RHS'69

This is a story of a job done well.

No job would exist if it weren't needed...the carpenter to build the house...the doctor to treat the sick...the first responder to keep us safe. No job is more important than the other.

Yet, there are some jobs that don't recieve the recognition they deserve. One

is the teacher. They mold the citizens and leaders of tomorrow. They help

prepare our children to go into the world with the skills and knowledge

needed to be productive and healthy citizens. Their greatest joy can be a child that wants to learn. They spend endless extra hours at what they do and frequently pay for needed supplies and materials from their own pocket.

A Job Well Done

Dana Kobashigawa is a RHS'69 grad

who answered the DOE call for

special education teachers. In the

Summer of 2001 she  moved to the

administration side as vice-principal

at Ewa Elementary School.

Her heart was with the middle schools

and transfered to Kapolei Middle

School, "with middle schools, after

one  year you know whether you

belong, because you either love

these kids and age group or you

didn't. There is no in between.

I love these kids and this crazy

age group."

Like most teachers, Dana tells people she's nothing special, just an everyday do-your-job Vice Principal.

There is, of course, no such thing.

When she started her admin career someone told her to keep the thank you cards and notes she gets because they will lift her up. So she did and taped them next to her desk. As she prepared for retirement and was cleaning her office she carefully packed them away.

  We wish Dana Kobashigawa a happy retirement. She

        leaves behind a legacy that can inspire all teachers

         and help them understand the impact each has on

          the children they teach.

Something like this shows the impact a teacher - or

anyone - can have on those around them if they truly

  care about what they do.

In most cases, without fanfare, they quietly go about their life's work. But

once in a while, a educator has such an impact that their students are

complelled to reach back.

Dana was preparded to quietly leave the school for the last time.

But then, in the morning of December 7th last year, almost the entire available Kapolei Middle School student body turned out to wish her well. More than a thousand students had a special send-off for their beloved educator.

Dana has joined the RHS'69 Reunion Committee and already has them behaving better.