Branded Schools / Well-known Schools
-
zac's mum:
For starters, are there any neighborhood schools’ with a similar programme like the Thoburn Programme? Or the Sophia Blackmore Academy? How many neighborhood schools run yearly China Immersion Programme for their cohort? How many neighborhood schools’ have alumni associations complementing / sponsoring their school’s activities like calligraphy, dance, speech and drama, social etiquette and dining workshops, mooncake festival, founder’s day, etc (while some neighborhood schools organise such activities, the difference when a 3rd party does the heavy lifting is that the school’s resources would not be tied up / exhausted and can be put to better use somewhere else).Could you please elaborate further what kinds of events and activities are these that neighborhood school kids do not get?
Aren’t the neighborhood schools fully equipped with sports equipment, school field and sheltered school hall, art rooms and aircon soundproof music rooms? I thought these have all been funded under PERI upgrading? And within the next few years, all schools will have sufficient classrooms to go single session.
The school’s hardware is only the basic requirement and the lowest common denominator. To paraphrase my earlier comment: “There are many parts in the learning journey, and equipment / hardware only form a small part of it.” What sets some schools apart from others are the add-ons, which aren’t always apparent. All schools are good schools, but not all schools are equal. -
To add on, how many neighbourhood schools are able to run annual FULL-DAY funfilled Children’s Day celebration with unlimited game prizes to be won, trampoline, bouncing castles etc… and without asking parents for a single cent?
How many schools even bother to organise cultural event such as Mid-Autumn Festival and teaching students the making of mooncakes?
Without the strong support from alumni and PSG, I do not think these are even possible. Well, there are still some differences between neighbourhood and branded/ well-known schools.
How many neighbourhood schools can afford to build a futuristic rooftop sheltered field?
Back to academic, how many neighbourhood schools get to arrange 1 or 2 buses each year to send their P3 students to take GEP round 2? I know of a few neighbourhood schools that has less than 5 students who cleared round 1. -
mylilgirl:
That's true - our school (nhps) usually sends out buses for gep round 2 as well as olympiads. But I don't remember we had mooncake-making for the recent Mid-Autumn festival...How many schools even bother to organise cultural event such as Mid-Autumn Festival and teaching students the making of mooncakes?
Back to academic, how many neighbourhood schools get to arrange 1 or 2 buses each year to send their P3 students to take GEP round 2? -
There was mooncake making during the mid autumn celebration. My DD made one.
-
kboon2009:
There was mooncake making during the mid autumn celebration. My DD made one.
Ahhh...Thanks. I will look out for it the next years to come. -
I would only cast a second look at students from rundown primary schools, of lower income family, and has to travel to school by B.M.W, yet earn themselve a spot in IP school. No affliated or DSA please. This is just my opinion. Primary schools are fixed variables, students are the ones which varies.
-
Since branded schools / well-known schools / hot, popular schools / are "created" as a result of the existence of having an alumni presence within the schools : then why don’t make it compulsory, or Moe to enforce that ALL primary schools in Sg, to form an Alumni association, within each and every single neighbourhood primary school ?
As it is, under Phase 2A1 Primary 1 Registration : the percentage (Or Number) of schools Not having 2A1 exceeded that of having 2A1. -
phtthp:
Short answer: alumni associations are not under the purview of MOE.Since branded schools / well-known schools / hot, popular schools / are \"created\" as a result of the existence of having an alumni presence within the schools : then why don't make it compulsory, or Moe to enforce that ALL primary schools in Sg, to form an Alumni association, within each and every single neighbourhood primary school ?
...
Long answer: alumni associations are formal organizations registered under and governed by the Societies Act, ie they must fulfill and satisfy the requirements under the Act. Forming an association may be easy; managing and running it is hard work (hence, the option of P2A2 for schools / alumni that may not be prepared to do the work).
Besides, PSG are more important than the alumni associations. Anecdotal evidences suggest that popular schools PSG are very on-the-ball and play an active role in schools. They actively organize, participate and volunteer for events (a forumer shared that her PSG even baked cookies to show support and encourage the students during exams). Surely, that’s something that schools can emulate. If parents of existing students aren’t taking a serious interest in the school, it’s unlikely that old boys / girls can be called upon to do the lifting for them.
Thus, to address the thread starter’s comment that “parents who send to \"well known\" schools tend to be more focused on children's studies”, they are not necessary more focused on children’s studies but a lot of those parents are definitely more interested in the children’s well-being, or to quote KSP favorite code word: a “holistic” education. -
Yes, I agree with floppy. If I notice children spending excessively at the school bookshop, I'd bring it to the attention of the form. Likewise, if a child is distressed cos he does not know he has to learn his spelling, I'd tinkle the parent WhatsApp-group head.
-
Thanks for your comments!
My kid isn’t in any enrichment classes except for swimming. We try to expose him to reading in Chinese and English by bringing him to the library.
Why I asked is because this is something that was told to me by a teacher friend and some parents who are already in the primary school system. That a lot of parents send to TLL and the kids are already taught prior to the lessons. The teachers find it harder to engage the kids in the lessons as almost 3/4 or more of the class already know the lessons, hence the kids get quite rowdy. The teachers end up catering to the masses that have already been taught and the minority students with no tuition tend to get left out during class time.
Its good that it doesn’t seem that way so far from the responses!
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 💗
Register Login