Hi


I’m considering Kong Hua Pri School as a PV. I’m checking if there’s any advantage of choosing Kong Hua Pri School when it comes choosing a sec school in the future as some schools who have sec school will give first priority to their pri school students. Please advise. Thanks !

Hi everyone !


Wow…I see many of you are in favour of GMPS ! I’m one of the pioneers who entered the school when they converted from previously girls’ school to mixed school. I went thru Geylang Methodist Pri, Sec and later Anglo Chinese Junior College (for 3 months and I switched to poly when I cannot stand the secondary school treatment in JC).

But I didn’t consider my kid to join the school even his dad is an old boy ! They have a lot of donation drive thingy going on, and the parents have never run out of donation cards to approach their colleagues. Also, there’s this weekly chapel thingy that one has to tahan. Talking about heavy school bag, please think how heavy is the bible since this school also have weekly bible study lesson.

Also, there’s this kopitiam near the school where some kids always hang out there…a breeding ground for bad influence.

Recently my nephew just graduated from the Sec school. Like me, he went thru the Pri and Sec education. I don’t think he’s really fantastic. I just think if you really want your kid to be smart, it all boils down to home education because school education can only do so much.

Parents, choose a school which is near your residence because that will ensure your kid to reach school on time (without waking up so early for school bus) and your kid to reach home early (no excuse for them to hang out elsewhere and give the excuse the schoolbus breaks down etc)

All schools are the same in my humble opinion.

Thanks Mishasha ! I called them up again and the lady told me that they have this half day thingy for my 21 months toddler, not a full day.

Hi


I’m planning to enrol my child at Cherie Hearts Kids Cottage (Bournemouth Road, Tanjong Katong). Any feedbacks ?

I guess what you said is true ! Non-working mothers are not contributing to the family incomce and hence they should equally be given the same subsidises or even more. In today’s context, it is best for the childcare centres to lower their rates (otherwise people will be forced to keep kids at home) or MCYS is to revise their current subsidy policies to deal with the current crisis.

jedamum:

Hi,

Based on the norm, the husband is the breadwinner. Policies cannot be made to suit everyone. If you feel that you have a genuine case (ie family in financial difficulties), you can write in to the respective agencies to ask for exemption. I'm sure they will obliged to certain unique cases. And if that fails, you can always write in to the papers (forum) to highlight your case to get maximum exposure and speedy replies from these agencies.

They are giving out more incentives to FTWM rather than SAHM cos it is one of their objectives of getting women to work.

Hi Jedamum

Thanks for your explanation. Sometimes, it is not because women do not want to work. It's because there's no job for them during this current economic crisis.

So I guess MCYS should revise their childcare subsidy scheme epecially during this time of economic uncertainty because at any one time, either one or even both parents can be out of job or looking for new jobs.

Again, I agree what you said that policies drafted are not meant for everyone. But I hope policies can be revised accordingly from situations to situations because what policies work for last year might not necessarily work for this year. :celebrate:

Mishasha:

Hi,


I think they have full day childcare from 18mths above. You should check again. Not kindergarten. Kindergarten is for 3hrs daily programme, 2.5yrs old above. :?

Which school are you referring ? Sorry, I'm first time parent here so I'm a little confused over pre-nursery, nursery and kindergarten. :oops:

I wonder why MCYS is so ‘sexist’ in offering childcare subsidies (S$300 for both working parents, and S$150 for non-working mothers) ? To determine if you get the full subsidy of S$300 really depends if your wife is working full-time or clock 56 hours per month. What about the men ? Are they assuming that men must always be the ‘bread-winner’ of the family and hence under both circumstances, he has to work. But what if he’s retrenched ? Would the child be entitled to the same S$300 childcare subsidy or back to S$150 ?


Also does it really mean being a domestic engineer (housewife) is not recognised as contributing to the society ? What if the women wants to get a job and cannot find one during this economic crisis ?

Do you think any parents will consider having more children at this point of time if we cannot get past this issue of not getting more subsidies during this time of uncertainty ? It is not as if the childcare centres are lowering their rates any moment now.

Mishasha:

Hi,


I called up School House n they said full day fee (inclusive of enrichment activities in the afternoon) should be $785 after subsidy for FTWM.

As for other childcare centres, you must check out what are the \"additional fees\" for activities in the afternoon. They usually will ask your child to take part, of course need to pay. End up quite costly. I previously pd $1200 pm for childcare - after subsidy pd $900 pm, but have to add in another $300+ for 2 enrichment classes in the afternoon. Was hesitant but the whole class signed up, so no choice but to let my gal join, otherwise she would be left alone. Paying almost like Pat's School House's fee! :faint:

Thanks for your info. I called up SchoolHouse by the Bay this morning and the lady told me they don't have any full-day course for my 21-month old kid. The only course for full day they have is for 4 years old and above. My child can only attend half day course for his age.

So I called a couple of other centres; Shaw and Pat. Shaw is fully booked and the next enrolment is Oct. My wife will go crazy if she is going to wait that long ! Pat is planning another full-day course in June but the fee is S$1,337.50 per month before subsidies ! This is mind-blowing !!!

Hello everyone


I chanced upon this website when I was seaching for childcare centre because my 21-month boy is getting on his mummy’s nerves with his excitement to learn things at home so much so that she cannot take it anymore ! Time to send him packing to Childcare centres where he has his playmates and teachers to spend time with.

I’m searching for childcare centres around Katong / Mountbatten / Fort Road area which is near my workplace so I can drop him off before class and pick him up after work. I chose this arrangement because it will never work if we are to choose a centre near our home. I will be super late and I guess teachers wouldn’t like it !

So having read so many comments and remarks, I guess I might like to visit Schoolhouse by the Bay. To be frank, I cannot afford to send my kid off to Pat’s or Eton because that is hell lot of money involved ! I hope Schoolhouse can meet my budget and expectations. Any other similiar centres you guys like to recommend for a first-time father myself ?

There’s a lot of work to be done and kudos to all of you who have made it this far ! Thanks a million !