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My daughter has been accepted into Sacred Hearts and St. Andrew's Priory. Any comments on how these schools differ? Aside from cost (SHA is much cheaper) which one would you choose and why?
Thanks!
Congrats! Sorry I can't answer your questions, but I have some for you? Did you have to test or interview for these schools? How long will the schools give you to reply "yes" or "no"? How much money do they want to hold a spot?
I am asking because we haven't heard back from any of the 4 schools to which we have applied for our kids. We are unable to pay the money for the whole family to visit HI for interviews and testing, so I am wondering if we are missing the boat because of this.
Do the schools seem to have different admission acceptance timetables? How does a family decide when the are waiting for word from different schools? Do the schools give lots of leeway in the decision date so it is possible to wait for answers from other schools?
Expat-
I am sorry that it has taken me so long to reply but I have been in the hospital (in fact I have to go back this evening since I was lucky enough to score a pass!). The non-Catholic kids are required to attend Mass although they do not have to worship. They DO need to sit quietly and be respectful. There are also Religion classes but they cover many aspects of Religion (and in HS they cover world Religions- I am not certain if they do so in grade school).
There are many non-Catholic children in the schools and they are not looked down upon, nor are they treated differently in any manner.
Binky-
Congratulations! Both are EXCELLENT schools and your child would thrive in either school (even the uniforms are remarkably similar). Perhaps location would be the answer to which school should be selected? Your child will be happy and so will you because both schools are well rounded and have terrific reputations.
Melanie, Thanks you for your reply, and I wish you perfect health!
Actually, being Catholic I don't mind Catholicism in Catholic private schools, but I was wondering about schools like Mid-Pac which are also religious. I understand that there are degrees from the quite conservative religious schools (e.g. Bob Jones U teachers) to the opposite extreme.
EXPAT, concerning Mid Pac, Iolani, Punahou and the likes, in Hawaii, the private schools are very liberal when it comes to teaching religion in each particular school. Yes all the private schools have religious affiliations to certain denominations, but it's not like its ramrodded down your throat. You won't have to worry about some religious zealot trying cult worship your child or other students obstracizing your child because he or she is not as "deep" into the religion side as some of the other students are.
I'm a catholic that went to a non-catholic school, more affiliated with the Church of Christ, and was never made to feel that my religion was false, in fact during lent, they always had non-meat dishes for the catholic students, so yeah, schools here are very liberal, and although I did not attend Mid Pac, I really respected the students that attended there, not to mention that the school is situated in a very respectable neighborhood, Manoa Valley, your child will love it there.
BINKY, my daughter was accepted to both schools herself for HS, we also did a campus tour and my daughter shadowed a student for a day at both HS. The campus tour, my wife and I both felt that the facilities at SHA were better than what was offered at the STAPriory, and about 4K cheaper. Most of the facilities at SHA were newer, the athletic gym, band and orchestra room and few other things. After the shadow thing, she enjoyed her time with the girls from SHA than STAPriory, since each student has different goals, personality, beliefs, hobbies etc, your child maybe a total opposite of my daughter , so just take my comments about the students with a grain of salt. Right now that's all I can think about, if you any further questions feel free to ask.
Unfortunately we will not be able to visit either school before we have to pay a deposit and hold a spot for our daughter. trafton, thank you for the info regarding how you decided between the 2 schools.
As for location, I will be working in downtown Honolulu, 1 mile from STAPriory. I think SHA is about 4 miles away from where I will work. Could this make a huge differece in terms of commuting time? I would like to live close to where my daughter goes to school. Looking to rent a small house (prefer 3 bedrooms) for up to $2800. Any recommendations?
expat -
Did you have to test or interview for these schools? these 2 did not require testing or interviews if you apply from the mainland; however, we did send her test scores from her local school
How long will the schools give you to reply "yes" or "no"? How much money do they want to hold a spot? STAPriory asks for $600 to hold a spot and you must pay by May 1. I have not gotten the official info from SHA yet - they sent an email saying she was accepted.
Do the schools seem to have different admission acceptance timetables? How does a family decide when the are waiting for word from different schools? Do the schools give lots of leeway in the decision date so it is possible to wait for answers from other schools? i think some give answers on whether your child has been admitted in march and some not until april
BINKY, if ease of distance and proximity is a concern, then The Priory would be my choice of school, it's really just a stone's throw from the federal building, and no matter where you end up living on the island, it will always be just a short distance away, no backtracking which increase your commute to your workplace. I believe the school also offers early AM and late PM care. I really get the feel that the school is very nurturing for young female minds. If your daughter is a softy, easy natured and soft spoken, she should fit in well, I hope this puts your mind at ease.
AFDDS, If you do end up sending your daughter for 1 year, and live either on base or close to the base, your options would probably be Radford HS or Moanalua HS. Radford HS has large military dependent student body, while Moanalua HS has been rated year in year out the Top Public HS . MHS has some Military Dependents, just not as much as Radford. Private school for one year, in my opinion, based on the schools I've listed, not worth it.
Thanks for your answers. It is hard not knowing anyone in HI, not being able to travel there before moving, and not knowing how the schools operate. All four of the schools we applied to (two Catholic and two larger schools) require tesing and/or interview. I don't know how much it hurts our chances to not be able to go for the tests. Some of the schools want to wait until we arrive in the summer so they can test before they give us notice. It seems like that is leaving it quite late, and wonder if kids usually get spots that way... I am surprised that despite having report cards, standardized test scores, and teacher's letters of recommendation, they still want to test little kids before admission.
trafton- yes, proximity is a concern b/c for the first 5-6 months my spouse will not yet be in hawaii, so i will be taking our daughter to school and doing pick up by myself while working full-time, so i am trying to make things as easy as possible. however, if one school over the other is a better fit, of course, i am willing to do what it takes to send my daughter there and suck up the inconvenience. it is very tough to figure that out from the mainland and not knowing anyone there, so I appreciate all of your help very much.
do you have any information about the elementary schools for SHA or STAPriory? can you tell me how much emphasis is placed on religious instruction? any info about whether the teachers at the elementary level are warm/friendly or more strict/disciplinarian types? how much homework at each school, again for elementary level? do the kids seem happy? not sure if you or anyone else on the board has such info, but i figured i would ask anyway.
expat123 - yes, i know exactly how you feel. they may be willing to make exceptions if you are from the mainland, maybe call or ask them about that if you haven't already? we did not apply for punahou or iolani b/c we missed the deadlines, but those 2 did require students from the mainland to take a test, even for very young students. some other schools did as well (such as maryknoll). we also applied to mid-pac but have not heard anything back yet. i think they send admission letters in april. again, good luck!
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