All About SAP Schools
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a) RGPS is non-SAP.
from Pri 1 onwards, the school gives a fair chance to all the girls - to take HCL. So all the girls start on common footing, HCL.
textbook wise however, even if take HCL, students still use the normal ordinary CL text. The school doesn’t use the usual HCL textbook used / recommended in most SAP schools. But rgps Chinese HOD will advise her department teachers - to supplement and improvise teaching of HCL, using the school’s own devised in-house Chinese teaching curriculum material developed over the years, pitched at HCL level.
however, in the event there are girls who can’t cope with HCL, they can switch to ordinary CL. In order to remain able to take HCL, pupils must consistently maintain a minimum standard.The girls need to score a minimum score - and must be consistent each Term. At any one time should the pupil fail to maintain this score, she may be asked to opt out or take ordinary CL. This way, it is deemed or seen as ‘demotion’.
at P5 / P6, Chinese HOD will inform rgps parents.
at P6 - if pupil aims to go RGSS, then the points scored in HCL doesn’t matter, because RGSS is a non-SAP school anyway. But if another pupil aims to go NYGS, then yes! the points scored in HCL does matter, in fact is very crucial towards helping pupil gain admission into SAP schools.
b) Ngee Ann primary, in contrast, operate differently.
P1 onwards, students start off on common footing, all take normal CL first. In beginning January first few weeks of Term 1 - pupils need to take an entrance proficiency test for Chinese.
after that, the high ability Chinese students are ‘invited’ to take HCL. This way, it is deemed or seen as ‘promotion’. But whether students take HCL immediately after sitting for the test, or delay till beginning P2 Term 1, this not sure. Better clarify with pupils from that school. -
HI phtthp,
Thanks for a clear explanation.
Taking HCL matters if the child is aiming to go to NYGH, Hwa Chong, RVH…SAP secondary schools.
Daughter in P1 takes normal CL but given option to take HCL if results at end of P2 show that she is capable but then will have to drop if her HCL results are not satisfactory. If she makes it to the affiliated sec which is non SAP, I’m satisfied if she can make it to express stream. -
a) i ever asked rgps Chinese HOD before - how come rgps doesn’t follow what most SAP schools are doing ? ie. using that standard HCL textbook, from P1 onwards ? how come so strange - the students doing HCL and yet, still using the normal CL as main textbook ?
she replied … the difference in content btw non-SAP schools using normal CL text compared to SAP schools using HCL main text is only about … 2 to 3 pages of more Chinese vocabulary introduced. The school however prefer to supplement using their own in-house departmental devised HCL teaching curriculum for many years…
since all P1 girls coming in are given an equal opportunity, all starting off on a common footing / ground to do HCL, however at any one time from P1 to P6, if any pupil find it too stressful to cope or lose steam if their chinese foundation is weak, pupil can choose to opt out or exit anytime from HCL. Because 6 yrs can be a pretty long tiring time period, from P1 to P6. Besides, there are 3 other subjects to manage too, besides Chinese.
that’s why beginning January P1 Term 1, during parents talk given by the various, respective subject HODs in the school assembly Hall, Chinese HOD always advise parents … please, please, try to communicate to your child at home everyday, using conversational Mandarin. Don’t speak 100% English at home all the time. Do not just rely on that few miserable hours of Chinese taught during school hours, and expect a miracle for your child to excel in Chinese.
b) Ngee Ann primary (at Marine parade).
the teachers are very hard working, very ‘ON’ type. Not just ‘ON’ in Chinese, but also in Mathematics, English. Many students there are well disciplined, studious type. It is a good school. -
phtthp:
The normal CL textbooks has an 'introductory' section before the actual chapter. For HCL textbooks, the chapter starts from Page 1.since all P1 girls coming in are given an equal opportunity, all starting off on a common footing / ground to do HCL, however at any one time from P1 to P6, if any pupil find it too stressful to cope or lose steam if their chinese foundation is weak, pupil can choose to opt out or exit anytime from HCL. Because 6 yrs can be a pretty long tiring time period, from P1 to P6. Besides, there are 3 other subjects to manage too, besides Chinese.
that's why beginning January P1 Term 1, during parents talk given by the various, respective subject HODs in the school assembly Hall, Chinese HOD always advise parents ... please, please, try to communicate to your child at home everyday, using conversational Mandarin. Don't speak 100% English at home all the time. Do not just rely on that few miserable hours of Chinese taught during school hours, and expect a miracle for your child to excel in Chinese.
HCL is not easy, esp towards mid-primary. I really struggled coaching son at P1 in Pei Hwa...couldn't wait for him to drop it at the end of P4. -
ya, lower primary HCL still managable, most pupils can cope.
but when come to mid to upper primary HCL, you can see a quantum jump in the breadth and depth of curriculum taught. HCL gets much tougher, very ‘chim’ now. Some pupils struggling, start to lose steam, so better ‘exit’… bec other subjects also demanding their time, not easy.
if can /possible, next time, let yr daughter go CHIJ St Nicholas Secondary school. In terms of discipline and overall school culture, this Secondary school is so much better than … ! -
phtthp:
The leap from P2 and P4 is very significant. Vocab level is tougher. For my son, the difficulty he faces now is in 短文填空, 完成对话 and comprehension OE...finding the 词语 from the passage. According to CL teacher during the PT meeting, it can be set either 'easy' or 'difficult'...easy in the sense that a character is mentioned in the question asked, so the student has a clue when finding the 词语. Difficult if there is no mention at all.ya, lower primary HCL still managable, most pupils can cope.
but when come to mid to upper primary HCL, you can see a quantum jump in the breadth and depth of curriculum taught. HCL gets much tougher, very 'chim' now. Some pupils struggling, start to lose steam, so better 'exit'... bec other subjects also demanding their time, not easy.
if can /possible, next time, let yr daughter go CHIJ St Nicholas Secondary school. In terms of discipline and overall school culture, this Secondary school is so much better than ... !
CHIJ St Nic is a SAP school. I don't think my daughter can handle. -
janet_lee88:
But there are girls who did only fairly ok - 220 average to 230 for psle and did very well in St Nics. Why do you put down your daughter?
CHIJ St Nic is a SAP school. I don't think my daughter can handle. -
janet_lee88:
You can opt out of HCL if your child can't cope with higher chinese. My friend's dd dropped HCL in P5/6 at St Nick's and according to her, a lot of students drop HCL then too.phtthp:
ya, lower primary HCL still managable, most pupils can cope.
but when come to mid to upper primary HCL, you can see a quantum jump in the breadth and depth of curriculum taught. HCL gets much tougher, very 'chim' now. Some pupils struggling, start to lose steam, so better 'exit'... bec other subjects also demanding their time, not easy.
if can /possible, next time, let yr daughter go CHIJ St Nicholas Secondary school. In terms of discipline and overall school culture, this Secondary school is so much better than ... !
The leap from P2 and P4 is very significant. Vocab level is tougher. For my son, the difficulty he faces now is in 短文填空, 完成对话 and comprehension OE...finding the 词语 from the passage. According to CL teacher during the PT meeting, it can be set either 'easy' or 'difficult'...easy in the sense that a character is mentioned in the question asked, so the student has a clue when finding the 词语. Difficult if there is no mention at all.
CHIJ St Nic is a SAP school. I don't think my daughter can handle. -
phankao:
SAP school is not easy...son is in SAP school now. Daughter is in CHIJ Toa Payoh. SIL's daughter is in St Nic primary...she is still deciding whether to continue with Sec 1 in St Nic as it is very academic driven there. If my daughter does well enough to enter St Nic, I would be very happy for her too.
But there are girls who did only fairly ok - 220 average to 230 for psle and did very well in St Nics. Why do you put down your daughter?janet_lee88:
CHIJ St Nic is a SAP school. I don't think my daughter can handle. -
janet_lee88:
SAP school is not easy...son is in SAP school now. Daughter is in CHIJ Toa Payoh. SIL's daughter is in St Nic primary...she is still deciding whether to continue with Sec 1 in St Nic as it is very academic driven there. If my daughter does well enough to enter St Nic, I would be very happy for her too.[/quote]I wonder why they feel this way. How is it very \"academicaly-driven\"? My dd was in Express stream in Sec, didn't do HCL since she didn't qualify. Don't see her studying like mad. Altho' she wasn't a top performer but she always managed to survive. There were even subjects that she didn't pass at all even until her O-level prelims, but in the end, all went well. No tuition either for Os. Except for some adjustment in sec 1, she had a really great 10 years there. She's in jC1 now.
But there are girls who did only fairly ok - 220 average to 230 for psle and did very well in St Nics. Why do you put down your daughter?phankao:
[quote=\"janet_lee88\"]
CHIJ St Nic is a SAP school. I don't think my daughter can handle.
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