Discussion Forum

#1

• 美香
• mail
• 2023/07/27 06:00

I heard that an event to eradicate bullying was held at Takahagi Elementary School.

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#1

• 安斎
• mail
• 2022/11/01 03:14

They will be holding a free consultation for foreigners.

November 6, 10am-3pm
https://www.city.shimotsuma.lg.jp/page/page005641.html

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#1

• むつみ
• mail
• 2022/11/01 03:08

The 20th event will be held on November 13th.

Venue ： Hitachi Civic Center
Admission free

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#1

• るみ
• mail
• 2022/10/18 09:40

They are going to hold the Ibaraki Prefecture Traditional Crafts Exhibition from October 20 to 23.
They are also going to have workshops to experience craftsmanship.

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#1

• Mayu
• 2026/08/22 07:35

Why aren’t there any reviews of Tsumiki Kindergarten posted anywhere? ？

I’ve posted reviews myself in the past, but for some reason, they’re always deleted right away. I can’t help but wonder if the kindergarten is asking for them to be removed and having reviews that are inconvenient for them deleted.

If there are any parents who currently have children attending the kindergarten—or who have had children there in the past—I would really appreciate it if you could share your honest experiences and opinions.

I would appreciate it if you could share your “unfiltered feedback”—as candidly as possible—about anything that caught your attention or your actual impressions.

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書き込めなくなるまであと139日

#1

• winterrr
• mail
• 2026/02/21 05:16

Hello.
Iolani is recruiting 14 students for 4th grade this year.
14 students means that the number of students is decreasing by about 1 class, is there any reason for this?
The family that is currently attending Iolani at 3rd said that there used to be almost 100 students, but they are quitting and now there are only 86 students. On top of that, he said there are several students who are taking exams to move to Punahou in 4th.
I heard from a student who took the Iolani Kinder test this year that the number of students who took the Iolani test has been decreasing every year and finally reached the 300 student level. I wonder if it is just a difference in popularity that less than half of the students took the Kinder exam while Punahou had almost 800 last year and this year. ？
My son is planning to take the 4th Punahou test this fall, but （ he was not accepted in Kinder, so I was wondering if this is related to the fact that Punahou has more than 90% Asian nationalities? ） I wonder if Iolani will continue to have 4th openings every year?

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#4

• 質問
• 2026/02/27 (Fri) 18:23
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Iolani School disciplines seniors over sexual list targeting female students, staff, sources say
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2026/02/26 /iolani-school-disciplines-seniors-over-sexual-list-targeting-female-students-staff-sources-say/
I saw this news article.
If you know specifics, could you please let us know?
I am wondering how such a problem could have occurred at one of the top schools in Hawaii.

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#5

• ニュース
• 2026/02/28 (Sat) 05:31
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Iolani, you were in the news.
My child also started at Iolani from Kinder and now attends the middle school.
Various students are coming from the middle school, and some of them have surprising language and attitudes that my child is surprised.
As a result, it is the parents' responsibility, but my child feels that there are students who have no morals in the school.
In fact, the school's popularity seems to be declining, and the ratio of students who enter is decreasing year by year.
My child's friendships have continued from Kinder, so she is not thinking about changing schools, but I am concerned.
Especially since the school has students with such poor morals that they are in the news. As a parent, I am worried.
I work at a tutoring center
The "serious Iolani" students are changing in quality these days. I have the impression that Punahou has a stricter school discipline and the students are more solid.
If Iolani banned all devices such as cell phones, Apple watches, tablets, etc. in the school, students would be able to communicate with each other, play physically, and
grow up healthy both mentally and physically. This is a very unfortunate incident.

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#6

• 質問
• 2026/03/03 (Tue) 18:01
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Dear Mr. News
Thank you for your prompt reply.
I understand that there are various types of students depending on the grade level from which they entered the school, such as from kinder, middle, and so on. I think it is common all over the world, including Japan and the U.S., that some students have serious problems even at the top level schools, but I am a little concerned to hear that Iolani's school culture is changing somewhat. What will happen now? Thank you very much for sharing your valuable story with us.

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#7

• イオラニとプナホウママ
• 2026/03/25 (Wed) 10:38
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I have a child in second grade at Iolani and first grade at Punahou.
Honestly, Iolani grows up with no real ability for the child to solve their own problems. Counselors, counselors, counselors, every day the kids talk about it.
The counselors are in on everything and the teachers throw everything to the counselors.
At Punahou, emotional management is built from kinder, and even when kids are fighting or struggling with each other, the teachers talk with them about how they can solve the problem by themselves, and how they can think about how they can help each other feel. I, as a parent, also feel that emotional management is being built. I am planning to have my older son take the Punahou 4th exam this fall.
It is nothing but a shame that students at the adult level, who are about to graduate from high school, do not mind childish bullying and slander as they did this time unless they learn more important things at an early age, not just study and follow the rules of the school.
I felt again that it is not a good environment to grow up relying on counselors for the ability to communicate with people, which is so important in life.

Iolani is a good school. Iolani is a good school, but Punahou is a better school in terms of socialization, the ability to think for oneself, and sharing feelings. As a parent of a student, my impression is that Iolani is a school with many challenges other than academics.

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#8

• 質問
• 2026/03/26 (Thu) 11:28
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Dear Iolani and Punahou mom
Thank you so much for sharing this very valuable comparative information about your two children enrolled at Iolani and Punahou respectively. I read with great interest.
I assume that when your child took the entrance exam, you as a parent visited the school, researched the school, and carefully considered the compatibility with your child before choosing your child's school. You said that you feel that Iolani is "not good", but were these thoughts not grasped during the school tour prior to enrollment?
Are you saying that you were disappointed in many ways after entering the school, although you did not know this during the school tour and the pre-enrollment information session?
Whether it is a school or a job, I am sure that there are many experiences of students who were disappointed when they actually entered a school that seemed to be good at the information session. I would be very grateful if you could tell us more about Iolani.

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#1

• いちご
• mail
• 2025/12/02 07:56

Hello, I have a child who is currently in preschool.
I have a child currently in preschool and am considering applying to Kamehameha Schools （ KS ） in the future. We understand that there are multiple timings to apply, so we are looking to apply from Kindergarten first.

We already have Hawaiian ancestry registry （ Hawaiian pedigree registry for Kamehameha ） but we are wondering if you actually have
• children attending
• who have taken KS in the past • If you have siblings who have enrolled at KS
or any other position, we would be very happy to hear your advice and experiences.

Any small details would be helpful, such as points to prepare for the application, things you wish you had done in preschool, the atmosphere of the interview, the actual atmosphere of the school after attending, etc.

Thank you very much ！

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#2

• カメハメハ
• 2025/12/04 (Thu) 07:43
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My son is attending. He is in Elementary now.
If you have a Hawaiian pedigree, you can usually get in ！ not that much （ like Punahou or Iolani ） the odds are not that high ！
the atmosphere in the school is pretty laid back. The atmosphere in the school is quite laid back, which is typical of Hawaiians. （ Laughs ） It is good for my son, but
academically, I don't think you should have high expectations. I grew up in Japan, and from my point of view, the academics are not good enough, and
the teachers at the conferences don't give many pointers. It is a very Hawaiian school with children of Hawaiian heritage ！.

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#3

• なんとなくMichi
• mail
• 2025/12/04 (Thu) 16:21
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My husband is a KS interviewer lol so I can't go into details

-The school is dedicated to keeping the Hawaiian culture alive

Even kids who can express their own opinions about what they want Hawaii to be like in the future will be noticed

-The interview The judgment has already started as soon as the
They can tell if a child is restless or not

-They want to accept as many different children as possible
I don't think you need to worry about it
A fixed number of students per region are selected


those who want to improve their skills will have dedicated
teachers who will help them to achieve their goals.

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#4

• いちご
• 2025/12/07 (Sun) 15:51
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Thank you all for your valuable comments.

I feel a little lighter now that you mentioned that "the odds are not that high if you have a Hawaiian pedigree". Also, your realistic stories about the atmosphere of school life and academic aspects were very helpful. Since I have a family member who teaches Hawaiian Studies, I feel that my child is naturally developing an interest and attachment to Hawaiian culture himself. I really agreed with what you said in the interview about the importance of having one's own opinion such as "what do you want the future of Hawaii to be like?

I would like to gradually increase the opportunities to experience Hawaiian culture in my daily life and watch over my children so that they can develop their own perspectives and ideas. The discussion about regional quotas and balance is also interesting and I will keep it in mind as a perspective when applying.

I would be happy to learn more from you.
Thank you for your continued support ！

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#5

• Kalihi
• mail
• 2025/12/28 (Sun) 05:13
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I can't go into details, but I have a family member who runs a cram school for the Kamehameha entrance exam. According to the latest information, tuition will be completely waived starting in 2026, and graduates will be able to pay for college tuition as well.
My impression is that it is not so easy to pass the entrance exam, even though it is not as easy as Punahou or Iolani.

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#6

• いちご
• 2026/01/09 (Fri) 15:04
• Report

Thank you so much for sharing your detailed story.
This is the first time I heard about the full free tuition from 2026 and the support to the university, and once again I realized that it will be even more competitive in the future.

As you said, it is a different difficulty from Punahou and Iolani, and it is not an easy entrance exam. With this in mind, I will discuss again with my family about our future preparation. Actually, we are also looking into cram schools little by little, but we have not been able to find many that have the Kamehameha Kindergarten entrance exam in front of them, so we are not sure how to proceed.
I saw some Kamehameha names in the photos of successful applicants at Takahashi Juku, so I thought I would inquire about it, and I am wondering if there are many similarities with Iolani ・ Punahou-oriented preparation.

If you have any more advice, I would be happy to hear it.
Thank you so much for your valuable talk.

Please do not hesitate to contact me.

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#1

• 2歳児のママ
• 2025/10/31 05:59

Hi ！
I am a mom of a 2 year old. I am wondering if you could give me some advice on choosing a preschool based on the fact that I would like to send her from Kinder to Punahou or Iolani.
I know many people around me who had their children attend Central Union, and it seems that almost 100% of them took the Kinder exam at Central Union last year, but
I have seen that not many of them passed the exam and went to Public, Merinol or Midpac.

Also, it seems that they admit families who came from Japan on their way to the school as expatriates without any exam or interview, and one expatriate from a certain travel agency told us that he was admitted immediately after visiting the school and filling out an application
without any interview or exam.
Usually, the website also states that there is some kind of examination in January or February, but this difference in information made me suspicious of the school,
so I checked with the school, but they replied that the admission process is different for each individual...I am a little confused.

Of course I don't think that because I attended Central Union that I can go to Punahou or Iolani 100% of the time, but I had heard that it was a feeding school
and the fact that quite a few people go to Public, Merinole or Midpac ？ ？.

Where are the best feeding schools to Punahou and Iolani now?
I see Montessori Community, St. Clements, Unity School, etc. on another topic, but what are the realities in terms of kinder acceptance rates?
I know you may say that you can't take the Kinder exam ！ before preschool starts, but I am aware that these are the two top schools that you have to prepare that much to get in
and I am serious about this topic.　Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

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#2

• 今年5月に卒業した母
• 2025/11/01 (Sat) 05:31
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Hello. I am the mother of a child who has been a student at Central Union for 2 years, graduated this May, and is now attending Kinder.
Regarding enrollment, we were also unable to get into the preschool that was our first choice, and we waited for a while for an alternate to come forward, but none came.
I was told to come and see the school, so I went to see the school, filled in the application form, and was admitted.
There is an examination, but it seems that all applicants on the alternate list are notified of their acceptance by March or April. Looking at the situation
where we were able to get in because there were still openings on it, I think the exam is only ostensibly a performance thing.

Kinder exams, but I think that almost all Punahou took the exam, which is really not an exaggeration to say all of them, and about 80% of Iolani took the exam as well.
Punahou was by far the most popular. We all wear Tutor and I go to Tutor almost 3-4 days a week.
Central Union is not a feeder school, but a preschool where all the children go to take the Kinder exam
where the families who send their children to the school wear Tutor, go to cram school, and attend IQ Math classes in Kahala.

I do think the acceptance rate was low this year. There are quite a few children in my child's class who are currently attending Public.
Unfortunately, we were not accepted to Punahou and Iolani, so we have started attending another private school.

I hear that the feeder schools to Punahou and Iolani now are St. Clements and Unity School, which are very academic.
I think Central Union and Waiokeola are out of the three feeder families. That may lead to them all being accepted, and there being enough openings to accept them at any time without having to take the test. The Montessori community is another pedagogy, and we don't hear much about kinder exams. However, I do hear that children raised in early childhood with Montessori methods
have higher academic achievement. I don't know if this is true or not. It may or may not be a good fit.
When we contacted them, Montessori was full and they would not even let us wait for a substitute.

If you are considering taking the Kinder exam, St. Clements or Unity School will do academics in preschool. However,
if you don't start tutoring and attending cram school at least one year before the exam, it will be difficult to take the Punahou or Iolani exam after Korona.
As someone else mentioned, in the year of our children who are currently in kinder, there were 663 students in Punahou and 403 in Iolani.
The sad reality is that 500 Punahou and 300 Iolani were not accepted.

No matter which preschool you go to, it depends on how much you can prepare for the exam at home, so I think you should visit the preschool and see for yourself.

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#3

• LA
• 2025/11/05 (Wed) 05:33
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My second child is currently attending Central Union. We are in the middle of an entrance exam right now.
It's pretty bleak right now. ！ Some mothers are trying to get the upper hand by directly asking the mothers of the children who finished their exams early.
Probably all of them are taking the exam again this year.
My oldest son also took the Kinder exam last year at Central Union, but he did not pass the top two schools and is a public school. Our policy is that the top two schools are worth it to get into private, but if not, go to the top public school ！. Of course, we will let them take the test in 4th grade and middle.
Last year when my oldest son took the test, I think there were about 15 kids from Central Union who were accepted to Punahou. Within Central Union alone, 40-50 were rejected.
There are a lot of kids who went to Public, including ours.

Regarding your question about how to enter Central Union, there is indeed an exam. However, it is said that all students are accepted, so even if you are on the waitlist, you will be accepted.
If you ask whether it is academic or not, I am at a loss to answer. It is not that academic preschool.
Everyone sends their children to Takahashi Juku, other Tutor, IQ, etc., so the academic part is actually supplemented there.
For your information.

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#4

• ２歳児のママです
• 2025/11/05 (Wed) 08:11
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Thank you both for your comments. It seems that Central Union is not a feeding school to Punahou after all. I understand.
The acceptance rate is not that high, although all students take the exam. I am glad that I could see the reality and not believe the old rumors. Thank you very much. I have the impression that you don't have to worry much about the entrance exam. I contacted the school and they told me that they have been giving acceptance letters to all students for the past several years. I have submitted my application, but I am not sure if I will actually take the test. I have St. Clements and Unity School as my first choice, and if they all pass, I may try to take the exam as a suppression since the location is close to my home.
I appreciate your valuable feedback. Thank you very much.

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#5

• tiger
• 2025/11/19 (Wed) 07:04
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Two years ago, my husband and I, who had no knowledge of preschool entrance exams, had no idea that Central Union had exams, so we contacted Central Union in June, two months before school started, to enroll our daughter at age 3. I was told, "Come on in August ！ I will send you a form to fill out with your application and bank account" and with one phone call I was in. lol

She has been there for 2 years since then and this year she is attending another school in Kinder.
I didn't even know there was an exam, one phone call, one paper, and I got in and graduated ！ I think almost all the families at Punahou took the exam and 80-90% of the families at Iolani did.
However, this year, not many children from Central Union were accepted into Kinder, both Punahou and Iolani.

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#6

• りり
• 2025/11/20 (Thu) 07:04
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Unfortunately, it is not a feeder school now. However, Punahou's Baccalaureate is held annually at Central Union. Central Union Preschool → Punahou → Central Union Cathedral at graduation is a special one!

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#1

• Rainbow
• mail
• 2025/08/28 04:31

Hi 😀 I would like to attend a language school in Hawaii for 6 months starting next March.
If any of you are attending a language school, I would be happy to receive the following information: ？ How many students per class ？ What is the percentage of Japanese ？ Where do you stay How do you spend your weekends ？ Any other advice would be appreciated. I would be very happy if you could give me some other advice. Thank you very much 🙇.

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#9

• students
• 2025/09/02 (Tue) 10:31
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I attended the Global Village in Ala Moana. There were not many Japanese, but many Koreans, Swiss, and Mexicans.
However, the Swiss and Mexicans were very young, like they were in their teens or just turned 20.
I am in my 30s, so I could not join their community. LOL
After all, the language school is full of young kids. We went to bars and clubs on weekends, and the young kids were learning to speak English more and more. Of course, the country of origin and the ability to absorb English are different because they are young
When choosing a school, I think it is a good idea to check the age range of the students. At Global Village, the students were very young!

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#10

• Raimbow
• 2025/09/03 (Wed) 12:32
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Aloha everyone! Raimbow here. Thank you for your warm comments ！
GV I see that there are not many Japanese people here after all ！ Your comment made me request a host family that does not speak Japanese too.
TNM-san, yes, timing is important, but as you said, the curriculum is also important. I am a Japanese teacher in Japan, so I will look into the curriculum carefully. STUDENTS Actually, Global Village is a candidate. I'm prepared to be surrounded by young people😅 but I'll do my best not to lose ！
I know someone who went to the school in Waikiki Business Plaza for 3 months and she said it was very good with small class size (average 3-4 students) and English only policy, Unfortunately, he did not have an I-20.

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#11

• Mele
• 2025/09/05 (Fri) 03:05
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Our recommendation is to get a head start on basic English grammar while you are in Japan.
There should be a placement test on the first day of school, so if you enter a high level class there, you will find students who speak fluently even though it is their second language. You should buy any grammar reference book and go through at least two rounds. If you mention learning English in Hawaii, you will get a lot of flak, but that's because most people hang out or play with only Japanese people.
I think people like you who can set your own mindset will be fine. I support you ！.

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#12

• Raimbow
• 2025/09/05 (Fri) 14:50
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Mele
Thank you for your message and advice. This time I will do my best to study in Japan because my goal is to get a TOEIC score of 800 or higher to be useful for my job as a Japanese language teacher.
I will be at school about 20 hours a week, so I want to communicate in English outside of school and enjoy a comfortable living environment in Hawaii. Thank you for your support ！.

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#13

• ハワイ
• 2025/09/09 (Tue) 12:58
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I think you should use English as much as possible.

If you cannot speak English, you are wasting your time.
So, I think you should try to dive into the English-only world as much as possible.

English is something you get used to, so I think you should be proactive about being in an English-only world.

Since English in class is not enough, it is good to watch TV without captions
or movies without Japanese subtitles on a daily basis.

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#1

• yuyu
• mail
• 2025/08/08 00:17

I am researching kinder for my 4 year old who lives on the mainland and will be enrolled in 2025-26
I would appreciate it if you could share your information with me.

I read on one site that Public in Hawaii starts Applying in February each year and once they exceed the closing capacity around March, they are put on a waiting list.
If I move into the school district instead of GE, will I still be on the waiting list if I miss the aplication period ？ Or is it always possible to enroll if I have a residence in the school district ？

I am considering Hokulani We are considering either Hokulani or Noelani, but we have been told that both are popular schools and would like to know more about the ins and outs of both.
We do not live in Hawaii and will be moving to Waikiki around July 2026.

We look forward to hearing from you all.

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#2

• AA
• 2025/08/08 (Fri) 05:55
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Public in Hawaii starts the application process every year on January 2, right after the New Year.
Hokulani has many Japanese families. Noelani has many children of UH employees.

I have transferred my child from Waialae Charter School Kinder to Noelani Elementary a few years ago.
We were considering transferring academically and school policy, and went to Hokulani and Manoa to ask the schools about it, but
the schools at Manoa and Hokulani told us clearly that
"Public has all the same materials, teaching methods, and content that we teach, so it's not the same no matter which school you go to.
"If you want something more academic, please go to a private school"
in the same words at both schools.

Public taught me later that "good school" does not mean "good" in terms of academics, level of teachers, etc., but in terms of the quality of the families attending.
So I think it is better to visit both and decide on the atmosphere, keeping in mind that it is not "good" in terms of academics or quality of teachers.

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#3

• ハワイママ
• 2025/08/08 (Fri) 09:23
• Report

As to your question, "If I move to a school district instead of GE, will I still be on this waiting list if I move beyond the apt. time ？?", it seems that if you are in a school district, there is a great chance that you will be admitted without having to wait on the waiting list. Especially if the reason is a move, they seem to be very understanding.
However, there is the issue of having to provide proof of school district （ utility bills, rental agreement, etc. ） and whether you can move to the school district in the first place. Also, if you want to use the after-school program （ A+ ）, it is possible that it is already at capacity and you cannot get in. You might try searching

Hawaii public school How to enroll etc. Some schools have different rules, so we recommend that you contact the school you wish to enroll in.

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