Choosing and Evaluating Primary Schools

[mum2b]

beanstalk:

It is true that many ex-IJ girls dislike Chinese and are far better in English. Despite this, many are doing well as adults. I guess there is greater motivation to read/write Chinese in the real world...


That said, because of the competitive PSLE environment, IJ TP takes Chinese very seriously. Their Chinese PSLE results are above the national average; about 87% of the girls finally get A or A*. This is really an achievement considering that unlike in SAP schools where the vast majoirity are Chinese, a significant minority are actually non-Chinese (mixed race mostly).

Then again, I believe the results are also partly due to the private tutors that most of the girls have for Chinese!

hi beanstalk,
thanks for your view. R u an IJ TP parent? Seems like it's a good school, ya?

[mum2b]

janet_lee88:

IJ TP now takes in girls who are Malay now...during my time, this was hardly the case. Majority are Chinese followed by Indians who are Catholics.

This school has done pretty well academically...at P5/6, whether the girls like it or not, they will have to buck up as Eng & Chinese are the more important subjects.

agree that whether or not the girls like it, they have to do it anyway. but i guess if the environment is positive (i.e. peers \"like\" chinese, genuinely) imho the learning experience will be happier and easier. But hey, most of the time we can't have the cake and eat it. I guess as long as there is no major refusal to learn chinese, and the fact that most of the girls did good in chinese as what Beanstalk say, it's good enough

[janet88]

mum2b:

janet_lee88:

IJ TP now takes in girls who are Malay now...during my time, this was hardly the case. Majority are Chinese followed by Indians who are Catholics.

This school has done pretty well academically...at P5/6, whether the girls like it or not, they will have to buck up as Eng & Chinese are the more important subjects.

agree that whether or not the girls like it, they have to do it anyway. but i guess if the environment is positive (i.e. peers \"like\" chinese, genuinely) imho the learning experience will be happier and easier.

I guess as long as there is no major refusal to learn chinese, and the fact that most of the girls did good in chinese as what Beanstalk say, it's good enough

My opinion is that the kids don't hate Chinese but just particularly like it since most of them are from English speaking families...but with tuition and competitive environment, I believe the girls will excel.

[beanstalk]

mum2b:

beanstalk:

It is true that many ex-IJ girls dislike Chinese and are far better in English. Despite this, many are doing well as adults. I guess there is greater motivation to read/write Chinese in the real world...


That said, because of the competitive PSLE environment, IJ TP takes Chinese very seriously. Their Chinese PSLE results are above the national average; about 87% of the girls finally get A or A*. This is really an achievement considering that unlike in SAP schools where the vast majoirity are Chinese, a significant minority are actually non-Chinese (mixed race mostly).

Then again, I believe the results are also partly due to the private tutors that most of the girls have for Chinese!

hi beanstalk,
thanks for your view. R u an IJ TP parent? Seems like it's a good school, ya?

Yes I am an IJ parent. What makes a good school depends on your expectations for your child, and whether the school meets your expectations.

If you want your child to develop a love for Chinese language and culture, your child is probably better off in a SAP school. In other schools, I would say that Chinese is learnt for more practical purposes, ie because it is compulsory, and helps you in 'real life' later.

In my family and among my friends, we have kids from various established non-SAP schools, mission and non-mission. Some have scored very well in Chinese but it's all academic...they don't particularly love the language and they don't work in China.

Chinese and English are not more important subjects at PSLE. I believe they have equal weightage as Maths and Science.

[janet88]

Hi beanstalk,

Chinese and English (languages) carry more weightage compared to Maths and Science…For Chinese, 50 marks for Oral, 40 marks for Compo, 90 marks for Paper 2 and 20 marks for Listening Comprehension (total 200 marks).

[karin]

Hi,


our daughter (SPR) is due to start Primary School in 2013. We want to put here in a local school. We attended a seminar by MOE but still there are a lot of questions. For us her academic results are important but her personality even more. We dont want her to be pressured into something teachers want her to be. So my questions are:

- Which schools are looking more towards the overall development of the children and not so much on the academic results? Should we look for an autonomous school - not a true blue government school?

- Some of the govt aided schools teach only Chinese and have the SAP program. Should we avoid them for our Ang Moh kid?

- We have a shortlist of schools (East Coast / Siglap): East CHIJ (KATONG) PRIMARY, East ST. HILDA’S PRIMARY SCHOOL, TEMASEK PRIMARY SCHOOL , TELOK KURAU PRIMARY SCHOOL. It seems that it is very difficult to get into St. Hildas and Temasek. Any comments on our choice of schools?

Thanks a lot! Karin

[beanstalk]

janet_lee88:

Hi beanstalk,

Chinese and English (languages) carry more weightage compared to Maths and Science...For Chinese, 50 marks for Oral, 40 marks for Compo, 90 marks for Paper 2 and 20 marks for Listening Comprehension (total 200 marks).

Hey, I think the EL and MT total raw are divided by 2 first:

http://road-to-psle.blogspot.com/2007/11/more-on-psle-aggregate-and-t-scores.html

[jtoh]

janet_lee88:

Hi beanstalk,

Chinese and English (languages) carry more weightage compared to Maths and Science...For Chinese, 50 marks for Oral, 40 marks for Compo, 90 marks for Paper 2 and 20 marks for Listening Comprehension (total 200 marks).

All 4 subjects carry the exact same weightage for PSLE.

[jtoh]

karin:

Hi,


our daughter (SPR) is due to start Primary School in 2013. We want to put here in a local school. We attended a seminar by MOE but still there are a lot of questions. For us her academic results are important but her personality even more. We dont want her to be pressured into something teachers want her to be. So my questions are:

- Which schools are looking more towards the overall development of the children and not so much on the academic results? Should we look for an autonomous school - not a true blue government school?

- Some of the govt aided schools teach only Chinese and have the SAP program. Should we avoid them for our Ang Moh kid?

- We have a shortlist of schools (East Coast / Siglap): East CHIJ (KATONG) PRIMARY, East ST. HILDA'S PRIMARY SCHOOL, TEMASEK PRIMARY SCHOOL , TELOK KURAU PRIMARY SCHOOL. It seems that it is very difficult to get into St. Hildas and Temasek. Any comments on our choice of schools?

Thanks a lot! Karin

The SAP schools do both Chinese and English at the first language level, so it's not true that they teach only Chinese. They do emphasize more on Chinese culture and traditions compared to non-SAP schools. If your dd has a positive attitude then she might enjoy immersing herself in a SAP school. If not she might find it tough going.

I think CHIJ Katong focuses on a wholistic education, with enrichment in dance, art etc. You might be able to get a better feel of the school if you check out the individual schools' forums in the primary schools parents section here.

[Ed1975]

Hi,


Anyone has any good primary school to recommend in marine parade?

Thks!