CHIJ Primary (Toa Payoh)

[Honey]

esmummy:

Thanks for the replies on the timing. Wow, 6.50am is really ungodly compared to the preschool timing that we are used to :). So I can see why lots of mums say that distance is paramount.


The other factor is that looking at the balloting history, for phase 2B, chances of getting in if >2km is not good. Sigh....

It's good that your take time to find out about the schools now for your daughter before enrolling her. If distance isn't too much of an issue, go for IJ (TP) .... ok I am biased here cos my daughter is there

For us, we are happy with the sch's programmes. It offers a more holistic approach to education. The teachers are a dedicated lot. The admin staff are very helpful. Principal is caring & nurturing. The girls are a happy lot .

The reason why we drop our daughter off at 6.50am is because we have to drop our son off at his school after that.

[beanstalk]

moom:

Thanks beanstalk.. so it's good they have tennis, handbell and gym lessons as well. How do you find the teachers there? are they motivated and do they care abt the kids?

it's interesting what you shared abt the transfer Kellock girl. any idea why she transferred since Kellock is quite good as well, in her mother's opinion?

Appreciate your help

The ex-Kellock girl lived closer to Kellock at the time of registration. They moved house later so she transferred to TP. The mother was an IJ girl and did not consider other non-IJ schools in her area.

Many of the teachers are motivated and caring, especially those who were IJ girls themselves. There ARE poor teachers but my feel is that they are a minority; also these tend to leave after suffering complaints from demanding parents :oops: Poor teachers generally do not teach P1.

CCA is compulsory from P4 but after-school extra classes begin in P3. Also girls chosen for niche CCAs begin training in P1/P2.

[janet88]

beanstalk:

moom:

Thanks beanstalk.. so it's good they have tennis, handbell and gym lessons as well. How do you find the teachers there? are they motivated and do they care abt the kids?

it's interesting what you shared abt the transfer Kellock girl. any idea why she transferred since Kellock is quite good as well, in her mother's opinion?

Appreciate your help

Many of the teachers are motivated and caring, especially those who were IJ girls themselves. There ARE poor teachers but my feel is that they are a minority; also these tend to leave after suffering complaints from demanding parents :oops: Poor teachers generally do not teach P1.

CCA is compulsory from P4 but after-school extra classes begin in P3. Also girls chosen for niche CCAs begin training in P1/P2.

So it's confirmed that CCA is compulsory from P4 onwards. Extra classes from P3 ? Isn't that the unhappiness going on now ? Personally, I'm not for supplementary lessons other that P5/6.
I heard that P1 teachers are the more senior ones as some parents can be hard to handle.

[esmummy]

Hi Honey,


I would love to be able to get my girl into IJ (TP). I'm an old IJ girl but fr the now-defunct siglap branch which has merged with katong.

I stay closer to IJ Katong so logically, I should send my girl there and be done with all the stress. But I think IJ (TP) has better academic performance. Besides, I think if KSP forum is anything to go by, IJ (TP) girls' parents are more involved with their education. I tried to look for input on IJ Katong but no many parents on this forum... not kiasu enuf :lol:

And own mum says God forbid she winds up at Katong Convent for her secondary school! Some reputations are hard to live down even after donkey years

So my game plan would be to get a place at Katong under phase 2A and see what the figures are at the end of 2B to see if we wanna take the gamble. Silly hubby is absolutely clueless and so all the decision making is mine..... stress ++.

Do you know who the ballet teacher is in IJ (TP) and do the P1s do ballet? Also, is the gymnastics team strong? I'm asking because these are my DD's first 2 loves in life.

One thing I find quite heartening in this forum is that even though it is a self-declared kiasu site, the parents are keen for their kids to pursue non-academic goals. SOTA is spoken of highly whereas in my time, I think no parent would wish their child to enter an arts-dedicated school. It was always be a doctor or lawyer or some other professional.

[janet88]

Honey:

esmummy:

Thanks for the replies on the timing. Wow, 6.50am is really ungodly compared to the preschool timing that we are used to :). So I can see why lots of mums say that distance is paramount.

It's good that your take time to find out about the schools now for your daughter before enrolling her. If distance isn't too much of an issue, go for IJ (TP) .... ok I am biased here cos my daughter is there

For us, we are happy with the sch's programmes. It offers a more holistic approach to education. The teachers are a dedicated lot. The admin staff are very helpful. Principal is caring & nurturing. The girls are a happy lot .

Hubby likes the principal as she is caring and warm. When I emailed her regarding the temporary holding school and morn/afternoon session, she replied me promptly and in a very friendly way.
Daughter's FT is also very caring to her young students. No regrets registering daughter in IJ.

[moom]

Thanks Beanstalk and ladies for your comments.


I read that other schools have things like inline blading,speech and drama etc incorporated into the Pri 1 curriculum… does IJ TP have any ‘extras’ meshed into the curriculum like that?

On their website, they state they have ‘internal enrichment programmes’- what are these?

The only external enrichment is Ballet? any others?

Thanks

[janet88]

moom:

Thanks Beanstalk and ladies for your comments.


I read that other schools have things like inline blading,speech and drama etc incorporated into the Pri 1 curriculum.. does IJ TP have any 'extras' meshed into the curriculum like that?

On their website, they state they have 'internal enrichment programmes'- what are these?

The only external enrichment is Ballet? any others? Thanks

For P1, I only know of ballet after school. But there are not many takers although teachers have been trying to ask the girls to take it up. Prob there are several parents like myself who do not want the girls to take up CCA at P1.
Yes, some schools like MGS has exciting CCAs.

[moom]

oh wait, I just read on the website that the girls do gym in P1&2 and tennis in P3&4 as part of their curriculum.. that's good..


Is that the internal enrichment though?

Janet -- yep, many schools now offer these exciting extras... good thing is it's within school hours and within school compound.. so no need to fetch to and fro and burn up precious weekends.. I'm in favour of these cos it exposes the kids to something new, they learn something and most importantly, school is more fun and enjoyable that way.
They certainly had none of these fun things when I was in pri school.. I would have been happier getting at 5 plus every morning if so..

[janet88]

moom:

oh wait, I just read on the website that the girls do gym in P1&2 and tennis in P3&4 as part of their curriculum.. that's good..


Is that the internal enrichment though?
Janet -- yep, many schools now offer these exciting extras... good thing is it's within school hours and within school compound.. so no need to fetch to and fro and burn up precious weekends.. I'm in favour of these cos it exposes the kids to something new, they learn something and most importantly, school is more fun and enjoyable that way.
They certainly had none of these fun things when I was in pri school.. I would have been happier getting at 5 plus every morning if so..

Yes, as long as it takes place DURING curriculum time, I'm all for it.
Since it's lower primary, I think school shouldn't put too much pressure on academic. It's fun and kids still dismiss as per normal. We didn't get to enjoy all these during our time. Tennis at P3/4...girls will go home after school and knock out. HaHaHa.

[beanstalk]

moom:

Thanks Beanstalk and ladies for your comments.


I read that other schools have things like inline blading,speech and drama etc incorporated into the Pri 1 curriculum.. does IJ TP have any 'extras' meshed into the curriculum like that?

On their website, they state they have 'internal enrichment programmes'- what are these?

The only external enrichment is Ballet? any others?

Thanks

Am not sure about other schools but the activities you mentioned are offered as post-exam activities, during curriculum time. My daughter tried inline blading but it was too rough for her (she's quite 'xiao jie'). Think Speech and Drama is part and parcel of English lessons...anyway, most of these girls don't need to be taught to talk and be drama! Aiyo, they can get full marks for English Oral!

Believe Chinese Speech and Drama is/was offered outside of class time.

Ballet is offered after school within school grounds; am not sure how many take it up. I know many girls like mine, who go for ballet lessons outside school; think they were already enrolled before P1 so chose to continue with whatever school/center they were in.