Networking Group - JCs General

[zac's mum]

I would rather she focus more on bringing her grades up than wasting time on a Council that kicked her out. Sorry to put it so plainly. Pick another CCA like a club if it is a requirement to graduate.

[phtthp]

Agree.


Since her merged Junior College had made it loud and clear that no retainee (repeat JC1 pupil) to remain inside school Student Council, just take up another Cca willing to take her in, and please focus on her A-level in 6 months’ time down the road. Sorry, for being blunt.

Must get her priorities, right. For now, with so little time left, since August 2019 is coming prelim, kindly focus, spend more time on her academics, so that she can do well, can enter a good course (faculty); in the university (be it local or overseas uni)

[sharonkhoo]

genevaong:

Hello all, I would like to seek some advice from all of you.


My child entered a merged college last year and she was retained, therefore she has to repeat her JC1 this year.
She was a member of the Students' Council, and now that she is being retained, she has to leave her CCA as policy is that Students' Council cannot have any retainees. She is rather upset about this as she has sentiments towards Council and she is passionate and loves what she does there.
I would like to ask, whether there is any possibility for her to be able to appeal to the new principal and school management for her to remain in Students' Council? I know it has always been a policy for retainees to leave Council, but is there any possibilities for her to still remain in Council?

Please advise, thank you

I agree with the others. The JC is doing her a favour by taking the choice out of her hands. She has shown that she needs more time to study, and being in the council is a very time- and energy-intensive CCA. My daughter was a councillor in her JC years, and I know how much it takes. You should advise your daughter to make the most of this extra time she has been given.

[genevaong]

slmkhoo:

I agree with the others. The JC is doing her a favour by taking the choice out of her hands. She has shown that she needs more time to study, and being in the council is a very time- and energy-intensive CCA. My daughter was a councillor in her JC years, and I know how much it takes. You should advise your daughter to make the most of this extra time she has been given.

Hello there, I do understand the rigour of being in Council, and my child is fully aware as well, which is why she is constantly seeking opinions from me on this matter. From a mother’s perspective, I do want her to excel in her studies and also develop as a person. She has indeed grown a lot through Council. I can see her passion towards what she does in Council, and I see her drive to do well now as she has already started revision for JC1. She has promised she would do well for her blocks, and I can see her effort. This is very in contrast to what she did last year, as she was always sleeping and did not want to study.
I would like to support her decision in hoping to keep Council as a CCA, and I would like to know what are some possible pathways I can take to help her keep Council as a CCA.

Will it help if I were to contact the Principal and have my child speak to him regarding this matter?

[zac's mum]

May I suggest a combined strategy such as:

- wait for the first test/exam results to be out & print out the evidence of improvement
- let her gather any written testimonies from her teachers (and from yourself, essentially what you have told us above, except maybe rephrase the sleeping part)
- let her gather any support (written or otherwise) from inside the Council (this would lend the most weight - apart from the improved marks - if they are clamoring to welcome her back
- let her present her case to the P or VP or CCA head or whoever she thinks is most amenable

IMO a Council member should have all these people skills to handle this task. I understand as a parent u are anxious to help her. But at JC level, your attempting to appeal to higher authority on her behalf is not the best way. The school will likely prefer to see the JC student herself take responsibility & show her maturity by combining all the above avenues (rather than just one: rely on parent).

[sharonkhoo]

zac’s mum’s suggestions are good - if she really wants it, she will have to prove that she can handle the appeal for herself.


On the other hand, she should be prepared that the JC will not agree. They may feel that it sets a bad precedent, or they may fear that her diligence now may not last through the year.

Reading your post again, I’m not very clear whether she is asking to be a councillor for another year? Or just to continue another few months till her cohort steps down? Her cohort of the council will be stepping down very soon. If it’s the latter, the JC may be more amenable although she will have to rely on testimonials rather than test results as those will be too late. If it’s the former, is she planning to stand for election again? They may not allow her to continue without being elected as it won’t be fair to the juniors, and they may not allow her to stand for election again on policy. Just some thoughts.

[.010675zeit]

Agree with both zac’s mum and slmkhoo.


genevaong - was your daughter elected by her former jc mates before the merger?

I dunno, but if i were the Principal of this newly merged jc, I’d want to start everything on a clean slate. I’d prefer to be be fair and let the incoming batch of o level grads stand for a fresh round of election.

Since the JC1 tests (to prove she is more studious this year) aren’t happening before the election iirc, she can perhaps appeal to the Principal to be given a chance to stand for election again, alongside the 2019 JC1 candidates. Bear in mind it’s a totally fresh ‘electorate’ this year. The freshmen should be given the right to vote for whomever they deem capable of serving them in the upcoming 2 years.

Most student leaders, prefects and councillors can juggle both public service and their studies. They are role models to other students.

[Song22]

Hi, my girl is choosing her A level H2 subjects. She is going to take Chem, Maths, China Studies and is considering between Econs and Physics. She is rather strong in her secondary school physics but of course we cannot guage her standard of Econs as of now. Is it true than Physics is "easier" to score then Econs? If she is keen in doing International Relations or Accountancy / Business / Finance related course in the uni, would physics or Econs be a better choice to take? All thoughts are welcome

[doodbug]

Physics is important and relevant if she plans to do any form of Engineering, and to a lesser degree, Computing.

Economics is more relevant for Business/Finance, though these degrees do not specify or require Economics as a prerequisite.
If she is planning to apply for UK universities in future, do note that the Russell Group of Universities prefer facilitating subjects. You can google the list of facilitating A level subjects.
Cheers

[sharonkhoo]

Song22:

Hi, my girl is choosing her A level H2 subjects. She is going to take Chem, Maths, China Studies and is considering between Econs and Physics. She is rather strong in her secondary school physics but of course we cannot guage her standard of Econs as of now. Is it true than Physics is \"easier\" to score then Econs? If she is keen in doing International Relations or Accountancy / Business / Finance related course in the uni, would physics or Econs be a better choice to take? All thoughts are welcome

I would say Econs would be a more relevant choice given her aspirations. My daughter took both Econs and Physics at A level (her subject combination was PCME), so here's my 2 cents:

If the concern is simply getting a good grade, then Physics is \"surer\" as long as the student is strong in Maths and good at grasping physics concepts. Econs, by its very nature (social science, examined through essays) is more subjective. On the other hand, Econs allows the student to explore a broader range of real-world issues.

Is your daughter the kind who likes very clear-cut right/wrong answers? Then she would probably find physics more \"comfortable\". If she is happy to delve into areas which are \"messier\" and across topic areas, then Econs would be more interesting. My daughter was a dubious about taking Econs at A level, thinking that it was mostly about business and finance, but we were quite sure that she would find it interesting (as we see Econs as more about resource allocation and human behaviour). She took our advice and got interested enough to take H3 Econs and she's studying Econs in university now.

You could ask your daughter to dip into some layman's articles and books on simple applications of Econs (eg. Freakonomics etc). I'm sure you can find similar stuff online.