All About GEP

[Faun]

syshi:

Faun:

syshi,


Thanks for DI website. It was very useful. DD very keen and had signed up for audition, apparently quite a number were keen. DI looks interesting to me too. Heard they have to complete project by Apr, I think the appraisal is in May, according to the website. Is the one done here by the GE branch has any affiliation with the one in the DI website.

Any P5 parent here have kids done DI, please share the experience.

Understand that those teams made it to the next stage will have to compete in US. By that time will need to cough up SGD3000 (airfare?,expenses?,etc)
All DI will still refer back to US DI and whoever participated will be 'DI Alumni' and they'll have more opportunity as 'DI Alumny'

Anyway what I like is the challenge they have to solve... Too bad DS not selected

Wow, syshi, you know alot about DI. dd said almost half her class signed up for selection test. I like the the fact that they make the kid do everything by themselves. Adults not suppose to interfere. The challenges look exciting and incorporates theatrical art. dd said even those selected need to be further assessed based on their past projects to check for suitability to work in a team. See that the school wants to make sure that the team dynamics is right for the nature of the project. If can get a good team to work with, how wonderful, will be a great learning experience. dd and her good friends hope to get in.

[Nebbermind]

clover18:

thats the same view I have as well...I believe the GE kids generally dont do as well as they're not rigorously trained in psle topics like mainstream kids. having said that, GE has advantage of DSA, so maybe psle score relatively less critical?

Another possibility is that some may be weak in MT which is not a GEP selection criterium.

And talking about DSA, don't take it for granted when child is in GEP. There is no guarantee. If the favoured school is looking for all round students, those who are in sports CCA or uniformed groups will be ahead in the queue. So make sure u have all ground covered!!

[ksme]

clover18:

I have the same concern as you...Dd also takes ballet and piano and she does not want to give up either. In fact, she also has other classes (math/chinese) which she enjoys going (more than going to school!), more so because she has made friends with the kids at the enrichment classes as well. They sometimes chat over the phone, etc. I have heard that GEP is demanding and the child need to spend a lot of time doing projects and homework. On top of that they have to stay back after school abt 3 days a week in P4. I'm not sure if dd can cope with the 'new demands' of school, more challenging workload and still continue her classes outside. sigh.....dilemma

thmejlfm:

Does your girll take any other lesson outside, such as piano, ballet?
How many days a week that she had to stay back late in school? Did she take any CCA?

I am lazy to refer back to the forum, may I know which school your girl go? I am just afraid that my DD will be very tired.

Rosyth and Tao Nan which one is better? Sorry, I have to ask this kind of question. Really, really very tired or should say 'stress'.
[quote=\"cluelessmama\"]Last year, I have to convince both my kid and dh that kid should try out the GEP till the very last moment. Kid shed buckets after buckets of tears. The main reason for kid's resistance was that she wanted to remain in the same school with her friends. However, she was intrigued by the programme after the briefing.

Before the submission, we went to talk with her principal to get the reassurance that they would take her back if she was to quit GEP. We also talked to her form teacher whom later talk to my kid about why it was beneficial for her to join GEP. Also, we promised kid that we would take back to her old schools regularly to meet up with her friends. (Till now, she still go back regularly.)

Looking at how well she has adapted to GEP, I'm glad that I have listened to the advice of parents from this forum and that I have persisted in my persuasion. I asked kid the other day if she still want to return to the mainstream - she said:\" No way, I like the GEP.\" :lol:

[/quote]I know of many kids who continue to maintain their Music, Ballet, Sport activities outside school on top of the GEP curriculum and some even have external tuition. No doubt your kids may have less time for leisure activities like watching TV, playing computers, etc. However, there will also be those that can finish their work fast and still able to play like they were in mainstream. So really it is a very individual thing. Remember that if your kid is not happy with the program or cannot cope in the program, he/she has the option to go back to the old school to continue his primary education. With this in mind, it might be worthwhile to take the plunge and try it. Don't try will never know if suitable or not, right?

On the lower T-score at PSLE, I think what most people are saying is that the top student usually are not from GEP and this is because in the GEP curriculum, the time is spent on exposing them to the breadth and depth of the topics rather than drilling for exams. For GEP kids, PSLE preparations (ie, drilling past year papers etc) only start in 2nd half of year. Also, some if not most of the kids would have gotten a place in an IP school through DSA so there could be less motivation during PSLE, if you know what I mean. Anyway, as far as I know, most GEP kids still do relatively well during PSLE, although not top pupils. As with all things, there could also be some outliers who didn't do well in PSLE, but these are likely to be small percentage lah although I don't have any data.

Having said the above, I also know of some who decided not to go to GEP and stayed on in their original schools and continue to excel. There is no right or wrong answer here.

Good luck!

[sautille]

thmejlfm:

Hi, after reading all the forum regarding GEP, still quite worried. Last night, tried to talk to my dd. She cried n cried non-stop. She kept on saying that if she knew had to change school, she will not agreed to take the test. And we also promised her that we will not changed the school. But, now.??


Saw her cried, i was so heart pain. Last night, i can't sleep.

Afraid after changed school, she can't cope. She will start blaming on us. Before that she kept on saying she can look after her sis next year. Now, if change, she can't. I know all these are minor problem. But, can see that she so sad n disappointed. Becos we broke the promise.

Really thought of letting her stay at the present school. I am sure sure kana scold by a lot of people. Got this chance n still don't want to take.

I am also worried that if my dd take the GEP, she has to stop her kumon, ballet n piano. She after getting her sa2 result, she told me that she would like to take out the science tution class.

Today, she looked so sad. Really don't feel good. My dh said let her decide after this sat briefing.

Just wondering, is there any parent regretted after letting your child go for gep?

It appears that many folks equate GEP to \"more stress\", \"longer school hours\", \"leaving friends\", \"giving up [fill-in yourself]\", etc.

Having one child completing the GEP (P6) and another still in the programme (P4), I personally find GEP a more suitable learning experience for my children. They enjoy the challenges and find the programme more interesting than stressful. In fact, I have never heard them complain about \"stress\".

They did not have to give up any of their hobbies. Both continue their violin lessons and have taken part in exams, concerts and competitions. My son was in table tennis school team, my daughter even has time to take up a second instrument. I don't think my children are exceptions because I have seen other GEP kids doing the same, if not more, juggling multiple demands reasonably well. Their capacity to cope really amazes me.

Where the parents can help is in time management. Do coach them on prioritising tasks and keeping to a schedule.

As for the \"leaving friends\" part, I may sound unsympathetic but I am not sure how serious this is a concern. Frankly, even if they do not change school, there is no guarantee that their friends will be in the same class for the next 3 years.

I can't speak for other parents, but to answer your last question...no regrets for letting my children go through this programme.

[blur-daddy]

hi sautille,


agreed w your summary... Don't really see any stress w my DS1... In fact, we add on extra CCA for him due to his own interest, plus weekend jogging... I'm trying to balance his school work w exercise etc... I know there are subjects e.g. Irs, that he think waste of time... And my instruction to him is simple... For those subjects u don't like, die die must pass... For those u like, do well in it... If u need my help, ask lor........ 'All quiet on the western front'

Yesterday i asked him if he would like to go back to his old school? Answer is a straight NO... Considering the fact that my DS1 is quite attached to his good friends and great teacher in old school... So he definitely like GEP...

Wow... U have 2 kids in GEP... Any secret to share? My DS2 will be P3 next yr and i seriously doubt he can make it, nor suitable for GEP... He's in his own world of food, xbox games, and still ask me 'why i must go to school everyday???' because daddy said SO lor...
..

.

[trileets]

sorry, 1 doubt I have… are the parents who are all for GEP and with kids who are able to juggle so much staying near to the schools?


For mine, quite alot of time is spent on bus journey.

[TwaTau]

trileets:

sorry, 1 doubt I have... are the parents who are all for GEP and with kids who are able to juggle so much staying near to the schools?


For mine, quite alot of time is spent on bus journey.

Mine quite a distant. Started with school bus but after half year, got my DS to take public transport back home, as the school bus system not very good for my area.

[sautille]

blur-daddy:

hi sautille,


Wow... U have 2 kids in GEP... Any secret to share? My DS2 will be P3 next yr and i seriously doubt he can make it, nor suitable for GEP... He's in his own world of food, xbox games, and still ask me 'why i must go to school everyday???' because daddy said SO lor...
..

.

Hi blur-daddy,

I really have no secrets to share. My children are very different - one is quite a go-getter while the other, a day dreamer. The only common thing I observed over the years is that by the time they reached P3, both started to complain, in their on ways, how boring school was.

I did not prepare my children for GEP selection (no time, no $ ). I chose to believe that if they could make it through the selection process on their own, they should have the capability to go through the programme.

I did (and still do) try to guard against them comparing with each other though. To ensure that my daughter did not feel compelled to also make it to GEP because of her brother, I told her that each of them was unique, that she was not expected to follow anyone's \"foot steps\", and that it would be perfectly ok if she was not selected for GEP. I recalled she was quite happy to hear that.

There are too many sources of stress for our children today. Let parents not be unnecessarily one of them.

[sautille]

trileets:

sorry, 1 doubt I have... are the parents who are all for GEP and with kids who are able to juggle so much staying near to the schools?


For mine, quite alot of time is spent on bus journey.

My kids take public buses home after school - door-to-door about 35-40 mins.

[cluelessmama]

trileets:

sorry, 1 doubt I have... are the parents who are all for GEP and with kids who are able to juggle so much staying near to the schools?


For mine, quite alot of time is spent on bus journey.

smooth traffic takes 25 mins to drive from home to school.

traffic jam takes about 40 to 45 mins.