2011 P1 Registration Exercise for 2012 In-Take

[24hr-mum]

janet_lee88:

Hi MMM,

If can afford to shift near school of choice, then living within 1km is the closest one can stay near the school. If balloting is required, then it all boils down to child's luck.

Applying to be PV and to be chosen as PV is not easy. Then there is the 40/80 hours to chalk up. Some parents have problems trying to get 'jobs' to chalk up hours. Worse case is have to ballot. Phase 2C is no better.

No matter how much we parents want to desire certain schools, but if the chance is very low, it's not worth taking a risk at all.

We went through the PV application and the stress of confirmation even though we qualified under Phase 2B and staying within 1km. It was a relief when we received that all important letter from the school.

hmm, dont quite understand. if u qualify for 2b, why still do PV? arent 2b n PV same priority?

btw, is it for CHS?

[24hr-mum]

janet_lee88:

24hr-mum:

for st gabe, no prob getting in. in fact if want, i dont hv to shift cos hubby old boy. if shift to serangoon, also within 1 or 2km i think

If I were you, I'll register at St Gabriel under Phase 2A since your hubby is old boy. Headache solved. With a confirmed place in hand, you can then assess your chances at MS and CH with lesser stress.

hi citygirl and janet_lee88,
thanks for ur suggestion abt registering at 2a2 for st gabe. i had nvr thot of that and really forgotten abt this option as my mind has alwaz been only CHS and nothing else, and lately MSH. if i were to go for st gabe at 2a2, wld it be a hassle to withdraw and then register again for chs/ms at 2b? will the withdrawal and registering be on same day? have this hidden fear that the withdrawl may cock up and i cant reg at 2b.

also, is st gabe better than guangyang whc is the likelihood if i dont shift n still choose chs. cos 2b chs if fail, 2c i can try either chs again with slimmer chance or try kuo chuan but as i live 1-2km, must ballot. if fail, then will surely end up either guangyang or st gabe if still got chance for outside 2km at phase 2c supp. at 2c supp, st gabe may need balloting for outside 2km acc to history while gy no need ballotg. so i wonder if st gabe is better than gy and in any case this worst scenario i hv painted if i dont shift, is what i wanted to avoid so v likely i wld shift to be near msh unless no one wants to buy my hse in such a short time.....stress....

but if shift near msh, its also a big sacrifice cos ppty px so high, inconvenient location if within 1km, n i wonder if my playful boy dont work hard still, even if u gv him a quite gd sch, i wonder whether all my effort are worth it or not?

so i also wanna ask, neighbrhd sch also got smart kids and can do well, so why go thru such hassle to get to top sch? but being ks parent, i still cant accept just do nothing abt sch selection.

[24hr-mum]

to add on, i asked my hubby is it worth it to go thru the hassle, he said as a parent we shd try our best to provide the best for our kid. he said when he was young, his family was so poor, his mum had to borrow $400 to let him go to school n he will never forget that…


i forgot to tell him, but now its not that our boy will hv no school to study mah…

[citygirl]

I can totally understand your anxiety, 24hr-mum; know I will be there when my DS registers in 2012!


Honestly, everyone will have different answers to the questions you posted, because everyone has different values, wants and what works well for someone may not work well for someone else. But as a parent, I will most definitely want to try hard for a school that I think would suit my DS so yes, I think it's worth the hassle!

St. Gab would be better than GY in my books because it is Catholic (I'm Catholic) and it has an affiliated secondary school. That's two pluses already. Academically, it's hard to say which is better but then again, how well the school does academically ranks low on my list. So you should evaluate the schools according to your criteria.

Note on St. Gab, I believe there was balloting outside 2km in P2C this year, so don't count on there being places in P2C Supp next year.

On your question about withdrawal, it's fairly easy and immediate. So yes, you can withdraw and then register at the next school within the same day. Most do it this way - Dad withdraws at School X then calls Mum at School Y to register immediately after. Easy.

To put things into perspective for you, perhaps you can work out a plan like this, assuming you do not move from Bishan:

1. Register at St. Gab at P2A2.
2. Monitor MS and CHS at P2B. Set a predetermined criteria eg. if the odds are 60% or higher, withdraw from St. Gab and ballot at either MS or CHS. If unsuccessful, try again at P2C.

Depending on whether you can accept GY as a worst case scenario, that will determine the risk you will take to go for CHS or MS. If you don't mind GY, then even if there are 100 fighting for 20 places at CHS, go for it. But if you strongly prefer St Gab to GY, you might want to withdraw and fight for CHS or MS only if the odds are good, say 90 fighting for 100 places.

You still have some time to consider; go check out the schools, think some of them will have open houses next year, talk to parents whose kids are already in the school and look realistically at your chances. Then work out your strategy and go for it. Good luck!

[24hr-mum]

thanks a lot, citygirl!


even if i do reg at st gabe, i will prob still withdraw n reg either at chs or ms cos i had nvr thot abt st gabe. i know chs is slim but ms prob still hi chance but u are right. shd reg at st gabe first in case msh suddenly so hi balloting at outside 2km for 2b, if i dont shift.

gy is nearer tho.

sigh…my strategy is prob to shift to minimise any risk of ballotg…
hope my boy will 争气。

[janet88]

kuddles:

Hi, have 2 DS ,#1due for p1 reg in 2011. Am contemplating 2 options:


1. Currently out of 2km of Peihwa, accepted under PV via appeal n asked to do 100 hrs! Felt but exploited :shock: now staying within 1km to Henry park (2c) as backup plan

2. Shift to within 1km to ACSJunior (2c). This yr was close shave (63 applicants for 64 spots)

Which should I go for?Starting to be concern about the importance of affiliation as heard neighborhood sec sch cut off pts at 230 level. Is it true ?

Sorry to rub in salt, but 100 hours of PV in Pei Hwa ?
Yes, schools with affiliation to sec really helps with the lower cut off points (COP)...For eg boy in ACS primary would enjoy lower COP as compared to another boy from a school with no affiliation for a place in the affiliated school That is the situation my son will face in 2012 when he sits for his PSLE.

If you can shift within 1km of ACS, that would be a higher chance of getting into the school. All the best...esp since you have 2 boys. In my opinion, it makes sense to shift.

[24hr-mum]

i think some parents are right. no matter how much we desire a gd, if the chance is low, no pt risking. that is wat my DH says. this kind of risk cant take. i think chs may be more popular now that it will have IP. but sometimes i wonder is it i m just being defeatist and negative thoughts. to surrender before even trying…


but i also think. chs has gep kids, my boy will seem to fare worse than in a non-gep sch. Maris has quite a lot of interesting ccas by the way.

by the way, all cath sec schs are affiliated to CJC? does it mean any lower entry pt?

[citygirl]

kuddles:

Hi, have 2 DS ,#1due for p1 reg in 2011. Am contemplating 2 options:


1. Currently out of 2km of Peihwa, accepted under PV via appeal n asked to do 100 hrs! Felt but exploited :shock: now staying within 1km to Henry park (2c) as backup plan

2. Shift to within 1km to ACSJunior (2c). This yr was close shave (63 applicants for 64 spots)

Which should I go for?Starting to be concern about the importance of affiliation as heard neighborhood sec sch cut off pts at 230 level. Is it true ?

For PH, there was balloting outside 2km at Phase 2B. I'd feel terrible if I put in 100 hours and still did not make it. So that would be my last choice.

HP may have balloting within 1km at Phase 2C.

My choice would definitely be ACJS. It's a good school, affiliated to a good secondary school. If you can move within 1km, go for it! There's always the risk that there would be balloting within 1km, but it's a risk I think is worth taking compared to HP.

But be prepared for the stress - to have to go for balloting at P2C is scary cos you have only one shot. After that, not many options left at Phase 2C Supp. Best to have a back-up plan! Good Luck!

[janet88]

Hi kuddles,

I didn’t expect the person in charge of PV to ask you to perform 100 hours. That’s really unexpected and shocking.

Regardless of where you stay, there must be a backup plan because balloting within 1km can always happen…it’s still better to get a place in ACJS since there is affiliation to sec school.
If you’re a Singaporean, then you will have 2 balloting slips. Be prepared for the stress at 2C as it’s the one phase all parents hate to be in (but no choice for 1st child).

[Celyw]

24hr mum,

just to share with you my friend staying withing 1-2km of MS and ended with balloting this year. And worst scenerio was they failed to secure a place thru balloting too! So if can be within 1 km it will be safest if you want to 100% secure your boy a place in MS.