Welcome Back

Aloha Island School ‘Ohana,

The first week back for Semester 2 has been a full one for us here on campus, and I hope the return to the school routine has gone as smoothly as possible for you and your ‘ohana. I don’t know about you, but we had some rushed moments in the morning when I realized we didn’t have all we needed for Milo’s lunch or I had to scramble to find my keys. All of that is to say that even after the full break we had and enjoying reconnecting with colleagues and students, my family will appreciate the pause of three-day weekend ahead. I’m guessing that’s true for many of you too.

Thank you to all those who have already RSVP’d for our Town Hall on Thursday, 1/18 at 6pm. If your schedule does not allow you to participate in person, you can view the Town hall live-streamed here. We will share the recording as promptly as possible after the meeting. If you are coming and haven’t done so yet, please do complete this Google Form to RSVP to let us know you’re coming in person so we can plan accordingly re. chairs, food, etc. 

Next week also holds our annual Island School Birthday Assembly on Friday, 1/19 at 9:40 am in the Wilcox Gym. We hope as many of you as possible will be able to join us and ALL 7 Founding Mothers! I am thrilled to have this special time with all our students and our Founders to talk story, honor our founders and seniors, and celebrate another trip around the sun for our wonderful school. If you’re not able to attend in person, you can view the birthday assembly life-stream here.

And speaking of birthdays…Monday, January 15, is Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s actual birthday, and if he were still alive, he would be 95! The story of the long, challenging road to have Dr. King recognized nationally, helps people understand why the day is so meaningful and this Happy Birthday song by Stevie Wonder holds so much significance and love for friends and me who feel deeply connected to the Civil Rights movement and its legacy. If you have time this weekend, consider watching the song video with your family. It’s not only a fun, uplifting song, but Stevie Wonder wrote it as an anthem to Dr. King in the hopes that this holiday would be put into place. The bill for this holiday failed to pass when it was first introduced just days after Dr. King’s assassination. Coretta Scott King fought for many years for the day of recognition, but it wasn’t until 11 years later, the bill again came up for a vote but failed. Then with much advocacy to follow, it was an exciting moment in 1983 when President Ronald Regan signed a bill for the holiday, but it wasn’t observed until 1986, and this proclamation wasn’t signed until 1988 for the new national holiday in honor of Dr. King. It took until 2000 for the day to be honored in all 50 states. Many honor this national holiday as it was designated in 1994 through the leadership of Congressman John Lewis as “not a day off but a day on” for service for others, just as Dr. King lived his life. If you want to learn more, you can listen to any or all of these 6 podcasts about Dr. King from NPR. Whatever you choose to do this weekend, and on Monday especially, I hope it is a meaningful time for you and yours.

Again, we truly hope you will join us in person or online both for the Town Hall on Thursday evening and the Birthday celebration on Friday morning.  And if you haven’t had a chance, as we prepare to share about our institutional growth and aspirations on Thursday, don’t forget to do a little bit of pre-reading of my post on December 8, “Good Thing I Like Puzzles…” 

As always, thank you for the trust you impart to us at Island School to partner with you in honor of the education of your children.

Mahalo,

Nancy Nagramada

Head of School