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thebottomsupblog

@EHT Hi! I’m from the KiasuParents team. I’m not sure if anyone will pop in here to answer your question anytime soon.

We could share your query on our social platforms, with a link to this thread?

Let us know if you’d like us to do that, or if you’d prefer to keep it in this space, thanks!

thebottomsupblog

At a glance · The Straits Times Post-PSLE Forum

Look beyond cut-off points, PSLE scores when choosing secondary schools: Principals at ST forum

Beyond the score. Choosing the right secondary school after the PSLE should not be based solely on a school’s cut-off points or the child’s score, said five secondary school principals at The Straits Times Post-PSLE Forum on 31 October. Instead, parents should make practical considerations like the time it takes to get to the school and whether its unique programmes and co-curricular activities cater to the child’s interests.

Tuition and the score. Goh Soon Hoe, principal of Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School, said: “If the PSLE result was attained through sheer force of tuition, then maybe that AL [achievement level] score may not be a good representation of what a day-to-day life in secondary school education is all about.” Lucy Toh, principal of National Junior College, said relying on tuition for good grades is not sustainable in secondary school, where students take more subjects.

Maturity for IP. Toh said parents gunning for IP schools like National Junior College, which offers the Integrated Programme (IP), a six-year secondary school pathway, also need to consider if their children have the high level of maturity and self-directedness required for this pathway, which allows students to skip national examinations at Sec 4. “If your child is not yet operating at that level of maturity in Sec 1, then IP could be a bit of a sharp shock to the system,” she said.

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One point short. Asked whether it is advisable to apply to a school when a candidate is one point short of the PSLE cut-off points, Lee Han Hwa, principal of St Andrew’s School (Secondary), said it is not. “If I’ve been studying the school AL score at least over the past three years, by and large, the score doesn’t really change,” he said. Goh [Soon Hoe] added that with the Education Ministry introducing choice order in 2021 as a tie-breaker for Sec 1 posting, such risk-taking could result in students wasting their first choice. They might also not get into their second-choice school if other children listed it as their first choice.

Use all six choices. Koh Caiyu, principal of Pasir Ris Crest Secondary School, said families should optimise all six school choices during the Sec 1 posting exercise, instead of narrowly focusing on their top school pick. “The last thing we want is that only the first choice is your go-to, and then the five choices, you just close your eyes and anyhow indicate,” she said.

Open houses and students. Tan Po Chin, principal of Anderson Secondary, said families should attend school open houses and speak to current and former students to consider a range of schools that would be a good fit. “That’s where you get the most authentic reflection of the school experience... The students’ experiences are the ones that really would reflect the best of what secondary school life is,” she said.

Mixed abilities in class. One parent asked how a child with good PSLE results might have his learning experience affected when he enters a school where affiliated students are accepted with much lower scores. Lee said boys develop at different paces, and some bloom when they are older, and that teachers are well-versed in differentiated instruction to cater to students of different abilities. Tan added that diversity in the classroom allows students to gain different perspectives and hone life skills.

Source: Read the full article on The Straits Times →

thebottomsupblog

https://www.eventbrite.sg/e/alice-in-tan-boon-land-escape-game-tickets-1532338789569

Tried the Alice in Tan Boon Land escape game with friends over the weekend, on Halloween, and it was really fun!

It’s inspired by the series Alice in Borderland, and it’s an outdoor escape game that takes place at Tan Boon Liat.

You don’t need to download an app to play; a link will be given to you, with a code that you enter to start the game. It’s 15.90 per person unless you book a much larger group. If you’re adding people to the group with separate ticket purchases, write to let them know, and they’ll let you play the same game.

You get 1.5hours to solve puzzles, but frankly we took a lot longer! We started at 8PM and finished off closer to 11, also because we weren’t racing against time. The building was very well lit and there were security guards at the guardhouse plus staffers milling about, but it did get slightly creepy towards the later part of the night. Fun creepy though!

The game is self-guided but you can get help over WhatsApp if you have issues starting the game etc. Very quick response, so it was overall a very positive experience!

thebottomsupblog

@ashtonenglish Hi, I’m from the KiasuParents team. I’ve listed this on our sidebar, so that more parents can try this. Please feel free to share updates and more info on this thread, thanks!

thebottomsupblog

@cyyeong Hi! I’m from the KiasuParents team. Would parents be able to sign up, or are you seeking feedback based on the demo walkthroughs?

thebottomsupblog

Bumping this up, as the people around me seem to be talking about friendships lately!

My husband has been thinking about the friends in his life — the close friends that he barely sees, the groups that he’s in where no one’s keen to meet up.

Another gf was saying she would probably use Bumble BFF to make some new activity friends. She’s tried it before: https://bumble.com/en/the-buzz/what-exactly-is-bumble-bff

How often do you meet your friends? I have friends that I see monthly or even twice a month. Sometimes a new shared interest (like pickleball or taking classes together) means that we meet more often. Otherwise maybe once in 2-3 months is more of the norm?

One positive trend that I’ve noticed in the last 1-2 years: people say yes/no to meet-ups very quickly now! Sometimes a date/time is fixed within minutes, unlike say 10 years ago where we all wanted to do was laze at home and binge videos or doomscroll

thebottomsupblog

A few days ago, my 40-something gf asked me about the BCG Rise programme:

https://rise.bcg.com/for-individuals/applied-ai-in-digital-transformation-change-management/

I know of peers who’ve joined BCG Rise. If others have firsthand knowledge about the BCG Rise programmes, please feel free to share!

As a start, you can check on the programme outline as well as the tools that you will gain familiarity with, and see if it interests you. You can also look on LinkedIn to see what the people who’ve completed these programmes are doing now.

From personal experience + reading forums: A common grouse about some of these mid-career switch programmes (BCG Rise, Generation SG) is that they focus a lot on soft skill aspects, such as reflection time, team building exercises, etc. This can be frustrating if you are quite competent in those areas + need more time to learn something technical.

Also, it’s good to find out how the training will be carried out. Is there a teacher or do you primarily learn from a platform like DataCamp. We all learn differently, so the online platforms may not suit everyone, especially if there is a lot of screen reading to do.

On the bright side: What such programmes may provide is placement support, so you may land interesting roles that might not ordinarily be possible. Again there are other factors that affect placement, such as age. But I think it really gives you a foot in the door; my own placement experience was transformative

thebottomsupblog

I was quite impressed that at a recent trial class, the tutor went through my son’s exam paper, picked out his weakest topic from there, asked him to re-attempt questions (seeing as the school had already gone over the paper once), and then gave him pointers to improve his score.

The tutor also asked to call me, in order to share his observations and rough plan for the holiday, if we did sign up.

In this specific situation, we were just lucky that things worked out in such a way for my son to receive personal attention during a trial. It’s not the norm, but it also made it easy for us to sign up.

For a typical trial class situation, sometimes a child enters a larger class of 20, and it may be harder for them to determine whether they should continue. If a teacher were to follow up by asking how they found the class, we may not have many useful insights to share either.

Sharing how it looks on the parents’ side, in case enrichment providers are also reading this!

thebottomsupblog

@My.Kind.Points Hi! I’m from the KiasuParents team.

Would you like to share some screenshots and a walkthrough here? As we’re required to log in before seeing how this app works. Thanks!

thebottomsupblog

@sharonkhoo Thanks for that reminder!

Yeah I agree that incentives are essential. Maybe sometimes we make the mistake of thinking that home life is quite cushy with not too many restrictions, so at the same time, not many carrots to offer either!

Thanks for sharing your “complete break” routine too

For daily holiday revision, my husband has been having short discussions with my son the night before to make a simple plan, and I’ll just do a quick morning check-in before starting work. My door is closed the entire time I’m working, so he’s basically in charge of his day.

My son was slightly disappointed yesterday when plans with friends fell through (they couldn’t meet early enough and I had arranged for a trial class for him in the afternoon). So yes time with friends can probably go in the “incentive” list!

For decompressing, we have a community badminton coach who no longer charges a fee to spar with my son; I just need to book courts. And during school hols, I’ll usually invite his childhood bestie to stay over for a few days. I’m glad they’ve not outgrown this so far!

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