All About Church/Clan/Society Membership

[Bishan_Mom]

Just to add…


Those thinking of going through this route, may want to consider carefully. IMO, it is only advisable for those staying within 1km of the school of choice. Under 2B, you are "competing" with parent volunteers and grassroot leaders, so it is not as easy as one think, even 1-2km, there is still high chance of balloting, especially the schools managed by SHHK are all popular schools. Also, all these are old schools (with long history) with a lot of ex-students; usually more than 50% of the available places will be gone by phase 2A2. Thus, competition for places are really very keen.

Besides, even if you manage to get your clan membership, you are still not guaranteed a chance to register in phase 2B. When its time to register for P1, you will still need to put in an application to the SHHK for a letter to register under phase 2B, which is "the 2nd round of screening for you". I heard membership tenure is still one of the considerations when handing out the letter.

Just my opinion…as $524 is not exactly a small amount. Of course, I’ll not discourage if you join the clan genuinely to learn about Hokkien cultures, or just to extend your network etc.

[ChiefKiasu]

Hi all… I am trying to gather data here to provide help for parents who are thinking of qualifying for Phase 2B under the affiliated clan/church scheme.


Can parents help state what they know by saying the clan/church and its associated school?

I’ll start:

Hokkien Huay Kuan -> Tao Nan, Ai Tong, Kong Hwa, Chong Fu, Nan Chiau

[mom_of_3]

Paya Lebar Methodist Church (Methodist Churches)

-> ACS (Primary)
ACS (Junior)
Fairfield Methodist Primary School
Geylang Methodist Primary School
Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School (Primary)
Methodist Girls’ School (Primary)

[ChiefKiasu]

Thanks mom_of_3! I forgot ACS is Methodist too :oops:

[angeliatay]

Thought I should give other parents a heads-up especially if your plan is to register your child under 2B using clan affiliation, in particularly - Hokkien Huay Kwan.


My friend was planning to register her child in Ai Tong under Phase 2B this year. They've been members of the clan for more than 2 years. They were informed after the registration results from Phase 2A2 was revealed that the clan will only be giving the letters to members who have been with the clan for 4 years and above. This is because Ai Tong has only 40 spaces left in Phase 2B and the clan feels that priority should be given to longer serving members.

Thus, she can only register for the school under 2C. Even though she's living within 1km of the school, due to the limited space available, it is very likely that balloting is required.

So for parents who plan to obtain priority registration to Hokkien Huay Kwan affiliated schools, do sign up as members as early as possible.

[ChiefKiasu]

angeliatay:

My friend was planning to register her child in Ai Tong under Phase 2B this year. They've been members of the clan for more than 2 years. They were informed after the registration results from Phase 2A2 was revealed that the clan will only be giving the letters to members who have been with the clan for 4 years and above....

Ouch. That must hurt a lot, especially having paid like more than $500 to be a member. That's exactly as Bishan_Mom has predicted... which makes her a sage!

So it's never too early to be kiasu. Great info. Thanks!

[anxiousparent]

Does the 4 years and above criteria for membership apply only to those with intention to send their kids to Ai Tong?

[Red_Rhino]

Yes…for this year’s P1 registration exercise, it seems, from one of the posts above. In general, then, no, I would think not. The criteria is not fixed. It really depends on places available in the schools, not just Ai Tong, but all the schools managed by SHHK. The membership tenure becomes the main or one of the main criteria when a situation arises where the schools are left with very little places under phase 2B. In this case, this year, Ai Tong has only 40 places, so they are more stringent in giving out their recommendations to members, selecting only from the pool who are with the clan for more than 4 years.

[agent66]

Red_Rhino:

Yes...for this year's P1 registration exercise, it seems, from one of the posts above. In general, then, no, I would think not. The criteria is not fixed. It really depends on places available in the schools, not just Ai Tong, but all the schools managed by SHHK. The membership tenure becomes the main or one of the main criteria when a situation arises where the schools are left with very little places under phase 2B. In this case, this year, Ai Tong has only 40 places, so they are more stringent in giving out their recommendations to members, selecting only from the pool who are with the clan for more than 4 years.

I wish to add. My girlfriend joined the SHHK 2 years ago and managed to register her gal in Nan Chiau this year. Hence , I don't think the 4 yrs rule is applicable to all schools.

[hquek]

I recently went down to SHHK to enquire. Here’s their clarification.


Number of years will be the main criterion in all cases - level of participation not included (unless of course you are office bearer).

If a school is very popular, their primary yardstick will be number of years the member has been in the clan - the more the better.

If school is not so ‘popular’, as long as member has joined for 1.5 years (I think), you should be able to get the letter. So all depend on luck.

Note that even if you manage to get the recommendation letter, you will still be ‘fighting’ with the grassroots leaders, parent volunteers…

Apparently, their last ‘membership approval meeting’ had just passed in mid July. Next one will be in 2009 - not sure if Oct is valid. that fella sounded very sure.