Photo by Richard Figgins
Story by Jason Grotelueschen

Hope Lutheran School said goodbye on Friday, June 14, to the last class of 8th graders before the middle school moves north. The students were honored and celebrated during the school’s annual graduation ceremony, in front of a packed house of family and friends.

There were 15 graduates in the class, who will be moving on to high school in the fall.  According to principal Kristen Okabayashi, the highest number will attend West Seattle High School, followed closely by Kennedy Catholic High School. Besides those two schools, students are each going to a variety of schools including Seattle Prep, Raisbeck Aviation, Maritime and Holy Names. 

Co-valedictorians were Coco Alba and Tobi Kunkel, and the co-winners of the “Eagle Award” (voted on by classmates, for citizenship and character) were Tobi Kunkel and Isaac Valgora. 

This year’s class was the final group to graduate from the current Hope campus, because middle-school classes will be moving to the school’s new north campus at the former Seattle Lutheran High School building at 4100 SW Genesee, starting in Fall 2024 (WSB photos from Hope’s recent open house are here, and prospective families can contact the school here).