2009 DSA(Direct School Admission)

[JHFMum]

If your child is on the waitlist for the first choice sch, you should put that as the 1st choice. My colleague was advised by the waitlist sch to do so last yr and her son got in. Unless it is the TOP SCHOOL that has no waitlist, chances are there will be people on the confirmed list that did not choose the school in the end. If you ask around, you’ll know that many kids, esp the GEPers, have at least two confirmed places.


Wrt whether you can change when you are assigned your confirmed sch, ideally and morally, you should not. But in reality, parent always want the best for their kids, and so it’s possible esp if your kid has done better than the yr’s COP for the sch.

[kohjl]

wiimum:

I shared my experience here not to encourage appeals. But I want other parents to know that it is a possibility and the DSA choice is not cast in stone. It also gives the child an option/motivation to work harder for the PSLE in case the DSA option was not really their first choice.
However in the event that the child really did not do well in the PSLE like few points below the cut off point of some IP schools, having made the choice during the DSA would save you the agony.
In fact, the reason I went through the trouble of DSA is because I am worried that with the \"bochap\" attitude, he will not make it to any IP programme based on his PSLE result. Although I know for sure that the IP programme would be the best for him and he is capable of it. He is just not the \"study hard \" and \"book smart\" type. If he doesn't go the IP way, I have additional worry at \"O\" Levels.

You have summarised the worries of all concerned parents succintly, and I certainly echo the same views. Except in my son's case, it's not a \"bochap\" attitude that I am grappling with; it's carelessness. And being careless is not a good thing to be in an exam!

[Jennifer]

kohjl:

it's carelessness. And being careless is not a good thing to be in an exam!

Same case here. His Maths has been like this for years. Badly for CA1, then catched up with SA1 and SA2.

The recent NUSH issue sort of wakes up him a little, full marks for the mock paper. I thought heng liao, finally woke up. Then yesterday told me he has 3 careless mistake in his prelim Maths. This time, he himself was upset.

[kohjl]

Jennifer:

The recent NUSH issue sort of wakes up him a little, full marks for the mock paper. I thought heng liao, finally woke up. Then yesterday told me he has 3 careless mistake in his prelim Maths. This time, he himself was upset.

We can shake hands here (or maybe together). But at least yr son has started his waking up process. I'm hoping my son will do so in time for PSLE.

For my son's prelim Maths paper, ALL the marks lost were due to carelessness. For Science prelims, he scored 95 out of 100, BUT 2 of the 5 marks lost were due to careless reading of the question. Sigh.

[MdmKS]

Jennifer:

.... Same case here. His Maths has been like this for years. Badly for CA1, then catched up with SA1 and SA2.

Jennifer, you aren't alone. My son's like that too ... Do you think they have sufficient time to do double checking? I have heard student could not finish the paper.

[Dharma]

kohjl:

Jennifer:

The recent NUSH issue sort of wakes up him a little, full marks for the mock paper. I thought heng liao, finally woke up. Then yesterday told me he has 3 careless mistake in his prelim Maths. This time, he himself was upset.

We can shake hands here (or maybe together). But at least yr son has started his waking up process. I'm hoping my son will do so in time for PSLE.

For my son's prelim Maths paper, ALL the marks lost were due to carelessness. For Science prelims, he scored 95 out of 100, BUT 2 of the 5 marks lost were due to careless reading of the question. Sigh.

Hi kohjl,

Don’t worry so much lah. This sort of marks for all subjects in PSLE, surely your son will among the top scorers for PSLE.

[Jennifer]

kohjl:

For Science prelims, he scored 95 out of 100

That's very good results. Hardwork sees rewards in the end :rahrah:

[mathsparks]

Hi kohjl,

I don't understand??? :? What's with the and sigh? Many parents would be whooping for joy if their child brings home more than 85.

Hope you've at least hugged him for such wonderful results and keep the sighing hidden from him. Even if their results are bad, we should be there to hug and encourage them and reassure them of our love for them regardless of their grades.

[kohjl]

mathsparks:

Hi kohjl,

I don't understand??? :? What's with the and sigh? Many parents would be whooping for joy if their child brings home more than 85.

Hope you've at least hugged him for such wonderful results and keep the sighing hidden from him. Even if their results are bad, we should be there to hug and encourage them and reassure them of our love for them regardless of their grades.

Thanks Dhama, Jennifer & mathsparks for yr comments and well wishes.

Yes, 95 /100 is very good, esp since it is a good school (one of those whose exam papers are photocopied and sold by vendors) and I am happy with the marks itself. But returning to mathsparks' question, \"What's with the and sigh?\" Do let me explain.

I always feel that as a mother, my role is to max the potential of my sons. My eldest is doing well in RI (and doing two RA subjects), and is happy-go-lucky at the same time. He is exam-smart, and not careless at all. So getting SMOP and other awards in Pr school were easy. He had a SMOPS Platinum Award in P6, and IP school doors were open with welcome mat for him.

Now, this P6 son is very much like his brother, EXCEPT for one thing - he is very very careless. Almost all the marks he consistently loses in Maths (and less so, but yes, in Science and English too) are for carelessness - simple things like adding wrongly, forgot to write the answer at the end, copy wrongly, read wrongly. As I always tell him, he loves to \"throw away\" marks. AND because of that, he will never be able to score the way his brother scored, nor get awards the way his brother gets awards, and will never do as well as his brother in exams. Not because he is less intelligent (in fact, I tell him that he is more intelligent than his Kor-kor; and that's the truth), but if he doesn't overcome this careless trait, the reality in Singapore's exam-oriented world is that he will always lose out.

Moreover, his Chinese is not that good, so he needs all the marks he can get for his other subjects. So very frankly, I am not overly optimistic for PSLE.

I am not sad for myself. But I am very sad for this P6 son because he has SO much potential but I can't seem to help him to reach it because of carelessness.

But yes, he knows I love him very much. I give them long hugs every nite before bed (yup, including my 16-year old), and this P6 son gets extra secret hugs cos he's my youngest and just plain cute!

[Jennifer]

kohjl:

I always feel that as a mother, my role is to max the potential of my sons. My eldest is doing well in RI (and doing two RA subjects), and is happy-go-lucky at the same time. He is exam-smart, and not careless at all. So getting SMOP and other awards in Pr school were easy. He had a SMOPS Platinum Award in P6, and IP school doors were open with welcome mat for him.


Now, this P6 son is very much like his brother, EXCEPT for one thing - he is very very careless. Almost all the marks he consistently loses in Maths (and less so, but yes, in Science and English too) are for carelessness - simple things like adding wrongly, forgot to write the answer at the end, copy wrongly, read wrongly. As I always tell him, he loves to \"throw away\" marks. AND because of that, he will never be able to score the way his brother scored, nor get awards the way his brother gets awards, and will never do as well as his brother in exams. Not because he is less intelligent (in fact, I tell him that he is more intelligent than his Kor-kor; and that's the truth), but if he doesn't overcome this careless trait, the reality in Singapore's exam-oriented world is that he will always lose out.

Moreover, his Chinese is not that good, so he needs all the marks he can get for his other subjects. So very frankly, I am not overly optimistic for PSLE.

I am not sad for myself. But I am very sad for this P6 son because he has SO much potential but I can't seem to help him to reach it because of carelessness.

But yes, he knows I love him very much. I give them long hugs every nite before bed (yup, including my 16-year old), and this P6 son gets extra secret hugs cos he's my youngest and just plain cute!

Hugs.