Vivinavi : Hawaii : (United States) Hawaii

• 最近まで通わせてました
• 2025/10/06 (Mon) 09:33
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My daughter attended MCS from Pre, Kinder, and 1-3 grade.
Pre was a very good school, but I started to think it was lacking academically from about Kinder.
My premonition was right, 1-3 grade, I was totally lacking academically compared to other private schools.
Frankly, Montessori education is unnecessary for elementary school students.
From about 2nd grade, I really thought, please, stop spending so much time teaching with blocks and other materials like you used in pre ！. The subjects I didn't want to do were put off ！ and I remained poor at them for a long time.
There were only 8 students in the same grade, so we had only a small community to interact with, no place to socialize, communicate, or play sports that required a large number of students, and too few students in the same grade to play any ball games or sports. The school said that the three grades should be combined ！ but because of the age difference between the three grades, the children were reserved for the smaller ones, and they lacked sportsmanship and social skills.
We moved him from 4th garade to another private school where he had many classmates in the same grade level and where there was a good field, music, and art program.
We also tried Punahou, but it was too much to compete at all with MCS's elementary academics.

Punahou Feeding School ？ When was this ？. If you're concerned about the academic side of things, I wouldn't recommend Elementary at all.

• アマプラ
• 2025/10/06 (Mon) 11:33
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My son went to preschool 3 years ago. He is now in 2nd grade at another private school.
Punahou and Iolani are not included, but another school.

Montessori community school3 years ago, when my son went there, the preschool was very popular. My son was 2 years old when he applied and was not accepted, but he started at 3 years old.
The 2 years of preschool gave him so much to experience. But as far as academics, don't get your hopes up.
The reasons why we moved from Kinder were: no school yard, too few students （ 8 students per grade ）, lack of music room, art room, chemistry room, library, etc.
5 years of elementary from Kinder ？ 6 years of education to build a foundation for life. But we left Kinder because of the lack of facilities, and also because we were worried about the classes with three grades together.
As a result, only 7 students from my son's grade moved up to Elementary at Montessori Community School. They said there were only 7 kids in the same year
and I remember other families regretting it.

As others have said, the preschool is very high quality. That is why it is a very popular school. But Kinder and Elementary are too small and are always open for applications.
We left after Kinder because we saw only negative aspects in terms of study, facilities, too few students in the same grade, and the educational system. After all, children of the same age play with children of the same age. We were very happy with the preschool, but I don't regret switching schools because I couldn't help but be concerned
about the fact that there were only 7 students in the same grade, the lack of facilities, and the academic performance of the students.

• MCSママ
• 2025/10/07 (Tue) 10:45
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MCS is not a Punahou or Iolani feeding school.
It is only a school that teaches Montessori education to children. It is more about Montessori pedagogy than academics.
It is true that it is impossible to have three grades together in Elementary, and even I feel that the Montessori method is not appropriate for Upper Elementary （ 4-6 years ）.
Also, as you said, the facilities in the school are quite poor. Preschool is very popular, but I guess not many parents want their children to attend MCS in Elementary. That's why the number of students in the school year is quite small, and Elementary is always looking for new students. That is definite information. However, the smaller number of students makes for a stronger bond. It is a small community, though. And as for academics, the level is not so high.
As a matter of fact, to get from middle school to a level that will get you into Punahou or Iolani, you need family support （ as well as public ） such as a Tutor.
Tuition fees are also lower than other private schools, and I think it is better at MCS if you are not asking for so much that you are thinking of sending your child to Elementary.

• プリ通わせました
• 2025/10/09 (Thu) 08:27
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I attended Montessori Community School Pre for 3 years at ages 2, 3, and 4, and then moved to another school after Kinder.
I attended an elementary panel at the Montessori Community School to get more information about the school, but like others, I found the facilities too small, the number of students in the grade level was only about 10, and I had doubts about the learning program and learning style. However, like others, I decided to apply to other schools because the facilities of the school are too small, the number of students in the grade is only about 10, and I had doubts about the learning program and learning style. Sorry, I didn't go to Elementary, so I can't help you.

• La La La
• Today 10:06
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An HBA topic stated that the facilities at Montessori Community School are less than public.
The school yard, library, music room, etc. are all lacking, and it was stated that not having a school yard in Elementary is not an environment in which an Elementary child would grow up.
Academically, they have hardly been able to pass Punahou or Iolani recently.
There are only 7 or 8 children per grade due to the scarcity of facilities, and there are few children of the same age at an early age, although the small number of children seems to cause a mix of grades.

I wonder
why preschool is so popular. It is less than public in terms of facilities, right? I am considering aplying to a preschool this fall. I know this school is not from Kinder ！ but I am considering giving him a Montessori education in his early years and would appreciate any advice you can give me!

• カメハメハ
• 2025/12/03 (Wed) 12:43
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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 ！.

• なんとなくMichi
• mail
• 2025/12/03 (Wed) 21:21
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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.

• いちご
• 2025/12/06 (Sat) 20:51
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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 ！

• Kalihi
• mail
• 2025/12/27 (Sat) 10:13
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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.

• いちご
• Yesterday 20:04
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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.

• 田中
• 2025/12/30 (Tue) 16:19
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Comparing HBA to Punahou and Iolani is first of all a misnomer.
They are so different that they are not worth comparing.
You can apply anytime and get in. Like TOP, we started HBA from Kinder, but we didn't trust the school at all
The family quality of the students was low, and there was no enthusiasm on the part of the school for the university, so we transferred them to another school in the middle of Elementary.
The academic base in early childhood （ Kinder and Elementary ） is only evident in the middle school ！ We placed our children in Punahou from the middle school, but the academic base in Kinder and Elementary is still too low to keep up with the average level in Punahou.
I was able to get into Punahou from the middle school. The choice of school at an early age is the basis for all future academic achievement. We recommend you to be very careful.

• あけましておめでとう
• 2026/01/03 (Sat) 16:46
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We also easily got into HBA from the middle school.
Elementary was Wai'alae, so I was not a very good student, but I could easily get in from Wai'alae without any tutoring or cramming. But HBA, Merinole, and St. Louis are almost impossible to fail if you only submit an application. Don't worry.

• あけましておめでとう
• 2026/01/03 (Sat) 21:11
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As an addendum, Montessori Community School also admits anyone from Kinder. It is said that every year about 20-30 students are accepted from Kinder, but only one is admitted or not.
Currently, the school said that there are not 10 students per grade level. Moreover, they divide the under 10 students into two classes, so there are less than 5 students in the same grade. I declined because the number of students is too small for my child's education, academic competitiveness, and non-academic nurturing environment, but Kinder and Elementary are one of the schools that you can get into if you apply. Pre is very popular and seems to be hard to get into.

• Coffee talk
• 2026/01/06 (Tue) 23:04
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Last year my son was accepted to a Montessori community school, Kinder. About 13 people from my son's pre took the test and all were accepted, but none of them were admitted. The reason is still the facilities in the school building are almost nothing. There is no library, no music, no art, not even a schoolyard, and the place to do PE is in a small concrete space ？ parking ？. The public facilities are better than the private ones and the school is not worth paying for the private ones.
I think that's why the number of students is quite small. …
They claim to be multi-age, but I heard from a parent of a 3rd grader who lives in the same townhouse that unless they are multi-age, there are only 7 students in each grade, and they are all elementary students with siblings.
I heard that until around the time of the Corona Disaster, the percentage of students who passed Punahouiolani was 80%, but in the last few years, the school stopped announcing the number of students who passed Punahouiolani because of the decline in academic performance, with only 2 or 3 students passing Punahouiolani.
He said that has had quite an impact on the school, and that the facilities, coupled with the public and below, have made it a school where everyone from Kinder is accepted.
We turned down both HBA and Montessori and went with another private. You should do a lot of solid research ！

• ベル
• Yesterday 11:09
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Monte I see it's like that
Preschool seems to be very popular, but surely not having a schoolyard is critical for elementary school students, or even an indispensable place. The same goes for libraries and music rooms. Lots of things essential to childhood education are lacking as facilities.
Why is Monte's preschool so popular?

As for HBA, my brother is a graduate of HBA, and it is just about the Hawaii average in terms of academics, nothing too good, nothing too bad. My brother told me that many families have lived in Hawaii for a long time.

• あかり
• 2026/01/06 (Tue) 22:41
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What are the hours ？ is it possible to come to Kakaako to pick it up ？ how much are you thinking of paying for the rental?

• Coffee talk
• 2026/01/06 (Tue) 22:48
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Last week a friend of mine was in the exact same situation, he said he would buy it at Walmart for $58 and bring it back to Japan and sell it on Mercari. lol
He is also 2 years old and a booster seat is too small and illegal, so he still needs a car seat, and the cheapest car seat at Walmart is $ The cheapest car seat at Walmart was 57-58 ！ He said he could sell it for a lot of money in Japan and that he would take it home with him even though it would be luggage.

• Coffee talk
• 2026/01/06 (Tue) 23:07
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As a postscript,
If your husband lives alone in Hawaii, he will definitely need it when he comes back $ so I think it would be a good idea to buy it at Walmart at 58 and keep it.

• コス子
• mail
• 2026/01/07 (Wed) 21:18
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Did you find someone who can lend you a car seat ？
$ I found one at Walmart It's a COSCO brand car seat, right? I bought a spare COSCO car seat for my child for when he/she is picked up in a friend's car, or vice versa, or when a friend is picked up in our car. It is lightweight, so I can pull my child by the hand with one hand and carry it with the other hand, and it is very convenient. You may need it when you come back to Hawaii in the future, so why don't you buy one for Hawaii and keep it in your husband's room?

• 日本での携帯電話
• 2025/12/11 (Thu) 22:58
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Thank you very much. By the way, I would like to leave my cell phone in Japan not only when I go back to Japan temporarily, but I would like to use it all the time in Japan for receiving authentication codes and such like.

• mani
• mail
• 2025/12/13 (Sat) 12:22
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#2 Mr. Resident in USA,

If you have a Japanese ID, you can buy it even if you live in USA. I chose Rakuten Mobile, which has the lowest monthly call charges.

Can I use my passport as a Japanese ID? I don't have any family in Japan, so I don't have an address where I can register.

• mani
• 2025/12/13 (Sat) 12:23
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#2 Mr. Resident in USA,

If you have a Japanese ID, you can buy it even if you live in USA. I chose Rakuten Mobile, which has the lowest monthly call charges.

Can I use my passport as a Japanese ID? I don't have any family in Japan, so I don't have an address where I can register.

• アメリカ在住
• 2025/12/15 (Mon) 14:02
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#9 mani

I lived in Japan, so I have a renewed driver's license with a Japanese address.
Please check with your cell phone store to see if your Japanese passport will work as a Japanese ID.
I told them honestly when I bought my cell phone that I do not reside in Japan, so I do not receive any mail.
Nowadays, paperless is more appreciated.

• mani
• mail
• 2025/12/15 (Mon) 21:15
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#2 Resident in USA

Yes, I understand. Thank you. In this day and age, if you lose your parents' home in Japan, it is inconvenient in every way, including banking. I am very thankful for my parents' home.

• min
• 2025/12/27 (Sat) 01:07
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I am currently staying in Japan.
It is easier to exchange money at vending machine like machines in town than to exchange money in Hawaii.

Or, I am a Central Pacific Bank user and can withdraw up to 100,000 yen a day at ATMs in post offices.
I checked the rate and it is a little better than the machine.
I don't recommend you to exchange money at the bank because of high commission.

• H
• 2026/01/04 (Sun) 00:47
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Do you live in Tokyo ？
If so, I found a place called Dollar Ranger in Nishi-Shinjuku that was good because they had low fees and were able to redeem the money quickly ！.

• 換金
• 2026/01/05 (Mon) 12:31
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You can check today's rates from the World Currency Shop website.

• Honey
• 2025/12/23 (Tue) 13:46
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When I stayed at the Sheraton in Waikiki last month, I asked if I could send my luggage and the hotel said send it to arrive 3 days before check-in or later. They asked me how big it was and what was in it and said if it was too big, they couldn't do it. I was told never to send it before 3 days before check-in.
This time of year,
the hotel is quite crowded for Christmas and New Year,
so it seems that it is difficult to keep your luggage. It would be difficult to keep your luggage, especially if you are not staying at the hotel yourself and you know someone who wants to leave his/her personal belongings after check-out, because it would be too personal and the hotel is not a warehouse.
I had to check in 3 days before check-in and there was a size limit ….

• ふむ
• 2025/12/19 (Fri) 15:52
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When you say give to a family member's account, do you mean refund the money that was advanced to the family member? If so, how about using Venmo, etc., and registering the Venmo debit account with your main CPB?
Also, can you change the settings so that the debit from your bank account is also deducted from your CPB account instead of another bank?

• FT
• 2025/12/20 (Sat) 13:53
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When I transfer money between my accounts, even between different banks, my bank does not charge any fees. The only time I incur a fee is when I transfer money to an account in another name （ I use Wire Transfer, which is also usually $30 per transfer, but my bank reimburses me if I maintain the account for several years.

I opened accounts with various banks in Hawaii, but found them inconvenient due to frequent small fees, so I now only use Territorial. Here, both checking and saving are small, but interest is paid. In addition to this, I have several accounts with online-only banks （ that do not have branches ） that pay higher interest, and I use them separately from Territorial.

If I need to move money between friends or family, I use Paypal, Paypal should not charge a fee if it is between family and friends.

It's easy to feel like a pain to check and find out if there are a lot of small fees, but a year's worth of dust is a lot of money, so I made a change like ↑ over 10 years ago.

• にじ
• 2025/12/04 (Thu) 16:56
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Copilot

joint management, individual management Thank you.
I have both accounts.
Just what percentage are you talking about putting in when you get income ？ to put in?