The Christmas spectacular is a fun event for all and the family. Starts at five and they have a…read morelist of things that happen all the way through 9 o'clock. Last year we went to the play and came out just in time for the light show and snow. This year we went way early got to do all the activities. Pictures with Santa, Make s'mores, get cotton candy, gingerbread houses, and watch the Christmas Carol. Special note, if you just wanna do the activities go early there wasn't any line but at 7 o'clock that's when everybody was piling in and the lines were around the corner. If you wanna watch the movie, make sure you bring a blanket pillows and things like that it is on the grass. This event is free, and so special. Everyone's super friendly there is an MC and live music. The Christmas play is adorable and is a messy that is not free. You have to buy tickets for that. this event is dog friendly

Safe and positive learning environment for ages 3-18, excellent opportunities in STEM especially…read morerobotics (science, tech, engineering, and math), tons of notable athletics programs, music/art/PE/tech/research classes plus Japanese/Spanish starting In elementary, beautiful facilities especially the new Innovation Center, and dedicated to providing the best in PreK3-12 girls' education!

5-21-23 Dance Showcase was held in the upper gym. We left home 2-1/2 hours before showtime and…read morethe parking structure was already so full. We got one small stall on the top level in the sun. Fortunately they had a bake sale plus snack goodies and bottled water that I so desperately needed. Not even June but it's definitely very hot. The gym was packed with guests even sitting on the gym floor on one side of the perimeter. So cute to see the little ones just mastering tumbling to the 3 honored seniors. The instructors were decked with leis. Costumes ranged from ballet tutus, grass skirts, cute activewear, risqué almost bondage type get ups and lots more. Dances included breakdance by a crew which was surprising to see. Of course you come to see your dear to your heart performer but also enjoy many other groups and varied selections. Save the best for last, just like graduation, the flowers, leis, tributes from family and friends.

Excelling in excellence, Iolani Schools has provided a high standard in the state of Hawaii…read more I remember growing up days, the school I wanted to go to the most was Iolani. But being from the typical Chinese family, my mother told me it was more important for the boys to get that "excellent education". Which was indicative of the earlier days where the student population at Iolani seemed to have skewed towards Chinese males. Heck, at one time it was an all male school. Today's student profile boasts both male and female and a broad spectrum of ethnicities. And I am always happy to see my friends' kids attending my brother's alma mater where academics has always excelled. More recently I have enjoyed the numerous musical presentations the talented young men and women of Iolani have been performing. And happy to see them under excellent tutelage of friend Mary Chestnut Hicks and other outstanding talents. Theatre is top grade. Facilities well maintained. Staff are doing such an important and excellent job. Iolani, keep doing what you do in molding and encouraging our young children into outstanding future leaders of our community. You rock!

Mahalo Punahou School for hosting tonight's ILH cheer competition…read more Congratulations to all the participating schools, cheer squads, and supporters. Excellent win for Iolani taking all 3 divisions in first place: intermediate, JV and varsity. Love the comraderie of the audience sitting side by side with families of competing schools. The coolest thing was while waiting for the tallying of each school's points, the cheerleaders were in good spirits dancing on the floor to the music. So much aloha encompassed the gym. Smiles, hugs, leis of all kinds and roses being handed out to teammates and friends. A wonderful spectacle to witness and enjoy.

Disclaimer: this is a review of the tennis facility. I have played and coached many matches at this…read moreschool and it has a very impressive tennis complex. In the years since I was competing, they renovated the office/viewing area to include an upper deck. There are 6 courts with lights on the lower side and up a steep road there are 3 more courts. There is also a bleacher area to watch some of the matches from. Parking can be tricky and the one-way setup of the lot is difficult. If you pass an area, you have to go all the way out of the campus and back around the hill to get back on property. If you see a spot, even if it's not that close, take it! Weather is also an issue since it's in Manoa so we sometimes have rain delays/cancelled matches. Yesterday we almost had to postpone but luckily the weather held up enough to finish the match!

What would life be without music…read more.. Attended McKinley High School Band Booster Christmas Craft Fair and was pretty impressed how it was all organized. Surely you got all the kids out waving the cars down to check out and support and with the parking that's right besides their cafeteria which is where majority of the vendors are held makes it a great venue to hold such an event. As I shopped and scanned various craft items you have the band playing Christmas music right outside while selling bentos and waving signs to alert you about more vendors across in the gym and outside on the lanai. It was a very lively and fun morning to shop and browse that I even bought a Christmas decor made by the Robotic Club, it's a wire swirled up to shape a Christmas tree which was wrapped up in tiny multi-colored lights that with a click on the switch will change to various modes it even included a spare and I was able to buy another spare so that I'm all set for the holidays with this stunning piece of art that will go to a wonderful cause. Keep dreaming and do what you love... Thank you!

I dont like this school i got bullied so much I had to move to a another school and I came home…read morefrom school crying everyone becuase some girls were bullying and kept calling me names becuase I looked like I just came from Chima I was offended and the school didn't do anything about it and I told my mom and she told the school and the school still didn't do anything about it.

My school ever since 1995! i lovvvve this school! I now work here going on 4 years :) the teachers…read moreare all so nice and they now have a new program from michelle obama called the turnaround arts program. which is now art classes in the school and entertainment from jake shimabukuro! yes! he visits us and plays his ukulele for the kids :) fun! the kids also have ho'oike which is like may day every other year :) each grade performs a song for their parents and teachers to watch :) I love this school because everyone is so friendly. this school now has beautiful paintings on their walls! they just painted a new portrait on the kindergarten building of the valley! so nice! and one on the office building of the valley also :) this school goes from preschool to 5th grade. I recommend to enroll your child here :)

Great school and environment. The students and faculty made our family feel very welcomed.read more

Damien Memorial High School is named in honor of the recent canonized saint, Father Damien better…read moreknown as Father Damien of Molokai, SS.CC. or Father Damien de Veuster of Belgium. He was best known for his work in living and working with the people on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. There are many memorials, statues, and places honoring St. Damien de Veuster of Belgium and Molokai. Damien Memorial High School is one of these places honoring this brave priest. This was an all boys high school when I paid a personal visit at the time, I understand Damien Memorial High School has since gone co-ed. Some are happy about it, some are not as it changes the dynamic of the school. About twenty so years ago, I met a member of the alumni who graduated, oh about 35 or more years ago. He went on to perform in opera and musical theatre. I met him when he was in one of the national tours of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. He was portraying the title role, he was filling in for the principal actor who was on holiday. When he came out of the stage door, he was very surprised to see so many people who wanted a piece of him--translation: an autograph and a picture with him. When I saw him, I thought to myself, "Hello!" Oh yes, I developed quite an immediate crush on him. Right there on the spot! He was tall, dark, and oh so very handsome. I was not the only one. I was with a friend who was old enough to be his mother. She was swooning over him. And I am sure the other women in the crowd were too. While he was signing autographs, we were discussing his Anglo/Hawaiian name. He did not look at me during the conversation as he was signing autographs, he was surprised somebody in this crowd knew the meaning of his name. When we did see each other, it was one of those foggy slow motion moments where it was just him and me, everyone and everything else was fog. Out of respect for this man, I am not going to say his name. He is quite private for one and two, I got to meet him again some time after that first meeting. Awkward. It was quite an awkward and embarrassing moment seeing him again. It is never as good as the first time, to paraphrase the 1985 Sade song. C'est la vie, as Robbie Nevill sang in 1986. I had quite the textbook crush on this guy though. I was surprised to learn we kind of grew up in similar circumstances. I graduated from a Catholic all-girls school while he graduated from a Catholic all boys school. I wanted to visit his high school alma mater since I was in the area. Damien Memorial High School reminded me of the schools in the Philippine Islands: cement fences surrounding a cement building with iron metal fences and gates in-between. Sliding gates and doors with regular hinged doors. It was quite airy walking around the premises. What caught my eye was a little blue eggshell chapel in the courtyard. It was quite lovely and quaint. I thought to myself, "Wow! I would love to get married in a chapel like that." Wow, what a strange thought that crossed my mind. I bet many alumni married their brides in the blue eggshell chapel though. I stopped by the library and told them why I was here. I wanted to see this guy's high school yearbook and picture. They did not have the yearbooks in the library. The librarian knew where they were: in the principal's office. So she escorted me to the principal's office. The principal was in the process of packing up his office as he was being transferred to another assignment. And it turned out the principal was once this guy's guidance counselor back in the day. Wow. I got to see the picture as I wanted. And that was that, I thanked him for his time and understanding; the librarian and I left his office so he could carry on and she helped me find my way out. I thanked her her for her time, patience, and understanding with me as well. My one regret was not visiting the blue eggshell chapel to say a prayer for him during my visit at Damien Memorial High School . . . oh well. I would like to believe St. Damien is proud of this particular alumni member of his namesake high school. Fresh Yelp Review #64 for 2013

Epic school spirit and character from the coaches, wrestlers, fans and all the volunteers that make…read morethese local wrestling meets a success. The facility and gym is very clean, well lighted and has awesome large ceiling fans that help cool down the heat generated by the wrestlers! I enjoy officiating here and hope we find some future male and female wrestling official recruits in the crowd or in the family. There is a HUGE need for future Wrestling Officials! Please refer a friend or family member to your local wrestling association! Wrestling is the cornerstone of epic one on one competition! You can make a difference by getting involved! Thank you for supporting our nationwide wrestling family! HighSchoolOfficials.com

If I had been born male, I would have attended St. Louis School in Kaimuki, Honolulu, Hawai'i…read more Yes, it's an all boys' school. My grandfather, father, nephew, and two brothers-in-law are St. Louis graduates. That means that they belong to "The Brotherhood". I guess it's a good school. My grandfather was a dentist. My father was a Lt. Colonel in the US Air Force and Postmaster of Hickam Air Force Base. One of my brothers-in-law is an engineer. My nephew works at Pearl Harbor. The facilities are well maintained. I've been to The Mamiya Theater and this evening, I went to a graduation celebration at the Clarence T.C. Ching Learning & Technology Center. (The wealthy graduates are generous donors and have buildings named after them... and they have a chance to rent the facilities and host parties for their grandchildren! LOL!) Go Crusaders! Go Red and Blue!

Stevenson Middle It seems that there is a few blocked…read morereviews and some negative comments. I have a wide teaching background. I have visited the school and my initial reaction is -it is a freakin normal middle school, pre-pubescence oozes uncertainty and awkwardness. Elementary schools are so glad to be able to get rid of 7th or 8th graders from primary schools because the whole primary school prospers, not the 7/8th gr. The 'Jerk' factor goes down when the big kids leave a primary school (I'm using jerk but we can be more colorful to discuss what we really mean). Stevenson really is trying. There is huge mandates that they have to juggle, No Child Left Behind, Testing, Race for the Top mandates that are changed at the HI State Leg., New Common Core Curriculum initiatives and all the other stuff that goes on in a middle. Stevenson has a workshop for parents- called changes. It meets 4 times, 1 per month and helps out those parents that don't have an education background. I have a MEd in ESL and SpEd, I would rather try to win tickets to a Yelp event than be upset by some teacher that knows the Keiki personally but does not know educational development as well as I do- Yes, I have an ego and more so I hate hearing bs like 'in 3 years 100% of our keiki will be on grade level'. Really? Is that possible, we had a president of the US that got C's at Yale because his father bought buildings for the school. Give me reality, not bs. What are you as the teacher doing to change the school system because it is not working right now? So- I prefer to let the parents that may be from Micronesia learn something about education in classrooms that have electricity instead of arguing about how special ed. students that are not vocal can possibly pass a standardized test (fyi they can't so when they say 100% of students they are allowed to have 5% of the school student body not take the test- so is it really a true standard? NO!). But they are trying and that is my point- they are reaching out to the parent community to try to help students. On their site, Stevenson has a kidbiz site that helps students use internet and resources online. Stevenson has info on how to complain. This is the first of this kind of out there that I have ever seen. There is info on how to start thinking about going to college for all students. College for Every Student helps keiki start thinking about college, wonderful for those that never have had any relative that have ever gone to college. There is a Stevenson parent teacher association. I don't know too much about it but luckily there are parents that are conduits for the school and trying to get more funding for school activities- I myself believe that this is a disservice because ALL Education K-12 should be fully funded Nationally! PTAs should be for extra curricula like band trips - not actual needed resources for English and Math. I've heard of and met two science teachers from Stevenson that won an award for teaching and the work they are doing in STEM projects. Unfortunately, not ever teacher is a clone of them, so it is hit or miss if your child is able to have the 2 winning STEM teachers or more likely, another teacher doing the best she or he can. It just proves that it really is what the teacher can do for the student and good teaching is good teaching which is good teaching. Again, there are pluses and minuses of any public school. Working towards helping Keiki though should be the focus and hopefully it is. Stevenson do seem to try to care and do the best that they can with the large numbers of students that they have since the students switch classes often. I'm progressive in that I know change is coming- but instead of insulting or nagging I have practical suggestions that could implement change: Allow students 7 to 10 years of ESL support, right now it is limited to up to 3 years. Allow more students to drop out, if they do not want to be in school, allow them to leave, right now they have to be 16 years old before dropping out. Make teachers 12 month employees- right now they are almost full time but on salary, changes to the HI constitution will need to be made to make this possible to increase funding needed in the DOE not for admin but for teachers to reduce class sizes which directly impact test scores positively, and not much else improves test scores btw across the board. I have more but most need funding to change- so basic solution is to fund all k-12 education at the federal level because it is a common right, similar to health care or safety, for an industrialized nation to prosper. More info at: https://sites.google.com/a/rlsms.com/rlsms-com/ Student Resources: Academic LinksAchieve 3000/TeenBiz AVID National Website AVID Newsletter Book Fair Check Grades Clubs College for Every Student Hoonuike Learning Center Parent Resources: Association of Parents & Teachers (APT) Grades ContactTeachers Complaint Procedures Parent Tours

This school is terrible and they do any math. I sent my kid here and I regret it he would come home…read moresaying how their math couldn't even add fractions so that's why i switched him to WASHINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL BECAUSE IT IS BETTER