Olive Celebrates 5th Anniversary

Sunshine Olive celebrated their 5th anniversary with past and current families and teachers. Current Olivian students (with help from several teachers) made screen printed totes with olive leaves and other goodies for the occasion. And parents presented thoughtful gifts to the teachers in a heartwarming gathering of the community.

Through the years, several co-teachers and assistant teachers have graced the classroom, including the gracious Miho Shomura, thoughtful Chris, luminous Bronwyn, gentle Sarah and this year’s kind Karen and creative Sylvia. And through it all, Miho Hamaji has been the constant presence and steady hand that has guided the community, including through the pandemic lockdown. 

The classroom experienced a challenging start as the lockdown prevented children from becoming accustomed to each other, the environment and the guides. “But we made connections where we could,” recalls Miho. “I remember writing letters to each student and they wrote letters back to me. It was touching.” There were six students so “we were like a family.”

Once the children could finally come to school, “It was tough because we were masked and we had to keep our distance. There was no shaking hands or hugging. It was very quiet,” said Miho Hamaji. Co-teacher Miho Shomura remembered they had to find ways to build connection through songs and games.

Thankfully, those days are past and the current class is a vibrant group of expressive children. Going from that challenging first year to a celebration full of children, parents and teachers five years later is a testament to the resilience of the Olive community.

Special thanks go to former and original Olive parent, Misaki Turner (now a Willow and Maple parent) and current Olivian Yuki Suzuki, who organized the gathering. A doff of the hat goes to parent Christopher Ax who hosted the event at his restaurant.

–Wind Edward Kim