Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary

[markfch]

dyh:

markfch:

E3 & Jennifer,


Thanks. But just when I'm pretty sure my ds will be attending PH, the topic then changed to the high expectation of the sch (what with 1/3 cohort failing math?)

My poor son. He's doesn't know what's going to hit him :!:

I have a 2nd son in P1 this yr. I was worried about him since last yr becos he is a happy go lucky person who is not academically inclined. However, we just tried to get him do his work consistently and fortunately P1 is rather easy going for the 1st half of the yr to help the new kids phase in gradually. now i think he is getting the hang of school life and doing quite ok. i think his P1 teachers are good too, after seeing them during the meeting session. so dun worry too much abt how your son will do.

dyh,
Thanks for the assurance. Looks like the danger pits are in P3 & P5.

[freezeat2]

When it was commented that we will expect a big drop in results for P3 and P5, what do you guys feel is reasonable set of results for P3? Can we still expect our kids to obtain average for 4 subjects to be >85 (Band 1)? Saw the average results for all subjects around 70+ for P3 cohort as compared to 80+ in P2 last year.

[freezeat2]

Nowadays it is so difficult to obtain 90+ in primary school. During our times, it seems so much easier. Dont think we are smarter than our kids though… haha

[IJJ]

freezeat2:

When it was commented that we will expect a big drop in results for P3 and P5, what do you guys feel is reasonable set of results for P3? Can we still expect our kids to obtain average for 4 subjects to be >85 (Band 1)? Saw the average results for all subjects around 70+ for P3 cohort as compared to 80+ in P2 last year.

Theoretically, I was told by some PH parents, as long as their children score above cohort avg in PH, they are ok.

Setting (high) expectation is great, as long as they are realistic for each individual child. For some kids, scoring >85 or even >90 is 'chicken feet', for some, scoring >70 may be overchallenging him/her.

[dyh]

IJJ:

Theoretically, I was told by some PH parents, as long as their children score above cohort avg in PH, they are ok.

That's how i feel too. as long as the child is above average in cohort, i am satisfied. if not, then as long as the child has tried his best. otherwise i am only putting undue stress on the child and myself for nothing.

So with regard to the P5 math paper, if everyone gets low mark, it is not so bad becos it means it is not that the child did badly per se.

[janet88]

IJJ,

I printed out 3 copies of Math paper from other schools for my son to practice…he could get them done quite ok. The killer section for Math is Section C (as always).

freezeat2,
My son did a miracle in his SA2 at P2 for Math…he scored 92 and shot up to being 2nd in class. At P2, he kinda got adjusted to school and his school work but in P3, he dropped to 60+ for Math and still giving me the same result at P4.
As for his Chinese SA1 this year, it was easier than his CA1 paper, yet he couldn’t score. His highest grade is for Science. From now till Aug, hubby & I will have to make him work harder on Eng/Math/Chinese. His Chinese tutor told me the same.

[kohhweelin.010441gmail.010441com]

freezeat2:

When it was commented that we will expect a big drop in results for P3 and P5, what do you guys feel is reasonable set of results for P3? Can we still expect our kids to obtain average for 4 subjects to be >85 (Band 1)? Saw the average results for all subjects around 70+ for P3 cohort as compared to 80+ in P2 last year.


Nowadays it is so difficult to obtain 90+ in primary school. During our times, it seems so much easier. Dont think we are smarter than our kids though.. haha

IMO, regardless of whether it was in the past or present, building a strong foundation at the lower primary is important (P1-P3), be it SAP or neighbourhood school. I am hoping by upper primary, she just needs to focus on working on new content and meeting demanding academic expectations. So, my expectation for my dd will be to score as high as she could, preferably in the 90s range for foundation years. Since we chose to let her attend a SAP primary, I am mentally prepared to face more challenging academic expectations. It required consistent revision, be ahead in syllabus, be aware of school's examination components way ahead of time, in order to keep her abreast. Frankly, I had aimed for her to be in Charity 2, even in a SAP school, and we both had worked towards that goal. She had exceeded my expectations.

This year, cos she had a good foundation, I just had to work on areas that might pull down her marks, we have to strategise and revise our schedules. We learnt via trial and error, at the same time trying to strike a balance. Being in a class with high expectations and competitive kids, we have to be realistic as she has no tuition. She is still one of the tops in class which was truly something we thank God for. How long can she maintain that? Seriously, I am afraid to think about it, after knowing and reading of erroneous Science papers and kids failing upper pri Math, although it was not entirely the kids' fault.

On a lighter note, to all parents, take a good break this June hols. The kids had gone through two rounds of exams last semester, they deserve a break (parents too!:lol: ). If you need to work on their weak areas, schedule a time-table with playtime in it, I guess it might be more effective to get them moving. A bit of patient, sincere pep talk may work too. Just a suggestion.

[Jennifer]

For those children weak in P5 MA, I saw two new MA guides which targets at P5/P6 available in Popular.


One is by Kelvin Ong (Higher order qns), the other by Seto (Fractions, Ratios, Percentage using ICT).

I also saw these:
1) a book by Dr Yeap on converting model to algebra. This is published in 2009.

2) a book by KC Yan on Geometry. Also published in 2009.

[Jennifer]

E3:

Since we chose to let her attend a SAP primary, I am mentally prepared to face more challenging academic expectations. It required consistent revision, be ahead in syllabus, be aware of school's examination components way ahead of time, in order to keep her abreast.

This is very true.

If the parents enrolled the child in such a sch but choose not to give additional support (like what I did for my #2 in P1- big regret), then must be mentally prepared by just ok results.

[kohhweelin.010441gmail.010441com]

Jennifer:

E3:

Since we chose to let her attend a SAP primary, I am mentally prepared to face more challenging academic expectations. It required consistent revision, be ahead of syllabus, be aware of school's examination components way ahead of time, in order to keep her abreast.

This is very true.

If the parents enrolled the child in such a sch but choose not to give additional support (like what I did for my #2 in P1- big regret), then must be mentally prepared by just ok results.

Please don't say that. Your boy is still young. A young child has a lot of potential to be harnessed. Reading your posts, I believe he had improved and you had done more than what the teachers did, so am sure he can make significant progress over his remaining primary school years. You had an older boy who had gone thru the rigourous PH's system, am sure you are more prepared than anyone of us.

Being mentally prepared and giving additional support are different, I guess. Parents can be mentally prepared but they lack the expertise (now methods and syllabii are different from the past) or are working so couldn't give the child the necessary support. Thus, tutors come into the picture, but effective tutors who know the syllabii at the back of their hands are hard to come by. It's up to parents to convey the right messages to the tutors about school's standard, requirements and specific needs of the child in order to best help the child. Of course, another way is to read this forum to keep up-to-date on what's happening in school. Haha.