Choosing and Evaluating Primary Schools

[pretty]

Exactly…eyes-rolling…if got full-time "chauffeur", I dun even need to post this question here!

[afiqa.042858z]

pretty:

I was hoping to get into Phase 2B if I do the PV. The thing is my kid is going to be 4 this year and I am starting to plan to do PV for the target school of my choice. I have 3 in mind actually, HP, FM and River Valley. I do not know if distance really matters once the kid gets into any of these school.

Hi pretty,

Speaking from personal experience travelling by car (most times going public) from Bt Panjang to Jurong for 6 years and then my secondary school in Lower Delta Rd for 4 more years, distance DOES matter. I wished my single mom was not kiasu to have sent me to schools which were not even close to where i live. Below are some stuff i had to face as a kid living away from school from 1993-1998:

- Waking up earlier (at 5am) than every other kid in the neighborhood. (i usually only see adults taking the bus i took and remembered questioning myself if i was an adult trapped in a kid's body at 9 years old- yes i started going to school alone at 9). It was easy the first 2 years before my parents split up.

- I couldn't get anyone to send me packed lunches or school items that i forgot during recess. If i was late and the car is not around, I had to cab to school which requires money.

- There wasn't even a school bus that my mom could get to send me to school that far.

- When i was 11, I missed out on going to the 'new' library in Jurong Point with my friends.

- I missed my friends' birthdays because mom said they lived far away from where i did.

- I didn't have friends to 'go home with' after remedials and CCAs. It resulted in me not having a wider social circle in Primary School.

- My friends won't visit me for Hari Raya because they were not allowed to go any further than Jurong.

- When i had chicken pox, NO ONE sent me my homework. My cousin had to take my homework.

- I had to be sure i slept SUPER early in order to wake up for school. I especially had such a hard time juggling remedials, tuition and studying in Pri 6 for PSLE because i spent time in the bus.

If i continued any longer i think you will go crazy reading the list. Just last few weeks i told my husband after talking about our son's P1 registration for 2012 that if i could turn back time, I would've begged my mom to transfer me to a less 'popular' school.

I live in Tanjong Pagar now and I though am able to register my son under phase2A(1) and have my MIL take care of him, i would rather go to a less 'popular' school nearby my place (Cantonment Pri) under phase2C and allow him to have fun being in school and make friends.

peace.

[zeemimi]

pretty:

Exactly...*eyes-rolling*...if got full-time \"chauffeur\", I dun even need to post this question here!

i find it strange that you should \"roll your eyes\". Because if you have no chauffeur for your kid, distance is definitely a factor for consideration. Except for RV (depending on which part of Bt Merah you stay in), your question regarding HPPS and FM are all a distance away from your home. With car, the distance is really negligible. But with school bus, be prepared for about 45 mins - 1 hr of travelling.

As the child progress on in years, he will have to stay back in school for CCA, supplementary, etc. Either you'll have to fork out extra $ for the bus to fetch him back home or you have to make alternative tpt arrangements. And this can happen 2-3 times a week.

You should also checkout the balloting history of these schools at 2B. To get a faster answer, post in Central, Queenstown and Bt Timah Schs thread.

[janet88]

afiqa.z:

pretty:

I was hoping to get into Phase 2B if I do the PV. The thing is my kid is going to be 4 this year and I am starting to plan to do PV for the target school of my choice. I have 3 in mind actually, HP, FM and River Valley. I do not know if distance really matters once the kid gets into any of these school.

I live in Tanjong Pagar now and I though am able to register my son under phase2A(1) and have my MIL take care of him, i would rather go to a less 'popular' school nearby my place (Cantonment Pri) under phase2C and allow him to have fun being in school and make friends.
peace.

Distance is a BIG issue when considering school.
Kid may have to stay back for remedial once or twice a week...supplementary classes twice a week as well as additional classes at upper primary. Not only that, the distance travelling to/fro everyday.

[BigDevil]

afiqa.z:

Hi pretty,


Speaking from personal experience travelling by car (most times going public) from Bt Panjang to Jurong for 6 years and then my secondary school in Lower Delta Rd for 4 more years, distance DOES matter. I wished my single mom was not kiasu to have sent me to schools which were not even close to where i live. Below are some stuff i had to face as a kid living away from school from 1993-1998:

- Waking up earlier (at 5am) than every other kid in the neighborhood. (i usually only see adults taking the bus i took and remembered questioning myself if i was an adult trapped in a kid's body at 9 years old- yes i started going to school alone at 9). It was easy the first 2 years before my parents split up.

- I couldn't get anyone to send me packed lunches or school items that i forgot during recess. If i was late and the car is not around, I had to cab to school which requires money.

- There wasn't even a school bus that my mom could get to send me to school that far.

- When i was 11, I missed out on going to the 'new' library in Jurong Point with my friends.

- I missed my friends' birthdays because mom said they lived far away from where i did.

- I didn't have friends to 'go home with' after remedials and CCAs. It resulted in me not having a wider social circle in Primary School.

- My friends won't visit me for Hari Raya because they were not allowed to go any further than Jurong.

- When i had chicken pox, NO ONE sent me my homework. My cousin had to take my homework.

- I had to be sure i slept SUPER early in order to wake up for school. I especially had such a hard time juggling remedials, tuition and studying in Pri 6 for PSLE because i spent time in the bus.

If i continued any longer i think you will go crazy reading the list. Just last few weeks i told my husband after talking about our son's P1 registration for 2012 that if i could turn back time, I would've begged my mom to transfer me to a less 'popular' school.

I live in Tanjong Pagar now and I though am able to register my son under phase2A(1) and have my MIL take care of him, i would rather go to a less 'popular' school nearby my place (Cantonment Pri) under phase2C and allow him to have fun being in school and make friends.

peace.

:goodpost:

[jtoh]

afiqa.z:

[


Speaking from personal experience travelling by car (most times going public) from Bt Panjang to Jurong for 6 years and then my secondary school in Lower Delta Rd for 4 more years, distance DOES matter. I wished my single mom was not kiasu to have sent me to schools which were not even close to where i live. Below are some stuff i had to face as a kid living away from school from 1993-1998:

- Waking up earlier (at 5am) than every other kid in the neighborhood. (i usually only see adults taking the bus i took and remembered questioning myself if i was an adult trapped in a kid's body at 9 years old- yes i started going to school alone at 9). It was easy the first 2 years before my parents split up.

- I couldn't get anyone to send me packed lunches or school items that i forgot during recess. If i was late and the car is not around, I had to cab to school which requires money.

- There wasn't even a school bus that my mom could get to send me to school that far.

- When i was 11, I missed out on going to the 'new' library in Jurong Point with my friends.

- I missed my friends' birthdays because mom said they lived far away from where i did.

- I didn't have friends to 'go home with' after remedials and CCAs. It resulted in me not having a wider social circle in Primary School.

- My friends won't visit me for Hari Raya because they were not allowed to go any further than Jurong.

- When i had chicken pox, NO ONE sent me my homework. My cousin had to take my homework.

- I had to be sure i slept SUPER early in order to wake up for school. I especially had such a hard time juggling remedials, tuition and studying in Pri 6 for PSLE because i spent time in the bus.

If i continued any longer i think you will go crazy reading the list. Just last few weeks i told my husband after talking about our son's P1 registration for 2012 that if i could turn back time, I would've begged my mom to transfer me to a less 'popular' school.

I live in Tanjong Pagar now and I though am able to register my son under phase2A(1) and have my MIL take care of him, i would rather go to a less 'popular' school nearby my place (Cantonment Pri) under phase2C and allow him to have fun being in school and make friends.

peace.

Good post. Timely reminder to parents to consider distance when registering for schools, whether primary or secondary school.

[dankhim]

Hi,

I am totally agree with afiqa.z. But if 2 parents are working and their office is far away from home, then the school that near the house may not make so sense. The kid will be back alone at home and likely watching TV the whole day.
I had plan to get my daughter to go to 2A2 which nearer to my office. She will be going to After School Care and I will be able go back with her after work.
Any better suggestion? Pls advice.

[autumnbronze]

afiqa.z:

pretty:

I was hoping to get into Phase 2B if I do the PV. The thing is my kid is going to be 4 this year and I am starting to plan to do PV for the target school of my choice. I have 3 in mind actually, HP, FM and River Valley. I do not know if distance really matters once the kid gets into any of these school.

Hi pretty,

Speaking from personal experience travelling by car (most times going public) from Bt Panjang to Jurong for 6 years and then my secondary school in Lower Delta Rd for 4 more years, distance DOES matter. I wished my single mom was not kiasu to have sent me to schools which were not even close to where i live. Below are some stuff i had to face as a kid living away from school from 1993-1998:

- Waking up earlier (at 5am) than every other kid in the neighborhood. (i usually only see adults taking the bus i took and remembered questioning myself if i was an adult trapped in a kid's body at 9 years old- yes i started going to school alone at 9). It was easy the first 2 years before my parents split up.

- I couldn't get anyone to send me packed lunches or school items that i forgot during recess. If i was late and the car is not around, I had to cab to school which requires money.

- There wasn't even a school bus that my mom could get to send me to school that far.

- When i was 11, I missed out on going to the 'new' library in Jurong Point with my friends.

- I missed my friends' birthdays because mom said they lived far away from where i did.

- I didn't have friends to 'go home with' after remedials and CCAs. It resulted in me not having a wider social circle in Primary School.

- My friends won't visit me for Hari Raya because they were not allowed to go any further than Jurong.

- When i had chicken pox, NO ONE sent me my homework. My cousin had to take my homework.

- I had to be sure i slept SUPER early in order to wake up for school. I especially had such a hard time juggling remedials, tuition and studying in Pri 6 for PSLE because i spent time in the bus.

If i continued any longer i think you will go crazy reading the list. Just last few weeks i told my husband after talking about our son's P1 registration for 2012 that if i could turn back time, I would've begged my mom to transfer me to a less 'popular' school.

I live in Tanjong Pagar now and I though am able to register my son under phase2A(1) and have my MIL take care of him, i would rather go to a less 'popular' school nearby my place (Cantonment Pri) under phase2C and allow him to have fun being in school and make friends.

peace.

:goodpost: Thanks for sharing :celebrate:

[jedamum]

Distance is not an issue if you intend to engage school bus service.

but what others said about CCAs and occasions when buses are not available, that will be a headache.
ds1 is in a school 1-2km from home. everyday sending him by car is a breeze for me, but fetching him home by bus (with only 1 bus service to our place; sometimes can miss up to 2 buses due to overcrowding) is madness; hot sun, packed like sardines etc. today took 45min before we reached home (dismissal time 1.30pm, by the time ds1 came out 1.45pm, reached home 2.30pm; cos ds1 was came out 5min later than usual, we missed the bus which came every 10-15min block); the number of bus stops from school to home = 6 stops. :faint:

[jtoh]

45 mins for 6 bus stops. faint! Might be better idea to feed him lunch in canteen and take a later bus home.