Message to the Campus Community from the Headmaster

Seven years ago today, 191 students and 27 employees gathered in the foyer of the Elementary School with dozens of parents to celebrate the first day of classes at Island Pacific Academy.

If you have been around IPA for a while, you know the drama leading up to opening day; the unfilled promise of early funding to build; waiting for Central Pacific Bank to feel comfortable with loaning $6 million for a start-up school and their ultimate agreement, supported by loan guarantees; the cement strike that threatened construction; the heroic job performed by Kiewit Construction to finish the building in six months; the skepticism of folks in town that a school like ours could ever get off the ground in Leeward Oahu.

Junior Kindergarten students who began school on September 13, 2004, are now in Middle School.

IPA stands as testimony to what scores of committed adults and children can accomplish together, unified by enduring values and the desire to provide the best possible learning environment for children. Every day - and especially every Founder's Day anniversary - is an opportunity to feel ha'aheo, the humble pride of collaborative achievement.

Congratulations IPA and mahalo nui to each one of you for believing in the possibility of a great school on Haumea Street in Kapolei!