Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary
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i have some fair bit of problems..most recent 1 is telling parents thru email last min, that there will b science ca2 test (originally supposed to be project)..
& told us wrong topics for the test+never mention abt format which ONLY has structured questions, no mcq!!! Is this serious enough?!
I did see Gina's queries, but was not too keen to post anything/say too much..i guess it's more like easier to accept than to complain la..took me a while to think whether to \"break\" my silence or not..
No flaming PLEASe!!! -
cool_hi:
PH has CA2 meh? :scratchhead: i have some fair bit of problems..most recent 1 is telling parents thru email last min, that there will b science ca2 test (originally supposed to be project)..
& told us wrong topics for the test+never mention abt format which ONLY has structured questions, no mcq!!! Is this serious enough?!
I did see Gina's queries, but was not too keen to post anything/say too much..i guess it's more like easier to accept than to complain la..took me a while to think whether to \"break\" my silence or not..
No flaming PLEASe!!!
Which level is your child in? -
cool_hi:
Hmm, my kid went through 6 yrs of Pei Hwa with me being a super uninvolved parent (which turned out into a blessing, I think), not really ever being on top of things cos I am always travelling on work. Just thought I'd leave it to the school who will feedback if there is anything wrong. I was at every parent teacher meeting though. Over the years, I am sure things must not have been perfect, the kids may have occasionally been tested for something they are not prepared for and there would probably be surprises that they did not expect. I think its no bad thing, cos in life, you are often dealt with a curved ball and you should know how to cope. The ones who can and are resilient are distinguished from those who can't. These will show in the marks and those who do well rightly deserve it, cos all their classmates operate by the same rules. Despite my laissez faire attitude, Pei Hwa did well by my kid and he turned out pretty alright. I have never criticized their teachers, and when push comes to shove, always take the side of the teachers. As a result, they are always grateful and managed to train my kid up in the things that mattered - discipline, respect, self- control. Now that my kid is in Secondary school, I can see the great foundation PH has laid in him and are content because I don't really have to worry. I have another kid who started at Pei Hwa whom I transferred to another even more branded school with a feeder so I don't have to worry about P6. Its a great school with much better communication channels but there are times I regret I did not let her complete the studies there and assimilate the values that a wonderful SAP school like that can impart. Your kid is in a good place. Don't worry. If he /she sometimes get less than perfect teachers, just train him to be flexible, adjust and cope, and more importantly understand that in life, we dont get our ducks all lined up in a row. Next year, he will get better ones. There are plenty of good teachers in PH. Wishing you & your kid all the best. i have some fair bit of problems..most recent 1 is telling parents thru email last min, that there will b science ca2 test (originally supposed to be project)..
& told us wrong topics for the test+never mention abt format which ONLY has structured questions, no mcq!!! Is this serious enough?!
I did see Gina's queries, but was not too keen to post anything/say too much..i guess it's more like easier to accept than to complain la..took me a while to think whether to \"break\" my silence or not..
No flaming PLEASe!!! -
TravelMummy:
Good post TravelMummy....
Hmm, my kid went through 6 yrs of Pei Hwa with me being a super uninvolved parent (which turned out into a blessing, I think), not really ever being on top of things cos I am always travelling on work. Just thought I'd leave it to the school who will feedback if there is anything wrong. I was at every parent teacher meeting though. Over the years, I am sure things must not have been perfect, the kids may have occasionally been tested for something they are not prepared for and there would probably be surprises that they did not expect. I think its no bad thing, cos in life, you are often dealt with a curved ball and you should know how to cope. The ones who can and are resilient are distinguished from those who can't. These will show in the marks and those who do well rightly deserve it, cos all their classmates operate by the same rules. Despite my laissez faire attitude, Pei Hwa did well by my kid and he turned out pretty alright. I have never criticized their teachers, and when push comes to shove, always take the side of the teachers. As a result, they are always grateful and managed to train my kid up in the things that mattered - discipline, respect, self- control. Now that my kid is in Secondary school, I can see the great foundation PH has laid in him and are content because I don't really have to worry. I have another kid who started at Pei Hwa whom I transferred to another even more branded school with a feeder so I don't have to worry about P6. Its a great school with much better communication channels but there are times I regret I did not let her complete the studies there and assimilate the values that a wonderful SAP school like that can impart. Your kid is in a good place. Don't worry. If he /she sometimes get less than perfect teachers, just train him to be flexible, adjust and cope, and more importantly understand that in life, we dont get our ducks all lined up in a row. Next year, he will get better ones. There are plenty of good teachers in PH. Wishing you & your kid all the best.cool_hi:
i have some fair bit of problems..most recent 1 is telling parents thru email last min, that there will b science ca2 test (originally supposed to be project)..
& told us wrong topics for the test+never mention abt format which ONLY has structured questions, no mcq!!! Is this serious enough?!
I did see Gina's queries, but was not too keen to post anything/say too much..i guess it's more like easier to accept than to complain la..took me a while to think whether to \"break\" my silence or not..
No flaming PLEASe!!!
I am totally hands off nowsaday.....Leave the kids to the school... Trust the school, trust their teachers.....It is coming to the end of dd's fifth year in PH and she is still fine.... -
Hi TravelMummy,
Thanks for your post & reassurance…
I also very "hands off" since March coz suddenly maidless…
my girl came back,asking me how come only 1 topic was tested(which we paid least attention to,especially due to last min notice,teacher only emailed us that weekend before the test which would be on that coming thur)…whole class was surprised and also complained how come all structured questions.
I took it with 阿Q精神…I told her I don’t know why teacher gave wr5ong info,anyway, told her no point complaining, and took the chance to tell her and emphasize that it is important to do consistent revision
but I am quite disappointed overall…the kind of feeling is like 'don’t know what else can happen huh?"
I only know a few mummies, around 3-4…
I only realised that the info on this test was not conveyed through proper channel when 1 mummy from another class messaged me to ask what are the topics? her teacher told them is Materials…but she heard from other mummies that is diversity which has 3-4 topics…
our class was told it’s Diversity…
so we were all confused…luckily that mummy didn’t follow my info…
only revised with her son on Materials(coz so last min, she has no time for so many topics)…
for us,we trusted our teacher(didn’t bother to check with other mummies,not many I know anyway)& just did 1 revision paper on all topics…
my point is, what Is HOD doing?
how come different teacher have different info on topics tested?
why no formal letter of notification on this test? especially when it is a last minute test?
especially when according to dyh, usually no CA2 tests right?
(I also didn’t know usu no CA2 tests, until 1 mummy also surprised with this email informing us the tests, coz she has an elder son, and she told me usu no CA2 tests)…
kindly note that I am NOT complaining or bringing this up,
coz i am afraid that my child’s results will be affected by the wrong info…In short, it it not due to kiasuism!!!
anyway, this test shd be only 5-10%??( i not sure coz i don’t really bother anyway)…
& kindly note that I did not bring this matter up to the teacher/HOD/P…
Just sharing what we experienced, nothing more, nothing less…
Basically, Just feel disappointed…something so simple, yet can be so confusing+messy…
Overall, the school is ok, but communication has a lot of improvement to be made… -
Hi cool_hi
Just a suggestion. Guess in situations like this, it would be good for parents to communicate with the teacher directly (as in topics to be tested, structure) to clear up any confusion. The teacher may be busy or overwhelmed with many tasks at times so can overlook other things like communication. But there is nothing stopping us from check with the teachers directly when doubts arise. -
Sorry, think i forgot to mention that i only realised the confusion on topics, on wed evening, 1 day before the test on thur, when that mummy sms me to clarify..
Even if i email the teacher, i don't think i will get an answer in time
& the other 2 mummies i know are from same class with same info as me(in fact, I was the 1 who sms them to inform them of that email,if not, they probably won't know about the last minute test!! coz they commented why inform through email?esp they do not check regularly!!)
another mummy in 1st class, but i didn't bother to ask(trusting our info should be correct) esp i need to work late that night..
Anyway, never mind la..over liao -
Sure, we can definitely seek clarification from the teachers when we have doubts. But the point is, why can't the teachers give clear and correct info the first time round? In fact, my child's teacher even admitted that she decided to inform the class about the test only because she received some queries whether there would be a project (because in term 1, during parents' workshop, the HOD announced there would be a project in term3, which will constitute 10% of the overall.) Meaning to say, if those few parents didn't approach the teacher, she would not even mention about the test? Then mention wrong topic some more! My child did badly, but I didn't confront the teacher or did anything. Just take it as our fault for not doing consistent revision.
To share another experience-
My child won the first prize in one of the school's competitions. My son's work was clearly displayed near the general office with the other prize winners of all the levels. But during the prize-giving ceremony, another student was announced as the first-prize instead. After getting over the initial surprise/shock, I told my son \"never mind, it's not about the trophy, as long as you know you did win; anyway your work is already displayed\". But my son said, \"it's my first time winning something and it deprived me of the chance of going on stage\". So I approached the HOD. Took them about 1 week to sort things out. i asked whether they can at least announce my son's name and give him the trophy on stage during assembly. But of course, they just quietly asked that student to return the trophy and then quietly gave it to my son. A school not courageous enough to admit its mistake publicly, and a school not caring enough to consider a child's feelings. To adults, a trophy is just a trophy, but to a young child, the chance to walk on stage to collect a trophy means so much more.
I am a hands-off parent. I trust the school and teachers to do what they are supposed to do. I trust their teaching. I trust their marking. I don't re-count the marks when they return the exam papers for checking. I just sign blindly and return. I trust them - I do. But when it concerns my children's emotional well-being/self- esteem/self confidence, I can't ignore.
The above is for sharing only. No attacks please.
Having said that, there are indeed many responsible and caring teachers in the school too. Especially this Children's Day. A number of teachers made a tremendous effort to make meaningful gifts and pen personalized notes of encouragement to the students. My kids appreciate them very much.
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TravelMummy:
Hmm, my kid went through 6 yrs of Pei Hwa with me being a super uninvolved parent (which turned out into a blessing, I think), not really ever being on top of things cos I am always travelling on work. Just thought I'd leave it to the school who will feedback if there is anything wrong. I was at every parent teacher meeting though. Over the years, I am sure things must not have been perfect, the kids may have occasionally been tested for something they are not prepared for and there would probably be surprises that they did not expect. I think its no bad thing, cos in life, you are often dealt with a curved ball and you should know how to cope. The ones who can and are resilient are distinguished from those who can't. These will show in the marks and those who do well rightly deserve it, cos all their classmates operate by the same rules. Despite my laissez faire attitude, Pei Hwa did well by my kid and he turned out pretty alright. I have never criticized their teachers, and when push comes to shove, always take the side of the teachers. As a result, they are always grateful and managed to train my kid up in the things that mattered - discipline, respect, self- control. Now that my kid is in Secondary school, I can see the great foundation PH has laid in him and are content because I don't really have to worry. I have another kid who started at Pei Hwa whom I transferred to another even more branded school with a feeder so I don't have to worry about P6. Its a great school with much better communication channels but there are times I regret I did not let her complete the studies there and assimilate the values that a wonderful SAP school like that can impart. Your kid is in a good place. Don't worry. If he /she sometimes get less than perfect teachers, just train him to be flexible, adjust and cope, and more importantly understand that in life, we dont get our ducks all lined up in a row. Next year, he will get better ones. There are plenty of good teachers in PH. Wishing you & your kid all the best.
I like your parenting attitude. Sometimes by not holding on too tightly to the string of the kite (an analogy to our kid) will do our kid some good. Life has its fair share of occasional, little setbacks, and it is not always bad for the kid.
For the record, I don't even know about the term 3 science test, and only knew after DD came back home and told me. Well.. I figured that it's only 5%, so if she has to use that 5% in exchange for a lesson learnt, so be it. (The other 5% is for the practical test, and both adds to 10% for term 3 HA.) Anyway my mindset is that if my kid has to learn her mistakes the hard way, it could be any HAs, CAs or SAs, as long she learnt it before the PSLE and not during! :xedfingers: -
embel:
Hi, can understand your frustration over the art competition saga. Any parent would be upset too..Sure, we can definitely seek clarification from the teachers when we have doubts. But the point is, why can't the teachers give clear and correct info the first time round? In fact, my child's teacher even admitted that she decided to inform the class about the test only because she received some queries whether there would be a project (because in term 1, during parents' workshop, the HOD announced there would be a project in term3, which will constitute 10% of the overall.) Meaning to say, if those few parents didn't approach the teacher, she would not even mention about the test? Then mention wrong topic some more! My child did badly, but I didn't confront the teacher or did anything. Just take it as our fault for not doing consistent revision.
To share another experience-
My child won the first prize in one of the school's competitions. My son's work was clearly displayed near the general office with the other prize winners of all the levels. But during the prize-giving ceremony, another student was announced as the first-prize instead. After getting over the initial surprise/shock, I told my son \"never mind, it's not about the trophy, as long as you know you did win; anyway your work is already displayed\". But my son said, \"it's my first time winning something and it deprived me of the chance of going on stage\". So I approached the HOD. Took them about 1 week to sort things out. i asked whether they can at least announce my son's name and give him the trophy on stage during assembly. But of course, they just quietly asked that student to return the trophy and then quietly gave it to my son. A school not courageous enough to admit its mistake publicly, and a school not caring enough to consider a child's feelings. To adults, a trophy is just a trophy, but to a young child, the chance to walk on stage to collect a trophy means so much more.
I am a hands-off parent. I trust the school and teachers to do what they are supposed to do. I trust their teaching. I trust their marking. I don't re-count the marks when they return the exam papers for checking. I just sign blindly and return. I trust them - I do. But when it concerns my children's emotional well-being/self- esteem/self confidence, I can't ignore.
The above is for sharing only. No attacks please.
Having said that, there are indeed many responsible and caring teachers in the school too. Especially this Children's Day. A number of teachers made a tremendous effort to make meaningful gifts and pen personalized notes of encouragement to the students. My kids appreciate them very much.
Yes, agree that it's totally reasonable to expect teachers/school to give correct information upfront. But as our experience shows, this does not happen all the time. What I try to do is to get my child to be more proactive and clarify with teachers when instructions are lacking or not clear, wherever possible. Agree that it's difficult for working parents to follow up constantly since I am one myself. We'll just have to try and manage as best as we can.
Also agree the ph does have good and responsible teachers. My kids have been fortunate to be taught by some of them. Hope they will continue to stay around longer in the school.
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