Here we are about to enter the final two weeks of School before the summer break. There has been so much to celebrate and even more to come as we make our way to graduation. 

When we think about all that we accomplish as a small school, I marvel at all that we do against the odds. And while I am not a gambler, I know and believe that our little school is a good bet for making the most of the opportunities before us, and we’re only getting stronger.

Perhaps you’re asking, “What do you mean?”

Well, hereʻs how I think about it. Kaua’i has just over 5% of the population in the state of Hawaiʻi. And on our island, the percentage of school age children totals roughly 5% of our island population based on 2024 census numbers. Now consider that our school student population of 450 represents roughly 4% of the total children on Kauaʻi, but in our state, Island School students represent approximately .2% of school-age children in Hawaiʻi. And given we represent so few by percentage, every time we make an appearance at the state level, let alone the national level, our hearts should sore with pride because itʻs an example of what it means to be small and mighty and succeed against the odds. 

I say all this to put in context recent achievements this year:

Last week, 7th Grade Logan Ing won his category at Hawaiʻi History Day Contest in Oʻahu. This means he will be able to represent Island School at the National level, the 2nd time we’ve had this accomplishment. You can see Logan’s project here: The Chinese Exclusion Act: The First Immigration Law Based on Race and Nationality.

In addition, 8th Grader Nathaniel Knickel’s project, Soaring Into the Jet Age, received community recognition at the State level. 

We are so impressed by these young historians and their middle school social studies teachers, Jaime Nause and Pat Gegen. The students showed such excellence in their pursuit of understanding our past in order to make our way forward as best we can into the future we create.

And in March, our Middle School Science Olympiad team, currently the only one on Kaua’i, placed 4th overall at the state level, thanks to the steadfast leadership of Laura Lee. 

Earlier this year, our Robotics Team was invited to represent Hawaiʻi at the National Governor’s Cup along with 49 other teams from across the country. Our young engineers traveled to Washington, DC to represent our state with great pride.

Paddling is a sport of intense competition in Kaua’i because of its cultural significance. This winter our mixed paddling team did a REPEAT, again winning the KIF mixed paddling championship.

Our one wrestler, Nohi Armitage, with his coach (who also happens to be his dad) brought back wrestling as a high school sport at Island School, and Nohi WON his weight-class as KIF champion.

And this past Tuesday, we bathed in the glory of the arts, a dynamic choral and ukulele concert to a standing-room-only crowd at KCC and inspiring visual creations in the art showcase by our students of all grade levels, made possible by teachers Kara Swink, Joyce Sun, Derrick Little, and Ben Nause. 

And this weekend, our 4x100M girls relay team on our track team coached by Kanānāikahaku Kuhaulua and Jerry Jona, has a shot at winning the KIF championship, and this after winning the Rotary Championship the previous weekend.  

Our successful results are remarkable and nothing to be taken for granted. They are a demonstration of the dedication of our students, teachers, families, coaches, administrators, and staff who together build a context for Voyagers to beat the odds. We have so much to be proud of, so much hard work and care that goes into each and every day, and when we get to see results at the highest level, we can be humbly proud of our work and move forward with kūlia (the value of achievement, to strive and to try for excellence) held inside each of us to continue to be the best school we can be. 

I look forward to seeing all the hard work come to fruition in Hōʻike next Friday, May 15. Mahalo to all the families who are contributing greenery and/or giving time to help decorate for this wonderful celebration of learning through Hawaiian language and culture. And then we'll turn the corner and celebrate the transitions of the end of elementary for our 5th grade, the end of middle school for the 8th grade, and the culmination of their high school years for the class of 2026 as they graduate. Here’s to all there is to come as we close the year.

Together,

Nancy Nagramada P’29

Head of School

n.nagramada@ischool.org