Pat's Schoolhouse

[Koolmama]

Hihi, this is such an interesting thread for me 'cos my elder child is in Pat's Halifax and i'm currently trying to decide between Halifax and Mt Emily for my younger girl!!


What Augmum says is true, Halifax has really really good teachers. When my ds first joined them (in the middle of Nursery), he couldn't speak any chinese at all. Now, his chinese is so fluent, it even surprises my (chinese-speaking) grandma!!

The other day, my mother pronounced the chinese word for \"chocolate\" wrongly and he corrected her, \"Qiao3 ke1 li4\"!! :lol:

i even noticed that he pronounces the word for \"ear\" more accurately than locals do... You know how people here will usually say it the lazy way \"e-duo\"?? He pronounces it as \"ER-duo\"... which is more correct!!

Anyway, the reason why I was considering Mt Emily is 'cos we actually live quite near that branch... so driving her there would save on ERP charges (since going out and in, past the stupid thing would cost us about $5 everyday! ) But we love Halifax, and they are bigger and have better facilities... but since Mt Emily just renovated, it's also not too bad... but.... am not so keen on the open concept.... SIGH!! So hard to decide!!!

And yes, our beloved principal Ada Teo is moving over to Tanglin... she's really nice!! If not for the distance, I would've moved my kids over to Tanglin too hehehee....

P.S. By the way, just to give you an idea of how expensive my bus fees are (for 2- way, including ERP charges the bus has to pay) - $400 a month!! That's like childcare fees some pp pay elsewhere already

The government really makes alot of $$ from parents like us... SOB!!

[crystalbelle08]

Hi shiyunu,

Rest assured. Mt Emily's teachers speak perfect english. So definately better than LV

Hi augmum and koolmama,
Thanks for sharing! So, I made the right choice to put my kid in Pat's. :lol:
Now i understand why halifax has long waiting list! I'm impressed!

Koolmama, Why dont u check out Mt Emily and talk to the principal, Tanya.
She is a very friendly lady too. I suppose Halifax has individual classroom for different level?

So u intend to transfer your elder one to Mt Emily as well?
Gosh, $400 per month is per kid, so for 2 kids will be $800 per month for school bus?? :!:
then u might as well charterd a taxi!

[preciousmoments]

Hi all


Been a silent reader of this thread for a while. Just wanna pen my 2 cents worth…

My 2 kids have been studying in a Montessori childcare since my elder girl was 2 years old - the montessori setup is a huge room partitioned by shelves into smaller sections for the different levels of classes. My kids, though very active do not have problems learning in such a setting. Engaging teachers can engage the most distracted student. If not engaging, even in a classroom, the distracted student can stil be distracted. In fact, according to their montessori, a smaller partitioned space is better than a bigger classroom as distracted students will wander off around the big classroom. I agree with that.

As my elder girl will be going on to P1 next year, we thought of switching my boy to Pat’s. We visited two, Halifax and Mt Emily. Though we were impressed by Ada of halifax, it was really Mt Emily that captured our hearts. We love the park right at the doorstep, the very new and big toilet/bathroom, the big open space on 1 level only (no staircase to climb), and best of all no classrooms (except for 1 or 2 I think) - all of the above different from the Halifax branch. We signed up almost immediately, just that we did not bring along the cheque! Anyway, my boy will joining Mt Emily next year and we are excited!

[DC Mummy]

Just my personal opinion, I do not like preschooler wearing school uniform. Each child is unique in their look plus character, there is no need to group them looking alike....My DS used to carry the pat's school bag but took the wrong bag home twice despite name written on the bag. Thereafter, I bought a more \"stylo\" bag for him to carry and so far nobody carries the identical bag, same as his


I think enrichment programme is more meaningful from nursery level onwards as both eng / chinese speech and drama are included.

[mtdt]

wow… suddenly this thread is alive since Sept!


my DS is in Whitley branch and so far so gd. He is in nursery level
his pm enrichment is actually from 1pm - 3pm. nap only after 3pm.
tat’s why alot of kids actually goes back at 3pm as after 3pm is nap and freeplay already.

I am also supported of NO UNIFORM! ooh… pls dun implement any now!

[DesertWind]

I have a very good impression of Pat's Mount Emily during my visit in March this year. The principal Tanya was very friendly and knowledgeable. When I visited, it was at about 10 am in the morning with classes going on full-swing. The teachers were talking at the top of their voices (at least that's what sounds like to me). Booming voices in both English & Chinese. What I meant is the English teacher spoke in English and the Chinese teacher spoke in Chinese. Each class has 2 teachers one speak in English the other in Chinese - bilingual exposure each day!


The policy of no school uniform only enhances Patschoolhouse's philosophy of celebrating the uniqueness of each child. This I like if security issue is not a concern.

If not for the fact that distance is an issue plus school is on top of the hill and no schoolbus plying to our area, we would have signed up straightaway.

As it is now, I can only read this thread with envy at those of you parents who managed to put your kids into those immensely popular locations and can manage any logistics issues.

Enjoy!
:celebrate:

[HaleyCopterz]

Hi parents,


I don't mean to intrude but just want to give some feedback on the preschools. I am a primary school teacher.

We find that some preschools do not adequately train a child to be ready for Pri 1. However, from what I know, Pat's schoolhouse is quite good in this area.

There are many preschools out there that have fantastic curriculum but in the end, the child has a lot of fun and games but he or she is not ready to write or sit still in primary 1. I find that quite necessary to get your child off to a good start.

But this is just my opinion, some parents send their children for a lot of enrichment as well to get their children ready for Pri 1. So for them, it does not matter which preschool they go to.

My own child went to Little Skool House and I found it adequate

[crystalbelle08]

mtdt:

wow... suddenly this thread is alive since Sept!


my DS is in Whitley branch and so far so gd. He is in nursery level
his pm enrichment is actually from 1pm - 3pm. nap only after 3pm.
tat's why alot of kids actually goes back at 3pm as after 3pm is nap and freeplay already.

I am also supported of NO UNIFORM! ooh.. pls dun implement any now!

Seems that there are more no uniform supporters!
Anyway, Pat's havent reply me so guess they are very firm about this non uniform policy.

mtdt, the enrichment actually start from 1pm to 3pm?
Seems like different outlet has different practice!
For Mt Emily, the enrichment actually starts after naptime.

How is everything at Whitley?
Before i decide on Mt Emily, i was pondering btw Whitley and Mt Emily.
But i prefer the principal at Mt Emily.
That y ended up here.

[crystalbelle08]

preciousmoments:

Hi all


Been a silent reader of this thread for a while. Just wanna pen my 2 cents worth...

My 2 kids have been studying in a Montessori childcare since my elder girl was 2 years old - the montessori setup is a huge room partitioned by shelves into smaller sections for the different levels of classes. My kids, though very active do not have problems learning in such a setting. Engaging teachers can engage the most distracted student. If not engaging, even in a classroom, the distracted student can stil be distracted. In fact, according to their montessori, a smaller partitioned space is better than a bigger classroom as distracted students will wander off around the big classroom. I agree with that.

As my elder girl will be going on to P1 next year, we thought of switching my boy to Pat's. We visited two, Halifax and Mt Emily. Though we were impressed by Ada of halifax, it was really Mt Emily that captured our hearts. We love the park right at the doorstep, the very new and big toilet/bathroom, the big open space on 1 level only (no staircase to climb), and best of all no classrooms (except for 1 or 2 I think) - all of the above different from the Halifax branch. We signed up almost immediately, just that we did not bring along the cheque! Anyway, my boy will joining Mt Emily next year and we are excited!

Hi Preciousmoments,

Welcome to Mt Emily!
Your boy will be going to which level?
I'm surprised you prefer Mt emily than Halifax which is one of the most popular outlets for Pat's.
For me, i got into Mt Emily because the rest of the outlets are full when i was registering and my remaining choices were limited then.
In the end, i shortlised Whitley and Mt Emily and i choose the latter because of the friendly principal. :lol:

Why do you want to switch your boy from Montessori?

Btw, are u a local?

[mtdt]

crystalbelle08:

mtdt:

wow... suddenly this thread is alive since Sept!


my DS is in Whitley branch and so far so gd. He is in nursery level
his pm enrichment is actually from 1pm - 3pm. nap only after 3pm.
tat's why alot of kids actually goes back at 3pm as after 3pm is nap and freeplay already.

I am also supported of NO UNIFORM! ooh.. pls dun implement any now!

Seems that there are more no uniform supporters!
Anyway, Pat's havent reply me so guess they are very firm about this non uniform policy.

mtdt, the enrichment actually start from 1pm to 3pm?
Seems like different outlet has different practice!
For Mt Emily, the enrichment actually starts after naptime.

How is everything at Whitley?
Before i decide on Mt Emily, i was pondering btw Whitley and Mt Emily.
But i prefer the principal at Mt Emily.
That y ended up here.

actually it's abit confusing for PATS. They actually have
- Normal program
- Extended Program
- Enrichment program

Normal program is until 1pm.

Extended program is from 1pm-3pm. No additional fees needed (besides the sch fees). besides Eng/Chi S&D, also hv Fastrackids program.

Enrichment programs is from 3pm onwards. Additional fees required on top of the 7pm-5pm sch fees). Includes Swimming/Maths in chinese and a Music program. $150+ per mth for 3 programs.

I would be surprised if mt emily starts their extended program after 3pm. the reason why they hv so many tiers of pricing is becos of their \"extended program\". it's really of no reason for any parent to sign up 7am-3pm (extended half day program) if from 1pm to 3pm is just napping right? but this extended program is only from age 3-6...

so did u get confused?

I was confused at first... then later got worried as my DS old CC naps at 1pm... I am worried if DS wld get used to the extended timing without rest. scare he get fussy due to lack of rest etc. but after 2mths - he seems to adapted well. he does take a shorter nap (330pm to 430pm)... but also means earlier rest at nite (10pm.. last time wont sleep till maybe 11pm! ;p).

Principal - I read all the past post and also read abt my infamous principal Well... so far so gd, havent encountered anything bad with her. I never visit other PATs actually as I am really looking at a convenient location. This branch is the nearest to me. but I thinking of visiting halifax as I might want to enroll my no2 to baby haven. Let me see the legenary halifax branch! hehehe