All About Church/Clan/Society Membership

[citygirl]

lynettewoo:

We live about 2km from Cat High but more than 4km from SJIJ. Can I try to do PV at Cat High? Another query - possible for me to register my son at SJIJ if my mum has a place near there? How do we go about changing the address? Do we change our address or simply register as my mum's address? How much in advance do we have to make ths change?


What if we do the following:

1) Try to register at Phase 2B at Catholic High with the PV (if they allow us PV)
2) In the event we don't get Cat High, we go to SJIJ for balloting at Phase 2C (If we manage to register under my mum's address)

wat the the odds we can get either?

Hi lynettewoo,

I don't believe CH will accept you as a parent volunteer as you do not live within 1km of the school. Just look at its balloting history in the last couple of years - you will not stand a chance if you do not live within 1km of the school. Even if you did, the competition is extremely keen, like this year's 48 balloting for 9 places (in Phase 2B) and 58 balloting for 9 places in P2C. You can always try, but you'd just be wasting your time.

If your parents live within 2km of SJIJ, you can ask that they make a statutory declaration at MOE (in the year that you are registering) that they look after your son in the day while you and your husband are working. Both of you will need to be working, and at least one of your parents must not be working. This will put you in the 1-2km category (even if your parents live within 1km). That would at least give you a chance at balloting in P2C - provided the trend remains. My view is that competition will just get keener, and at P2C, you'll need to live within 1km of a good school to even get a shot at the ballot.

Do note that you should not change your NRIC address to your parents' unless you actually live there, otherwise you'd be breaking the law.

You should consider moving within 1km of SJIJ if you are really serious about enrolling your son there, or consider other schools if you have no intention to move. And if you do decide to use your parents' address, make sure you have a good backup plan!

Oh, and grassroots volunteer work is not a route that you can take, unless you live in the same GRC as the school you're targeting.

Best of luck!

[lynettewoo]

Sounds like Cat High is even more popular than SJIJ. Loking at the past statistics for SJIJ, there is a chance I could get a place even at Phase 2C. The thing is, i only have these 2 choices around where we live - Cat High & SJIJ. How can we find out if we live in the same GRC as the target school?


If we intend to move to within 1km of the school, how much in advance do we need to do it and how long must we continue to live there? Can we move back to our own place after the enrolment is done?

[citygirl]

lynettewoo:

Sounds like Cat High is even more popular than SJIJ. Loking at the past statistics for SJIJ, there is a chance I could get a place even at Phase 2C. The thing is, i only have these 2 choices around where we live - Cat High & SJIJ. How can we find out if we live in the same GRC as the target school?


If we intend to move to within 1km of the school, how much in advance do we need to do it and how long must we continue to live there? Can we move back to our own place after the enrolment is done?

Hi lynettewoo, when is your child registering? That will determine if the community leader route is open to you. To check what schools are in your GRC, or what GRC has the school you're targeting, see this link: http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/admissions/primary-one-registration/listing-by-grc/

And read this thread to find out all about the challenges of being a community leader: http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=420
Believe me, there are many challenges - you'll need to start way ahead, you can only volunteer in the GRC you live (which may not have the school you're targeting) and once you've begun volunteering, you can't move or your efforts will be negated. And electoral boundaries might change in the coming GE. Beware of the many pitfalls there!

If you move to within 1km, you'll need to do so before registration. And the understanding is that you should live there for the entire duration of your ds' primary education. That said, MOE cannot stop you from moving away after you've registered, as there are genuine cases where families have had to move, but if there is sufficient evidence that the system was manipulated, the child will be removed from the school and the errant parent jailed and fined. Read all about home addresses in this thread: http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=699

Another useful tool is the Onemap service, which shows you which schools are within 1km or 1-2km of your address: http://www.onemap.sg/index.html

But the best tool is this wonderful site. Read through the threads and you'll find all the answers to your questions!

And sorry to all if we're a little off-topic!

[cherrygal]

lynettewoo:

What if we do the following:


1) Try to register at Phase 2B at Catholic High with the PV (if they allow us PV)
2) In the event we don't get Cat High, we go to SJIJ for balloting at Phase 2C (If we manage to register under my mum's address)

wat the the odds we can get either?

Hi Lynettewoo,
I would advise u to visit the Bishan schools and Novena schools threads to find out more about both schools if these are the only 2 u want.
From what was presented, it seems SJIJ is the best alternative for you coz there is a very high chance you still won't get Cat Hi even if you move within 1km of it. It would be a wasted move and a waste of time volunteering. There have been so many such cases.

Strategy for you would be:
1) Move nearer to SJIJ if you can. That's best.
2) Volunteer for grassroots work at that GRC.

As for the Stat Declaration on your mom's address, make sure he is really being taken care of by her. The kid can be big-mouthed and tell his teachers he goes to after-school care etc when he is supposed to be cared for by your mom.

[lynettewoo]

cherrygal:

lynettewoo:

What if we do the following:


1) Try to register at Phase 2B at Catholic High with the PV (if they allow us PV)
2) In the event we don't get Cat High, we go to SJIJ for balloting at Phase 2C (If we manage to register under my mum's address)

wat the the odds we can get either?

Hi Lynettewoo,
I would advise u to visit the Bishan schools and Novena schools threads to find out more about both schools if these are the only 2 u want.
From what was presented, it seems SJIJ is the best alternative for you coz there is a very high chance you still won't get Cat Hi even if you move within 1km of it. It would be a wasted move and a waste of time volunteering. There have been so many such cases.

Strategy for you would be:
1) Move nearer to SJIJ if you can. That's best.
2) Volunteer for grassroots work at that GRC.

As for the Stat Declaration on your mom's address, make sure he is really being taken care of by her. The kid can be big-mouthed and tell his teachers he goes to after-school care etc when he is supposed to be cared for by your mom.

Hi, thanks for all your replies. It's really quite a tough decision which school to choose. It's ironic cos Cat High is actually nearer to our home than SJIJ! My mum is actually renting a room in novena, but in the day she actually comes over to our place which is in Upp thomson. Can I then register my son using her rented address but yet my son still takes the school bus home to our own house after school each day? Would that be considered cheating?

On the option of being a community volunteer, SJIJ is in Tanjong Pagar GRC, while my current home falls under Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC. Which GRC should I volunteer at then?

[citygirl]

lynettewoo:

Can I then register my son using her rented address but yet my son still takes the school bus home to our own house after school each day? Would that be considered cheating?

Yes, that would not be correct. And you will most definitely be found out as the school bus records will show that your son is clearly not being looked after by your mum at her address.

lynettewoo:

On the option of being a community volunteer, SJIJ is in Tanjong Pagar GRC, while my current home falls under Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC. Which GRC should I volunteer at then?

Community work is not a route you can take as you can only volunteer in the GRC that you live in, and you will only be allowed to select from schools within that GRC.

[cherrygal]

lynettewoo:

Hi, thanks for all your replies. It's really quite a tough decision which school to choose. It's ironic cos Cat High is actually nearer to our home than SJIJ! My mum is actually renting a room in novena, but in the day she actually comes over to our place which is in Upp thomson. Can I then register my son using her rented address but yet my son still takes the school bus home to our own house after school each day? Would that be considered cheating?


On the option of being a community volunteer, SJIJ is in Tanjong Pagar GRC, while my current home falls under Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC. Which GRC should I volunteer at then?

Totally understand the irony u mentioned as I live within 1km of Cat Hi and yet didn't manage to send my kid there. The risks were too great.

It is not right to use the Novena address and not go home to it after school. If found out, your son will be asked to leave the school.

Even if you do RC work at Bishan-TP GRC, you can't even get a chance to ballot at CHS since they start balloting at 1km. Many people live within 1km of CHS and still couldn't get in.

You seriously have to consider moving closer to CHS or SJIJ if those are the only 2 schools you want. And for CHS, it is not a guarantee you will get in even if you live opp the school and PV. If you are in Upp Thomson, depending on which end, you may be within 1km of Ai Tong School? You can try to PV there.

[vicki]

[quote="cherrygal"]

It is not right to use the Novena address and not go home to it after school. If found out, your son will be asked to leave the school.[quote]

Yah - agree with cherrygal - and i vaguely remember some guy who used a "false" address got jailed b4! (kindof rem it was published in the papers - but cant rem the exact story!)

[lynettewoo]

cherrygal:

You seriously have to consider moving closer to CHS or SJIJ if those are the only 2 schools you want. And for CHS, it is not a guarantee you will get in even if you live opp the school and PV. If you are in Upp Thomson, depending on which end, you may be within 1km of Ai Tong School? You can try to PV there.

Ai Tong is actually just next to my place, but it's not a school I want to send my son to, as I prefer to send him to a Catholic school. Moreover the level of chinese is too high at Ai Tong.

I only have limited choices within our vicinity, but it seems like i can't get him into any of the schools in the area. It's actually plain ridiculous, if you ask me.

[lynettewoo]

Hi, I have another query - would we stand a better chance at Cat High if we do PV plus do community work since I live within the same GRC?