to come into the room who need additional help whether it's with classes, Edgenuity, packets, and things like that.
So right now this is competition season for us. The "People of the Pacific" are involved annually in the annual Who Got Roots competition. It's a statewide competition that involves all of the high schools who have either "People of the Pacific" or Pacific Islander clubs or classes in their schools. So it's a dance competition.
Anthony Godfrey:
And that's what they're practicing in the background. That's what we hear. Tell us a little bit about how that competition is judged and what they're working on today.
Auro Sosi:
So there is a panel of judges. They pretty much judge off a lot of criteria. Most of it is off synchronization, presentation. A lot of it has to do with cultural rituals and practices involved in the dance scenes and performances. So like this one that they're performing now is the traditional Tongan Lakalaka. It's performed by all of the Tongan men. So it's just a male-only dance. But there's a lot of criteria depending on what the judge who the judges are. But it's been pretty, pretty fulfilling these last couple of years that West Jordan has been able to participate. Anthony Godfrey:
That's awesome. How many different numbers will there be?
Auro Sosi:
So the way this particular competition works where we choose, we select two islands that we wanted to perform as our main islands. So this year we've selected Tonga and Samoa. And then a month prior to the competition, they go out to all of the schools, meaning the organizing committee, go to all of the schools that are participating to draw what is called a wildcard island. So each school will be given the same amount of time to work on this wildcard island. And it's mostly an island that's maybe overshadowed or overlooked, not necessarily performed every year. So this year we selected Tokelau as our wildcard island.
Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about Tokelau.
Auro Sosi:
So Tokelau is an older island in the South Pacific. There are dances when the students are studying it. It kind of derives from like all of the sister islands that surround it. So there's a little bit of everything. There's some Samoan motions and there's a lot of Tongan rituals that are embedded in their cultural dance. But they're very subtle. They're not as loud and obnoxious as the other sister islands.
Anthony Godfrey:
So it's a quieter, subtle, a little bit forgotten island when it comes to the performances. So tell me about the louder performances. What are some of the aspects of performance that people who are not here able to see this? Describe how the boys dance, how the girls are dancing now.
Auro Sosi:
So the boys you can see a little bit more live. We call it mafaná. It's kind of like their spirit of dancing, the energy that they bring to the stage. That's what's expected of the male performers in the Tongan islands. Well, in any island in the South Pacific, the girls as you can tell, they're a lot more graceful. They're a little bit more subtle. They're not as wild. But it just kind of showcases the grace and beauty of the women of the South Pacific.
Anthony Godfrey:
Lots of hand motion and small steps, less, less full body motion. Just more of the hands.
Auro Sosi:
For Tongan dancing, it's mostly motions from the upper body and hands. As you can tell, most people are probably more familiar with Hawaiian dance. It's hula where it's embodying the whole body. Where she's hooling and utilizing all parts of her body to perform. But in Tonga, they're more subtle in the sense that it's just the upper body and hand motions mostly.
Anthony Godfrey:
I see. It's just really transporting me. I wish I were on an island right now. I'm feeling it. I'm feeling it. So tell me, how long have they been preparing for this?
Auro Sosi:
So we actually start from the beginning of the year. We have performances throughout the year here at the school and throughout the district. That's what we kind of utilize as our service opportunities when we go out. We want to perform. We were able to visit with the Mayor of West Jordan and the City Council just a month ago. And that was what one of the things that our students were able to do was present their advocacy program and platform and also perform for them. So we pretty much prepare throughout the year with our service opportunities. This being kind of like that climax moment that we prepare for is our competition.
Anthony Godfrey:
Fantastic. Now I got to be part of a ceremony at the beginning of the year for leaders in the school. Describe that for folks who are listening.
Auro Sosi:
So our ‘ava ceremony, it's a traditional kava ceremony. It's something that we've embedded in our "People of the Pacific" program that we like to start off the new school year every year with. It's just in Samoan it's called the ‘ava feiloa’iga or pretty much our greetings with each other. Us welcoming, whether it's guests or honored guests, that we're honoring in that particular setting. But for the ritual itself, it's really a teaching moment to our kids but also to welcome in the new year. Usher in the new year that they're about to embark on. But also in a cultural sense to set that precedence and tone for them as far as culture is concerned. Because "People of the Pacific" is what we're trying to portray is get more of an idea of their identity through their culture, cultural practices, and rituals so that way they can still stay connected even though they're far away from their mother lands and the islands.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, yeah it's a sense of connection with each other and with the broader school community. So now we saw the boys separate and the girls separate. Now this is a combined dance. Tell me about this particular dance.
Auro Sosi:
The Island Kingdom of Tonga is the only remaining monarch in the South Pacific, meaning that they're the only island in the South Pacific still today ruled by a king and queen. Never colonized, never taken over by any other foreign power and so their dances as you can see they're a lot more reserved. They're a lot more respectful in the sense that you see when the girls perform they're very graceful, they're very, you know, demure. Where the boys are always so masculine and they're just so full of energy. But when they come together it's just like both of those aspects and qualities all mesh together to become this pretty much beautiful, royal production. So that's what they're performing right now is their traditional Tonga Lakalaka that's combined for both male and female performers.
Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us. When we come back we'll talk with three student leaders of "People of the Pacific".
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Break:
It's giving busy parents a little more peace of mind when it comes to their students getting to and from school. We're talking about Zonar MyView. It's a mobile app meant to enhance the school bus transportation experience for students and their families. The app allows parents to check on their child's school bus location and the estimated time of arrival at the bus stop each day for pickup and drop off.
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Let the Zonar MyView app help you stay on top of things knowing when a bus might be running a little late and when to get your kids going or head out to meet them at the bus stop. It's one more way for us to better connect with you.
Anthony Godfrey:
You have won an award recently, just last week. Tell us about that.
Auro Sosi:
So the Utah Pacific Islander Chamber of Commerce here in Utah, this was their first year. They had their inaugural Pacific Islander Educator Award this year. There were nine nominees including myself. They came here and delivered the nomination here at the school and a few of our administrators were present. I was totally shocked and taken aback to have been nominated. Just to be nominated alone was an honor, but when we got there that evening– I went with my parents and a few of our other students who happened to be awardees as well for scholarship by the chamber unbeknownst to us. When they presented each and every one of us nominees and a certificate they then announced the award and I was the recipient of that award. So it was truly an honor. To me, receiving that honor is more of a tribute to not only the other eight nominees but to all of the students and other educators who aspire to educate and inspire any and all students. Not just for Pacific Islanders, but everybody. All students across the board around the world everywhere.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's an important point. It's really not about just one group it's about connecting that group to the broader school community and inviting the school community in to connect with this group. It's anything but exclusive. It's something that really is very inviting. So tell us about any other activities. I know there are performances throughout the year, there's the ceremony at the beginning of the year. Is a service component of "People of the Pacific"?
Auro Sosi:
So we have what is called the Island Teen Advocacy Team, for short we call it ITAT. So that's pretty much the service and activity arm of the "People of the Pacific" program. It's an advocacy program where there are students who advocate for mental health awareness, suicide prevention and also being tobacco and vape-free in high schools. They're so involved in that throughout the year. At the beginning of the year, they have what is called the Great American Smoke Out where they go out and advocate for pretty much– not so much smoking, but vaping here in the high schools. It's become like this pandemic here in our schools. Where things are just like so readily accessible for our students to access these things. So they advocate for those things. Try to educate on the the downfalls and also the symptoms that a student can experience if they do vape and things.
Most of it comes from our mental health and suicide awareness platform because a lot of them can relate to that. Just recently, just within our community, the Pacific islander community, four youth between the ages of 14 and 19 took their lives just within the last month. So it's just become this thing now since they've been so aware of it and they've advocated it for so long. It's now become more personal for them because they're wanting to make sure that everyone feels accepted. Everyone feels loved and appreciated. But also that they know the value of life and that everyone is valuable, even themselves.
Anthony Godfrey:
I love that emphasis on supporting each other and valuing each other. Well, congratulations on running an incredible program that provides great opportunities and support and on your well-deserved award. I understand there were educators from higher ed that were in the running as well and you beat them all out. So congratulations. Well done.
Auro Sosi:
Appreciate it, thank you so much.
Anthony Godfrey:
We're here with three students who are part of "People of the Pacific" here at West Jordan High School. Just introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your participation.
Carl Talanoa:
My name is Carl Talanoa. I'm a senior at West Jordan High School and I'm the president of the POP class.
Caitlyn Lokeni:
I'm Caitlyn Lokeni. I'm also a senior at West Jordan High School and I'm the vice president.
Andrea Togavailoa:
I'm Andrea Togavailoa. I am as well a senior at West Jordan High and I am the secretary in our POP class.
Anthony Godfrey:
So tell us, for those who aren't familiar with it, tell us about Pop class and what it involves, and why it's important to you.
Carl Talanoa:
So People the Pacific class is really a class where we do a whole bunch of cultural stuff. In this class, we learn about our backgrounds as Pacific Islanders and we also learn about our culture, expanding into our culture. So we do dances and we even do– sometimes we practice our languages and even music. We do a lot of other stuff that is outside of the school as well. We are part of an ITAT thing where we do outreaches to other schools like middle schools and all that about the program that we do.
Anthony Godfrey:
Outstanding.
Andrea Togavailoa:
Yes, about our ITAT team, it stands for Island Teen Advocacy Team and basically what that stands for, or what they support, is they support preventing drug use and vaping and smoking and as well as tobacco use. They also bring attention to suicide awareness and I think that our class really strives for that stuff. Especially in our generation today where many teenagers now struggle with mental health. I think it's important to have knowledge and to know and understand that there is help. I think ITAT is a great platform for them.
Anthony Godfrey:
Awesome.
Caitlyn Lokeni:
Yes, taking it back to outside of what we do, outside of school obviously. What our president said. We have more to do with our cultural backgrounds like deeply rooted. Our POP class actually does a lot for the Polynesian community outside because of how well-known Auro is. So we'll do all the ceremonies which are some more cultural ceremonies that like pretty much we're focusing on this one high chief or like a high individual. We're celebrating their welcome into–.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, tell me about being in Auro's class. What is that like?
Caitlyn Lokeni:
Oh, it's something. Yeah, I definitely think not only Auro, but Coach Lei it's really- they're really disciplinary. Especially with school and going to class. I definitely think for, not to be biased, but our Polynesian community here you wouldn't find it anywhere else. From any other schools out here in Utah.
Anthony Godfrey:
That level of discipline and expectation. It sounds like it's a good thing though.
Caitlyn Lokeni:
Yes, being held to a high standard really means a lot actually. We get we do get prizes for being such great students.
Andrea Togavailoa:
I think it's such a privilege to have Coach Lei and Auro as our advisors here at West Jordan High School because not many schools have people like that who are who are so high up. Like our athletic director, Coach Lei that many Polynesians see like other Polynesians so high up in our district and industries and stuff like that. I think it's such a privilege to have Auro and Coach Lei help us around our school and to feel like a family here at West Jordan High School.
Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about this competition coming up and the preparation and how you're feeling going into it.
Caitlyn Lokeni:
Our competition we've been preparing for it for since the beginning I think. I think Auro especially put a lot of work into this. He constantly is working on our costumes and making sure that all of our dances are fit to perfection. I think that speaks a lot about his character and about who he is as a teacher, about how much work. He doesn't have to do all this work. He could just like throw like cloths on us or something, but he actually puts so much work into our outfits and everything that we do, and our music and everything. So I think that speaks volumes as a teacher.
Anthony Godfrey:
He won an award recently, does that surprise you?
Students:
Yes.
Andrea Togavailoa:
No, that does not surprise me.
Caitlyn Lokeni:
It's very well deserved.
Anthony Godfrey:
It doesn't surprise me for a second. Tell me about the competition how are you feeling?
Andrea Togavailoa:
With Auro and Coach Lei, I honestly say that they're like the power duo. I've never seen a power duo like that before because no matter how much like effort or how many hours it takes into being put into this competition, and how much Auro is putting into this competition Coach Lei is right behind him and backing him up. I definitely think like the way that they support each other is how it reflects on us students in the class and how we support one another and whatever it is. Just how– Caitlyn also won an award too.
Anthony Godfrey:
Caitlyn, were you one of the scholarship winners?
Andrea Togavailoa:
Yes, yes she was.
Anthony Godfrey:
Wow, tell me about your award.
Caitlyn Lokeni:
It was such a great opportunity because people thought that I'd won the award because the award winner before also won architecture, but I think it's because not only the culture and I think it's because of the dynamic and uniqueness and the hard work that is put into the scholarship. That is the reason why that many aren’t able to win it.
Anthony Godfrey:
So what's the architecture aspect of it?
Caitlyn Lokeni:
The scholarship is going for me because I want to go to college for architecture.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, it's because you chose– So that's part of it because you want to be an architect. Well, we're designing buildings all the time. Come back and design a school for us. Remember all the student perspectives, what you like and don't like and then you can put it into practice.
How about for you? How are you feeling going into competition?
Carl Talanoa:
I'm feeling good, I'm feeling great. We've had this competition for a while. We've been in this competition for a while in the previous years, but we've never actually placed before. So this is really important.
Anthony Godfrey:
I feel like this is going to be your year.
Andrea Togavailoa:
I feel like it is. We're taking it, we're definitely taking it this year.
Anthony Godfrey:
I've seen the dancing. I’ve talked with you three. I talked with Auro. It's going to happen. It’s going to happen.
Carl Talanoa:
Yeah, that's what we're aiming for. We're aiming for that. So we've been having lots of practices. We've been practicing a lot, even the middle schoolers, they've been coming to practice with us. We've had practices on Saturdays in the dance room or anywhere as long as we can practice. We're just trying to practice so we can fix things up. We'll fix a small mistake so we could be ready for this competition.
Anthony Godfrey:
Awesome. Well, I wish you the very best. Congratulations on your award and on being such great examples to the "People of the Pacific" class and the broader school community here at West Jordan High.
Students:
Thank you.
Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see you out there.