Raffles Institution (Year 1-4)

[verykiasu2010]

Paddy Field:

Thank you vk2010 & Mandymummy. My DS senior (2 yrs older) goes to RI via school bus from the east. Just my bad that I'd lost their contact. Guess I'll have to call up all the 3 schools to check which is most convenient.


Another question - for RI students taking 3rd language, do the pupils make their own way to moelc? How far is it from school?

they walk from RI to Bishan MOELC....not far enough to take a bus....the whole gang of them walking there every tuesday

they could lunch in school, then go, or walk to J8 and eat there on the way to MOELC, or go straight to MOELC to eat at their canteen....or rotate it weekly basis

[MandyMummy]

verykiasu2010:

Paddy Field:

Thank you vk2010 & Mandymummy. My DS senior (2 yrs older) goes to RI via school bus from the east. Just my bad that I'd lost their contact. Guess I'll have to call up all the 3 schools to check which is most convenient.


Another question - for RI students taking 3rd language, do the pupils make their own way to moelc? How far is it from school?

they walk from RI to Bishan MOELC....not far enough to take a bus....the whole gang of them walking there every tuesday

they could lunch in school, then go, or walk to J8 and eat there on the way to MOELC, or go straight to MOELC to eat at their canteen....or rotate it weekly basis

I think there is bus service 410 that goes from RI to Bishan Stadium (near
MOELC). The bus journey is quite long because it goes to Upp Thomson Rd, Sin Ming Ave, then loops back to Bishan St 22, then to Bishan Stadium. So
maybe students prefer to walk there as it is faster.
It is a good 15 min walk from RI.

[Paddy Field]

Got it … Thank you so much!

My DS is interested to study French but not sure if he’ll be eligible. Just wanna gather as much info to help him decide on the school since he has no time to research on all these. But then, he’s also not chiong-ing. Just his laid-back self. Dunno how else to spur him on

[Paddy Field]

Sorry but I have another question - what is the typical school hours in RI? Do they come home only during dinner time everyday? If so, how to cope w homework, if any?


I’ve heard that in RI, the teachers don’t really teach but give assignments for e kids to research on n they learn from there. Is this true? How do the weaker students cope then?

[naggo-nitemare]

The weekly time table goes like this: lessons end at 3:30pm on mon n wed, 2:30 on tue, 2:10 on thur, 12:30 on fri.


If there’s 3rd Lang, tue will end at 5:45.

Core cca practices/ meeting is 2 times a week ending at 6:30 on mon n wed. However, some ccas may be carried out on other days like floor ball (tue), shooting (fri)and choir (sat). Around competition n performance periods, training may be 3 times a week, sometimes ending past 7pm. At least a month before exams, CCA stand down. There will be compulsory revision sessions for weaker students.

For those with merit ccas, there is meeting once a week. Of course nearing competition dates eg for debate or robotics, the time commitment goes up.

Homework time averages an hr a day. The key is to clear homework n project work regularly. Don’t procrastinate. Teachers DO teach. However, these pupils, being the top 2%of cohort, will not be spoon fed. There will be a gd balance of research, class discussions n projects to nurture their thinking skills, to get their creative juices flowing n to cater to different gifts n interests of pupils.

I must admit tt my DS found Term 1 physically n mentally draining due to the many hrs spent in school. But by the end of term 2, he got used to it.

[Paddy Field]

naggo-nitemare:

The weekly time table goes like this: lessons end at 3:30pm on mon n wed, 2:30 on tue, 2:10 on thur, 12:30 on fri.


If there's 3rd Lang, tue will end at 5:45.

Core cca practices/ meeting is 2 times a week ending at 6:30 on mon n wed. However, some ccas may be carried out on other days like floor ball (tue), shooting (fri)and choir (sat). Around competition n performance periods, training may be 3 times a week, sometimes ending past 7pm. At least a month before exams, CCA stand down. There will be compulsory revision sessions for weaker students.

For those with merit ccas, there is meeting once a week. Of course nearing competition dates eg for debate or robotics, the time commitment goes up.

Homework time averages an hr a day. The key is to clear homework n project work regularly. Don't procrastinate. Teachers DO teach. However, these pupils, being the top 2%of cohort, will not be spoon fed. There will be a gd balance of research, class discussions n projects to nurture their thinking skills, to get their creative juices flowing n to cater to different gifts n interests of pupils.

I must admit tt my DS found Term 1 physically n mentally draining due to the many hrs spent in school. But by the end of term 2, he got used to it.

:thankyou: for the details, Naggo-Nitemare!
Do you know how RI allocate the classes? My DS does not like to be competitive, he's the kind who does things in his own manner & time. Also, he's quite adamant against RI, thus I m finding out more to ease his anticipation.

Having said that, I'm still supportive to his decision whichever school he chooses to go to in the end.

[naggo-nitemare]

This is naggo-nitemare’s son.


Disclaimer: The following observation is based on my observation and may not necessarily be true.

There are 7 GEP classes: I, J, K, L, M, P and Q. (there are no classes called 1N and 1O). Of these, P and M generally have higher scores than the rest. 1Q students (mostly) take either MEP, AEP or both. These classes mostly comprise of those who were from GEP in primary school, but there is also the occasional high scoring mainstreamer.

1A is the sports class. 1D is something like the "supplementary intake". So I guess some sportsmen go there too.

There is one more class with AEP students, probably D, I think.

B to H are classes with people from mainstream in primary school. Based on observation (and some logic), H has the higher scorers, as compared to B, which has people at most a couple of marks above the COP.

[Paddy Field]

A big thank you to DS of naggo-nitemare!


Are you in Year 1 now? I hope you are enjoying yourself in RI. My DS still cannot decide which school he wants, and I m trying to gather more info to help him.

By the way, can u advise me what is the diff between core and merit CCA?

[naggo-nitemare]

Hi, this is naggo-nitemare’s son.


About core CCA and merit CCA:

Core CCA is compulsory. At the start of Year 1, everyone has to go through some compulsory fitness tests for softball, rugby, judo, gymnastics and a few other sports. RI offers a large range of sports as CCAs, and all of them are competitive. So these tests, or "profiling", as they call it, are to sieve out those who have potential in those sports. For other sports, like swimming, water polo, etc, those who have interest can go and audition. The same applies to the musical groups (String ensemble, Chinese orchestra, military band and choir) and also the clubs (debate and raffles players, which is drama)

After all the profiling/auditions, we have to rank our 9 top choices in order of preference. Out of these 9, there must be 2 uniform groups, 3 musical groups and 4 sports. After a week or so, the results for the allocation will be out and if u’re unhappy with the results, you can appeal.

Merit CCA is optional and normally runs from 1.30 to 3pm on Fridays. Mostly, they’re based on interest and free-for-all. However, some, like math club n science club n debate (which is both a merit and core cca) require auditions/entrance tests. Most people take one or no merit ccas, although there are some who have 2 or more.

I’m in yr1. I’m happy in ri. My friends are helpful, motivated n we create competition in healthy ways.

[JustKP]

Paddy Field:

Thank you vk2010 & Mandymummy. My DS senior (2 yrs older) goes to RI via school bus from the east. Just my bad that I'd lost their contact. Guess I'll have to call up all the 3 schools to check which is most convenient.


Another question - for RI students taking 3rd language, do the pupils make their own way to moelc? How far is it from school?

Hi Paddy Field,

I'm staying in the east and there is a school bus (van) from my place to HCI ($115/mth). There is also bus transport arranged by the school to take students to both Bishan/Newton for their 3rd lang ($50/year).

Hope the above info helps.