WAILUA — Jean Dobashi, a retired teacher from Kauai High School, always wants to know about the success of her students. “Thank heaven for name tags,” Dobashi said. “I was just thinking about him and ran into him. I looked
WAILUA — Jean Dobashi, a retired teacher from Kauai High School, always wants to know about the success of her students.
“Thank heaven for name tags,” Dobashi said. “I was just thinking about him and ran into him. I looked at his name tag and said, ‘Oh my goodness, I was just thinking about you.’”
Dobashi had run into Matt Canales of the Class of 1985, a holder of multiple engineering degrees who works as a toy designer for Mattel Toy in Atlanta.
“I keep up with what is going on with the school through social media and came home just for the centennial,” Canales said.
The alumni family picnic at Lydgate Park, spearheaded through the efforts of the Class of 1950, launched the weekend of activities celebrating the centennial of Kauai High School on Lala Road.
“A lot of us are old and cannot handle all the walking at the carnival,” said William Yamanaka, Class of 1950 and the head of the picnic. “I told them we’re going to have a picnic where people don’t have to walk as much and there’s time to talk story and share stories from the different decades.”
On tap for the weekend, the Kauai High School carnival runs noon until 10 p.m. today at the school’s gym and athletic field, and culminates with the luau at the Kilohana luau pavilion on Sunday, coinciding with the exact date 100 years ago, the school opened.
Grace Takabayashi of the Centennial Planning Committee was busy collecting and distributing special centennial shirts which will be available at both the carnival and the luau.
“The big item is the centennial booklet which we’re expecting to release this weekend,” Takabayashi said.
Cathy Agoot said she took the day off from work to attend the picnic because her sister Espe Cadavona from Honolulu flew in for the centennial, and also because she serves on the Kauai High School Foundation board.
Agoot said the board was formed about five years ago and provides three main areas of service to Kauai High School through its main fundraising venue, the Kauai High School golf tournament.
