A New School Year: Strength. Clarity. Purpose.

 

I hope you've had a wonderful summer and that the differing schedule of June and July has allowed your family important time to connect, explore passions, enjoy the outdoors, and dive into some wonderful books. My time has been spread between the behind-the-scenes work with the year-round team and time away on my own and with my family. I feel so very blessed to have had the opportunity to spend much of my downtime on water. Many weekends and weeknights this summer you could find me paddling with my canoe club. I experienced my first regattas here in Kauaʻi, and I enjoyed spending the evening with friends on the beach after the events were done nearly as much as the adrenaline rush of the races themselves. I also got to spend some time doing a different kind of paddling, this time on a river in both a raft and a kayak. The loud, turbulent water of the Salmon River challenged me in a different, yet similar way than the unrelenting swells of the ocean beyond the break wall of Nawiliwili Harbor.

And just as I felt the first time I stepped back into a waʻa, a canoe, last September after 35 years…this summer braving rapids in a kayak made physical the necessary skills and mindset that are needed to move forward in these uncertain times.

Plan, learn from past experience, and listen to the experience of others…when we do this on the water, the runs through rapids and those along our beautiful Kauaʻi coast are exciting. Entering my second year with Island School, with the strength of the team and the lessons of our school in its 48th year, our collective experience allows us to navigate through the bumps.

When encountering rough water, face it straight on, never stop paddling, and approach waves with strength and determination. This important guidance was never more important than when facing a class 3 or 4 rapid as well as BIG swells in the ocean. And it is so very true for what lies ahead, for while we are on this beautiful remote island, we also are impacted by the complexities of the world beyond our shores. I worry for our children who have to hear about violence chosen through an assassination attempt, cruel language presented as a “joke,” on-going wars, growing polarization that breeds hatred, and so much more.... And yet, we cannot hide these issues from them, at one point or another, in varying ways across their ages and development, they will encounter rough waters, and they look to us to help them navigate difference, learn how to be compassionate listeners, critical thinkers, empathetic neighbors so that we can continue to live and learn together with aloha.

And when we engage and move through the challenges that life presents, for that is what living is, facing both the beauty and the heartache of being human, I know we will make it to the sweet relief of the calm waters that hold us, allow us to drink in the beauty around us, and ready us for when the ocean turns or the river bend delivers us to the next set of rapids. 

We have our Island School community for which we are stewards, a community that works hard to provide a place for children and adults to thrive as life-long learners. We as educators get to have those moments where students’ eyes light up from the excitement of a new idea, the beauty of a numeric mystery revealed, or the inspiration from a written passage. We also will be paddling alongside your children as they face big and sometimes challenging ideas, as they encounter dissonance and uncertainty…whether through ideas or in relationship with their peers, with us as their teachers…or even with you as their family. We will face the turbulent waters that life brings with strength and clarity of purpose together as our students, your children, learn to paddle through the waters ahead.

If you have been a part of Island School, I look forward to another year with you, your family, your child / children.

And if you are new to Island School, welcome, and thank you for believing in the possibility of us as you join the School community.

And to all, I am excited as ever for the start of a new school year. With community at the center and a clear purpose and mission as our compass, I have no doubt that we will have a remarkable voyage together.

In partnership,

Nancy Nagramada

Head of School