Longtime Teacher and Dean Retire from La Pietra
May 30th, 2022
Students share messages of aloha as Mrs. Chinen and Mrs. Lynn head into retirement.
The end of the 2021-22 school year also marked the end of two long careers at La Pietra. After spending 23 and 25 years at the school respectively, Music Director Shari Lynn and Dean of Students Gay Chinen will finally be retiring. And as the cake at their farewell party so eloquently stated, "school's out forever" for these two!
To send them off right, students in the Art Department shared their appreciation through a lei made up of handwritten notes. Members of La Pietra's alumnae community also wrote in to share their memories and well wishes for a happy retirement. It's safe to say the pair has definitely made an impact on the many students to walk the halls of LP over the years, and it's a legacy that will never be forgotten.
Mrs. Chinen, mahalo nui for all your guidance throughout my LP years and supporting the volleyball program! I wish you all the best and hope for many blessed years to follow! Happy retirement!!
- carmen Sharkey '15
Special guest former Head of School Nancy White also made a surprise appearance at the retirement party. She hired both Gay and Shari, giving them their start at La Pietra. Gay originally began as an art teacher at the school, eventually becoming the Dean of Students – the position she still holds today.
Mahalo to these beloved members of our LP community! Thank you for everything you have done for the school and our students. You will be missed!
You are such an amazingly talented singer, performer, and choir teacher. Thank you so much for encouraging me and other students to audition and join Select Choir. If it weren't for your encouragement and guidance, I would not have continued music in college and would not have as much of an appreciation and enjoyment for the performing arts. I hope your well-deserved retirement is as spectacular as you are!
