School Placement Exercise for returning S'porean children

[mummyKoala]

Hi all


I am also seeking exemption for MT (Chinese) for my boy. We have just returned earlier last month leaving my husband back in Australia for my #1 to join a primary school here for term 3 to let him adjust and adapt to Singapore System. We have been away from Singapore for 6 years, more than 3/4 of his life.

Need your advise on how to successful getting the application through as my boy is struggling with the subject and also he is at a disadvantage compared to his peers who are here all the time.

I asked MOE who told me to apply to school, check with the MT teacher, told me to go direct to MOE. So what are the documents that I need to prepare to submit to MOE? We were based in Canada and Australia and there were no conducive environment for him to learn MT.

[sandunes]

Hi mummyKoala,


When your ds joins his new primary school, request for a MT exemption form from the school office. Fill it up and return it to the sch office. They will submit it to MOE on your behalf. I don’t remember providing any additional documents since the school would already have copies of the past academic results.

[hoskins8h]

Zappie:

Hi Chamonix


Thx for sharing. MOE is rather tight lipped on the matter. They mentioned that it is on a case to case basis. Nevertheless, I'll try for the exemption and hope for a favorable outcome.

On another note, are there any overseas Singaporean sending their kids back to do the PSLE or DSA this year? I have registered my DS for the PSLE but was advised to let him do the SPERS instead.

MT exemption for returning Singaporeans is not difficult to obtain, but you should leave a door open to take MT at Sec school. Between PSLE and SPERS, my vote is definitely for SPERS.

Zappie, I suggest if you want to discuss, can do pm.

[mummyKoala]

sandunes:

Hi mummyKoala,


When your ds joins his new primary school, request for a MT exemption form from the school office. Fill it up and return it to the sch office. They will submit it to MOE on your behalf. I don't remember providing any additional documents since the school would already have copies of the past academic results.

Thank you, my boy is exempted from MT now but we have requested that he continue to learn the language but exams results will not be taken into account.

[yogaqueen]

Hi

See someone here mentioned that even if plans are not firm for returning, it’s better to sit for SPERS. May I know what happens if you really cannot return to Singapore because of reasons beyond your control?

Will the Secondary School honor the posting as long as you have accepted the position? Can we apply for LOA? Would this be subject to any conditions? Would really love to hear from moms who have taken this route? How long would the school hold the LOA for you?

Thanks!

[backhomela]

my daughter is in Singapore and she is preparing her exam 13/10/2011. I dont know how to help her, want to find a tuition teacher to hit her English and Math, about test paper, anyone here can give me some advise, where can find past paper. Now it is like fly with head. Please help us! :frustrated:

[Mummylicious]

backhomela:

my daughter is in Singapore and she is preparing her exam 13/10/2011. I dont know how to help her, want to find a tuition teacher to hit her English and Math, about test paper, anyone here can give me some advise, where can find past paper. Now it is like fly with head. Please help us! :frustrated:

Hi backhomela
How was ur dd experience taking d spers exam. My dd sat for d same exam.

[Song22]

Mummylicious:

backhomela:

my daughter is in Singapore and she is preparing her exam 13/10/2011. I dont know how to help her, want to find a tuition teacher to hit her English and Math, about test paper, anyone here can give me some advise, where can find past paper. Now it is like fly with head. Please help us! :frustrated:

Hi backhomela
How was ur dd experience taking d spers exam. My dd sat for d same exam.

Hi Backhomela and Mummylicious
It will be great if you could share your kids' experience in spers-test and posting, I am currently living oversea and plan to have my kids return to take the Sec 1 spers test in 2- 3 years time. I also note some schools conduct direct entrance exam for returnees; and I guess returnees are also eligible for DSA.
Good luck to both of you!
Thanks!

[daylight]

Hi my dd is going to take the SPERS-sec test this year 2012 to gain admission to sec 1 in 2013. My dd is not under the singapore curriculum. I need to find tutors or tuition centers who can prepare my dd for the tests during this summer. Would appreciate if anyone could give me some suggestions. Thank you.

[resgmom]

On the contrary, I think one of the biggest advantage of returning to Singapore for us (DS entered P4, born and raised in a Western country) is to be bilingual - DS still hates Chinese, but he’s coping with family’s help. We had been coaching him on Chinese since young, while overseas. We had never considered MT exemption, since we’re not aiming for him to be a high scorer in PSLE (at the expense of not studying his MT).


We never took the MOE placement test. DS entered one of the "better" neighborhood school through the school’s own placement test. Since they did have spaces at P4 (understood that some kids moved to GEP, some parents moved overseas, etc), they let him enter as long as he passed everything (including Chinese).