The celebration of National Catholic Schools Week culminates with professional development workshops hosted by the Hawaii Catholic Schools Office. The Annual Conference for Catholic School Educators begins with a morning Mass that includes recognition and awards given for those celebrating milestone years of service with Hawaii Catholic Schools. This year’s honorees were:

 

30 Years of Service:

Margarita Adair, Maryknoll School

“Margot has been a part of Maryknoll for 30 years where she has taught Language arts and social studies in the Middle School.  Margot has participated on many accreditation teams and has presented at a number of Catholic School, local and National conferences.  She was part of the team that was presented the first Augustine grant for their integrated curriculum project. Margot has served the Hawaii Association of Middle School as a board member for 5 years and was recognized as HAMS teacher of the year in 2012.”

– Information provided by Principal Shana Tong

 

 

30 Years of Service:

Lai Yin Ng, Holy Family Catholic Academy

“Ms. Lai Yin Ng is a virtual ball of energy who has shared her sense of humor and good fun, her cheery disposition, and her never-ending optimism with preschoolers, kindergarteners and first graders for over 30 years.  A “kid at heart”, Lai Yin loves children unconditionally and her students and families adore her, too.  Staunchly supported and admired by a vast network of friends and professional contacts, her generosity of spirit benefits all. Ms. Ng is a dedicated educator in every sense!”

– Information provided by Principal Christina Malins

 

 

20 Years of Service:

Francine Fontanilla, St. John the Baptist Catholic School

“Francine was a former ophthalmic nurse and unit coordinator at Straub Clinic and Hospital before she was asked by Sr. Bernarda to set up the Health Room and become the school secretary for SJBCS in 1996.  Within her 20 years at SJBCS she has taught Health and served as the choir and athletic director.  She loves music, sports, reading and crafting.  She cannot believe that time has gone by very quickly and feels very blessed to have touched many students’ lives and have seen them blossom and grow.”

– Information provided by Principal Carol Chong

 

20 Years of Service:

Hale Harbottle, St. Patrick School

“My work in the Hawaii Catholic School department began in the kitchen as the cook at Holy Family Catholic School.  In the mornings I would prepare breakfast and lunch for the 900 or so students throughout the day. In the afternoons I would work as the After School supervisor at St. Patrick School. This made it convenient for me since my three children also attended St. Patrick School. There was never a doubt in my mind that my children would attend any other school except a Catholic School. Here we found our home.  I believe a Catholic school not only provides a sound academic education but one grounded in Catholic values and principles.  Reflecting over the many years it has been an amazing experience of friendship and enjoyment.  My love of working with children continues along with my new ministry of working at St. Patrick Church and Monastery.”

– Hale Harbottle

 

20 Years of Service:

Adrianne Hill, St. Patrick School

“Being a Catholic teacher and an advocate for students’ academic and spiritual growth, I would like to thank everyone for the years of fun, joy, and pride in having the honor to work in a Hawaii Catholic School.”

-Adrianne Hill

 

 

 

 

20 Years of Service:

Hareen Isa, Mary, Star of the Sea Early Learning Center

“Hareen Isa joined Mary, Star of the Sea Early Learning Center as a teacher’s assistant in October 1996.  She is truly the embodiment of love, patience, gentleness and kindness toward young children, which are reflected daily in her interactions with each child and every child.”

– Information provided by Principal Dr. Lisa Foster

 

 

 

20 Years of Service:

Kathy Johnson, Saint Ann Model Schools

“I’ve had the pleasure of working at two wonderful Catholic Schools; St. Ann School and Sacred Hearts Academy as a first grade teacher. I began full time teaching at St. Ann School where I am also a parishioner, and enrolled my 3 daughters there so that they could have a good Catholic education as I did. 6 years later I followed them over to my alumnae school Sacred Hearts Academy, as a first grade teacher. As time progressed, I found myself caring for my aging parents and was in a teaching position farther away from home. This prompted me to return to St. Ann School where I continue to enjoy teaching in first-grade!

I feel so blessed to be a teacher within the Catholic School Department for the past 20 years where I can live out my faith through my teaching and be able to nurture and guide children through their academic and spiritual growth. I enjoy helping my students learn the important foundations for school, especially phonics and reading. It’s such a great feeling to see the progress first graders make when they learn to apply sounds to their reading and spelling!”

– Kathy Johnson

 

20 Years of Service:

John Madriaga, Maryknoll School

“John has been part of the Maryknoll community for 21 years, providing him opportunities in Coaching, teaching and administration. In each of these areas there has been common threads that have been part of his love of the school, the Students and their families. Johns believes Maryknoll School is a welcoming and nurturing community that John is proud to be a part of.  “Noblesse Oblige” to whom much is given, much is expected.”

– Information provided by Principal Shana Tong