Ai Tong
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stardust25:
u can overcome your dilemma by -
My DH is an old boy and alumni so we are likely to send our gal there starting next year, but distance is an issue. We are at Redhill. I do not drive and picking her up from school will be a challenge. Heard the bus company does not operate any routes to Redhill. Can any parents help advise?
Sometimes I wonder if it is worth the while to make the gal travel so far too....sigh....
rent a house closer to Ai Tong school, and in turn rent out your Redhill house for rental income, to tide over the period of time, until the next new MRT line is ready for operation, at Redhill nearby yr house.
In short, you use the rental income collected from your Redhill house, to help to pay or offset the rental of another house located much nearer to Ai Tong : to save on school bus Transport costs, as well as to minimize the time travelling to and fro, from the school.
Besides, being located much nearer to Ai Tong school now, there shouldn't be school bus issue Transport.
This is a strategy implemented by some parents, who stay far away from a popular school, yet want their kid to study in the school.
Or
at end of P2 -
use your kid's (Cca + results), to transfer your kid out of Ai Tong, into another school much nearer your current house location.
Coming from Ai Tong SAP school : should be easier to transfer him out to a school in Redhill neighbourhood, than the other way round (ie. students seeking transfer INTO Ai Tong)
at end of P2 and at end of P3 -
a lot of transfer movement(s), both going in and out of Ai Tong
out of Ai Tong movement arise -
because there are some parents here : who prefer to opt for schools with affliation, or for Gep schools, come end of P2 / P3 / P4 -
stardust25:
Maybe I should be clearer. We have a car BUT I do not drive. Mornings will not be an issue since hubby can send but pick ups will be. Hence my qn on the bus arrangements.
Redhill and don't drive?floppy:
[quote=\"stardust25\"]
My DH is an old boy and alumni so we are likely to send our gal there starting next year, but distance is an issue. We are at Redhill. I do not drive and picking her up from school will be a challenge. Heard the bus company does not operate any routes to Redhill. Can any parents help advise?
Sometimes I wonder if it is worth the while to make the gal travel so far too....sigh....
My advice would be to seriously reconsider as it's gonna be 6 long years.
You can choose to shift house or buy a car.
Indeed the distance is a concern but it is an almost guaranteed place in Ai Tong versus guaranteed balloting in ONE nearby school within 1 km of my house. The rest are all 2km or beyond and all confirm ballot under Phase 2C. I have a serious dilemma here. The only saving grace is the MRT station is supposedly going to be up in 2 years' time.[/quote]Well, just stick to ATS if the one nearby is not guaranteed. Transfer in P3?
Mind the late lunch hour!
I can imagine your dc will take her lunch at 3pm, depending on how fast she reaches home daily.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/parents-fret-over-pupils-late-lunches-despite-snack-breaks -
Thanks all for the valuable perspectives and insights, most useful.
Chiefly I am also wondering how good ATS may be to merit the long distance. My hubby felt he benefited from the values imparted during his pri school days (though I find him more kantang)..but that would have been more than 20 plus years ago. How is ATS like now? In what sense is it a good school? My own impression from attending a more Chinese-oriented JC is that generally students are more down to earth and reserved but given that my gal is rather shy, I wonder if going to a school steeped in Chinese culture may actually not be the most beneficial. -
stardust25:
Thanks all for the valuable perspectives and insights, most useful.
Chiefly I am also wondering how good ATS may be to merit the long distance. My hubby felt he benefited from the values imparted during his pri school days (though I find him more kantang)..but that would have been more than 20 plus years ago. How is ATS like now? In what sense is it a good school? My own impression from attending a more Chinese-oriented JC is that generally students are more down to earth and reserved but given that my gal is rather shy, I wonder if going to a school steeped in Chinese culture may actually not be the most beneficial.
I'm thinking along the same line - how good is ATS to merit the distance? My hb is an old boy but he didnt quite benefit from the SAP primary school background, also more of a kantang type. My own impression of attending a SAP secondary school is that my rather kantang boy may not really enjoy the chinese culture and I'm truly worried about HCL for him.
Our situation:
Ai Tong - 5km away
Rosyth - 900m away
Is it a huge risk to give up 2A1 priority at ATS and go for 2C at Rosyth?
The kids are studying in a catholic kindy now and we like the teachings very much. Hence also exploring the option to send them to missionary primary schools. But we are not catholics. My hb is a baptised christian without denomination. Will that qualify under 2B for schools like SJI/St Gab, ACSJ or St Andrew's? All these are beyond 2km for us. -
6musketeers:
1. If you are not a Catholic, you don't qualify for Catholic schools in P2B, likewise for schools of the other denominations. If you husband is not under any denomination, he won't qualify under P2B.
I'm thinking along the same line - how good is ATS to merit the distance? My hb is an old boy but he didnt quite benefit from the SAP primary school background, also more of a kantang type. My own impression of attending a SAP secondary school is that my rather kantang boy may not really enjoy the chinese culture and I'm truly worried about HCL for him.
Our situation:
Ai Tong - 5km away
Rosyth - 900m away
Is it a huge risk to give up 2A1 priority at ATS and go for 2C at Rosyth?
The kids are studying in a catholic kindy now and we like the teachings very much. Hence also exploring the option to send them to missionary primary schools. But we are not catholics. My hb is a baptised christian without denomination. Will that qualify under 2B for schools like SJI/St Gab, ACSJ or St Andrew's? All these are beyond 2km for us.
2. I assume you have checked one-map and not merely use the distance from Google. One-map doesn't break down by absolute distance.
3. In any case, Rosyth will definitely ballot within 1km in P2C. You got to ask yourself whether you are happy with your options at P2Cs if you fail in the balloting. If yes, go ahead. If no, ATS would be the better option at P2A1. -
6musketeers:
stardust25:
Thanks all for the valuable perspectives and insights, most useful.
Chiefly I am also wondering how good ATS may be to merit the long distance. My hubby felt he benefited from the values imparted during his pri school days (though I find him more kantang)..but that would have been more than 20 plus years ago. How is ATS like now? In what sense is it a good school? My own impression from attending a more Chinese-oriented JC is that generally students are more down to earth and reserved but given that my gal is rather shy, I wonder if going to a school steeped in Chinese culture may actually not be the most beneficial.
I'm thinking along the same line - how good is ATS to merit the distance? My hb is an old boy but he didnt quite benefit from the SAP primary school background, also more of a kantang type. My own impression of attending a SAP secondary school is that my rather kantang boy may not really enjoy the chinese culture and I'm truly worried about HCL for him.
Our situation:
Ai Tong - 5km away
Rosyth - 900m away
Is it a huge risk to give up 2A1 priority at ATS and go for 2C at Rosyth?
The kids are studying in a catholic kindy now and we like the teachings very much. Hence also exploring the option to send them to missionary primary schools. But we are not catholics. My hb is a baptised christian without denomination. Will that qualify under 2B for schools like SJI/St Gab, ACSJ or St Andrew's? All these are beyond 2km for us.
I have tried to read up on various forums but while parents of nearby schools have specific things to say about the merit of these schools e.g. curriculum, P, niche area, I have yet to hear anything concrete yet about ATS especially under the new P. Hence, am rather concerned.
As for the balloting considerations, have benefitted from the tips given earlier. So I may go for an almost sure bet place in ATS first and monitor the balloting results in nearby school under Phase 2C. Typically for my area, there's balloting even for those within 1km.
Take heart that though not the nearest ATS is 5km from your place. We are more than 12km away......and there's no school bus and direct public transport options. -
6musketeers:
stardust25:
Thanks all for the valuable perspectives and insights, most useful.
Chiefly I am also wondering how good ATS may be to merit the long distance. My hubby felt he benefited from the values imparted during his pri school days (though I find him more kantang)..but that would have been more than 20 plus years ago. How is ATS like now? In what sense is it a good school? My own impression from attending a more Chinese-oriented JC is that generally students are more down to earth and reserved but given that my gal is rather shy, I wonder if going to a school steeped in Chinese culture may actually not be the most beneficial.
I'm thinking along the same line - how good is ATS to merit the distance? My hb is an old boy but he didnt quite benefit from the SAP primary school background, also more of a kantang type. My own impression of attending a SAP secondary school is that my rather kantang boy may not really enjoy the chinese culture and I'm truly worried about HCL for him.
Our situation:
Ai Tong - 5km away
Rosyth - 900m away
Is it a huge risk to give up 2A1 priority at ATS and go for 2C at Rosyth?
The kids are studying in a catholic kindy now and we like the teachings very much. Hence also exploring the option to send them to missionary primary schools. But we are not catholics. My hb is a baptised christian without denomination. Will that qualify under 2B for schools like SJI/St Gab, ACSJ or St Andrew's? All these are beyond 2km for us.
I have tried to read up on various forums but while parents of nearby schools have specific things to say about the merit of these schools e.g. curriculum, P, niche area, I have yet to hear anything concrete yet about ATS especially under the new P. Hence, am rather concerned.
As for the balloting considerations, have benefitted from the tips given earlier. So I may go for an almost sure bet place in ATS first and monitor the balloting results in nearby school under Phase 2C. Typically for my area, there's balloting even for those within 1km.
Take heart that though not the nearest ATS is 5km from your place. We are more than 12km away......and there's no school bus and direct public transport options. -
floppy:
Yup, have used OneMap. Aitong is definitely beyond 2km (approximately 5km by Google) and Rosyth is within 1km (close to 900m by Google). Was using the Google distance to discuss with my hb on school proximity.
1. If you are not a Catholic, you don't qualify for Catholic schools in P2B, likewise for schools of the other denominations. If you husband is not under any denomination, he won't qualify under P2B.
2. I assume you have checked one-map and not merely use the distance from Google. One-map doesn't break down by absolute distance.
3. In any case, Rosyth will definitely ballot within 1km in P2C. You got to ask yourself whether you are happy with your options at P2Cs if you fail in the balloting. If yes, go ahead. If no, ATS would be the better option at P2A1.
Will likely follow stardust's plan. Register for ATS at 2A1. Monitor 2C stats for Rosyth, SJI Junior and St Andrews (we are considering these 2 missionary schools if really going that route) though chances seem very slim for all 3 beyond 2km.
How about school transfer? Do they facilitate that right after a certain phase or have to wait till the whole reg exercise is over? -
6musketeers:
I would suggest that you consider more schools, especially those within 2km. To be honest, apart from Rosyth where you can participate in the ballot for within 1km, you are unlikely to have a chance for the other 2 as they will typically ballot between 1km and 2km, if not 1km. Hence, the only stat worth monitoring is whether your chances for Rosyth is within your risk appetite.
Will likely follow stardust's plan. Register for ATS at 2A1. Monitor 2C stats for Rosyth, SJI Junior and St Andrews (we are considering these 2 missionary schools if really going that route) though chances seem very slim for all 3 beyond 2km.
How about school transfer? Do they facilitate that right after a certain phase or have to wait till the whole reg exercise is over?
Transfer can only be done after the registration exercise is over. There will definitely be a long waiting list for the popular schools, such as those that you have listed. Immediate priorities are usually for those that were balloted out in 2B and 2C. Be prepared that your transfer, if accepted, will happen only after Primary 2 (or not at all). -
I am in a similar situation as well…I stayed not to tao nan which highly chance to ballot in 2C especially my son born in 2012 the year of dragon. My hubby is alumni in ATS so to us it’s pretty straight forward but to travel from marine parade to bishan it’s too far and we don’t even own a car. I do not want to take the risk of balloting at tao nan cos the number of seats left is normally half of the number of applicants so very high chance wiLL not get into the school. But the thought of moving house to bishan is a big move n I love marine parade. Nonetheless ATS is a guaranteed to get in but I will put my son under waiting list for tao nan. I had called up tao nan to ask abt the waiting list in case anyone of u ar interested to know how it works. In case there is a place it doesn’t mean those who live nearby are given priority on the waiting list. It’s decided by the committee members who they wants to take in meaning they will access the kids based on achievements n results or whatever components which are beneficial to the school. So kids who live far away might get into the school. Deep in my heart I alr know that it’s quite low chance to get in even though we live nearby. My only concern is how well is ATS if under the new principal. Im not surprised to see a drop in applicants for P1 registration this yr as many parents might have some reserved with this new principal.
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