St Gabriel's Primary
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Hi eetsc
My boys are at Morning Star too. That’s one thing good about St Gab’s - it is one of the few schools with an after school care within the school premises. Did you have a chance to speak to the people in charge at the open house?
The boys are broken up into 2 groups - the lower primary, and the upper primary. During study time - the people in charge would ensure that either the boys do their homework, or has some assessment to do, if not, they will have worksheets. If you tell them about any concerns you may have, or as in the case of my P1 boy, the person in charge of Chinese, Li Lao Shi, noted that he is weak in Chinese, so she gave him extra lessons after outdoor time.
I only had tuition for my eldest boy who’s in P6 this year. But having seen and heard so much about how good the Chinese tutor is, my P1 son wanted to start chinese tuition so he could improve. I’m not going to say “No” if he initiates it - he only started in October this year.
However, i’ve heard my son telling me that a few of his classmates have tuition at home.
The school doesn’t have official exams for P1s and only SA2 for P2s, but they do have regular tests and reviews instead of the CAs and SAs. -
Hi again Blackvelvet,
Your son is in Morning Star too? Cool.. looks like our sons will be in the same group next year at Morning Star then. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to speak to any staff at morning star as we were a little late and they were closed by the time we ended our tour of the sch during open house. But, the little communication I have had with the staff once during registration and once when I called in to enquire was pretty positive. The staff there speak pretty well which was one of my criteria for people who will be liaising most with my son. I have seen the way they speak to the students and to me, they seem pretty firm - but not to the extend of being fierce (which was a plus to me!). I left my contact with a staff there asking him to remember to call me when registration of the aftersch care starts - as he told me he will do since I called in in July to enquire and it was way too early for registration then. And you know what? After close to 4 months, he did call me again to tell me all that I need to bring for the registration and when I should do it to ensure a place! So pleased that he remembered and not lost my number.
btw, what are the school hours on a normal day? And do your sons take the school bus to and fro school? I stay in Punggol... and the last I heard was that they have sch bus for the morning but not for the evening to Punggol. If I require the bus to go in the evening to pick my son up, the cost would be very high. -
Hi eetsc
My eldest boy used to take the school bus when there was no after school care in the school. However, did not like the current bus service provider (if they are still the same). In my eldest son’s 6 years there, the school has changed 3 service providers! In the end, when my youngest started P1, I got them both into Morning Star, amidst their grumblings. But once they started going there, they were happy, especially when they get to play soccer during outdoor games.
School buses are provided after school at 1.15pm (school starts at 7.45am, but students have to be in school before that). There’s school bus after CCA at 3.15/3.30, and that’s it. But I could be wrong, since I have not been using their services for the past 2 years. -
Hi Jacsplace
Checked with my son about Tamil. He said the boys taking Tamil lessons would have supplementary/remedial classes too, up to 3.15 pm on certain days. However, they do not have such intensive extra lessons as the Chinese. Guess it all boils down to the department head’s / teacher’s discretion.
I think it’s most important that we should not give our children the impression that we too are giving up on them. Although I’m sometimes very disappointed by my eldest son’s results, I try not to show it to him. His father shows his disappointment in him – and it has somewhat affected his esteem. It mattered a lot to him that at least one parent did not give up on him.
Sometimes teachers can be so insensitive. My niece is in one of the top primary schools - and not doing as well as the rest of her cohort - her P2 teacher actually told my sister that my niece “can’t make it!” She’s now in P4.
So far I have not heard of such things being said by the teachers at St Gab’s.
I’m sure you’ll know what’s best for your son, in terms of language. -
Thanks Blackvelvet for the prompt reply.
btw, just a couple more question - hope it is not too much trouble:
1) any advice for 1st time moms putting the kid thru P1 at st gab - what are the things we should do to make it an easier transition into P1 edu in the sch? Like bag? Things to pack in the sch bags? How many sch uniform etc etc to buy?
2) Golf as CCA - not sure if your son has tried this before. But my son would like to join golf as CCA for P1. Any charges involved?
Thanks. -
Hi eetsc
I bought 3 sets of uniform + 2 sets PE shorts & Tee. This is enough, cos PE 2ce a week, and the boys can go to school in their PE Tee and shorts on days the have PE.
Shoes and socks with School logo/name - this is optional.
Art bag - the bookshop would tell you that this is compulsory if you ask them. Don’t waste money on buying this as the boys don’t need to carry it to school on art days, unless your son really wants it and/or you don’t mind getting it.
School bag - whatever your fits your son. There is no English textbooks. And usually the teachers will get the boys to keep their workbooks in school so that they don’t need to carry too many books. Even the Health Ed book is kept in school.
Notification Folder - get your son to put letters from school / notices, etc in here.
School diary - when the time comes for homework, etc, the teachers will tell them to write it down in here. You may also write notes to the teacher. Usually there is only 2 teachers - Form teacher who will take charge of subjects, and the mother tongue teacher.
All above will be sold in school on Orientation day, usually the Saturday after school closes.
On the nametags that the boys have to wear - indicate that he is going to Morning Star, even if there is no option pre-printed on it. And it is most important that your son tells this to the teacher / parent volunteer when they are q-ing up for dismissal.
I’m saying this because although I did indicate on the name tag that my son is going to Morning Star, the parent volunteer did not bother to check the name tags - they just took the child’s word. I don’t know what happened, but my son ended up with the “Car Line”! Good thing I was there, and when he did not report to Morning Star’s Q, the in-charge called me (parents have to wait in the canteen) – and i went hunting for him.
First week of school just a notebook / pencil case and maybe a storybook to read before class starts, when you report to the class on Orientation Day, the Form Teacher will brief you on what to bring.
There is a buddy system with boys from P4 and/or P5 for the first 2 weeks during recess. Boys would sit according to their classes in the canteen, and the form teacher would be with them too.
Parents are allowed into school the first 3 days (unless they are changing this next year), but we are encouraged to stay in the canteen, and during recess, to try not to help them - to let their buddy help them.
Don’t worry, the boys will be well taken care of in school.
Morning Star - bottle of shampoo and soap, comb all clearly labelled with your son’s name and a pair of slippers, also labelled as these will be left in Morning Star. Shoes schools need to be labelled too so that the younger boys will not wear the wrong shoes home.
Golf - charges are involved as it is by an exterior provider. The boys will take the bus to a golf course and then sent back to school at about 5 or 6pm. My sons did not take this up as after finding out the cost, they said it’s to expensive, although i told them it’s ok if they were really interested. can’t remember what the cost is like.
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Hi Blackvelvet,
Thanks for the detailed info. Very useful for me. Keep in contact! -
Thanks for asking your son about Tamil, BlackVelvet. About PE, you mean on PE days, they don’t need to wear the uniform over the PE attire? Won’t they be sweaty after PE?
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Hi Jacsplace
Yes, they go to school in their PE attire on PE days. However, the boys can bring an extra PE tee or their uniform to change into if they wish to. -
Hi Blackvelvet
I am considering whether to transfer my son to St Gab's, so it would be great if you can share some info with me
Do the students have a lot of homework? Is there more emphasis on academic studies or is there a good mix of academic and non-academic development?
I was trying hard to find the PSLE results of the school, but could not do so. I saw a banner outside the school, though, saying that they achieved above-national averages for most subjects. Curiously, Chinese was missing from the list of \"achievements\" - do you know how the students did in Chinese in recent years?
Sorry for the many questions, and thanks in advance!