From wide-eyed kindergartners to the mature senior class, all 'Iolani students gathered for the first school-wide chapel service this morning in the lower gymnasium.
The boys of Halau 'Iolani opened with a lively Hilo Hula, dressed smartly in white slacks and yellow aloha shirts.
"We gather this morning to celebrate the beginning of a new school year," exclaimed Reverend Daniel Leatherman.
His homily centered on the theme of "We are a people of many talents, united as One Team, One Spirit." Students reiterated those words in different languages to symbolize the diversity of people united at 'Iolani. He also demonstrated how the spirit of God sustains us by placing a beach ball over an air blower. As the ball bounced in the air, he described how we cannot see spirituality yet are lifted by its power.
The Rev. Diane Martinson-Koyama relayed the final blessing of the morning, as more than 1,800 students set out for another day at 'Iolani.
