Mark Lee eyes home near elite primary school
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Mark Lee eyes home near elite primary school
Although his daughter is only three, that is not stopping the actor-comedian and his wife from planning for her future.
SINGAPORE - Local alpha leading lady, Zoe Tay, is not the only celebrity who has gone to great lengths in an attempt to enrol their child in a brand-name primary school.
Actor-comedian Mark Lee, 43, plans to go a step further for the sake of his daughter's education, which includes buying a new home.
And he is not sitting on his hands either, despite the fact that his daughter, Calista, is now only three.
He and his wife Catherine, 38, have identified Nanyang Primary School (NYPS) as their school of choice for their daughter, and are planning to move closer to the Bukit Timah school in order to increase their chances of their daughter getting a place there.
The couple were especially concerned after learning that Zoe Tay failed to enrol her eldest child Brayden at the elite school, reported the Lianhe Zaobao.
To increase their chances, they are considering selling their apartment along Thomson Road and buying a place along Bukit Timah, near where the school is located.
Their new home would preferably be within a one-kilometre radius of the school, for a chance to ballot for a place during the last phase of the registration process for citizens, if all else fails.
Mark says he leaves decisions regarding their daughter's education to his wife, and is supportive of the decision to enrol Calista at NYPS.
According to his wife, Marks sister is an alumni of the school, but she has also heard of NYPS' focus on the Chinese curriculum as well as civic and moral education, which she felt would be good for her daughter.
She joked that with Mark's grasp of the language, they could not rely on him to teach their daughter Mandarin.
The couple says they are prepared to do whatever they can to secure a place for their daughter, including volunteering at the school.
Mark had visited NYPS - the alma mater of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong - to find out more about the process, and learned about the dedication of some parent volunteers who live and work in Malaysia.
He was told that on one occasion, a parent drove back to Singapore in the afternoon,just to arrive at the school to help out at an event at 7pm.
He then drove back to Malaysia when the event ended at almost midnight. Mark said he would have no qualms about doing the same, if required.
But based on school regulations, the couple will have to wait till next year before they can start volunteering.
Catherine joked that there are many ways they can contribute - Mark would be able to host school events or teach compering skills to students, while Catherine hopes to be involved in gardening.
But she trusts that the school would delegate responsibilities to the right people.
Currently pregnant with their second child, a boy, Catherine says if their daughter gets in to NYPS, then their son would not face a problem enrolling at the school under the priority admission phase for siblings.
Other celebs share their stories
Former actress Sherry Chen Xiuhuan is a fine example of 'being well prepared', reported Zaobao.
The mother of three daughters aged 14, 11 and 7 years old are all current or former students of NPS, all because she volunteered at the school to get her eldest daughter enrolled there 10 years ago.
But Chen says volunteering then wasn't as common as it is today, but even so, there were many parent volunteers at the time.
Her duties included teaching Mandarin oratory skills and Chinese drama, and maintaining discipline in the school canteen.
Chen says being a volunteer allows parents to better understand the school programmes and environment, and is beneficial to both parent and child.
But for celebrity couple - actors Huang Shinan and Pan Lingling - their volunteering stint almost came to nought.
The couple had wanted to enrol their son in Ai Tong Primary school, and volunteered by teaching drama at the school.
They were on their way to completing the 80 hours of voluntary work required when they were informed that vacancies at the school were almost full after the initial registration phase.
Realising that even those who lived within 1km of the school were not guaranteed a place, they stopped volunteering.
However, after three or four months - by which time their son was already studying at a neighbourhood school - they learnt that Ai Tong had a vacancy after one pupil emigrated.
So by a stroke of luck, their son managed to get a transfer to Ai Tong.
Compere Vivian Lai's six-year-old daughter Vera, will also be entering Ai Tong next year.
However, the TV host says she did not need to do any voluntary work at all, as she is a member of the Hokkien Clan Association, which is affiliated to the school.
\"I'm so lucky!\", the bubbly Taiwan-born artiste exclaimed when interviewed. And we're sure many parents would agree.
http://edvantage.com.sg/edvantage/features/people/726934/Mark_Lee_plans_move_to_be_near_elite_primary_school.html -
raysusan:
but a friend ever told me that Chen XH was his classmate in NYPS. :?
Former actress Sherry Chen Xiuhuan is a fine example of 'being well prepared', reported Zaobao.
The mother of three daughters aged 14, 11 and 7 years old are all current or former students of NPS, all because she volunteered at the school to get her eldest daughter enrolled there 10 years ago. -
Cheng Xiuhuan still looking great and gorgeous (page 2):- http://www.edvantage.com.sg/edvantage/features/people/726934/Mark_Lee_plans_move_to_be_near_elite_primary_school.html
Mark Lee eyeing NYPS (page 1):-
http://www.edvantage.com.sg/edvantage/features/people/726934/Mark_Lee_plans_move_to_be_near_elite_primary_school.html -
looks like it is another Beverly Hills, CA around NYPS area for the rich and famous…
not sure whether he has done his h/w, there will be another 1,700+ D’Leedon apartments TOP 2015, 5min walk to NYPS … getting into NYPS will be even more challenging…
or maybe he already bought one of those… -
KSP:
not all D'Leedon units are within 1 km, safest and cheapest bet is buy a 3 room hdb flat at farrer roadlooks like it is another Beverly Hills, CA around NYPS area for the rich and famous......
not sure whether he has done his h/w, there will be another 1,700+ D’Leedon apartments TOP 2015, 5min walk to NYPS ....... getting into NYPS will be even more challenging.....
or maybe he already bought one of those...... -
verykiasu2010:
i don't think the school will go to the extend to measure the distance of individual unit.... probably they will take reference from the main entrance or the center point of the whole project....
not all D'Leedon units are within 1 km, safest and cheapest bet is buy a 3 room hdb flat at farrer roadKSP:
looks like it is another Beverly Hills, CA around NYPS area for the rich and famous......
not sure whether he has done his h/w, there will be another 1,700+ D’Leedon apartments TOP 2015, 5min walk to NYPS ....... getting into NYPS will be even more challenging.....
or maybe he already bought one of those......
with his status, he can well affort a landed nearby the school.... -
Think it is measured according to your postal code. In the case of apartments, it is possible that different block within the same development has different postal code.
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bebebub:
Think it is measured according to your postal code. In the case of apartments, it is possible that different block within the same development has different postal code.
exactly. some blocks are within 1 km, some are out -
D’Leedon units cost how much ?
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phtthp:
D'Leedon units cost how much ?
at least $1500 psf ? based on URA record, around $1500 psf to $1700 psf, 99-years leasehold
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