KAPA‘A — They had their own special place to enjoy while the playground resounded with happy voices during recess, Tuesday morning. The eighth grade students, all 12 of them, were huddled around a colorfully-painted table under the monkeypod tree, engaged
KAPA‘A — They had their own special place to enjoy while the playground resounded with happy voices during recess, Tuesday morning.
The eighth grade students, all 12 of them, were huddled around a colorfully-painted table under the monkeypod tree, engaged in their own conversations of things recently past as well as what was happening for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
“This is the eighth-grade table,” said Celina Haigh, the principal of St. Catherine’s School. “The eighth-graders have their own place where they can gather.”
One of the students said the table has been there for awhile, but about three classes ago, the class undertook the project of painting the table with colorful characters and icons and signing their names to the project.
Tuesday morning, the eighth-graders were part of a school-wide project that raised funds for pancreatic cancer research by paying for specially-made T-shirts that were created in memory of the school’s former principal, Carol West, who died of pancreatic cancer in October.
In addition to the special tribute, St. Catherine’s is also in the midst of a food drive which will be shared with the Kaua‘i Food Bank, Haugh said.
“The food drive will help the people in our parish community, first,” Haugh said. “And, it will also help others through the food bank.”
But what made the eighth-graders stand apart from the rest of the 151 students from preschool to grade eight, was that they were able to congregate at their special table.
“They’re all my prom queens,” Haigh said of the 10 girls who makes up the class of 13 students.
Haigh said right now, they are the big kids in school. After June, the students will be heading to Kapa‘a High School where they will be part of that school’s freshman class.
Students in the class taught by Miss Lewis include Kiana Annunziata, Sarah Howard, Ciara Wainwright, Krystal Struhar, Prisma Verzosa, Adam Clark, Jude Cruz, Vincent Simon, Mahina Costa, Courtney Brede, Juliet Tangatailoa, Mary Walker and Tyra Tandal.
