2011 Request for Advice on Selecting Secondary Schools

[jtoh]

You’re welcome, Orangejuice. There are quite a few active ksp parents on the DHS and NJC sites. I think Augmum, Phankao, VitoRelax and a few others will be able to help you out with your queries.

[Augmum]

OrangeJuice:

Augmum, your DD now in DHS, is she happy there ? My DD is a child who doesnt enjoy MT although she does well in the subject, think she will be OK there (if she gets in). You seem to have dealt with NJC too...perhaps another child of yours is there or maybe you were like me now checking out these 2 schools ?

Yes, orangejuice, my ONLY child is in DHS .
Yes, she is happy there.....
she luv her frens where she make frens fr many other pri schools,
(btw, DHS has 2/3 girls and 1/3 boys, so not a prob to find likeable personality girl mates)
she luv her sch teachers (majority are friendly and approachable) and the sch environment (new facilities, with 2-storey library with cafe)

sometime ago, someone PM me and asked me the same Q as u,
whether my gal likes her current sch. i directed the Q to her and her immed reply was
\" I love DHS \".....
glad to have heard that.....as if u browse thru the DHS thread,
u'll realise that 2 yrs ago, i was also in a \"dilemma\" to choose bewteen DHS N NYGH.

i enquired abt NJC becos i was trying to find out more abt all IP schools .

OrangeJuice:

Any advice or feedback to share with me ? Dont worry I will hold you accountable for anything Thanks v m !

my sharing of DHS and some other mummies' comments/remarks can be read at DHS thread.....
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=5346&start=1080
starting fr the most recent postings, happy reading........

[Augmum]

jtoh:

You're welcome, Orangejuice. There are quite a few active ksp parents on the DHS and NJC sites. I think Augmum, Phankao, VitoRelax and a few others will be able to help you out with your queries.

thanks Jtoh..........

[Augmum]

orangejuice,

oops, forget to comment on the HCL of DHS.
have to let u know that DHS HCL is not easy as their std is high…
and the worst is the marking is very stringent…
imagine 1 wrong word in a chinese compo essay or situational writing would have 1 mark deducted,
max of 5 marks …
the pupils there do put in extra effort for HCL (unless, one wanna to be left behind)

not too worry abt the chinese novels 四大名著,
they are only for introduction/appreciation, non examinable subj.

as for my gal, after 1 yr in DHS, her interest in chinese has deepened alot,
who knows yr gal may like chinese more if she goes there…

[phankao]

OrangeJuice:

Thanks to parents here sharing their experience on NJC, noted abt the admin problems May I ask are your kids happy at NJC, did they regret their choices ? Though teachers are ill-prepared, was the recovery process good enough for the kids to NOT \"suffer\" ?


Someone suggested that more can be read abt these 2 schools in other threads, may I ask is it in the DSA thread ? (but that subject has over 1000 posts , think i wil get giddy looking thru them ...) But thanks anyway !

I'm not sure how the teachers are ill-prepared. I only know that there are some foreign teachers who are not so in tune to the system. How come MOE employs foreign teachers for core subjects?

but most of the teachers are great leh. My boy enjoys it there. The cohort is small, know almost everyone, teachers too, and seniors/juniors too. More opportunities too bc of the smaller cohort. Also probably bc the teachers/students now each other better.

[phankao]

OrangeJuice:

Thanks to parents here sharing their experience on NJC, noted abt the admin problems May I ask are your kids happy at NJC, did they regret their choices ? Though teachers are ill-prepared, was the recovery process good enough for the kids to NOT \"suffer\" ?


Someone suggested that more can be read abt these 2 schools in other threads, may I ask is it in the DSA thread ? (but that subject has over 1000 posts , think i wil get giddy looking thru them ...) But thanks anyway !

I'm not sure how the teachers are ill-prepared. I only know that there are some foreign teachers who are not so in tune to the system. How come MOE employs foreign teachers for core subjects?

but most of the teachers are great leh. My boy enjoys it there. The cohort is small, know almost everyone, teachers too, and seniors/juniors too. More opportunities too bc of the smaller cohort. Also probably bc the teachers/students now each other better.

[phankao]

OrangeJuice:

Thanks to parents here sharing their experience on NJC, noted abt the admin problems May I ask are your kids happy at NJC, did they regret their choices ? Though teachers are ill-prepared, was the recovery process good enough for the kids to NOT \"suffer\" ?


Someone suggested that more can be read abt these 2 schools in other threads, may I ask is it in the DSA thread ? (but that subject has over 1000 posts , think i wil get giddy looking thru them ...) But thanks anyway !

I'm not sure how the teachers are ill-prepared. I only know that there are some foreign teachers who are not so in tune to the system. How come MOE employs foreign teachers for core subjects?

but most of the teachers are great leh. My boy enjoys it there. The cohort is small, know almost everyone, teachers too, and seniors/juniors too. More opportunities too bc of the smaller cohort. Also probably bc the teachers/students now each other better.

[OrangeJuice]

V grateful to Augmum and Phankao for sharing their experiences with the 2 schools, I am reading the threads that jtoh and Augmum have shared here, the info. will definitely come in handy with decision-making…big headache whenever I ask DD between njc and dhs which one is her preference, she just shrugged and said dunno …sigh …


so far DHS culture sounds similiar to NYGH but the std of CL scares me leh…DD is not A* calibre for MT maybe high A that’s all…in this respect, njc may suit her better ??? Anyway, thanks again for all who "helped" here , really grateful !

[phankao]

OrangeJuice:

V grateful to Augmum and Phankao for sharing their experiences with the 2 schools, I am reading the threads that jtoh and Augmum have shared here, the info. will definitely come in handy with decision-making...big headache whenever I ask DD between njc and dhs which one is her preference, she just shrugged and said dunno ...sigh ...


so far DHS culture sounds similiar to NYGH but the std of CL scares me leh...DD is not A* calibre for MT maybe high A that's all....in this respect, njc may suit her better ??? Anyway, thanks again for all who \"helped\" here , really grateful !

Go for distance.

For your info, it is compulsory for NJC's lower junior high students (year 1 & 2) to take HMT.

[OrangeJuice]

phankao:

OrangeJuice:

V grateful to Augmum and Phankao for sharing their experiences with the 2 schools, I am reading the threads that jtoh and Augmum have shared here, the info. will definitely come in handy with decision-making...big headache whenever I ask DD between njc and dhs which one is her preference, she just shrugged and said dunno ...sigh ...


so far DHS culture sounds similiar to NYGH but the std of CL scares me leh...DD is not A* calibre for MT maybe high A that's all....in this respect, njc may suit her better ??? Anyway, thanks again for all who \"helped\" here , really grateful !

Go for distance.

For your info, it is compulsory for NJC's lower junior high students (year 1 & 2) to take HMT.

Thanks for the note on HMT being compulsory for y1 and 2 at NJC.

i stay in central, there is a direct bus to DHS but must walk and enter school by side gate or sth like that. As for NJC, DD must change bus but she is familiar with the route as it is identical to her current primary school which is just in front of njc (no prize for guessing where she is studying now)