Jurong Calvary Kindergarten

[sean wife]

Hi lakesidemum,


So fast, it’s 2nd week that our gals are in the school. My gals adapted quite well with taking the school bus and being left alone in the school…however just this morning, my younger one says she doesn’t want to go because ‘nothing to do’ in school. I recall that during the orientation, the principal did caution us that the kids will not be doing much in school during the first few weeks to let them settle down. Nonetheless my gal’s comment made me a bit worried that she will be bored and not enjoy going to school. Does your gal tell you much about what they do in school for the past 2 days?? I was there only the first day and left them alone since last Friday. I had a brief look at the timetable pasted in their classroom and notice that there is no specific timeslot for English/Maths. There is 30mins slot each day for Chinese and about 45 mins slot which say “directed time”…wonder what that means…

Other than the half-yearly teacher visit, do you also communicate to the teachers via phone calls or email?

[lakesidemum]

sean wife:

Hi lakesidemum,


So fast, it’s 2nd week that our gals are in the school. My gals adapted quite well with taking the school bus and being left alone in the school…however just this morning, my younger one says she doesn’t want to go because ‘nothing to do’ in school. I recall that during the orientation, the principal did caution us that the kids will not be doing much in school during the first few weeks to let them settle down. Nonetheless my gal’s comment made me a bit worried that she will be bored and not enjoy going to school. Does your gal tell you much about what they do in school for the past 2 days?? I was there only the first day and left them alone since last Friday. I had a brief look at the timetable pasted in their classroom and notice that there is no specific timeslot for English/Maths. There is 30mins slot each day for Chinese and about 45 mins slot which say “directed time”…wonder what that means…

Other than the half-yearly teacher visit, do you also communicate to the teachers via phone calls or email?

Hi, so far, my gal is quite contented in school. Well, I suppose it's still early for the kids to \"really do something\", as I believe the teachers are at times still settling some of the kids. I was there on the first and second days, and I witnessed kids crying, vomitting etc, and the teachers were busy cleaning up the mess. Give them couple more weeks, it will be better. I suppose when your gal commented bored, maybe it was the early part of the day, when they were left in the music room while waiting for the rest of the children, as kids that come via school bus tends to tbe early birds everyday.

[sean wife]

Ya, guess since yesterday’s was the first day without parents, it may be more chaotic than first 2 days. Their school bus comes around 7.50am and reaches around 8.05am, so I guess waiting time is still OK. Anyway I think taking the school bus is the most enjoyable part to them now…it was a pleasant surprise that they dun need us to sit with them even on the first day itself, hahaa…


Let’s hope there will be more activities when things are more settled down…Keep in touch!

[durianbei]

Hi, I intend to send my son to Nursery next yr & JCK is one of the choice. But I live in CCK so transport might be a problem. Do u all know how much do the bus operator charge?


Seem like JCK curriculum is quite gd right? They have speech & drama? What else is there for Nursery?

[sunsweet]

Mummies with kids at JCK,


Any idea how many students in a class of Nursery and how many students in a class of K1?

[sean wife]

Hi durianbei,


I think there should be bus service from CCK to JCK, you can call the school to check.

Hi Sunsweet,

For nursery, there are 25 in one class with one English and one Chinese teacher.

[sunsweet]

Sean Wife,


will there be more kids in the K1 classes?

[durianbei]

Hi Sean wife,


Thanks for replying, how do you find the sch? Curriculum wise? IS you child happy there?

I called the Sch but they are not sure how much the bus operator charge so I thot the parents here who lives in CCK can give me a gauge…

25 per class & only 2 teachers will be quite chaotic right? Correct me if I am wrong, I thot the norm is 10:1 teacher?

[sean wife]

Hi Sunsweet/durianbei,


Actually I dun know leh…in fact before their first day in school, I did not even really confirm how many kids in the nursery class. But I heard from a mummy who have sent her 3 kids there that the teachers are all very experienced and can handle. I think the ratio for CC is generally lower since the teachers need to do the routine care part as well. Even then, I’m sure we have heard of many stories whereby a low ratio promised by a CC may well turn out to be an empty one. So I am actually not so focused on figures like this now. Ultimately I guess we can just depend on the overall reputability of the school and feedback from other parents, and our gut feel as well… So far, my kids have settled down quite well, and their learning outcome remains to be seen.

Enrichment wise, they have optional kindermusik and gym incorporated into their normal curriculum time. I would think most parents will sign up for them since it’s really not ex. They also have Chinese speech and drama on Sat, but we didn’t sign up for that. I can only say that so far, the school does not give me a negative feeling.

[lakesidemum]

Hi, I have 2 kids currently are in JCK, with one in Nursery and the other in K2. So far, I am very pleased with the school curriculums. They have added in various enrichment programs over the years, and some are quite good. For eg, they are starting the gym program for all students in 2nd term this year, and my boy was selected for the trial lesson. He enjoyed it and insist that I sign him up for the gym. Well, the school does engage the students in holistic learning.


The school does emphasis a lot on Moral Education too. The teachers are patient and experienced in handling the kids. In fact, the form teacher will move with the class from Nursery till K2, as a result, the teacher is very close to the children.

I do heard of parents of ex-JCK kids, mentioning that their kids have done well in primary as JCK prepares them pretty well for primary education. From K1 onwards, the kids will have homework, spellings for both english and chinese. For K2 kids, they will visit primary schools to give them a feel of the real action.

Overall, my kids are enjoying themselves in school, and of course, they like their bus ride to school. The buses are clean and there is always someone to take care of them in the bus.

I am happy they are in safe hands, and learning well in JCK!