Sui Wah's Mission
Our goal has been to stimulate our students' interest and appreciation for Chinese (both Cantonese and Mandarin) language, customs and culture through various creative activities and a lively, motivational environment.
Our curriculum is carefully designed to provide a solid foundation so that our students have the opportunity to continue to learn and use Chinese at home, in their regular schools, and throughout their adult lives.
Chee Ping Lee Lum, Principal
Our History
Established in 1986, Sui Wah School began as a playgroup of 13 children led by three parents. Now the largest Chinese language school in Hawaii, we have grown to a student body of over 200, divided into 12 classes.
Our school follows a 10-month term beginning in mid-August and ending at the end of May each year.
During the school year, our classes meet every Sunday morning, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.
Sui Wah School is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization
Our Teachers
All our teachers are native speakers of Cantonese and/or Mandarin and have attained at least a professional or college degree. Most of them have many years of teaching experience.
Our Student Body
Nearly all of our students are born in Hawaii; moreover, a high percentage have at least one Cantonese parent from Hong Kong, Macao, South China or Southeast Asia.
Many of our families have shared our concern that language must be learned as early as possible, and accordingly, our youngest classes have the largest enrollments.
Language Background
Given the background of our families, Sui Wah School is predominantly a Cantonese language school, especially for our youngest students.
However, given the increased demands for learning Mandarin, we have introduced Mandarin into our curriculum for our students who have already developed a foundation in Cantonese (both spoken and written) in the Cantonese section.