'Iolani School Archives: Did You Know?

Kindergarten was introduced with the class of 1960 in school year 1947/48 at the Ala Wai Campus.

Beginning in 1917, school colors were blue and white. This changed to red, black, and white when we joined the Interscholastic League in 1935.

The Lower School opened at Ala Wai Campus in November 1946.

'Iolani School traces it's beginnings to 1863; but, there were no graduating classes before 1917.

The Archives has school newspapers as far back as the 1920s, but no issues from the 1930s.

Elements of the school seal:

• The Bishop hat, also known as a miter.
• The keys in school seal are a stylized version of St. Peter's Keys.
• The cross is a stylized Canterbury Cross representing the Bishop's office of the Anglican Church.

A version of the coat-of-arms design was adopted by the first Anglican Bishop of Hawai'i, Thomas Nettleship Staley.

'Iolani was founded as an all boys school. The implementation to coeducation was gradual.

• Coeducation began in Fall 1979 (school year 1979/80).
• Grade 7 (class of 1985) is the youngest coeducational grade at onset in SY 1979/80.
• 1982- two girls appear in the class graduation photograph.
• 1983- First large group of girls appearing in class graduation photograph.
• Fall 1985 (SY 1985/86) girls began entering kindergarten.
• First Daughters of ‘Iolani = class of 1998

An Episcopal school from its founding, 'Iolani became an independent school in 1942.

'Iolani School had boarders through the 1959/60 school year.
Was exclusively a day school for school years 1960/61 - 2017/18.
The boarding program relaunched in school year 2018/19.

In former years, teachers were shipped to Oahu on Matson liners.

The Class of 1953 was the last to graduate from Nuuanu Campus.

The Archives' collection of the 'Iolani School Bulletin begins in April 1960.

The school's Archives program was started in the late 1970s by a school librarian.