Newton Kindergarten

[greenbean2011]

hello jazzychloe,


hahaha! It is Newton kindergarten herself that entice you, not me, kekekekeke…

arh …Yes, separation anxiety can be hard on some kids, the younger they are. I have heard stories from my neighbour’s child care centre whereby got some kids cry until vomit, and are still crying after placed there > 2 months. Yes, feel very xin tia !

I had no first hand experience with teachers from Pre-Nursery (PN) classes. However, overall general feeling I have is - most Newton teachers here are motherly type, as they too had been mothers before (although their children are now big, big, grown up). Because many teachers had been teaching > 10 to 25 years, in early childhood education. They are experienced. Over so many years, they had seen and handled all kinds of kids, with various sorts of behaviour. So not to fret, your child are in safe hands.

overall, many teachers here are friendly, gentle to children, patient, warm, loving and kind.

Pre-N kids being so young, the Principal would most likely know who to select, or know which teachers are best suited/ assigned to handle such young toddlers - some coming in, barely just turn 2 years old.

perhaps you can explain your unique past experience to the Principal ? ask the Principal – from past experiences in the school, had there been similar cases like yours? and how did the form teachers use what method to pacify these young kids, until the child finally settle down stop crying?

also request Principal politely – is it possible to place your child in the class that has the most experienced Pre-nursery teacher who had handled children with similar cases to yours before ?

also ask the Principal politely – is it possible to bring your child down for a trial period a few times (say, for 15 to 20 minutes), to meet the Pre-nursery teacher first she has in mind for you …. perhaps AFTER school dismissal, say around 4 pm - where all children have left school gone home, and things quiet down, everyone’s mood more calm down?

then when your child meets her PN teacher, get to observe for yourself … whether the teacher can bond with her, tease her / play with your child, can handle your kid calmly, can talk to her to soothe her, stop crying ?

by familiarize yourself with the school environment first, these small little observations you make - like whether your child likes her school teacher, whether your child likes coming Newton school or still got phobia going school …. will give you the answer you are searching for.

If Principal ask - why you need this trial period, just reply politely that … you need to see how your child is going to adapt / adjust to her new teacher, her new school here. You need this level of assurance and comfort, this peace of mind … before you make any decision to transfer her over.

[greenbean2011]

dear parents of ex-Newton kids,


would be godsend if some kind soul can … help to answer Mimama’s concern - any problem for kids enter P1 when come to English , since it is 60% Chinese, 40% English ?

i too look forward for feedback, from thousands of ex-Newton parents out here from this forum, who had kids studied before in this great kindergarten of ancient history, down the path of so many generation since 1956.

[greenbean2011]

hello Mimama,


perhaps you want to fix an appointment visit school Principal (P), if you keen to enrol your child? Principal is the best person to address your concern, to advise you.

you may:

- ask P: since Newton has converted into 4 hrs kindy daily,
does it mean that English dosage portion has been increased to >= 40 %?

-\trequest P to show you sample English worksheets, to gauge the standard of English taught.

-\tinside general admin office, you can read detailed overall breakdown of English structured curriculum taught for all levels, covered in each term.

you can read for yourself - what are the achievement milestones covered in Letterland phonics - for each level (N1, N2, K1, K2), step by step.

-\tyou can read, find out in detail: how and when are vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension passages and creative composition writing gradually being introduced at each level - Term by Term, to what extent ?

if not sure, approach general office admin staff. Ask them to show you the overall English structured curriculum detailed breakdown. They can show you.

Once your child is enrolled into kindergarten, parents will receive the latest copy of English taught for that Term. Parents then know what to revise with their child at home - help child reinforce, remember the concepts taught in school better.

do not go down alone. Better to go down with your spouse, talk to P together. Two heads are better than one in evaluation, discussion and making wise decision.

for Primary 1 English composition writing, MOE requirements is (as of today) – write 5 lines. However, some primary schools in SG are slightly more demanding, require kids to write more; write 5 to 10 lines, instead of only 5 lines. Find out from your child’s desired primary school of choice what are the composition requirements, then prepare accordingly.

as for Reading English storybooks, it depends.
Most Average children can read simple storybooks independently – say, around beginning K1 to mid K1 (say, around 5 years old). If child needs more time, latest will be by K2, but it’s still ok - so long as it’s before child enter Primary 1. Faster children can read simple English storybooks earlier, N2.

Some Newton parents are hardworking. They put in extra effort at home to personally coach & supervise their kids in reading, so these blessed kids tend to read faster, ahead of others.

a) I personally met one mother whose current beginning N2 child can read. This little girl can read Dr. Seuss storybooks, Peter and Jane series levels 8 and 9, and even simple Enid Blyton storybooks. Wow! isn’t it fantastic, by end of N1 ?

b) I also met another parent whose son K1 is superb! The K1 child … now reads 3 to 4 pages of Charlotte’s Web. In fact, this storybook is read by Pri 4 GEP (Gifted Educated programme) students from ACS Barker Primary school, recommended by the English languge teachers. Marvellous, isnt’ it ?

wanna know the secret behind …how she (laughingcat) train her son? you may read her sharing from this thread:

http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=117&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=670

so Mimama, after you talk to P, read the English curriculum, if you find anything interesting, do come back here - share with all of us, ok ? will be waiting for you !

[greenbean2011]

hello Mimama,


regardless of which kindergarten you send your child to, it is important to kick start your child towards reading, minimum 15 minutes a day, take a short break. After that come back continue - read for another 15 minutes to half an hour. No matter how tired you are after working a long day’s work, have to get this reading habit of your child into a daily routine auto pilot run, kickstart from very young.

nowadays, the English standard in a number of primary schools is getting higher. When kids go Primary 1, kids are required to observe half an hour of silent reading on his own inside the Assembly Hall, before school starts. Teachers will ask Primary 1 pupils sitting inside the school Hall - to take out own storybooks from their school bag, to start reading silently / quietly.

in some Primary schools (though not all), besides getting involved in Stellar reading programmes at Primary 1, pupils are also expected to write book reviews, comment, give feedback on the book they had just read – about how the child feels about the main character in the story, what he thinks of the story line, about the plot, about the conclusion … could the story have ended in another way better, and why ? One such primary school that require students to write simple book reviews at Primary 1 - is Henry Park primary.

as the child grows older into higher level, in this primary school’s English class, each student is given two other pupils’ stories to comment on … just like an English teacher. Some of the comments given are pretty mature and in-depth, almost like an adult.

let me share with you here one good example ….
comments coming from a young boy, A on B’s personal essay written. This takes place inside the GEP English language class…

=======================================

hello B, you have followed many of my comments and improved on your story - which is good, but still, there is room for improvement.

You made an effort to describe more about the detective, but it is quite insufficient in the description. When I said in the previous post that you need to describe more about it, I did not mean you must start listing down his habits. As a matter of fact, whenever I look at the places where you improved, you are deliberately pointing it out to the readers. You can describe him in an indirect way, meaning it can be a scene whereby other people talk about him and his habits. You also need to describe more about the characters as there was not much I can tell about the two suspects.

Speaking of suspects, I have noticed that you are still using only two suspects. If the plot of this story was hard, there would be no problem putting in only two suspects, but in your story, since the story is straightforward, it will be better if you can add in more suspects.

When you described the two suspects, I also noticed that you put ‘sharpshooter’ in their description. Why did you do that? Were they members of a shooting club? Please elaborate on that point. Also, please explain why "advancement to head accountant" is a motive.

As for the clues, there is definitely improvement there. However, you wrote, "They tried to test one, but they could not find a sample as all the bullets shot had allegedly hit Ms Liew and killed her." In this case, it will still be possible to test the bullets; all they have to do is to extract the bullets from her body. You need to get rid of that part. You have added a few red herrings, but the problem is, you are pointing them out too early in the story, thus spoiling the suspense you have built up. And why would Ms Amy Pan say a lie that could be easily checked with the bank? You need to make her more cunning and careful.

In the story, Detective Adam and Randy narrowed down to two suspects, based on their means, motives and opportunities. However, there is not enough elaboration. If you can describe the process a little bit more, that would be great.

As for the plot, it is still too simple and plain. You seriously need to add more twists and turns.

The story is logically organised, no problem there.
A variety of sentence structures are used, the vocabulary used is precise, but not enough vivid expressions are used.

For the mechanics, you are adding unnecessary words, like, "surprised and nervous, in reaction,”, “When Detective Adam came back into the office after hearing Ms Amy Pan confess and say the name of the weapon she had used and the weapon he had guessed," and "He smiled and relaxed the name of the weapon would be kept a secret…". Get rid of the unnecessary words, and do not use short forms all the time, like O.T. and Congrats.

Overall, there is still a lot more to edit, but it should be a lot better after editing.

=========================================

do you think this young GEP boy (A) commenting on B’s essay is …. amazing ?

if you want your child grow up become an avid reader / great writer, then help your child cultivate a reading habit daily, from kindergarten days !

[vivienpg]

hi greenbean, do you know how newton kindergarten fare against living sanctuary kindergarten?

[greenbean2011]

Sorry vivienpg, i am not familiar with Sanctuary Living kindergarten.

you see something similiar in these two kindy, is it ? would you like to enlighten us ?

[greenbean2011]

greenbean tired liao, want to sleep, dun want to talk anymore … greenbean want to pass back forum for other parents to chit chat … bye bye !

[jazz]

Hi greenbean,


I salute :udawoman: and greatly appreciate yr unselfish contributions to this thread. You have always answered to those mummy who needs more info of Newton Kindy. Yes, i think it is time u 'rest'.

Hi mummies for those interested in this kindy,

Sometimes, I find it hard for greenbean to answer questions such as when to register...etc...as she is not a staff there. She is a mummy whom sent her kid to school this yr...same as mine. It is best to call the principle or staff of Newton Kindergaren directly for such questions. Apologise if I am rude.

[smurf]

Wei Greenbean, u hor, I already decided to put my boy in Montessori leh, now u want to make me change my mind lah...alamak...

[phtthp]

parents from Pat school (Koolmama) also praise Newton kindergarten :-


http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=623&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=750