Choosing and Evaluating Primary Schools

[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.

[jedamum]

jtoh:

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

jtoh,
45min include waiting time. can :frustrated: when waited 10min and then came a packed bus. Once a week, have religious prayers, so bus very pack during school dismissal time. Luckily i drive ds1 to school. As the bus goes a loop round the neighbourhood, the nearest bus-stop ('end' of the loop) will have difficult boarding, while the other nearest bus-stop ('start' of the loop) means more stops ahead. On occasions when we need to take bus to school, we would leave the house at 6.45am to wait and take the 'loop' bus; reached school 7.25am, 5 min before bell ring. :stupid:
cannot feed him lunch in school cos ds2 reaching home via sch bus around 1hr 15min after ds1 dismissal.
sorry..OT already. :oops:

[afiqa.042858z]

I personally think that irregardless of whether the school is popular or less popular, top ten schools or what not, it really depends on how parents like us help our kids when it comes to schoolwork and stuff. Busy or not, very child can and will succeed if parent(s) are there for support. make them like school- if school’s too far the kid will dread going to school and starts hating the thought of it. pressurizing a kid to go to a ‘popular’ school at a young age where everything becomes a competition will either make or break the kid. If the kid ‘buey tahan’ the pressure, no point sending him to the ‘best’ schools in singapore. If sent to a ‘less popular’ school, near home, can enjoy CCAs and make friends and work at a pace where studying is not seen as a competition, if the kid is smart, he’d outshine others. won’t that be better? he’d prolly even be the top student in his school.


i just think parents shouldn’t start stressing about placing a child in a ‘popular’ school when the kid is so young.

[afiqa.042858z]

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:

this issue must bring up to ministry of transport already. bring in a steady stream of feeder buses during school peak hours! less cars driving means lesser carbon footprint. we can help save the earth along the way!

we can also teach our younger generation that the earth is dying and we need to help. we can walk to and from school, cycle (if buses take too long) or tolerate the hot and and packed bus rides, all at for a greater cause.

[Fur-ma]

jedamum:

45min include waiting time. can :frustrated: when waited 10min and then came a packed bus. Once a week, have religious prayers, so bus very pack during school dismissal time. Luckily i drive ds1 to school. As the bus goes a loop round the neighbourhood, the nearest bus-stop ('end' of the loop) will have difficult boarding, while the other nearest bus-stop ('start' of the loop) means more stops ahead. On occasions when we need to take bus to school, we would leave the house at 6.45am to wait and take the 'loop' bus; reached school 7.25am, 5 min before bell ring. :stupid:

I think I know which bus u r referring to. Can ur ds walk to the bus interchange to take that bus?

[jedamum]

Fur-ma:

jedamum:

45min include waiting time. can :frustrated: when waited 10min and then came a packed bus. Once a week, have religious prayers, so bus very pack during school dismissal time. Luckily i drive ds1 to school. As the bus goes a loop round the neighbourhood, the nearest bus-stop ('end' of the loop) will have difficult boarding, while the other nearest bus-stop ('start' of the loop) means more stops ahead. On occasions when we need to take bus to school, we would leave the house at 6.45am to wait and take the 'loop' bus; reached school 7.25am, 5 min before bell ring. :stupid:

I think I know which bus u r referring to. Can ur ds walk to the bus interchange to take that bus?

haha...yes he definitely can; i think some of the people are doing that. can also take the other direction bus back to the terminal to take a bus out. lolz. but with the hot sun and heavy bag, squeeze like sardines for that few stops ah! my son starting CCA soon, so Friday dismissal won't be such a nightmare anymore.

[LeeTaiTai]

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:

Sigh , talking about distance , I stay in Jurong and my girls future school may be in Bukit Timah (2A), I drag to think about the travelling and the traffic jams . That's why thinking about doing PV to enrol her in Jurong school under 2B but if I don get it , no Plan C already as Jurong 's good school also competitive.

[wangyang86]

afiqa.z:

Speaking from personal experience travelling by car (most times going public)...

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience with us.
I worry my daughter would face the same delima if I agreed with my wife to register my daughter to Pei Hwa (about 50 mins by bus from my home) in phase 2B . I worried it is so far for my daughter even though she takes the school bus, and I worried more she might feel difficult to make friends with other children living nearby because they are not schoolmate / classmate. Your post gives me a real example.
I have registerd my daughter to Qifa (less than 15 mins from my home) at phase 2A2.