Maris Stella High School
-
von72:
Hi Von72,Hi MintLeaf,
about 3rd language....is it possible if we request to take Higer Ch at sec?? Did your boy took a 3rd language??
Initially I was told that if the student can get 70% and above for his Chinese, he will be allowed to move to Higher Chinese in Secondary 2. When he was in Secondary 2, we received a notification that the student required 75% and above for Chinese and overall average (ie, average for all subjects) to read HMT in Secondary 3. I supposed that was because HMT students have to take the Chinese 'O' level paper at the end of Secondary 3.
My son is not doing a third language. If I knew about the implication of Malay as a third language, I would have seriously considered pursuing it, although my original wish 2 years ago was for him to move to a Higher Chinese class. In his cohort, there are 5 people who are doing Malay as a 3rd language. I suspect there were many parents who did not know about the bonus points for JC admission. -
skyjuice:
Yes, 2 points is extremely attractive. The requirement is like Higher Chinese. Only a pass. No need to get A1 or A2.Hi Mintleaf, once again, thanks so much for your valuable input.
2 points for taking Malay? That sounds attractive. I've learnt to plan carefully for CCA since DSA time last year, when I realized my son had nothing to offer for DSA entry. So this time round, I told my son to factor in accumulating points on top of interest and learning opportunities.
He told me he wants to give badminton a shot and plans to go for the try out during the CCA maze. But seeing this is MS's niche sport, I'm not optimistic as he never had any proper training.
I noticed swimming is opened only to Competitive Club Members. He's never competed so i guess he can't join this sport? I hope the various sports have spaces for students with no foundation so that they have a chance at it.
I also find schools nowadays very focus on competition. It was so unlike our time, when we can join any CCA to pick up a sport just for passion sake. But back to CCA points. I just heard Councilor gets you at most 4 points. You need only an A2 (20 points) to get 2 bonus points for JC admission. The school is busy helping with the Enrichment and Service. Enrichment can give you a maximum of 4 points. Service will provide another 5 points when 100 hours have been completed.
Assuming adhering to everything the school organises for Enrichment and Service gets one 9 points, the child needs to work out where the other 11 points should come from. 1 point for membership in the same CCA each year will give you 4 points in 4 years. You then need to sort out how to get 7 (20-9-4) more points to get a minimum A2.
It seems even participating in ICAS Maths can get you some points under A for LEAPS. But I am not sure what is the criteria, eg, how many points a Credit or a Distinction gives you. Everything I share here is extremely new to me too, so please vet what I said. My son has only 2 years left, so I am also checking his CCA points now. -
skyjuice:
Hi Skyjuice,Hi MintLeaf,
My son will probably just sign up for 1 CCA, need to test ground first. According to time table, CCA days are Weds and Fris. But I saw in website ODAC meetings are Tue and Thurs. 3pm. Possibly the website is not updated? Am actually a bit disappointed with the website. It's not very informative and not very appealing in terms of design and layout.
I use the web sites mainly for Admin Portal Announcement, Studywiz and teacher's contact (navigate from Staff->Teachers). Probably because the web site is not pretty enough for other things.
Most students gather the CCA related information during the showcase.
-
skyjuice:
Hi there Skyjuice. My son is in 1C too. He hasn't redeemed the 3 vouchers yet as they have in-school camp for these 3 days.Hi Allets,
School bookstore told me the 3 vouchers to redeem the CDRom are inside the plastic Art folder. We are to redeem the CDRoms these 3 days at the Pri Grandstand bookstore. Till Fri that is.
Which class is your son in? Mine is in 1C.
Not sure how the kids are allocated. I also wonder does the school have top classes, etc...
So this thing about Chinese - the physical copy of the textbook can be found at Popular? What are the titles, so I can get a copy too, please. His CL needs alot of pushing - and his tuition teacher was baffled when I told her that there is no textbook in the list.
Oh, and about the 3 day camp, any idea what time they end on Friday? -
blitz:
Hi there Skyjuice. My son is in 1C too. He hasn't redeemed the 3 vouchers yet as they have in-school camp for these 3 days.
So this thing about Chinese - the physical copy of the textbook can be found at Popular? What are the titles, so I can get a copy too, please. His CL needs alot of pushing - and his tuition teacher was baffled when I told her that there is no textbook in the list.
Oh, and about the 3 day camp, any idea what time they end on Friday?
Hi Blitz,
Great to know a 1C parent! I'll be redeeming the CDRoms tmr when I pick my son up after camp. I believe there's only 1 sec 1 Express text to be used islandwide. I got his in Popular. Yes, my son's Chinese needs all the help he can get so i feel better with a hard copy around.
The official release time is 12noon but GO told me it's usually delayed till 1+... -
skyjuice:
Oh dear, I won't be going to pick him up. And I doubt he will remember to redeem the CD roms. Any idea if it will be available for redemption the following week?Hi Blitz,
Great to know a 1C parent! I'll be redeeming the CDRoms tmr when I pick my son up after camp. I believe there's only 1 sec 1 Express text to be used islandwide. I got his in Popular. Yes, my son's Chinese needs all the help he can get so i feel better with a hard copy around.
The official release time is 12noon but GO told me it's usually delayed till 1+... -
blitz:
Oh dear, I won't be going to pick him up. And I doubt he will remember to redeem the CD roms. Any idea if it will be available for redemption the following week?
No idea about that. Though I'm sure can be arranged. You can call Pacific bookstore to find out. -
Hi MintLeat,
thk u for your time in replying. Oh, HMT students will be taking their Chinese \"O\" level at the end of sec 3??!! That's new to me!! Gosh!!
It's really tempting to encourage my son take higher malay...but worry he not able to cope as he has no exposure to malay at all. It will not help that i can't coach him too.
I think the ideal plan would be to encourage him to get the required 75% average for all subjects.
Once again, thanks for your sharing!!MintLeaf:
Hi Von72,
Initially I was told that if the student can get 70% and above for his Chinese, he will be allowed to move to Higher Chinese in Secondary 2. When he was in Secondary 2, we received a notification that the student required 75% and above for Chinese and overall average (ie, average for all subjects) to read HMT in Secondary 3. I supposed that was because HMT students have to take the Chinese 'O' level paper at the end of Secondary 3.
My son is not doing a third language. If I knew about the implication of Malay as a third language, I would have seriously considered pursuing it, although my original wish 2 years ago was for him to move to a Higher Chinese class. In his cohort, there are 5 people who are doing Malay as a 3rd language. I suspect there were many parents who did not know about the bonus points for JC admission. -
Yes, all HMT students take their Chinese "O" level at the end of sec 3.
-
von72:
For Sec 1, the requirement is 70% and above. It's only in Sec 2 that the requirement has been raised to 75%.Hi MintLeat,
thk u for your time in replying. Oh, HMT students will be taking their Chinese \"O\" level at the end of sec 3??!! That's new to me!! Gosh!!
It's really tempting to encourage my son take higher malay...but worry he not able to cope as he has no exposure to malay at all. It will not help that i can't coach him too.
I think the ideal plan would be to encourage him to get the required 75% average for all subjects.
Once again, thanks for your sharing!!
And Malay as a third language is called Malay Special Programme. I understand lessons are conducted twice a week, 2 hours each. Hence, it may tax the child given that CCA is already taking up a lot of time.
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better š
Register Login
Online Users
Recent Topics
Statistics
