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    Moanalua High School

    3.9 (20 reviews)
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    Moanalua High's chess team participating in HI Chess Federation's Scholastic Chess Tournament on 1/20/20
    Jo Y.

    Established in 1972 and with its first graduating class in 1975, Moanalua High School (MoHS) serves a portion of the Salt Lake and Moanalua areas of Oahu. For the school year 2019-2020, it has 1,942 students, 118 fulltime teachers and a 16:1 student-to-teacher-ratio. With grades 9 -12, the school is nationally recognized for its academic, music program, and media communications learning center. School colors are royal blue and silver. Our grandson just graduated from MoHS this past weekend in May 2020. We are proud of him, graduating summa cum laude despite a challenging year on being pretty much on his own. His parents and three siblings moved permanently to Toronto, Canada in Aug. 2019 to tend to the family's businesses. Both sets of grandparents on Oahu watched over him; however, his maternal grandparents were traveling back and forth from Oahu to Toronto to deal with the family businesses. So hubby and I spent much time tending to his needs. This review highlights the school's music program, which our grandson was involved in helping him to get through his senior year. MoHS is known for its music program, and thus, there are many students across Oahu who are enrolled in MoHS with geographic exceptions just to be part of the music program. Music programs include: concert and symphonic bands, symphonic wind ensemble, "Menehune" marching band and color guard, chorus, concert choir, concert orchestra, piano, and jazz band. Our grandson's initial introduction to music started with playing the clarinet in band at Moanalua Middle School and continued on to MoHS while progressing through various bands during his four years there: marching band, symphonic wind ensemble, and symphonic orchestra with being a clarinet section leader. His passion for music led to his selection as a member of Central District's Honor Band, made up of students of various schools in the Central District who auditioned and were selected. But it didn't come easy. We credit the teachers in the Music Department for the highly acclaimed music program. The band program, led by Music Director, Elden Seta, and Associate Music Directors, Cavin Takesue and Todd Oshima, go beyond their limits to provide their students with the best music education possible. Their tireless hours go way beyond a 40-hour work week, as they spend much time outside the normal school hours for endless practices that involve absolute precision in their performances. The marching band practices until they are perfect, including the color guards throwing their weapons high in the air and catching them in unison. Our grandson even received private lessons from Mr. Seta at no charge. The students are all nurtured in their passion for music. But what is incredible is Mr. Seta's philosophy in teaching the kids. At many of the concerts, he thanks family and friends for supporting their kids by being there. And he explains how music applies to the kids' everyday lives in changing them from inside out. Their love of music requires discipline to participate in the program, e.g., need to be prompt and on time for rehearsals and concerts, washing their uniforms, showing respect to others, abiding by strict rules of concert etiquette, keeping your grades up, thinking positive, and many more. Yes, we've seen the positive changes and maturity in our grandson over the years and appreciate this nurturing and encouragement by staff. And we've seen how all the kids become one big ohana, as they spend so many hours together. Many BFFs are found in this close-knit group. The kids have participated in many concerts island wide: Central District Band Festival, Winter Concert, Aloha Concert, Rainbow Invitational Marching Band Festival, Aloha Week Parade, Carnegie Hall in NY, Tournament of Roses Parade in CA, and much more. We've taken our grandson all over Oahu for rehearsals and concerts in school gyms, auditoriums, and stadiums; Blaisdell Center; Pearl City Cultural Center; Windward Mall; Ala Moana Shopping Center; and many more. With so many rehearsals and performances, we're excited that MoHS is nearing completion of a new state-of-the-art 4,600 sq. ft. Performing Arts Center on campus that will have an auditorium with rehearsal and instructional spaces, storage rooms, music library, and other supporting facilities for expanding music and drama departments. As I watched our grandson's commencement ceremony, it brings joyous tears to my eyes to see him grow to a fine young man to start a new chapter in his life. He will certainly succeed in his future endeavors, and I sincerely thank Mr. Seta, Mr Takesue, and Mr. Oshima for the finest guidance that they could possibly give. I also thank the Principal, Ms. Robin Martin and staff, for making their music program a priority at MoHS, as well as the Band Boosters Association, that has supported the kids in every way that they can. Thank you, MoHS! You're the best!

    Looking towards the mountains from the bleachers as the sun rises.

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    15 years ago

    for my sons football team dinner..... football tomorrow moanalua vs. mililani gooo menes chhhheeehhhuuuuu!!!!!!

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    Review Highlights - Moanalua High School

    yup this is for their craft fair that's usually during the holidays as many have been certainly for gifting as we all do.

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    Moanalua Middle School

    Moanalua Middle School

    2.8
    (13 reviews)
    0.5 mi

    Blood donation at Moanalua Middle School's Library in Honolulu, Hawaii!…read more Our own Traci T., an Elite member of Yelp Hawaii, has been coordinating special blood drives to benefit the residents of the 50th State. Today, "Hope For The Holidays" was held in the Library of Moanalua Middle School. I just followed the signs and found the location easily. The parking lot was free, clean, and spacious! The interior of the Library was large enough to hold several portable beds for donors to comfortably lie down. The interview/screening area was blocked off to provide privacy. The registration table was across from the snack table and cooler filled with cold drinks. There were a few tables near the snack table for donors to complete their intake forms. Thank you for great air-conditioning and great lighting! This was a very good choice for a blood drive s8nce everything was planned well - probably by Traci T. The process for each donor flowed smoothly!

    Let me start with a couple of positives. Positive #1 is Mr. Orsatti in special ed and the wrestling…read morecoach. He totally understood my boy. He enjoyed learning from him immensely. He learned to use a power drill and about cars. He was great and he communicated with me on the regular. Any concerns I had, I ran through him. He even accredited him with preparing him for his 9th grade English class as he is doing exceptional in (not his resource teacher for English). Positive #2 is Ms. Leilani, my son's educational assistant (his 2nd). She was only from December through the end of his 8th grade year, but oh boy, she made a tremendous impact on him. She gave him the space to grow and learn to maneuver through social adolescent interaction. My son just adored her and Moanalua middle would be losing an asset when she leaves. These two are the soul reasons, my son had any sort of fun and positive/normal experiences in middle school. These 2 earned the star. Now, I have been biting my tongue for months but I won't post this til we are all the way off island for fear that Principal Moss may hunt us down for this. Now, just a little background on my son but he started off at Red Hill Elementary and it was hard times getting adjusted moving to 4 different schools during 5th grade going from CA to the UK and eventually landing on Hawaii. He had diagnosed ADHD only. So the principal at Red Hill had history with him. When he graduated, she took over Moanalua Middle School. I will on say this just ONCE, but I should've listened to my husband who said maybe changing schools would be better. I simply thought having a continuity of care would be better as they already know him but instead hindered him from getting proper education. In 7th grade, he was on medication and diagnosed with level 1 autism. My son is super smart and can do the work. He has been off and on honor roll and does have certificates in academic achievement. He has had off and on suspensions as well. So please, I am not excusing any of his behavior but halfway toward the end of his 8th grade year, I felt that he was on the principals hit list because of his history with her. He absolutely abhorred his 1st EA Mr. Andy, He was on top of his every movement so much so he was virtually breathing down his neck. Every wrong doing he would be given point off and they had it so he had to be good 80 percent of the time. How is that a realistic expectation for a 13 year old boy? He would even get in trouble for delivering a note to the kids he felt wronged him by asking them to tell Principal Moss the truth so he can finally go out to recess. He was in all resource classes which gave him no homework. He is smarter than that so after school he would read and summarize. He had 3 science teachers during his 8th grade year. During the last month in his English class, he either watched a movie or did other work not pertaining to English Language Arts. All in all, I think he could've handled more than he was given credit for. Let me not forget to mention that he got no recess for 7 months in 8th grade and any thing kids snitched on for they believed even though they were from kids and no substantial proof but hearsay in my opinion. He has been in his new high school for 2 months now with not a peep from the principal or any teacher, he has made lots of friends, he loves all his classes and is striving to get into AP science, he is doing baseball and wrestling, and has expressed interest in a service academy after graduation. He is doing fabulous. I think if you are good % of the time and are a teachers pet, you are good as gold but other than that better watch out, you'll be blacklisted and good luck getting the education you are entitled to. So glad we are outta there. Hope to never hear from you again.

    Photos
    Do you see the sign in front of the library?
    Do you see the sign in front of the library?
    Entrance to the Library
    Entrance to the Library
    We won a door prize from Pono Potions!

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    We won a door prize from Pono Potions!
    Assets School

    Assets School

    3.5
    (4 reviews)
    2.2 mi

    Having sent two children to Assets for two years each, this school is very misleading. With their…read morehefty tuition they claim they don't have enough resources. They are not personable or transparent. Please invest your money into a better specialty school that can help your children reach their highest potential.

    Coming out of the office, I return the polite smiles and greeting of the incoming track team…read moremembers as they return from a run... I wait outside the gate and hear the dismissal bell... Kids file into the carpool area... It's so refreshing to hear the simple chatter from the carpool benches.... The chatter is not so simple at all actually... Some younger voices mix in with the mixed pitch of the older voices, discussing supportive reasons for why "it has to BE via the use of electricity..." Says the shorter kid to the very tall older one, and other colorful discussions mix in with the somersaults of laughter and cheerful noises... The group among the benches is a fun display of a rainbow of uniqueness each child sporting their own style of clothing... Free form talking free form choices... Amazingly one teacher use able to identify each car and it's matching parents and every child's name calling out the childs name there have been 30 cars so far! Seeming to know every car for every child and preteen as more roll in to pick up their happy child, the upbeat teacher spots them out easily as they approach. One kid calls out to the well known teacher, "Byye, I love you" amid praise and "aww" from some kids and embarrassed chuckles from preteen boys. Peer support here. It seems more true to say Ohana support exists here. As the carpool line has a pause the chatter continues, a school performance arts instructor encourages a few kids "OK why don't you start practicing it..." One or 2 early teen male voices start to sing and the oh so telling voice (of change) cracks between high/low notes and gets fun remarks from his peers as they show off their squeaks to share in the moment. The carpool line starts up again, more carpool line chatter... The Physical fitness instructor honors a selfy request and one kid calls to another "wait" as the day seems to come soon to an end. "Thanks Mom" one kid says as the car wheels slowly roll away... Assets... The day ends too soon.

    Photos
    Members of our Assets Parents `Ohana at the recent "Welcome back breakfast."
    Members of our Assets Parents `Ohana at the recent "Welcome back breakfast."
    Front Entrance
    Front Entrance
    The Gathering Space where each Friday, the K-8 holds an assembly.

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    The Gathering Space where each Friday, the K-8 holds an assembly.
    Christian Academy

    Christian Academy

    3.9
    (18 reviews)
    1.3 mi

    After graduating from this school in 2016, I believe that Christian Academy is a private Christian…read moreschool unlike any other. I've been attending here since preschool and I am happy to be considered a Christian Academy alumnus. Through their approach in reading the Bible, understanding and applying scripture to every subject, and actively pursuing an intimate relationship with God while incorporating all of this with academics, sports, and everyday life, I believe that Christian Academy has propelled itself far beyond comparison with other private Christian schools. Sure, we are small in size, however, the spirit and heart of this school is bigger than any other school I know. This school has really groomed me into becoming the man I am today and I will always eternally grateful. Now even with all the good that Christian Academy brings to the table, no school is perfect. No private Christian school is perfect. I think that for some students who might've had bad experiences at CA, their expectation of what they wanted to get out from this school wasn't what they wanted nor what they got. Also, being there for like 16 to 17 years, I've seen my share of imperfections in this school and the areas that there definitely needs to be some growth. However, this school, just like every other school, is growing and learning how to be the best they can be with what they have, and I think there needs to be more grace given, especially in the areas of academic growth. And these areas of growth does not at all take away from all the good that Christian Academy has done and is currently doing for its students, staff, and society. Overall, this is a great school. It is definitely a school built upon the support of families, friends, church and good community. Given that it's a small school, there is no excuse in not getting involved because there are always roles that need to be filled at CA. You'll definitely get a lot of playing time with any of the sports team that you may participate in. Me and my sister are part of the basketball society at Christian Academy and it's safe to say that after a few consecutive divisional championships in both volleyball and basketball, we are climbing up that Hawaii athletics chain. My best advice that I can give to any future student, parent, investor, or supporter of Christian Academy is to understand that while there is much more growth that needs to be done, this school's heart for God and how it affects everything and everyone is what truly makes this school great. I wouldn't trade this experience for any other Christian private school in the world.

    First of all, this school basically says "Screw you AND your kids" to everything. Being late due to…read moretraffic counts as a unexcused tardy. "Screw you and your kids, if somebody died from a crash. Its your fault". Secondly, for the upcoming missions week, they are STEALING 3 days from the students march BREAK. "Oh yeah, after weeks of school, full of homework that exausts the kids. Lets make them waste their break to go somewhere else." Thirdly, this school wastes all their money on activites and gives it all to the church. This school is VERY unorganized. Barely any P.E things to use, seems like they just hire teachers instantly because some of the teachers here SUCK at teaching. For example, the bible teacher gave the STUDY GUIDE for the first FINAL a DAY BEFORE the final. Also, this school says its better then every other school but is not. A student got detention for four hours for being on their phone AFTER school hours, and they try to force your kids to stay an extra hour for three days a week after school for band. (Band is also terrible here and is quite boring to the students). Do NOT send your children to this school, consider something else.

    Photos
    Developing a love for reading!
    Developing a love for reading!
    Intermediate and Varsity Girl's Volleyball.
    Intermediate and Varsity Girl's Volleyball.
    Preschool Fun

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    Preschool Fun
    Highlands Intermediate School

    Highlands Intermediate School

    3.8
    (5 reviews)
    5.5 mi

    Overall this is a great school. The staff are friendly and wonderful and you can tell that they…read morereally care about their students. the programs as well as curriculum here are exceptional! I would recommend this school to any parent who is living in the area and looking for an intermediate school!

    This school is so atrocious, people are fighting in the bathroom and people are getting jumped and…read moreattacked because the teachers, even when we tell them they don't do sh*t about it and this specific teacher don't grade assignments on time and doesn't have the patience to quiet down the class peacefully, instead they yell at us saying "shut the f*ck up!!", and is never in her classroom when the next period is already at her classroom door, instead shes at the cafeteria eating her heart out and when its right after lunch she is in her room, door locked and asleep in her chair and leaves the students out there until a councilor comes up and pounds on the door and calls security, she blames the student's on her falling down because she cant clean up her floor when she spills hand sanitizer. To my information she calls boys puppydogs because of their energy, she has obvious favoritism, and she is very sexist towards males for no reason she has the mental compacity of a child and locks her students out her room when they slightly do something wrong. She doesn't even teach but makes her students read a book and watch a video to write Cornell notes, and when the wind is strong and the door blows open when someone opens it cause its stronger than a 300 ton truck coming at you, another teacher in specifics outs you in-front of the whole period shaming you and excluding you from activities because they never finish their work. One of the few male teachers at highlands makes their clubs students do improv. work last minute and gets mad at them when they do it last minute, another teacher had blatant favoritism, saying that an assignment was easy and shaming that they didn't finish it in a time period she thought was enough, she growls at the students time to time as-well. Never sending another child here again !!

    Photos
    Highlands Intermediate School
    Proof of students and past students expressing their opinions on this school

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    Proof of students and past students expressing their opinions on this school
    Hawaii Technology Academy

    Hawaii Technology Academy

    3.8
    (15 reviews)
    7.4 mi

    This is not for the waipahu campus but for the Ewa Beach (Elementary campus)…read more It's our son's first year with HTA as a kindergartner and we are at the end of the year so we definitely experience the whole school year with HTA. I want to start off with how happy we are that our son attends HTA. It was a great choice and big win. We have older children who go to multiple schools and HTA by far has won us over. The atmosphere and the attention that our son received in school is by far the greatest. The one on one with the student and teacher ratio works out great our kindergartener has excelled in so many ways. He's about to move on to first grade and he already can read books and tell time not only digital time but the wall clock which I remember only learning in the 3rd grade back in the day. He is also able to identify the currency (worth of each coin and what each coin is called) We do noticed a BIG difference in our son's confidence level and not being afraid to speak up and present his animal research to his fellow classmates. The teachers and staff are all so supportive and they are always so kind. They know every child just about by name which is great because they can identify each child's presence which is valuable and also for safety reasons. They also address any concerns or issues right away with the child and parents/ guardians. HTA has great staff who is able to provide support to the children and parents/ guardians. We are thankful that we are able to join our son on his class Field Studies. It is a true blessing to be able to have this experience to be able to understand what our child is learning on a daily basis. They have weekly agendas which keeps us organized and on schedule. We hope you enjoyed our first year experience review with HTA. Having a kind and supportive team makes a GREAT difference! So be nice to the staff members they deserve the Best!!

    Bullying,,,, my nefew has experienced "bullying" but they (staff) doesn't want it to be called…read morebullying but I don't understand why, make it make sense to me. My nefew was bullied for his lunch and couldn't eat that day, the next day or two the same kid who is much bigger than him pushed him down and when mom called the school they just flagged her off. He was staying home for a couple of days out of fear and when I grew up this type of topic was handled in a timely fashion and not go on until something else worse happens. I thought schools here was better at handling this type of situation which is a very serious topic.

    Photos
    Hawaii Technology Academy
    Hawaii Technology Academy
    Hawaii Technology Academy

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    Moanalua High School - highschools - Updated July 2026

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