Newton Kindergarten

[greenbean2011]

hello kerbaya,


Term 2 open next Monday. You may call up school this coming Monday 9 am onwards to inquire registraton for 2012 intake, for your 2009 baby.

no worry.

even if your child is a December year end baby born iin 2009 and still in diapers when she go Pre-Nursery (or N1) next year 2012 when they just turn 2 years old, Newton form teachers will toilet train her. They know how to handle young kids.

for a start you may choose 3 hrs first. After your daughter settle down towards Term 3 or Term 4 next year 2012, slowly you switch her to 4 hrs programme, or remain in 3 hrs if you like.

there are a number of year end late November and December kids who enter Pre-nursery in kindergarten, when they just turn 2. Initial first 2 to 3 weeks the child will face anxiety separation, keep crying. Though heart wrenching, no choice. Just let go. After >= 3 weeks, the child settles down eventually.

My daughter was also year end December child. She was still in diapers when she entered kindergarten, just after turning 2. But after a few weeks, ok - she stop crying, got used to school, her teachers, her classmates. Young children adapt fast, not to fret.

[greenbean2011]

hello octbride,


Yes, last Friday saw a number of eager parents there for PMT (parents meet teachers) tea 2nd session, from 10.15 am – 12.30 pm.

some came early punctually 10.15 am on the dot, while others came much later. Some brought their children along, while others left them behind at home.

each classroom for all levels from Pre-Nursery, Nursery, K1 and K2 – were filled with excited parents inside, chit chatting with individual form teachers, all keen for evaluation feedback progress from teachers for their kids.

form teachers feedback on your child’s individual performance.

my girl in N2 PM class.
so, teachers feedback to parents in my N2 class whether your child:-

-\tcan focus / got listen to teachers / is attentive in class or not,

-\tcan sit down / sit still in class, or walk around disturbing the class during lessons,

-\tcan obey / follow simple teaching instructions in class or not,

-\tface any motor skills issue or not,

-\tcan write properly, can color properly or got any issue on this ?

-\tis a fast / average/ or slow learner, compared to his peers in class ?

-\tface any learning disability or not ?

-\tgot short attention span, or child ok ?

example:
did your child complete his school work properly, or run off to play shortly after starting 5 mins, leaving his school work totally uncompleted.

-\tcan remember things well, or child got poor memory ?

-\tany issue with the child’s overall learning ability ?

in terms of speech, in diction / in pronounciation for English, Mother Tongue (Chinese), in understanding Maths concepts, etc.

-\tcan read well or not, in one or both languages ?

- can child socialise well with his peers in class ?

- child show any leadership traits, character responsibility, helpful in class ?

-\tgot eat food properly during lunch / eat fruits / drink water properly or is your child a fussy, picky eater ?

-\tany other matter.


if any issue - teachers highlight to parents, gave suggestions to parents how to help child improve, catch up quickly.

for N2 children, teacher mention – Term 2 topic (when school open this coming Monday) is on the topic Plants. Term 4 is on Sea creatures … can’t recall what she said Term 3 covering.

[greenbean2011]

if child is slow - can be due to lack of discipline, or child really has learning difficulty, teacher normally advise parents to stop all enrichment lessons for one term first… see how, assess the situation. If child improve after one term, then ok, can carry on with enrichment. If not, better concentrate on core curriculum first.

[greenbean2011]

hello Mimama,


for N2 level, enrichment lessons available at Newton kindergarten include Art drawing and Speech and drama (s&d). you can choose either English or Chinese s&d.

for Term one, my girl attended Art drawing and English s&d (by Helen O Grady).

I can see that she enjoys Art lessons. Come home, she show me some pieces of her art drawing. She has shown improvement in drawing the outline of objects around her. Last time she could only use color pencils to scribble and scribble. I could not make out what she was trying to scribble. But now, I could see some the outline of people, objects she is attempting to draw …. she draw her school teachers, her classmates, things in her classroom using crayon, etc. Though the pictures she draw not so nice, but at least she is trying to draw properly. This is a consolation.

english speech and drama by Helen O Grady was good ! I peeped in, saw kids enjoying. Teacher full of energy. Kids lively, full of actions.

Teacher use washable marker pen to paint on their faces, as kids act out different roles. Different week, different creative drama to encourage language development and expressive gestures.

They have speech exercises to help the child project voice in the right tone / pitch, articulate and expresss.

sorry, I don’t have friends who had studied in Newton kindergarten before and gone on to Primary school. Not sure how they are handling english.

for me, I don’t leaving everything to school teachers to teach english. At home, I revise with her and teach her basic vocab. I go Bras Basah complex. Popular bookshop sell many good books. Besides reading to her daily, I let her practise some exercise from here.

fyi - for english, this book entitled Take Off to Primary 1 by EPH (educational publishing house), author Oei Chay Hoon is quite good. It covers basic basic english vocab Pri 1 kids ought to know. I bought it from JB popular at City square level 4, costs 14.90 ringitt during this week current discount sale promotion. You can also buy from popular branches in SG.

[kerbaya]

Hi greenbean,


Thanks for sharing your experience.

Do you know what is the schedule for a 3-hr AM or PM session? Do the kids take lunch at sch?

Thanks.

[greenbean2011]

dear kerbaya,


my child only enter Newton kindergarten wef this year for Nursery.
I transfer her from another church kindergarten nearby. She did not study in Newton for Pre-Nursery last year, hence i dont have 3 hr timetable.

however, you can visit the school.

on level 2 - once the lift door opens, hung up on the noticeboard, you can see in detail yourself the 3 hr and 4 hr kindergarten timetable for Pre-nursery, both AM and PM sessions, with names of form teachers for the respective class.

you can also view other level 4 hrs timetable - for Nursery, K1, K2. They are all hung up on the glass noticeboard.

besides timetable, hung up on the same noticeboard, you can also see the detailed food menu.

after you enrol your child, the school will then give you a copy of your child’s class timetable.

for AM class, light breakfast is provided.
for PM class, lunch is provided by school.

[greenbean2011]

dear kerbaya,


for PM class, both lunch + tea time provided. Children eat lots of fresh fruits at tea time.

[kerbaya]

Hi greenbean,


You have been a great help, thanks once again.

I’ll give the sch a call on Mon and arrange for a visit there.

Cheers!

[greenbean2011]

kerbaya,


come, come!
hop onboard !

:rahrah: :welcome: :welcome: :rahrah:

[greenbean2011]

hello kerbaya,


one more thing - under our new Principal, kids from Pre-Nursery level will have the same form teacher going up with them to the next level, Nursery.

this is to minimize any unnecessary change of form teachers. Also, after spending one year pre-school there, kids from Pre-nursery classes have already got used and are familar with their form teacher - who knows the kid’s individual progress in and out.

similarly, K1 and K2 are the last two most crucial years, the final lap. Likewise, the same form teacher will follow K1 kids up to K2 level.

you may verify this fact, when you see Principal on Monday morning.