Aloha in the Hawaiian language means affection, love, peace, compassion and mercy. Since the middle of the 19th century, it also has come to be used as an English greeting to say goodbye and hello, according to Wikipedia.

The seniors are preparing to say goodbye as this is the last week before graduation. The Class of 2010 enjoyed a luau hosted by the First Baptist Church of Italy. Games, good food and a lot of fun was included on the menu. No pig in the ground but this atmosphere was only missing the sand.

The Beach Boys could be heard playing one of their familiar numbers in the background and IHS Seniors sat crossed legged on the floor, with candles, strawhats and leis, eating chicken, sausage, homemade mac ‘n cheese, baked potato bar with all the fixins’ and made-from-scrath-gotta-let’em-rise rolls. Yum! Don’t forget dessert.

Games were the main topic of the evening after that delicious meal. The events included Rolling Stones, Standing on the Rock and Limbo.

To play Rolling Stones (a game similar to horseshoes), you need a solid stick of wood and two rocks (bricks, in this case) — standing about 10 feet back, slide the stick on the floor and make sure it slides in between the upright rocks. With girls vs boys, there was a tie. The winners were Brian Michael and Kelli Strickland.

Balance and coordination is required for Standing on the Rock. Each barefoot player must stand on one foot and bend up and down until an opponent falls off. This not as easy as it sounds. The standing winner was Sha’darian Jones.

You can’t have a luau without doing the limbo. Moving the horizontal stick down one inch after all players have passed under, one player will win without falling down. On the 11th position, Megan Hopkins won the limber Limbo Queen Crown.

After an earlier vote was tallied, announcements were made at the end of the party. Yearbook editor, Colin Wilsford, gave the winners of the following categories:

Mr & Mrs IHS
Dan Crownover
Lexi Miller

Best Dressed
Dan Crownover
Lexi Miller

Most Artistic
Meredith Brummett
Brett Weber

Most Athletic
John Isaac
Jaleecia Fleming

Class Clown
Shativia Cockran
Ivan Roldan

Best Smile
Aaron Thomas
Megan Hopkins

Most Likely To Succeed (also, co-valedictorians)
Brandon Owens
Lexi Miller

Most Likely To Be Famous
Lauren Geralds
John Isaac

Most Likely To Stay in Italy
Julia McDaniel
Ross Enriquez

First Baptist has followed this tradition for many years and enjoy serving the seniors. Rev. Ronnie Dabney, pastor of First Baptist said, “Each student was a joy. We like to host this luau every year and if you need a church home, invite you to come anytime.”

“Trust in the Lord with all your hearts and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make paths straight.” Prov 3:5,6