Newton Kindergarten

[stsy_26]

Hi! I've been actively reading up on all i can on Newton Kindy as I plan to enrol my gal for N2 next year. Can any of the parents advise on the Pri 1 preparedness for children from Newton Kindy?


My older gal is currently in a church kindy, and I realised that she is far from being ready for P1 standards! Her reading skills are not there (can't even read instructions on preschool activity books I buy for her) and the school gives her only 2 pages of homework a week.

I have to do alot of coaching and extra lessons at home myself as I am panicking that she will not be able to cope with current P1 standards. To make things worse, she will be going to St Nick's nxt yr!

Hence i want to be sure that Newton kindy will be able to get my little one prepared for P1 in the future, and I need not face the stress I'm facing now with the older gal!

[phtthp]

hi jazzychloe, kerbaya, Mimama, DesertWind, autumn82, you got pm!

[phtthp]

since so many parents write in ask me … can pls help to register your child in for Nursery N2 next year 2012 mistaken that i am a Newton admin staff when i am NOT (i am only an ordinary parent), i think i better clarify the situation here.


I asked P yesterday - so how many vacancies left, for those keen to join Nursery N2 next yr, 2012 ?

P replied - many kids with existing current siblings are joining in next year. They are given priority first, because their older siblings are currently studying here. She checked and replied - for N2 AM session 2012, only 5 vacancies left for registration to the public, on 5 July.

next, i asked P - if on that morning, a lot of ksp anxious parents arrive before 6 am, before the security guard opens the entrance gate around 7.30 am (bec AM session starts 8 am), and everyone rush forward frantically to the admin office once school gate open and swarm the admin office, how to control the crowd from rushing in ?

she reply - will assess the situation that morning. Before security guard opens entrance gate, an admin staff will distribute queue number to the excited queue waiting outside first … just like seeing doctor need to get a queue number first, you know.

so if you are very keen to enrol yr child for Nursery N2 AM session, please wake up early that day, be one of the first 5 in the queue. It’s once in a lifetime to enrol your child for the AM seat.

however in the event you end up with PM seat, then quickly fill up yr child’s name into the wait list for transfer to AM session. Your chance will be higher. why ? normally when comes K1, the Principal will re-org classes. Because N2 nursery max allowed 20 kids. If this 21st kid come in, this child got to queue up for an available vacancy, when some kid withdrawal.

but K1 max allowed per class is 26 kids. So when go up K1, P can re-org to try allocate an AM seat for your child easier.

kids going up from K1 into K2 will have the same form teachers. P says last 2 years crucial, stick to same teachers who knows the progress of your child in and out is better. Dont change teacher anymore.

so on that morning 5 July, pls go very early, if you need to register. Although the banner hanging outside the kindy says come and register at 10 am, but if you reach there around 10 am, sure no more AM seats left!

[phtthp]

here is an excellent thread on teaching pre-school children Maths at home:-

http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1748

[Mrs_SingRat]

My boy is in Newton N1 (erhh...2008 right?) PM session.


Prior to the enrolment this year, i cant locate much infor about this kinddy, kind of worried actually. Thanks phtthp for sharing the useful information . I finally know bttr as in how does the school function and what i can expect, I am glad that i have put my prince to this kinddy :lol: .

My initial plan was Shichda kinddy for Jan intake this year. On one hand, i am glad that we have not started at all, on the other hand, I really feel sorry for those children and parents who have to deal with the pain on their last min closure. The notice period fm Shichida Kinddy was too short indeed.

Finally, we decided on Newton becos of their focus on Chinese education. Only PM session available then, the benefit is smaller class size. Before term 1 ends, my boy is already more open to speak Mandarin, occassionaly, we got surprise that he can answer us in sentence.

Tats what i have so far. Besides phtthp, glad to meet the rest of the mummy of Newton in this forum too

[phtthp]

hi Mrs_SingRat, so nice and happy whenever new parents like yourself come forward to introduce yourself to us. The feeling is nice! WELCOME on board ! can I shake yr hands warmly ? can I also give you a warm, tight hug, to welcome you ?


Yes! can see that your boy is doing well - interacting well with his fellow school mates, conversing fine in Mandarin, improving in his Chinese, enjoy coming to school to learn new things everday. That’s wonderful! Keep up the good work! I am sure you are a happy, contented mommy !! kekekekekekekekekek

now, let’s see. let’s try to do a listing here … who else are the mommies at Newton kindy so far ? hmmm…. who are our fellow school mates ?

N1 parents are: GuniBabe, Mrs_SingRat

both your kids in N1 PM … maybe they from the same class ? perhaps both of you can pm each other to find out. kekekekeke

N2 parents are: Jazz, Em, MummyThreeStreams, octbride, greenbean

potential new parents coming in are: Jazzychloe, kerbaya, Mimama, stsy_26, autumn82

oops! hope I didn’t miss out anyone else name. Do let me know if I miss out, ok ?

eh but …… so far, still didn’t hear from any K1, K2 parents.
would be nice to hear from K1, K2, yah ! plus ALL parents from all other levels lah, of course! Please come forward to introduce yourself, ok ? Don’t just hide in the background reading & observing silently, ok ?

[phtthp]

info ...


at our Newton kindy, i dun know about other N2 classes.... but, in my child's Nursery class - by N2 Term 2 (March to June) - once reach close to 4 yrs old and can hold a pencil to write numbers 0 to 9 legibly, a great number of her classmates already sign up quickly for external CMA fast mental maths alertness, to prepare for lower Primary 1 high speed + - x divide Maths operation, using both left hand and right hand knuckles. Costs around $280 per term. Others sign up for Kumon Maths ($120 per month), MPM, etc.

click on the demo - watch this child using both her knuckles to obtain answer, at lightning speed! http://www.cma-sg.com/about-cma.html

5 yr old won international competition:
http://www.cma-sg.com/media-gallery-photo.php?id=8

can read parents' testimonial:
http://www.cma-sg.com/testimonial-parents.php

for CMA discussion, perhaps Newton parents may go over another thread to discuss in further detail (so that we don't disturb current thread here) :-
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1352

[GuniBabe]

phtthp,


thank you for answering all our queries! LOL. I think the rest of the mummies are like me, mistook you for the admin person for the kindy! :oops: I think it's due to the fact that you seem to know so much and respond so fast, in fact, I would think your response is faster than that of the school!

[phtthp]

hi stsy_26,


with your concern that is pretty unique, perhaps it is best for you to talk directly / personally with our P. See how she can best address your issue ?

maybe you can ask P to show you some of our K1 / K2 workbooks done in class in school, plus those K1 /K2 weekend homework brought back home, see what kind of spelling or ting xie are taught at these two crucial level ? see for yourself … sufficient to prepare your DD2 for Primary 1 ?

you may ask P to show you our kindy detailed break down curriculum at each level, and going Term by Term. This info is readily available inside admin office. Ask admin staff to show you. You can sit down as long as you wish inside the general office, browse through curriculum in detail, for all the 3 subjects – English, Maths, Chinese.

for weekend homework brought back on Friday in a green bag to be submitted on Monday … if your child never submit or never do homework, the form teachers will call up parents - ask what happen ? This way each week, parents are kept on their toes vigilantly – to supervise and ensure kids do their homework properly. The weekly homework is good - in that it helps to instil an automatic, self disciplinary attitude within the child.

from homework assignments, parents will know what has been taught each week, for that current term. This helps in revision with your child. It serves as a useful checkpoint. At home, parents then know how to help your child reinforce the concepts learnt in school. Reinforcement is important. Then, retention of memory becomes permanent, stays permanently longer in kid. If parents wish to teach their child beyond what the school is currently teaching for that term, parents are welcome.

since your older girl studied in another church kindergarten previously before - after browsing through our exercise workbooks, you can conclude … is our Newton similar, lower or higher in standard … compared to your DD1 previous school standard ? if different – then how far up, or how far off is Newton standard compared to Primary 1 expectations, since your DD1 already in Primary 1 ? If shortfall, where is the shortfall ? can you find alternative solution … to close up the gap ?

CHIJ St Nicholas is one of the top SAP girls’ schools, churning out many top female scholars, consistently for past few years. Naturally, the academic demand is high across all subjects – English, Chinese, Maths and Science.

over here - Newton kids attend external enrichment lessons on their own, like … Montessori Maths, CMA Maths / Kumon / MPM / Kip McGrath, other types of Maths enrichment, Chinese Berries, Montessori Phonics, ‘I Can Read’, etc. From this list, kids attend one or more.

reason is … a number of Newton kids are going to good schools. Parents worry their kids lose out when go Primary 1, if they do not do anything about enrichment. Hence, parents are willing to spend $ on kid’s education. Parents save on other things, but comes to education for children, won’t stinge.

for example, a few reasons why kids here attend Montessori enrichment. Each child is unique. The type of struggle each child faced is also different:-

1) for struggling students
===================

how blessed is a normal regular kid who can develop normally and going mainstream school !

however, there is a group of students encounter some form of learning difficulty. Just calling someone ‘Aunty’ is … a struggle.

Our P is kind and supportive of autistic kids, dyslexia kids, speech delay kids or kids having other type of learning disability. Other kindy may not be willing to take in & accept such kids. But our P is kind and very supportive. She take in mild autistic, mild dyslexia kids, etc.

some of them concurrently undergoing speech therapy treatment at KK children hospital (the queue is very long) subsidized rates, or at privately run early intervention centres 2x or 3x per week, at costly expenditure per month.

at same time, these parents send kids into Newton kindy. why ? they do not want their child to remain in painful, lonely, isolated, ivory tower. They want child to behave as per normal - able to pick up social skills, interact and mix well with fellow classmates. They hope child can go - mainstream Primary 1 eventually. So, coming to Newton kindy acts like a checkpoint. During PMT (parents meet teachers session), from feedback received, parents can know …. if their child can cope with mainstream kindergarten K1 / K2 or not.

The founder of Montessori education is a French lady doctor, Dr. Maria Montessori. She was a great, noble woman. She saw many poor kids living in poverty rural areas, some born with learning disability. These kids encounter great difficulty. Struggling hard to read simple storybooks. Struggle to understand simple, basic Maths concepts. Her heart cries out to them. With high noble calling, she managed to develop a curriculum …. help these children learn to read from scratch, handle Maths.

for these students studying at Newton kindy, besides attending speech therapy sessions, they may take up Montessori lessons outside. May be another Montessori pre-school, or Montessori enrichment lessons.


2) for students, to catch up
====================

these kids don’t face learning disability. But they may have transfered into our Newton kindy late at K1 - from other external childcare centres (ccc) or kindy outside.

they may not have been grounded well in phonics in their earlier, previous pre-school. Some ccc do not teach phonics.

in our school, K1 Term 1 already start blending 3 or 4 characters words. If fundamentals of 26 single sounds from a to z is weak (ideally, all 26 sounds ought to have been mastered at N1 / Pre-nursery level), the child face difficulty when comes to blending. eg: he doesn’t know how to pronounce beginning sounds like ch, sh, bl, etc. The child lost confidence, ask what is this … ch, sh sound ? When do phonics homework, he say scared …. run away, refuse to do homework, said it’s tough for him.

when reach K1 Term 2, our school switch into higher gear … bec remaining only 1.5 yrs left (before P1). The child gets overwhelmed. Lost more confidence. Start to give excuses like … don’t want to go school. When reach this stage, better hire 1 to 1 personal tutor coaching, for personal attention. Children like him can turn to phonics enrichment and other critical reading skills, for help.

3) for rest of other students - who want to build / acquire a strong foundation in Maths and phonics, when young.

Montessori Maths teach concepts, systematically step by step. It is well structured. If start early, can help child grasp ‘from concrete to abstract’ mathematical concepts well. This is what some parents want. So, they send child for Montessori.

thus, not easy … to answer your question posed. Children here go for enrichment, for different reasons.

if there is any ex Newton parents whose child never go for any enrichment at all, but just rely solely on our school curriculum alone, and are willing to come forward to share, that would be best!

[phtthp]

here are some thread for help - for dyslexia parents, autistic parents (Asperger autistic spectrum disorder) with kids studying at Newton kindy:-


sharing of a mother whose child gains exemption from learning Chinese:-
http://momto5.blogspot.com/2008/06/isaacs-results-isaac-has-now-officially.html

http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20148

taking assessments for suspected dyslexia:-
http://www.das.org.sg/assessments.html