Choose Secondary school for 2010

[Fairy]

tutormum:

Hi CrazyDad,

I have a hard time convincing him to consider RI due to the travelling distance and he hates me for it though he has relent.
Anyway, my second son is very poor in Chinese, scoring a C for PSLE after much agony and tears. When he went to secondary school, the school refuses to let him take CLB until the final year when they realised that there's no way he could even pass. They insisted that he should try and all was not lost - yet cos he's consider a borderline failure. :frustrated: Maybe he should have purposely failed badly. :x
I made my PSLE boy dropped HCL this year to concentrate on his MT and it really pays off cos not only does he has to struggle with 2 papers which he is definitely weak in by today's standard but he has more time for other subjects. He even admit that he has the least stress compared to his classmates. :celebrate:

Hi tutormum,

Just to share.....

My son 'rejects' Chinese throughout his primary school life. He speaks Mandarin only during Chinese lessons, does not read any story books written in Chinese nor watch any Chinese TV programme. He was still able to score very well in CL in P1 to 3 as the curriculum is not difficult. His marks in the subject dropped drastically when he joined the GEP and was transfered to a SAP school. Like you, his marks for CL & HCL have been my constant worry and I received complaints from his CL teachers (from P4 to 6) on his slip shod atitude towards the subject. My only consolation is that he could write fairly good compos :? (Thanks to TSLC) Due to his 'rejection' towards the language, he also did not put in efforts in learning those terms (chi yu) covered in the syllabus until the eleventh hour. Just before his Prelim, I insisted he do a lot of exercises on the mcq part of the exam format and phew, his marks improved a lot. I was very very surprised :shock: to discover that he was one of the fifty (only) in this SAP school to score a distinction in HCL. He also scored an A* in CL.

He wanted to join his friends in HCI but I persuaded him to go RI. My reason was that since he dislike studying Chinese Language, he will 'suffer' in HCI. It's been coming to the end of the year. So far, he did not complain about his HCL in RI (strangely, I also did not see him studying for the subject). The standard of HCL in the school must be really mangeable, I thought, until I met a mother who told me the standard for H Chinese in RI is very high, higher than HCI's (according to her - not sure if it is true). Today is his HCL exam. I found out only last night how ''chim'' it is when I heard him trying to memorise pages of Confucious sayings (again at he eleventh hour :x ) and their interpretations. That's apart from the usual 'chen yu', poems & etc. Hope he can pass his eoy exam today.

As for your son, you may also be surprised that he ended up doing well for his PSLE CL! Goodluck! :celebrate:

[Jenn]

tutormum:

Hi CrazyDad,

My son passed the selection test at NUSH but still can't get in after the selection camp.: They have allocated only 80 places for the DSA exercise - I think it's 20% of total intake. However, he was encouraged to apply with his PSLE results and in a way, they would give him priority due to the fact that he has had expressed interest.

I am not sure about this year but in the past, NUSH had accepted 80% of their total intake thru DSA. They have a intake of about 170 students so about 140 are admitted thru DSA.

Anyone still keen can apply directly after PSLE for the remaining places. To apply, you need to have PSLE score of 250+ and A* in both maths and science. In the past the PSLE COP had been 260+. Even students who have accepted another school DSA offer can apply if this is their preferred school.

[Dharma]

turquoise:

Hi Dharma,

So you just need to score a credit for HMT at O levels to be exempted from MT at A levels? No need for distinction? What if you pass but do poorly? Do you need to take some basic MT course? I thought I heard something about this but am not sure about the details.
Thanks!

Hi turquoise,

This extract from RI(JC) Website.

Prospective Students / FAQ for Raffles Programme Year 5 Students

1. I am currently offering Higher Mother Tongue at ‘O’ level. Do I need to offer Mother Tongue again at RJC?

If you have attained D7 or better (i.e. A1 to D7) in the ‘O’ level Higher Mother Tongue Examination, you do not need to offer Mother Tongue at H1 level. However, we encourage students to obtain at least a pass (C6 and above) in HMT at ‘O’ level before requesting for an exemption.

[turquoise]

Dharma:

turquoise:

Hi Dharma,

So you just need to score a credit for HMT at O levels to be exempted from MT at A levels? No need for distinction? What if you pass but do poorly? Do you need to take some basic MT course? I thought I heard something about this but am not sure about the details.
Thanks!

Hi turquoise,

This extract from RI(JC) Website.

Prospective Students / FAQ for Raffles Programme Year 5 Students

1. I am currently offering Higher Mother Tongue at ‘O’ level. Do I need to offer Mother Tongue again at RJC?

If you have attained D7 or better (i.e. A1 to D7) in the ‘O’ level Higher Mother Tongue Examination, you do not need to offer Mother Tongue at H1 level. However, we encourage students to obtain at least a pass (C6 and above) in HMT at ‘O’ level before requesting for an exemption.

Thanks, Dharma!

[karmeleon]

Fairy:

I met a mother who told me the standard for H Chinese in RI is very high, higher than HCI's (according to her - not sure if it is true).

:

My son's CL tutor says that the curriculum in RI is way more stressful than in HCI - really, ah?

And a little friend of mine who's in sec 1 says DHS is a lot more fun n less stressful than NYGH.

Any views/experience on this?

[tutormum]

Hi Fairy,

Do all students have to take HCL in RI? If so, my son die liao. :sick: I really hope that he can score well for his PSLE. He has a very good Chinese teacher this year who has pulled up his grade - from the usual 65 - 75 to 75 -85 range. This fantastic teacher made the class memorise passages and passages of stuff for their oral and compositions. He built up my son's interest for the language so much so that he doesn't feel it a chore to learn. My son was also lucky when his teacher predicted some of the stuff which came up in the exams. Though he said that my son should have no problem in getting a high A, I'm still worried esp reading the posts about min score of 82 marks to get high T score. :!:

[fxchow]

daisyt:

fxchow:

Hi daisyt, fairy & crazy dad,

Thanks for your sharing.

In fact, I also wish my girl can go into RVHS as she only needs to take about 10 minutes to travel there and of course the new building.

Now, the problem is she does not like RVHS (don't know why) and prefers to go Nan Hua if she can not go into her dream school - NUSH.

hi fxchow, did you find out from her, why she does not like RVHS ?
Yes, the new campus is super cool ! Officially they are moving there on 1st Dec.

Hi daisyt & crazydad,

She doesn't like the RV uniform and Chinese culture there.

After I've talked to her again and again, now she finally considered to go RV

[CrazyDad]

fxchow:

daisyt:

[quote=\"fxchow\"]
Hi daisyt, fairy & crazy dad,

Thanks for your sharing.

In fact, I also wish my girl can go into RVHS as she only needs to take about 10 minutes to travel there and of course the new building.

Now, the problem is she does not like RVHS (don't know why) and prefers to go Nan Hua if she can not go into her dream school - NUSH.

hi fxchow, did you find out from her, why she does not like RVHS ?
Yes, the new campus is super cool ! Officially they are moving there on 1st Dec.

Hi daisyt & crazydad,

She doesn't like the RV uniform and Chinese culture there.

After I've talked to her again and again, now she finally considered to go RV :D[/quote]Ha ha, same here. My kid told me he does not like Chinese Culture as well. But after some probing, it is the HCL itself that deter him. :?

[CrazyDad]

tutormum:

Hi Fairy,

Do all students have to take HCL in RI? If so, my son die liao. :sick: I really hope that he can score well for his PSLE. He has a very good Chinese teacher this year who has pulled up his grade - from the usual 65 - 75 to 75 -85 range. This fantastic teacher made the class memorise passages and passages of stuff for their oral and compositions. He built up my son's interest for the language so much so that he doesn't feel it a chore to learn. My son was also lucky when his teacher predicted some of the stuff which came up in the exams. Though he said that my son should have no problem in getting a high A, I'm still worried esp reading the posts about min score of 82 marks to get high T score. :!:

Same thing happen around my neighborhood as well. If a kid is not going to RI/HCI, it is considered a failure. What a SAD :x social pressure.

Every year there are only 5% of students go to top 4 or 5 secondary schools where they have \"Specially\" program specially design for those kids who happen to develop much earlier. They do sec 3 stuff in sec 2, so that they can learn other stuff without stretching beyond their capability.

Parents need to know having T score of 225 is already not easy, because this is above average kind of score. Not only above average, you need 4-As to get 225 and above. Strange society

I know my kid is above average but not special. Even if he LUCKILY get a 262, I will not allow him to go to RI. Because he will be the worst student in the whole school. He will not get to represent the school for anything at all. How would the self esteem develops?

:stupid:

[CrazyDad]

Jenn:

tutormum:

Hi CrazyDad,

My son passed the selection test at NUSH but still can't get in after the selection camp.: They have allocated only 80 places for the DSA exercise - I think it's 20% of total intake. However, he was encouraged to apply with his PSLE results and in a way, they would give him priority due to the fact that he has had expressed interest.

I am not sure about this year but in the past, NUSH had accepted 80% of their total intake thru DSA. They have a intake of about 170 students so about 140 are admitted thru DSA.

Anyone still keen can apply directly after PSLE for the remaining places. To apply, you need to have PSLE score of 250+ and A* in both maths and science. In the past the PSLE COP had been 260+. Even students who have accepted another school DSA offer can apply if this is their preferred school.

Looks like it is true that NUSH does not care much about languages. But I still prefer my kid to go to schools with longer history where they will have senior or alumni to take care of them in the working world. And during school life, they can enjoy cheering for their school team. That kind of normal life style which I used to enjoy.