Head of School Update – May 30, 2024

Happy Aloha Thursday Saint Mark Parents!

I hope and pray that you all are doing well. I am writing with my final (and fairly brief) Saint Mark updates and reminders of the 2023-24 school year.

VARSITY BASKETBALL FINISHES STRONG 
The Saint Mark Girls and Boys Varsity Basketball teams had great 2024 seasons! The girls finished as 1st Place Champions!! and the boys finished in 2nd Place!!  Despite the boys hard loss in the championship game, both teams had a successful year and were a true pleasure to watch.  We are very proud of them. Go Warriors!!  We offer up a HUGE congratulations and mahalo to all the players who have worked hard over this long season (Brooke Adams, Kenzie Brayce, Kira Keawe, Kailena Kepaa, Leyla Mafua, Kaiea Maka’ina’i, Kara Makue, Bella Rodrigues, Fynn Blanco, Ke’oli Bowman, Kekoa Hanapi-Awana, Donavon Lacson, Titus Ornellas, Esaiah Rivera and Mana Tamashiro) as well as Coach Erin and Coach Markillie for guiding the teams through two very competitive and exciting seasons.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONS!
Our 24 finalists (12 boys and 12 girls) from grades 5 – 8 participated in a highly competitive championship race earlier this month.

• The top three girls were 1st place – Kenzie Brayce (gr 6); 2nd place – Kaiea Maka’ina’i (gr 6); and 3rd place – Faith Rogers (gr 5).
• The top three boys were 1st place – Kila Kamai (gr 6); 2nd place – Esaiah Rivera (gr 8); and 3rd place – Mana Tamashiro (gr 8)

We congratulate all of our runners and again mahalo Mr. Markillie, Ms. Kaui and Mrs. Manu for their work to make this fun event so successful.

WARRIORS OF THE QUARTER
Congratulations to the three middle school students who received the Warriors of the Quarter Award for the 4th quarter – Kila Kamai (gr 6), Titus Ornellas (gr 7) & Brooke Adams (gr 8). Great work!!

GRADE 8 GRADUATION 
We are happy to celebrate the successful completion of the 2023-2024 school year for ALL our students; however, an extra measure of congratulations goes to our 2024 Grade 8 graduating class along with our two valedictorians Brooke Adams and Mia Mackenzie.  Tonight’s graduation celebration begins at 6:00 p.m. and will be livestreamed on Saint Mark Lutheran School’s Facebook page.

EARLY DISMISSAL – Last Day of School
All grades (PK to Gr 7) will dismiss early with NO After School Care tomorrow, Friday, May 31.  We will be using the following staggered pick-up times:
 11:15 to 11:30 a.m. for K-2 students
11:30 to 11:45 a.m. for 3-5 students
11:45 to 12:00 p.m. for 6-7 students
12:00 to 12:15 p.m. for PK students
We kindly ask that you please arrive during the appropriate scheduled pickup time – not before or after as doing so creates a traffic back log.

“GOOD-BYE” & “HELLO”
This is the time of the year where many of us at Saint Mark are filled with mixed emotions. It can be a sad time as we say good-bye to many wonderful students and families but also an exciting time as we prepare to see all the new faces and welcome the new families to our school `ohana.

Besides bidding farewell to some terrific students and families, we also say good-bye to two Saint Mark teachers.  We bid a warm aloha to Ms. Chung and Mrs. Zerkle as they both move off-island and transition to the next phase of their lives. We profoundly thank them both for their years of service while wishing them all of God’s blessings in their future endeavors.  We are thrilled that the rest of our faculty and staff will be returning for the 2024-25 school year!

But as is often the case, as we say “Good-bye” we also say “Hello”.  Please join me as we welcome Mrs. Kathy Johnson in grade 2 and Ms. Dani Mihalko in grade 3 to the Saint Mark `ohana.  We are excited to have these wonderful educators joining our team.

IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES (for Returning Families)
 Registration Packet Mailed Home – June 17 to 21
    Office Closed (Juneteenth) – Wednesday, June 19
    Office Closed (Independence Day) – Thursday, July 4
Registration Forms Due – Wednesday, July 10
 First Day of School (K-8) – Wednesday, July 31 (Early Dismissal – No Aftercare)
    First Day of School (ELC) – Friday, August 2 (Regular Dismissal – No Aftercare)

MAHALO for YOUR SUPPORT
As the 2023-24 school year comes to a close, the faculty, staff and administration of Saint Mark profoundly thank our families for their support and overall commitment to our mission.  We appreciate you all and pray that you have a safe and fun summer break.

SAFE and FUN SUMMER BREAK
Saint Mark Lutheran School is on summer break from June 3 to July 30 with classes resuming for K-8 students on Wednesday, July 31 and for ELC students on Friday, August 2.

Please enjoy a fun, safe, and relaxing break, and be sure to call the school office at 247-5589 should you have any questions.  Office hours most days during the break are 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Mahalo, Blessings, and Enjoy a Safe & Fun Summer,

David Gaudi
Head of School