All about Transferring to Other Primary Schools

[mwchua]

that's why still in a dilemma....my hubby & my mother also said why worry so much????


Maybe I am a person who always try to plan stuff in advance - nature as well as try years of kena \"tekan\" at work :lol:

Think will see how the rest of her P1 & P2 goes - don't think she is really learning anything \"new\" at P1 now, it's more of the social aspect I think. And yes I used to be so happy when she scored like higher end of 20s out of 30 full mark, until I realised that hey, everyone in the class is also doing the same, and there is these 2 girls who perpetually scored full marks in every single subject !!!!!!

As i am now in 3-days work week, get to volunteer in my girl's swimming class and get to know her classmates a bit better. And also gossip with fellow swimming PV mommies - conclusion is that the school is really living up to \"teach less, learn more\" motto !!

[janet88]

jtoh:

Personally, I prefer schools with affliation. Why? Because it spells less stress for the kid. The stress on a child who feels that everything depends on his PSLE results is enormous. The parents feel the stress too and that somehow filters to the kid.


It's true that children in schools with no affliation are probably more hardworking and that children in schools with affliation take a more relaxed view to their studies. But that's fine with me. At the end of the day, we want our children to be happy and well-adjusted, not stressed out and unhappy. And if your child has the determination and the intelligence, he/she will still want to work hard to get into a top school based on his ability. With the given advantage of knowing that if he fails to score >260, he/she still has an affliated secondary school to go to.

So whenever my friends ask me, I say go for an affliated school. Better if the affliated secondary school is a good school like ACS, SCGS, MGS etc.

My son is in a primary school with NO affiliation. I just registered my daughter in my former school yesterday, which has an affiliated secondary school.
Yup, schools with affiliated secondary school will reduce the stress on the kids. I hope my daughter will still want to work hard and get into a better class in Sec 1 or else get into a better secondary school.

As for my son, I can only hope that his inner maturity will 'awaken' to do well for PSLE and get into a secondary school of his choice. In the meantime, yours truly here will still have to nag and scream.

[Pen88n]

KSP:

I guess there is no point crying over spilled mike now. I think our dds are in the same school. My dd scored a total of 27+ for all 3 subjects in her P1. I was so happy thinking she was the first few but guess what? She was around 100th in her level.... out of 300 . Getting full marks in the exam or topical tests are common in the school. As the chinese saying goes -\"yi shan hai you yi shan kow\". Must learn to \"kan kai\" when reality sets in and not to drill hole at the tip of the bull horn.


But if I had a choice like u I will choose a school that has affiliation. At least not so stressful when come to PSLE. That is also the reason why schools with affiliation are so hot.

I think parents sometime tend to over-worry. Scoring full marks in tests and exams is no doubt a good achievement, but we must also make allowance for kids. They are afterall kids and they make careless mistakes afterall. What is the few marks difference? By the time they go to the workforce, is it going to matter if they score 90 or 100 for English / Maths?

What is more impt is the kid's ability and love of learning. I've seen kids who score high in lower primary, and yet unable to catch up by upper primary. I've also known kids who are careless and scoring 80 - 90s in the lower primary, but they move on and continue scoring higher in the upper primary. The critical component is learning, not only the marks.

[corneyAmber]

I believe it is only clearer at P3/P4 to know if one can cope with the demands of PSLE, you need time to monitor the maturing process.


Part of the reason for your sentiments is because you have given up an affiliation opportunity. If you never had this opportunity, you would probably not have this thought so soon.

[wonderm]

[quote="Pen88n


What is more impt is the kid’s ability and love of learning. I’ve seen kids who score high in lower primary, and yet unable to catch up by upper primary. I’ve also known kids who are careless and scoring 80 - 90s in the lower primary, but they move on and continue scoring higher in the upper primary. The critical component is learning, not only the marks.[/quote]

I totally agree with you. Parents don’t need to be too concerned about the marks itself. My son got only 70+% for Maths for P1 SA2, he is now in Sec school, one of the IP schools, and scoring over 90% in most maths tests. While it is important for them to learn to make less careless mistakes in exams, we must also remind ourselves it is more important for the kids to enjoy learning.

[KSP]

mwchua:

And yes I used to be so happy when she scored like higher end of 20s out of 30 full mark, until I realised that hey, everyone in the class is also doing the same, and there is these 2 girls who perpetually scored full marks in every single subject !!!!!!

Yes, I know the school put the child's score, class highest and average on every test and exam paper.

The highest is always full marks. Average will be like 28-29 over 30. So a child who gets 28-29 is like \"average\" and 27 is considered as \"below average\". Yes, I do feel that too sometimes.

mwchua:

conclusion is that the school is really living up to \"teach less, learn more\" motto !!

Yes, school will teach less. But the child still have to learn more. So from where? From parents at home and paid enrichment classes.....

[jtoh]

mwchua:

that's why still in a dilemma....my hubby & my mother also said why worry so much????


Maybe I am a person who always try to plan stuff in advance - nature as well as try years of kena \"tekan\" at work :lol:

Think will see how the rest of her P1 & P2 goes - don't think she is really learning anything \"new\" at P1 now, it's more of the social aspect I think. And yes I used to be so happy when she scored like higher end of 20s out of 30 full mark, until I realised that hey, everyone in the class is also doing the same, and there is these 2 girls who perpetually scored full marks in every single subject !!!!!!

As i am now in 3-days work week, get to volunteer in my girl's swimming class and get to know her classmates a bit better. And also gossip with fellow swimming PV mommies - conclusion is that the school is really living up to \"teach less, learn more\" motto !!

If you are planning to transfer her to another school, you should register your interest in the school as soon as possible. Schools conduct tests near the end of the year for students seeking transfers. Find out when these dates are so you don't miss them. If your child's results are good, you might be able to make a transfer at the end of P1 or P2 if vacancies become available. If not, the best time to make a transfer is at the end of P3 because this is when vacancies become available when the better students move on to GEP.

[mwchua]

Tks to all for your pointers


Just want to clarify that I am not zooming in on marks alone. I do know that at this stage the kid can still be careless and not aware of the importance of that 1 or 2 marks. Also I am aware that good grades at lower pri does not automatically mean the kids can do subsequently. At lot will depends on her learning journey, teachers and even peers along the way.....

frankly speaking my girl is already quite ok. she can sit down and do 1-hour work by herself from K2. Just that recently I observed there is some back-track in her performance, probably because she knows I will be at home 2 days a week and now stick to me more. Will even call me at work to ask e questions which she previously never does so when I was at full-time work. So now really thinking of going back to full-time work, also after reality sinks in on the low pay part :lol:

Now she is quite happy in her class, so don't think will pull her out yet. Maybe when at end of P2 will start exploring as they will be split into diff. class and meet with different friends anyway in P3, whether at the current school or a new school.

Another 1 year will allow me to buy time to observe how she progresses & if she can be back to her more motivated self.....

[hoskins8h]

mwchua:

What will you do if you are me?????? Thanks for your advice

Rgds,
Ming

My own 2 cents opinion - transfer to the ends of Bukit Timah Rd makes sense compared to staying in the middle. I moved house to get into good affliated school and am glad for it. Since I couldnt tell at K2 how my children would do academically, having the safety net was important.

[janet88]

I seriously did consider this, esp since I used to have sleepless nights whenever there is CA or SA. My son makes lots of careless mistakes…so we are reminding him how much MORE marks he could have scored if he didn’t make those careless mistakes. Not only that, checking means re-do the whole paper from start, and not glancing through.


The ‘teach less learn more’ is really bullsh!@. How can the school teach less and expect the child to learn more ? Doesn’t this ultimately mean that parents have to spend extra money to send kids to enrichment lessons and MORE tuition ??

I’ve heard from someone whose daughter is in a reputable school. She says that teachers in the school are not teaching much and parents are sending their daughters to tuition centres.