Maryknoll School is a private, coeducational Catholic school serving children in Pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade in Honolulu, Hawaii. The school is located on the island of Oahu and is administered by the Diocese of Honolulu in association with its original founders, the Maryknoll Society of brothers and priests and the Maryknoll Congregation also called the Maryknoll Sisters. The school is the largest Catholic School in the state of Hawaii, and the fifth largest private school in the state. Maryknoll has developed 6 sister schools and 5 affiliated school connections, in China, Japan, and Vietnam.
History Maryknoll School was established on September 5, 1927. Ten Maryknoll Sisters from New York arrived in Hawaii by the invitation of Bishop Stephen Alencastre. Six of the ten original Sisters opened Maryknoll School as the parish school for Sacred Heart Church, Punahou. The school started out as a one-story wood-frame building containing four classrooms. It was blessed, dedicated, and opened with a student body of 93 boys and 77 girls in the lower grade levels. The six Maryknoll Sisters constituted the first faculty. This campus served as both the grade school and high school campus until the need for expansion for the high school division in 1931 was realized.
On December 16, 1947, The MacDonald Hotel on 1402 Punahou Street was sold to Sacred Heart Church for the expansion of Maryknoll's high school campus. At that time, the school occupied about 3.6 acres.
Campus There are two campuses known as the Grade School and the High School campus.
Grade School The grade school campus located on 1722 Dole St. houses grades Pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade. Buildings on campus include the Knoll Building, Building A, Building B, the Maryknoll Community Center Gym (MCC), Admin Building, and an underground parking lot. In 2018, an area of grass placed between Building B and Building A called The Great Lawn, finished construction. Multiple events such as Maryknoll's Makeke on the Lawn, Noblesse Oblige Christmas, and Spartan Run, are hosted on The Great Lawn. The campus also includes two outdoor basketball courts with above ground parking lots located near Sacred Heart Church and Bachelot Hall.
Maryknoll Community Center (MCC) The Maryknoll Community Center, also known as the gym and Clarence T.C. Ching Gymnasium, is an air conditioned, 35,000 square feet structure, with automatic retractable bleachers, soundproof insulation, and an NBA-regulation basketball court. The MCC first opened in September 2009 and is large enough to fit Maryknoll's faculty, staff, and student body inside. Events hosted here include athletic games, practices, Tony Stiletto Hawaii Invitational, Physical Education Class (P.E), Pep Rally, and Mass.
Inside the MCC is a fitness center and Alumni Hospitality Room.
Bachelot Hall Bachelot Memorial Hall (now also known as the Maryknoll's Performing Arts Center) was originally dedicated in June 1923 and added to the National Register of Historical Places in 2001. Bachelot Hall is connected to Kosasa Garden and the Sacred Hearts Church rectory. Bachelot Hall is named after Father Alexis Bachelot.
Bachelot Hall is a campus gathering place for Maryknoll school events.
Renovation In 2021, Maryknoll School started fundraising for the renovation of Bachelot Hall with a goal of $3 million. Maryknoll received two donations that totaled to $2 million from Dr. Tom and Mrs. Mi Kosasa, and the Clarence T.C. Ching Foundation. The renovation lasted 18 months and finished in the last quarter of 2024. The total renovation costed $6.7 million.
The renovation was considered a complete restoration. Notable renovations include new and painted walls/ceiling, replaced carpet with wood planks, installation of two bathrooms, light fixtures, full stage, projector system, sound engineer system, mounted speakers, upstairs balcony, and kitchen. Main contractors that worked together on the Hall's renovation include Ralph S. Inouye Co. Ltd., Mason Architects, and Coffman Engineers. Coffman Engineers provided civil, electrical, mechanical, structural, fire protection, and corrosion control engineering. Ralph S. Inouye Co. Ltd. Was contracted to do rough and complete carpentry, and finish concrete. Air Central LLC supplied air condition to the main stage and throughout the building and installed flashing and gutters.
Bachelot Hall Renovation Subcontractors List In alphabetical order:
Affiliated Construction LLC Air Central LLC Akira Yamamoto Painting Inc. Alii Glass & Metal Inc. Eagle Interiors Inc. Ford Audio-Video Systems LLC Hawaii Stage & Lighting Rentals Inc. Hawaiian Isle Electric LLC Honolulu Fire Protection LLC Island Flooring Jayar Construction Inc. Jayco Hawaii Inc. Metal-Weld Specialties Inc. Road Builders Corp. Simmons Steel Corp. Skippy's Plumbing & Repair Inc. Tokunaga Masonry Inc. Tulba's Roofing Tyson's Inc. Unitek Insulation Inc.
High School The high school campus located on 1402 Punahou St. includes grades 9–12. Events such as Maryknoll's Fall Fest are located on this campus. The high school campus is roughly 1.8 acres. The entrance, designed by Dana Anne Yee, was recognized by Scenic Hawaii, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) for an Award of Merit in 2006, and a Betty Crocker Landscape Award of Excellence in 2004. Buildings include Building A, Building B, and Founder's Hall. The Learning Commons is in Building A. Roger's Hall is an open space between Building A and Building B. The high school campus also has a parking lot with a one-way driveway.
Clubs Maryknoll High School is host to 27 clubs and teams, while Maryknoll grade school houses 7. Clubs are open to everyone to join during the club fair in August.
Arts Ministry @maryknollarts
In Arts Ministry, students work together with other artists every 2-3 weeks to paint faith-based murals. These murals serve as art pieces behind the alter during school wide masses. Each mural is roughly 10 x 5 ft. and is a collaboration of student’s original work. Arts Ministry has been an active club since 2017 and creates 5-6 new murals each year.
Campus Ministry @maryknollcampusministry
Maryknoll Campus Ministry is divided into 3 categories: altar servers, LIFE Teen, and Music Ministry. The Campus Ministry covers all faith-based activities on campus such as blessings, mass, and student/teacher retreats.
Maryknoll Chalkboard @maryknollchalkboard
Maryknoll Chalkboard has been making chalk drawings since 2019. The chalkboard is located near the front gate of the high school and is consistently adorned with drawings that correspond to holidays and school events. Common chalkboard drawings include spirit week, Halloween, Christmas, Earth Day, inspirational messages, and puns.
Chi Rho Knoller Newspaper @maryknollnewspaper
The Chi Rho Knoller Newspaper is Maryknoll High School’s school newspaper. It distributes every quarter (four times a school year) and includes school events and real-world happenings. Sections include: The Front Page, School News, Spartan Sports, Picture Gallery, Features, Opinion/Entertainment, Raffle, and The Back. Printing happens inside the school, and issues are about the size of a tabloid magazine (8.5 in x 11 in.) Members of the newspaper can write articles, take pictures, draw comics, and gain exclusive access to school events.
Chinese Club In Chinese Club, members meet once per quarter (four times per school year) to participate in popular Chinese themed activities. These activities include decorating paper lanterns for the moon festival, drinking boba and playing ping pong, and hosting games for the lunar new year. Members will also get to eat traditional Chinese food, go on field trips, and collaborate with the other Asian clubs on campus.
Maryknoll Civil Air Patrol The Maryknoll Cadet Squadron (PCR-HI-030) is one of ten local units that are part of the Hawaii Wing. At Maryknoll, CAP is taken as a course and can be taken in replacement of PE I, II, and III. In Civil Air Patrol cadets will have the opportunity to learn how to fly a powered aircraft and learn leadership along with Civil Air Patrol’s core values of integrity, volunteer service, excellence, and respect.
Culinary Club Maryknoll High School’s Culinary Club provides opportunity for students to learn how to cook different dishes. Dishes have ranged from omelet making to steak dinner tutorial. Each student is given their own portable stove to use during meetings, most commonly during lunch time.
Filipino Club Students can experience the Filipino culture and its traditions; like making lumpia, halo-halo, and learn traditional dances such as tinikling. Since 2024, students can also learn more about the Filipino culture in the Filipino curriculum offered at the high school. The curriculum was created through the work of the Filipino Curriculum Project.
GlamourGals GlamourGals is an American based organization that fosters the growth of leadership skills. Each chapter is led by a volunteer leadership team that engages with senior centers in their local community. Maryknoll Glamour Gals engages with the Arcadia senior home and paints nails.
Maryknoll Key Club @maryknoll.keyclub
The Maryknoll Key Club is part of region 18, Division 22: Hikina. Key Club is an international, student-led organization originally founded in Sacramento High School California. Through community service, this club promotes Key Club’s core values of caring, character-building, inclusiveness, and leadership.
LIFE Teen @maryknollcampusministry
The Maryknoll LIFE Teen is a core part of the Campus Ministry. A select group of students is chosen at the end of their junior year to be part of the group that participates in all faith-based activities on campus, such as blessings, mass, and student/teacher retreats. It is based on the international LIFE Teen organization, which provides Catholic youth ministry opportunities for people’s communities. LIFE Teen is available only to seniors.
Maryknoll Math Team The Maryknoll Math Team competes in the mathematics competitions hosted by the Oahu Mathematics League (OML) in the Newton League. The Maryknoll Math Team also competes in the Hawaii State Math Bowl hosted by Brigham Young University Hawaii (BYUH) in Division A and has placed in the top 2 at Hawaii State Math Bowl XXXIII in 2011 and Hawaii State Math Bowl XLII competition in 2022.
Maryknoll Robotics Team @maryknollrobotics
The Maryknoll Robotics Team competes in the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) as team 2441, the Spartechs. Robotics members have the opportunity to learn all aspects of STEM through work in electrical, coding, safety, mechanical, Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and business teams through teamwork and mentorship.
The Spartechs have been competing in the Hawaii Regional (HIHO) annually since 2008.
In the 2026 FRC season Rebuilt, the Spartechs ranked 11th at the 2026 Hawaii Regional as captain of Alliance 7 along with Team 9012 (Assets School) and Team 6704 (Mid-Pacific Institute).
In the 2019 FRC season, Destination: Deep Space, the Spartechs competed in the 2019 FIRST Championship in Houston, Texas. The team was the second pick of Alliance 2 at the Hawaii Regional and was given a Wildcard to compete at Worlds along with Team 2443 (Blue Thunder of Maui High School).
The TOAD @maryknollarts
The TOAD is Maryknoll High School’s award-winning, student-led, literary magazine. Under the American Scholastic Press Association (ASPA), the TOAD won the 1st-place distinction for 5 consecutive years until the ASPA’s halt of yearbook, magazine, and newspaper entries in January 2025. The TOAD then received the Superior award for the REALM Literary Magazine contest for their 2025 edition “TOAD: Evening on the Bayou.”