CHIJ St Nicholas Girls'

[j.032906a.032906m.032906]

Emelyn:

j.a.m.:

[quote=\"Gecko\"]
$180?? Wow! Thats is steep ..... Ours seems just as bad tho'

My daughter takes the bus back only (we stay in Yishun). It is $90 one way. Any ECA etc, it is $3 per trip.

Gecko

Hi, I had checked with St Nicks about the school bus fares as mine is also very high @$160 and the driver asking for extra $10 PER TRIP if my girl takes the 4pm ride. Furthermore, next year my girl is thinking of joining CCA and with all the extra afterschool classes, the cost will be increased by at least 50%! The OM had replied me that actually our bus fares are generally higher than other schools' because we had negoiated with the bus operator to include the late dismissal ride. In his own words:

\"The monthly 2-way bus fare you pay is for two trips which includes a return trip either at the usual dismissal time or at 4pm. It was wrong for the bus operator to collect an additional charge for those days your daughter had stayed back for a planned school activity such as IT lessons, CCAs, remedials, etc.\"

So please be aware of our rights. If you need to protest, voice it out to St Nicks directly. My friend (who is also in the same situation) called the bus operater, Annie, and discovered that she is aware of the her drivers earning the 'extras' from the parents but keeping it mum. Annie also asked her to speak to her directly instead of going through the school...

wow !!!

Thanks j.a.m.... for this very important information.

So, should we contact the school, annie, or the individual driver to talk about this ??[/quote]
From my experience, you need to contact the driver plying your route for the monthly fare (as it varies depending on where you are staying). Both the school and the bus operator, Anna (sorry not Annie), do not know what it is as there are many bus drivers plying different distances. However, no one would mention that this fare INCLUDES the 4pm ride as well as normal dismissal time one, depending on when your daughter goes home. This is the contract between school and bus operating company.

If your driver asks for extra fare for the later ride, you have to let the school know. Anna is apparently aware of the school's agreement with the bus company and her drivers are pocketing extra but chooses to keep quiet... Anna's the contact person (working for the bus company) between school and drivers, so she's the one supposedly keeping the drivers in line.

As a side note, when you complain about your driver -
(1) if you complain directly at him/her, they'll hate you and your daughter;
(2) if you complain to the school, they'll feedback to Anna;
(3) if you complain to Anna, she'll issue warnings to the driverS in a weekly meeting, the driver will 'behave' for a while and then revert to his/her true colour...
:stupid:

When my driver asks me for extra next year, I'll refuse and tell her that the school states it's already included in the high fares she's charging me!

[j.032906a.032906m.032906]

Rafy:

j.a.m.:

Hi, I had checked with St Nicks about the school bus fares as mine is also very high @$160 and the driver asking for extra $10 PER TRIP if my girl takes the 4pm ride. Furthermore, next year my girl is thinking of joining CCA and with all the extra afterschool classes, the cost will be increased by at least 50%! The OM had replied me that actually our bus fares are generally higher than other schools' because we had negoiated with the bus operator to include the late dismissal ride. In his own words:

\"The monthly 2-way bus fare you pay is for two trips which includes a return trip either at the usual dismissal time or at 4pm. It was wrong for the bus operator to collect an additional charge for those days your daughter had stayed back for a planned school activity such as IT lessons, CCAs, remedials, etc.\"

So please be aware of our rights. If you need to protest, voice it out to St Nicks directly. My friend (who is also in the same situation) called the bus operater, Annie, and discovered that she is aware of the her drivers earning the 'extras' from the parents but keeping it mum. Annie also asked her to speak to her directly instead of going through the school...

j.a.m.,

thanks for posting this info! my gal is entering p1 next year and i thought the $160 quoted for 2 ways is very high. So it caters to planned sch activity... but p1 won't have these activities, it shouldn't be the same sum....

anyway thanks for the info!

You are welcome. I know what you mean too. I also find that St Nicks schoolbus fares to be very high, after comparing with some other schools. Now that I found out the agreement between school and bus company, I understand the reason why. Perhaps they should have a 2-tier bus fare or something instead. It should also be clearly indicated to us parents.

Fyi, there are IT classes after school in p2. Not sure about p1 now. Also there might be remedials. Sometimes the teacher might need to conduct make up lessons after school (happened to my daughter in p1). If your daughter wants to take up a CCA in P1/2, I think it's possible too. Anyway, just be aware of our rights. If you are not happy or unsure, just talk to the school about it. From my experience, St Nicks replies very fast.

[Emelyn]

I am devastated !!


As I mentioned in my earlier posts.... way before, I have contacted the school bus driver to find out how long it will take my dd to travel from school to her Student Care in Jalan Jurong Kechil...

She said less than 30mins and she will be the 1st to drop off.
So, for days with late dismissal at 1:45pm, she should reach her student care before 2:30pm.

Today, the bus driver called again and said that she only has 4 students in 2011. She won't be able to cover her cost. So, she wants to take in students who live near the school, a total of 7 of them ! And that my dd will not be the 1st to drop-off. In fact, she can only reach her Student Care at 3pm !!!!!!!!!!! If raining, it will be even later.

:x :stupid: :!: :?:

Ya..... a lot of missed feelings...

Plus dd also have motion sickness....she will feel nausea if spend too much time traveling in the vehicle.

I am now looking for Plan B.

Any parents who live in the West and can help me send my dd to her Student Care at Jln Jurong Kechil ??? I am willing to pay for the transport service. I really need help. :?:

Very disappointed. I thought I have already done my research and plan out properly liao. Furthermore....school starts next Tuesday !! Not much time to react to this bad news.

Help Help.

[24hr-mum]

that is one thing i strongly dislike abt stnicks, ie the late dismissal time - 1.45pm. had voiced out to sch but no use.


emelyn - i m sorry i dont stay in the west and dont drive. any possibility of putting ur child in a student care nearer to the sch? so at least u r the one travelling further to pick her rather than she travel?
3pm is so late to hv lunch. its tea break. my girl also reach hm 2.30pm last time tho just bishan cos all the amk girls drop first. mine is not the stnick bus but pte sch bus

[phankao]

24hr-mum:

that is one thing i strongly dislike abt stnicks, ie the late dismissal time - 1.45pm. had voiced out to sch but no use.


emelyn - i m sorry i dont stay in the west and dont drive. any possibility of putting ur child in a student care nearer to the sch? so at least u r the one travelling further to pick her rather than she travel?
3pm is so late to hv lunch. its tea break. my girl also reach hm 2.30pm last time tho just bishan cos all the amk girls drop first. mine is not the stnick bus but pte sch bus

oh, you mean it's gotten later now? 1.45pm? It used to be 1.30pm for primary and when my dd first started school 10 years ago, it was bc they had 1 hour recess. But when they stopped having 1hour recess, they kept the 1.30pm dismissal time. Oh well, cath high also no better - it's 1.35pm.

[24hr-mum]

in 2009, it was 2pm for tue (recess on tue was 45min), and 1.15pm for other days (30min recess).

last year, it was 1.45pm for mon, wed, thu. the other days are 1.15pm.
recess only 30min now

its rather silly. i rather forgo the Lang Art and Cultural Arts lessons than delay the dismissal.

[sing_xiangxiang]

any mummy with girl selected to be trainee prefect? Wat is the advantage to be seleced and joint as prefect? See their meeting time is so taxing for the girl…


Any comment from experience mum here?

[Frisbee]

The school hours is so long, I believe the girls can only have lunch after 230pm. This is really unhealthy for primary school kids. BTW, what are Lang Arts and Cultural Arts Lessons?

[Emelyn]

Hi Mother Hen and zxha,


Just went to find out about Learning Horzion in Grassroot Club.
It is no longer there.
Now Learning Vision is there and they only provide Child Care services.

zxha : can give me feedback on on the student care in Blk 617 ? It is pro-teach ? I may need to change my daughter's student care....due to the school bus issue as I had earlier posted. Can pm me.



Regards

zxha:

Hi Mother Hen,

Thanks a lot for the info. I've registered my girl at blk 617, which is just opposite the school. Will try it out for the time being. Will keep the studentcare at Grassroots club in mind.

MotherHen:

[quote=\"zxha\"]Hi cookiesmonster,

no good? why you changed mind? I need to look for one urgently...and also do we need to arrange school bus to drop my girl there?

TQ

Just to share, I placed my daughter in the after school care at kebun bahru cc a few years back, when she was in P1. I pulled her out after 6 months and transferred her to Learning Horizon at Grassroots Club (near YCK MRT). The environment was infinitely better and my daughter loved the place. They do not take in many children, so there was more attention given to the kids.

Even though kebun bahru cc was pretty near to st nic, my girl took school bus, as I was not comfortable having a P1 girl walking there on her own.

[/quote]

[24hr-mum]

are there parents who complain abt the late sch dismissal hrs? i complained to the principal but no action. sigh…