National Junior College (Junior High)

[socks]

Hello hippopotamus! Thank you so much for your reply. It’s very informative and much appreciated. Thanks once again!

[Jennifer]

hippopotamus:

socks:

Hi! Could anyone advise me on the advanced science programme. I understand its open to Jh2 students. What's the programme like and how are the students selected? Tia.

Hello! I am a SH2 IP student from NJ who was from A Science back when I was in JH3/JH4! My batch was the first to be introduced to the AS programme, and the selection processes may have changed since then. The syllabus that the JH are going through now has changed as well, but I'll do my best to recall whatever I can but do take it with a pinch of salt!

AS is not 'open' to JH2 students per se; for my batch, JH2 was sort of choosing a group of students who had the potential to be in AS in JH3/4. We were just issued consent forms after receiving our mid-year progress reports, and had to attend extra lessons in terms 3 and 4. There was a final test at the end of the year, and if i'm not wrong, it was based on that test's results that decided whether or not you were offered to take AS in JH3/4. You could choose to take it or reject it if you were offered. Selection-wise (for the consent form stage), your IS grade had to be pretty decent (I think an A would be good enough, but of course the higher the better!), but they might consider your other academic subjects as well.

The syllabus for AS might be a little iffy because it is such a new programme that the teachers keep tweaking it every year to better suit the class. So once your child has opted to take AS, he/she will be in a class with the other students who opted for AS. They will go through the normal triple science curriculum, and I had extra lessons every week that covered mainly uni-level physics and chemistry. Think quantum mechanics, MO theory-- it's pretty deep, and to be fair we didn't go super in-depth(there's only so much a 15-year-old brain can take!), but it's great because it exposed us to the real rigour of the subject, and it helped me decide what I really like and what I don't. For my batch, they only ventured into advanced physics and chemistry, but for my juniors (current SH1s), they had biology too.

NJ also has heavy emphasis on research so the AS students have plenty of opportunities with local and overseas institutes, but all of these exchanges and attachments are available to all students-- except for one that is only open to the AS students because it has high demands of them. Also, we had many opportunities of participating in olympiads, conferences etc, so AS really is great for a child who is interested in pursuing science in the future. But then again, at the age of 14 or 15, who really knows what they want to do?

Great sharing.

Do encourage your peers to share more about the special programs offered in NJC.

[ying2]

Jennifer:

Gemgal:

Due to clashes with other lessons/CCA and some said cannot cope as they are required to sit for CA and final exams as well as assignments. I was told they even need to write essays for 3rd language classes. Can anyone verified and shared if there are really many homeworks for 3rd langauage and is the compo writing difficult?

Which 3rd language is your child interested in?

Having a keen interest would make the going easier.

Hi, I am opening this question to all parents whose child has taken or attempted to take but discontinued 3rd language.

Hypothethically-speaking, would it have made a difference, if the child took up a foreign language which the parent is actually proficient in and could help out, so much so that the child could have decided not to drop out?

Thanks to ask your child for his/her thoughts as well. It'd be nice to see their point of view too.

[Huh]

Any parent or student can advise on DSA process?

Went for Selection Test last Saturday.When will results for Phase 2 be released? Any idea?TIA.

[tycg]

Selection for Phase 2A should be out next week, 1 week before the Essay Writing.

[SeletarMom]

My child got Essay test & interview call from NJC(DSA S1). Anyone has any idea what the essay test format and interview. Thanks

[bubbles007]

Gemgal:

Due to clashes with other lessons/CCA and some said cannot cope as they are required to sit for CA and final exams as well as assignments. I was told they even need to write essays for 3rd language classes. Can anyone verified and shared if there are really many homeworks for 3rd langauage and is the compo writing difficult?

this might probably be too late of a reply to the original poster but I just thought I would share my experiences.

I'm a JH4 student currently taking Japanese. 3rd lang classes only have year-end exams (if you're in Sec 4 then you'll have prelims before your O's) and yes, since you are learning a language after all, just like English and MT there is bound to be compo/essay writing. In my opinion, homework given is not excessive but just right for one to finish in a week. If your child struggles to finish 3rd lang homework it's most likely a matter of weak time management.

Compo writing is not difficult, per se, it's just about what you would expect to write for English and MT except you may find that you're moving at a slightly faster pace as compared to eng/mt because they do have to condense content into 3h15min lessons weekly after all.

overall I think that if your child is really passionate and interested in learning the language then he/she should definitely take up 3rd lang. It can become a burden to those who only take it for prestige; many of those who do end up dropping in JH1/2, explaining the small class sizes as you go higher up.

hope this was of help

[Overmars]

With the launch of Pokemon Go, it seems that the school is very concerned about the game distracting students. The Principal (VP?) talked about this at assembly and it seems that some mobile phones have been confiscated.


This is really a good move, to send out a strong message.

Any DC came back to complain about the school being too strict? Wonder whats the practice in other schools.

[Jennifer]

Overmars:

With the launch of Pokemon Go, it seems that the school is very concerned about the game distracting students. The Principal (VP?) talked about this at assembly and it seems that some mobile phones have been confiscated.


This is really a good move, to send out a strong message.

Any DC came back to complain about the school being too strict? Wonder whats the practice in other schools.

My boy is on prepaid plan, he claimed he cannot play PG as his phone does not have data plan.

[Jennifer]

Overmars:

With the launch of Pokemon Go, it seems that the school is very concerned about the game distracting students. The Principal (VP?) talked about this at assembly and it seems that some mobile phones have been confiscated.


This is really a good move, to send out a strong message.

Any DC came back to complain about the school being too strict? Wonder whats the practice in other schools.

My boy says most of his classmates r catching the PG.

School message - dun go around playing the game in your school uniform when you r outside the school.