Didn't I Say Auspicious Beginnings?!?

Well…what a week! Last Friday I wrote about Lunar New Year and auspicious beginnings. And here we are, with our very first HSAA Division II Soccer Championship koa trophy sitting at our front desk and a 3rd “notch” on the swim cap for the state champion in 100M breaststroke! And alongside that, we had a beautiful showing of our school community at Kukui Grove as participants in that history-making event in celebration of ‘Ōleleo Hawai‘i. And we have so much more to look forward to…

I couldn’t feel more blessed to be a part of the Island School community. We have an engaged student body, supportive families, a dedicated faculty and staff who bring learning to life every day, and a visionary Board who values our past and is forging our future.

I also am humbled every day to navigate with our leadership team the challenging waters of what it means to support a thriving and diverse community of learners. Island School represents so many different life experiences and perspectives from across our island. From individuals whose family history can be traced back to the earliest Hawaiian people in Kaua‘i, others who are related to the earliest missionary settlers, families who arrived in the various waves of migration to work in the cane fields, some who arrived with COVID and never left, and others, like me, who arrived in the last year and are still settling in. This wide, wide range of family histories in Kaua‘i alone speaks volumes to the many experiences, perspectives, and priorities within our own “small school” community. 

And so it is moments like the celebration of our student athletes and their successes (which doesn’t always equal placing first), our science students success at the regional science fair, our ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i students bravely standing and doing a recitation or singing together in front of a crowd, watching our Founding Mothers engage with our students during the Q&A at the Birthday Celebration Assembly, the start of a new Middle School girls basketball league, and so much more...these moments serve as my north star as we chart our course together into the future.

Next week is Voyager Week for Island School and our 6th-12th grade students are across the ocean in Japan, immersed in important lessons across our island, on site here focused on Hawaiian traditions or woodworking or ceramics, competing in the Na Lea Hou choral festival, diving into diversity issues at the Ashanti conference in O‘ahu, as well as engaged in special experiences on the Continent. Immersive, hands-on experiences are essential in bringing learning to life. Thank you for supporting your student’s participation next week, to bring an open mind and heart, to the opportunities that are before them. So much in life is what we bring to it, and we all appreciate your support in your students “showing up” and bringing their best selves to the opportunities our faculty and staff have developed for them.

As always, please know how much gratitude I have for your belief in Island School and entrusting us with these important years of your child’s education...and for reading my weekly missives. 

Have a wonderful long weekend ahead.