Choosing and Evaluating Primary Schools

[ttyh]

buds:

Heyya ttyh,


They might entice
swap over schools if you find their sch
is better.

So, it's easy to do a transfer at P2?
Is it a sure swop if P1 grades are good? Do they conduct interviews?

Just wondering if one fails to get into their desired school and their kiddo gets great grades during P1, got chance to transfer?

[buds]

Heyya ttyh,


Different schools have different protocols with regards to
transfer procedures. Most importantly its about the space
availability. If they have a space, then can consider swap
ins for students for other schools. Yes, it will help if child
has fantastic P1 results. My girl is in neighbourhood school
and so far i’ve heard they only need the report book, no
written exam but sure got interview. They would wanna
know reason for a swap and how this swap will benefit
you and your child.

[gintonic]

[Moderator's note: Topics merged.]


hi... never thot i wil become a kiasu parent but it seems the day is finally here (ha... april fools' day...)

chief... can u advise the following, and other kiasu followers' contributions are most warmly welcomed...

1. what's all this talk abt single session vs 2 sessions for primary schs please... pls advise... i am truly out of touch and feel like an alien on planet primary schools. what is the benefit??

2. can someone out there pls advise which top school around has minimum homework pls?! i saw this written somewhere in the forum but cannot find out who wrote it and ask which sch he/she is referring to. i am not particularly keen on having my kid do tons of homework til late at nite at this age...

3. which top 10 school ranked in academic performance has afternoon sessions for pri 1 or are all of them only morning? my gal is really not the morning type and i confess my worries!!!!!

4. was thinking of moving to sch of choice but need to know if being within 1km of that sch means i have to maintain that address for the entire 6 years?!

5. some views of single sex vs co-ed education at primary level... are gals in girls' sch very aggressive? my gal pal tells me she thinks the boys in class tends to be gentle with the gals unlike the rough and tough gals in gals' schs who bully each other... any truth in this please??


kam sia... kam sia...help!!!

[jedamum]

1. single session = only morning session

double sessions = morning and afternoon
some prefer single session cos they had more than 1 kid attending the school ie single session makes more logistic sense (although some parents like to separate their kids into 2 session if they feel it's easier to handle them separately at home and want to give 1-to-1 attention).
for those going student care, they may not prefer afternoon session, cos kids still need to wake up early to go student care and by the time its lesson in the afternoon, they get sleepy.
double session = lower pri kid need not wake up so early; makes transition easier; but do bear in mind that afternoon can be pretty hot (weather).

2. perhaps its easier (for us) if you list down your preferred schools for parents here to comment.

3. you can find out from http://app.sis.moe.gov.sg/schinfo/SIS_index.asp. select the school of your choice to check if they have double sessions. then go to their website to confirm if P1 is afternoon (which usually is).

4. No comment.

5. you can read more from http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=577&start=0.

there are quite some fair bit of info in this forum. take some time to navigate cos posting at the appropriate thread will cut down on CKS' workload and easier to garner more comments from the parents.

[ChiefKiasu]

gintonic:

hi... never thot i wil become a kiasu parent but it seems the day is finally here (ha... april fools' day...)...

Yes, it's a matter of time before we get sucked into the kiasu-ness. Anyway, you might want to read our http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/kiasuparents-guide-primary-school-education, especially the section on http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/getting-primary-school, which explains the most common nomenclature used in Primary-school-speak. That should bring you up to speed somewhat with what to expect.

[ChiefKiasu]

jedamum:

... take some time to navigate cos posting at the appropriate thread will cut down on CKS' workload and easier to garner more comments from the parents.

Thanks jedamum! 50 points to west mums' club for being great class monitors :love:

[westmom]

Gintonic - as to your question on which top school does not pile a kid with HW…i am afraid this will not be easy to find. My view is this. All schools have own something like"KPI" (key performance indicators) which means principal and teachers need to "perform" if they want the school to "progress" to the top. How do one make the school progress if not by giving work and more work and more supp class than others? For schools with more "well to do" kids, they are more blessed because they have "tuition" support from parents to help them achieve "progress". This is why I have always been advising friends that if you know your child is "not so academically inclined", dont put him in such environment because the poor fella will be suffering and some more, his self esteem will be eroded. Piles of homework, study so hard and yet still cannot beat his classmates and always stuck in average or "bottom" classes. We have to assess our child’s ability and his "nature" (competitive or non competitive?) when deciding whether to put him in a so called "top school". Talk to parents of top school and you may hear stories like parents " being pressured" to get more tuition or help …either by the school itself or other parents because the environment is so competitive.

[titank]

Hi jedamum,


Can advise whether I should enroll Radin Mas or River Valley where both schools i qualify at Phase 2B?

[jedamum]

titank:

Hi jedamum,


Can advise whether I should enroll Radin Mas or River Valley where both schools i qualify at Phase 2B?

titank,
I can't advise, but can only give some comments based on what I gathered from their website
- it appears that RM's focus is more 'all round' based on the variety of CCAs offered (and their Sch's vision. the fact that they did not display details about their PSLE performance (ie %A*/A against National Average) can mean that they did not do well enough, or that their focus is not on academics.
- RVPS' variety of CCAs are more limited. it is noted that % passes, they did better than RM, and with their display of above National Average A*/A PSLE performance, it is likely that they are more academic focused.

Regardless of my comments, you should consider the distance and your 'feel' during your pv work to decide which school culture best suits your kid.

JMHO.

[vfong1]

is choosing good cca very important for entering to sec school later?


which one are some of the recommended ones?