As he says, his job, generally speaking, is being the administrator for Lower School. Mr. O says his favorite part of his job is “the students. We’re all here because of the students; they’re so friendly, honest, smart, talented, nice, everything. We’re fortunate to have the students we have here and their parents. Put that together with great teachers and you’ve got an unbeatable combo.” Outside of his office, he walks around at recess, lunch, and after classes joining in on the children’s games, sharing their snacks, and listening if they have a problem. But the highlight of his week is reading to the Kindergarteners. Each year, he reads Purple, Green, and Yellow to them, a story about a little girl who colors herself. When he’s finished, he asks them, “Do you think this is real or make-believe?” and they all respond that it’s made-up, so he agrees that no one in real life would ever draw on themselves. When his visit comes to an end, he waves goodbye, and that’s when they notice that he has the words “Bye” written on his hand. Many students remember that Mr. O constantly had some sort of message written on his hand, but when asked whether or not he still does that, he merely shrugged and said, “When it’s nap time, I fall asleep, and there’s someone that does that. I think it’s a student.”

In his years as Dean, a memory that stands out (aside from anytime the students did well) is the preparation for the first co-ed year. He remembers that Ms. Reser, a lower school librarian, had to throw out half of the books, since the old books only depicted women as secretaries or flight attendants. They replaced the books with ones that showed women as astronauts, firefighters, and doctors to encourage the girls to be anything they wanted to be. Another memory is the addition of the Ai Building, a gift from the late David Ai. The day before school, Mr. O and the second grade teachers were still moving desks into the second grade classrooms, because of the delays in construction. Another memorable moment is the creation of the Tam and Young Arts chair which has “added so much”. He said that one year, the orchestra students were allowed to go backstage at a concert to shake hands to Yo-yo Ma, and he invited them to play his cello, Petunia. Lastly, every Grandparent’s Day when the grandparents come to school with their grandchildren is memorable for him. Mrs.Yellis started this day to honor the student’s grandparents.

Aside from being the Dean of Lower School, Mr. O started the Chess and Checkers Club about 30 years ago for second graders. He’s no longer in charge of it, but he’s very grateful that they still invite him as a guest. At the club’s last meeting on 5/24, they revealed to him that they wanted to pay tribute to him by renaming their club “Mr. Okumura’s Chess and Checkers Club”. Also, Mr. O is one of the recipients of this year’s yearbook dedication.

In his free time, he plans to run with the bulls in Spain, go deep sea fishing, and go motor car racing, but he says he’ll probably end up doing volunteer work instead.

Mrs. Derby, a teacher from K-Leahi, says of Mr. O, “The kids development is really important to him; he’s a steady influence. He’s honest, fair, and firm, but compassionate. He loves ‘Iolani, and he cares a lot about the teachers and the families.” Mr. O would like to thank all the students for making his job so enjoyable and remind them to keep up the good work in and out of the classroom, treat each other nicely, and…do their homework.

For as long as many of the students here can remember, Mrs. Laura White has been a Lower School science teacher. According to her, “Science is a fun subject to teach. I love having [the students] get just as excited about science as I do.” But, after twenty-six years of helping students discover science, she has decided to retire; Mrs. Kathe Warner will pick up the position in the fall.

Mrs. White calls retirement “a brand new adventure” and plans on getting more exercise and spending more time with her mother and daughters, but it won’t be in with the new and out with the old. She says she has “so many wonderful memories [here],” including learning from the new kindergarteners, watching the first graders become lava and volcanoes in a science/ dance unit, seeing the students’ expressions of delight when they solve problems, all twelve Space Nights, having her former students come back to teach her current ones, and heading the Takeapart Club and Litter Patrol. Above all, she says she’ll miss her relationships with the students and their families, and it’s very safe to say the feelings are mutual. Mrs. White has encouraged and cultivated a love of learning and science in roughly 1,800 students and has certainly touched all of their lives. To all the students she’s ever taught, she leaves them with a final message, “I have had so much fun teaching all of you. Thanks for the memories, and remember, always respect living things, take care of the aina, be sun-safe, and study hard in science. I love you all!”

The first moral was “Look Before You Leap.” In this part of the play, some frogs got stuck in a deep well while looking for a new home. Next came the woodland animals who acted out the familiar tale of the Tortoise and the Hare, where the tortoise’s victory in the race against the hare shows that “Slow and Steady Wins the Race.” After that, a fish and a shark performed “Don’t Cry Out Shark!” to show the importance of respecting the differences of others and that honesty is the best policy.

Lastly, the ants taught the grasshoppers that it is not good to procrastinate, especially when winter is coming, through the song “The Work Starts Now.” All four classes of third graders skillfully acted, sang, and danced as they illustrated how important the morals from the play are to them.

*Myth of Arachne: “Arachne lived in the country of Lydia (which had a legendary reputation for producing some of the most splendid textiles in the ancient world), where she matured into one of the finest weavers ever known. Arachne was in fact so adept at weaving that she became arrogant, and claimed that her ability rivaled that of the goddess Athena. Athena, as the patron deity of weavers and quite an accomplished weaver herself, immediately took notice of Arachne, and traveled to Lydia in order to confront the boastful woman. There the goddess assumed the guise of an old peasant, and gently warned Arachne not to compare her talents to those of an immortal; Arachne merely dismissed this reproach, and so Athena was compelled to accept the mortal woman’s challenge. They would each compete by creating a tapestry. Athena wove her tapestry with images that foretold the fate of humans who compared themselves with deities, while Arachne’s weaving told of the loves of the gods. Such was Arachne’s skill that her work equaled that of the goddess, and Athena, overwhelmed by anger, struck the hapless woman repeatedly. Terrified, Arachne hung herself, but Athena transformed the woman into a spider who quickly scurried off. Thus, this tale explains the spider’s ability to weave its web.” (Source: Mythography)