NUS High School of Mathematics and Science (Diploma)

[Artume]

I was there helping out for the 15th APhO. It was a very tiring week!

[Love4learning]

Artume:

edp6a2014ec:

hello, someone who remember the dsa questions can tell me? science they test about what, i applied dsa this year, so i want know a bit

DSA theory phases primarily tests how much you know. It covers things that are not taught in lesson, to ensure that students who can do well are really passionate about mathematics and science, and read about them at their own time, outside of syllabus.

If you're normally very keen on science in your free time, reading science magazines and Wikipedia and things like that, you should be fine.

Any example on sci that they will test the kids on? sci is such a wide subject... TIA

[Artume]

Love4learning:

Any example on sci that they will test the kids on? sci is such a wide subject... TIA

Gosh, it had been such a long time ago!

I've found a few examples online, such as:

There are two containers filled with hot water: one is a metal container with wooden casing, the other is a complete metal container. Both containers have a thermometer inside. Choose the correct line graph for the temperature

or

Which are the factors involved with the diffusion of ink in water?

Science wise, the questions are generally conceptual and understanding. As they're not all in PSLE syllabus, this is where self-reading will come in.

[matadorepy]

dagong99:

Did anyone go for the SJChO last Saturday ? How do you find the paper ?

SjCHO results is out. 34 year4 and 8 year3 students (out of the 200 y3/y4 NUSH students enrolled) got into round 2 of competition.

Nationally 2041 students took part in round 1 competition.

[Atan]

Hi,


I am parent of P6 boy who is considering to DSA for NUSH. During open hse of the other top schools, we hear speakers saying that kids at formative years should receive a good foundation instead of specialization, so that they would be able to choose based on their interest later. Many parents, like myself are afraid that we may make the wrong choice for our child.

Would appreciate very much to hear comments from existing parents & students of NUSH and also if you could kindly share the learning journey of yr DC.

Thanks very much in advance!!

[Artume]

Atan:

Hi,


I am parent of P6 boy who is considering to DSA for NUSH. During open hse of the other top schools, we hear speakers saying that kids at formative years should receive a good foundation instead of specialization, so that they would be able to choose based on their interest later. Many parents, like myself are afraid that we may make the wrong choice for our child.

Would appreciate very much to hear comments from existing parents & students of NUSH and also if you could kindly share the learning journey of yr DC.

Thanks very much in advance!!

I believe that it is absolutely correct - a good foundation is vital.

First to get out the obvious - someone who lack either the aptitude or the attitude for maths and science should not apply for NUSH.

From my 5 and a half year here, what I think NUSH is able to provide is an unparalleled science education with a customized set of humanities foundation. NUSH repeated emphasized that while the school has a higher focus on maths and science, other areas, such as humanities and the arts are not jeopardised. The whole range of humanities subject is still offered - from English Literature to Geography to Fine Arts, at a standard comparable to other schools. In Year 5 and Year 6, for example, humanities majors in NUSH are required to do a 2-year research project on a topic, which is (somewhat) equivalent to a H3 under the A level system. The school also has a active humanities department, holding the annual Sustainable Development Youth Convention and taking part in various local and overseas competitions.

That being said, a large part of those activities are optional to students. Students can (and some do) choose to focus entirely on the science side, such as taking pure sciences in their specialization year. In addition, as a 'school of mathematics and science', even the more humanities inclined students are required to take maths and at least 2 sciences, at a level no less than H2 in the A level curriculum. NUSH is not a school for the humanities inclined. It would allow the student to take a humanities subject at a level no less than his/her peers, but not multiple subjects. Students are expected and required to be first and foremost competent in mathematics and the sciences.

A convenient way to think of NUSH is like the school being entirely science streamed. Science would be the focus, but other subjects are also taught to a competent level. The foundation will be there until at least Year 4, and if the student is willing, until graduation.

[Atan]

Thanks very much, Artume. It is great to hear the views of an existing student.


Pls adv if graduates from NUSH have competitive advantage over other Sc students (JC, Poly) in application f Sc/Engg places in the universities?

Is there a high level of interaction with / mentorship from NUS?

Do many students start taking Uni modules fm Yr 5/6?

Some parents think that NUSH is a place f Math geniuses, not do much f Sc. Maybe this is due to the association of NUSH with NMOS. Do you think a child will be disadvantaged if he is not a MO genius?

Are there cases if students transferring out of NUSH to other schools/Poly due to change in interest? For instance, can a Yr 4 kid apply for Poly studies if he has a strong interest in a particular field that can only b pursued in Poly?
Or the kid decide that NUSH is not for him n wish to change to a normal sec sch?

Thanks again for your kind help in answering to my queries.

[Artume]

Thanks very much, Artume. It is great to hear the views of an existing student.

No problem! I’m glad to help.

Pls adv if graduates from NUSH have competitive advantage over other Sc students (JC, Poly) in application f Sc/Engg places in the universities?
It’s hard to say in such general terms, because it really boils down to individual performance. What can be said is that universities (local or the renowned oversea ones) do know about our curriculum, how it is a maths and science focussed school and how it accelerates in these areas, and it will admit students from NUSH accordingly. For local universities, the most obvious difference is that we apply for them much earlier, about the same time as those invited for early application. Sometimes we’d get offers before A level results are out!

Is there a high level of interaction with / mentorship from NUS?
I think the most obvious interaction with NUS would be that sometimes, we can borrow their equipment for research purposes, and that we sometimes invite NUS faculty down to give us talks and workshops. Mentorship generally come in during research projects, and we do a lot of them with NUS.

Do many students start taking Uni modules fm Yr 5/6?
I would say it is about 10% of the entire Y5/6 cohort each semester. Although students generally have learnt the some of the content in NUSH (especially the year 1 university modules), there are still aspects that may be hard to grasp. It is really for those who have ability to go further.

Some parents think that NUSH is a place f Math geniuses, not do much f Sc. Maybe this is due to the association of NUSH with NMOS. Do you think a child will be disadvantaged if he is not a MO genius?
This is definitely not true. I am a science person, not a math person. In fact, the number of maths olympiad people is no more than any other. I think that the student has to be at least very competent with maths, after all maths is the language of the sciences, and we do maths at a faster pace than normal. It is perfectly fine to not be a MO genius. In fact, if you look at our DSA camp, a lot of it is on experiment and practical skills, the more science-y side.

Are there cases if students transferring out of NUSH to other schools/Poly due to change in interest? For instance, can a Yr 4 kid apply for Poly studies if he has a strong interest in a particular field that can only b pursued in Poly?
Or the kid decide that NUSH is not for him n wish to change to a normal sec sch?
I have heard of students transferring out of NUSH to other schools. I have not heard of students transferring to polytechnics. I think such details are better to check with the school directly, how to transfer, what are the difficulties, etc etc.

Hope that helps.

[Atan]

Tks very much, Artume.

[Snowy116]

Hi, could any of the students advice what is covered under Elective module Computational Thinking Yr 1 ? Is it an interesting module to take up and will it consume a lot of the students time ?