All About GEP

[deardear07]

a child:

deardear07:

only 1 word to manage these descriptions - WOW!

Would love to have such environment for myself then... totally din care much about studies till much later.

then again, it takes the best (knowledgeable) teachers to nurture or teach the high ability students.

Haha well I kinda disagree with the last statement - our teachers may be better in terms of knowledge and qualifications but not so much. Even if you put a neighborhood school teacher in here there's still so much to learn from him/her - after all we're only in secondary school, and what we learn is pretty basic. Once a teacher said that the pupils in RGS really make the teachers who they are, because our teachers are always on their toes, always expecting questions, and are perfectly ready to say 'I don't know' - those factors, and not knowledge, are why I like my teachers. They're passionate, and they're full of character.

yeah...nw that u say this. i agree that the attitude to learn and progress with the children is much more important than the 'best'. if the teacher is the best but stuck up and not willing to blend in and help the children with what they wana know, itz of no use too.

[vlim]

a child:

vlim:

[quote=\"a child\"]I'm sure he will - in secondary school, unlike in primary school, there's a place for everybody. ~ 50 CCAs in each Raffles school, plus so many subjects and interesting teachers where you can learn just about anything you want to, there're also many service learning groups who raise funds for this and that, and so many competitions and programs I can't name even half of them, and you can set up your own club and projects by simple gathering like-minded peers and submitting a proposal. It's really exploration and learning, a journey of discovery of yourself and of knowledge

emmm..very grad to know that....can't wait to see how my ds will enjoy himself in RI and in the mean time learn as much knowledge as he can.. :love:

Haha yep based on what I've read he'll probably thrive. But don't set the expectations too high - there will be not so good teachers, there will be not so good classmates. The schools ain't perfect. There are however also awesome teachers, wonderful classmates, and great memories. Cherish those and uh try to avoid catching the staying up till midnight syndrome. It's grade-threatening, a health risk, contagious, and potentially chronic. There is currently a pandemic of the syndrome in schools across the nation. No known cure exists, except for the preventive measures of good time-management. Procrastinators are high-risk candidates of this disease.

And we're waaaay :offtopic:[/quote]:thankyou: a child...no problem...we love your off topics..

[a child]

deardear07:

yeah...nw that u say this. i agree that the attitude to learn and progress with the children is much more important than the 'best'. if the teacher is the best but stuck up and not willing to blend in and help the children with what they wana know, itz of no use too.

Haha yes I think so too And I feel so blessed to have had so many wonderful teachers in my life so far.

[a child]

vlim:

:thankyou: a child...no problem...we love your off topics..

You love them, you mean. Haha anyway thanks!

[Faun]

a child,

Thanks for insight view of the raffles school. Base on my dd profile, there is only one school she is probably suited to go. After reading your post, I think she will enjoy that kind of environment. As for chasing grades, my dd has never been competitive and is always ready to celebrate jer friends success. She has many talents but not sure where her passion lies. Mrs Deborah Tan, the ex principal had adviced me RGS will be a good place for.

[Faun]

Vlim,


Please help. What are the projects in first 6 months for P6 GEP? TIA

[a child]

Faun:

a child,

Thanks for insight view of the raffles school. Base on my dd profile, there is only one school she is probably suited to go. After reading your post, I think she will enjoy that kind of environment. As for chasing grades, my dd has never been competitive and is always ready to celebrate jer friends success. She has many talents but not sure where her passion lies. Mrs Deborah Tan, the ex principal had adviced me RGS will be a good place for.

Haha well the RGS environment is actually suited for many types of girls, but I'm glad that your daughter has at least found that it'd suit her. Many people have certain aspects they dislike about the school, like certain programs, subjects, teachers, or policies. But most feel that it's a wonderful school as a whole. And wow your connections are great, with such principal-level contacts! (JK)

[a child]

Faun:

Vlim,


Please help. What are the projects in first 6 months for P6 GEP? TIA

I'll try to answer that question though I'm more ancient - I was in P6 a year ago.

Anyway here's a breakdown based on subjects for the P6 syllabus which would be 2 years out-dated by next year, but that's still something. And even though it's for the whole year, most are covered in the first 6 months because after that there's Prelims and the GE mock test (I'm not sure if the still do it, but it's like the school-based Prelims except it's GE-coordinated) and the King of all primary school fear, tears, fights, assessments, tuition, CTs and CAs and SAs and EYAs - the dreaded PSLE.

I've written already about English assignments a few pages before. Here it is in quotes.

a child:

For English there are actually 3 assignments, 2 are for the biography. The first biography assignment is to write a biography of someone you know, be it an uncle, aunt, grandparents or parents. It doesn't really matter who you choose, and he/she need not have done something as spectacular and high-profile as Lee Kuan Yew, but as in all lives there must be some telling point, some struggle, some exhibition of good qualities. Talk about that in detail, write about the feelings, and as all teachers say, show and not tell of that particular incident in-depth.

Second assignment, you're to write a diary entry based on a biography. For this I'd advise not to choose autobiographical books. I did, and the problem was that that was already so similar to a diary that I didn't know how I should write it to avoid plagiarism. I did it, but spent so much time on it. Otherwise, this should be like any other ERP.

Last assignment, not biography-related, is to write a speech, and the topic can be chosen from a very interesting list. I chose the topic where you present to the Education Minister why GEP kids should not sit for the PSLE. Really fun.

Anyway tell your children to enjoy the golden honeymoon GEP years - it'll be the last time! After that it's the PSLE and then Sec school: different friends, back to larger classrooms with more than 30 kids, back to more more more tests and generally more of everything - activities and stress, and less of only one particular highly-sought after item: sleep.

Next, Social Studies. For social studies there are the usual two portfolios with the usual requirements and the usual drafts but the unusual earlier deadline because the last semester is mostly occupied by pre-PSLE chionging and post-PSLE bliss. It's the 3rd time such a portfolio is being done, so shouldn't be much trouble. However, there's also another project called FPS. It's exactly like the FPSP program, where you go consider possible problems in a scenario and go through the 6-step problem solving process. Google FPSP, and there should be sites about it. Or if you've been in FPSP or know friends in FPSP, that would be your source of information. Or even if you don't, relax and the teachers will lead you step-by-step. Also, this is a group project with approx 5 people in a group, and in the end you have to submit a file with your drafts and final proposal, as well as do a presentation. And a special thing about this project, or at least in the center I was in: you aren't allowed to bring this project home, or do anything about it at home. You're to finish everything in class, and sufficient time will be allocated. Or rather, nearly sufficient. Most groups I know met up to rehearse the presentation.

For Math, there's an alternative assessment where you choose from a list of six different problems. I chose the Pigeon Hole theory. Other problems in my year included Pick's theorem and shortest path. There are wiki pages on this, so look them up to have a greater understanding about the respective theories and methodologies. Nothing (or not much) will be covered in class. After self-research, you have to summarize the concepts and apply them to questions provided on each topic. You've also got to produce a product - for my problem, it was to do a poster, but other problems also involved making formulas on excel, etc.

For Science, there're the normal ERMs only. Nothing much.

That's a summary of the work from my year, and two years on it may not have changed, though it probably did. Hope it helps

(Sorry but: don't be too kiasu - the kids would be fine. My parents didn't kaypoh about my work much in P6, and not in Sec 1. My grades aren't spectacular or anything, but they're average - fine enough. Nowadays if one succumbs to the procrastination syndrome one will just have to burn the midnight oil. No mummy to bail me out. And sometimes on days before the submission of multiple assignments or even single assignments many friends - me included - will stay up together and work. Hey, at least you've got company right? I do try to limit these incidents though.)

[comfy]

a child:

Teachers do teach for most subjects, and many of us even find certain classes quite slow or boring. Many had tuition with TLL but are dropping due to insufficient time to commit and some find it somewhat irrelevant to the curriculum. I myself have no tuition as of yet but I'm venturing to get English tuition because my English grades are not good, to say the least - and my English teacher happens to be (to me) one of those who doesn't teach much. I think it really depends on the teacher, because though those teachers aren't plenty, I've encountered one for English, but my friends from other classes don't have any as far as I know. If the class is too fast/slow you can feedback to the teacher and they'll adjust accordingly - I have teachers who teach different classes and different paces, introducing more material to some than others. They are very flexible. However for English the problem is - most of the class find my teacher fine, though I'm having some problem keeping up as I tend to write off-topic. I can't have the teacher accommodate me solely and she's very busy so I think outside help's better.


If one needs help, be it for normal school work or for additional information, one can approach the teachers during a weekly slot designated for teacher consultation, or after school. Remedials are also conducted, and once when my friend missed a week of school the teacher sat with her personally to go through the work.

So for a succinct answer - yes, teachers do teach, yes, they also speed-teach and cover advanced material if they know you've got the basics, yes, friends to go for tuition though not many anymore - in this aspect it's just like any other school. And yes, there are also some teachers whom I can't really get, but that's mostly due to personal taste in teaching style. And yes, there are also no good teachers, but these exist in all schools, and I have a feeling that there are fewer in RGS than elsewhere.

Anyway we're :offtopic: - this is for Primary GEP and not SBGE. I'll hang around here for the rest of the hols to chill so long as I have time (which is almost everyday) and I'll try to answer your questions Especially as I don't think there are many ex-GEPers around who are this free.

Thanks once again, a child for replying. I thought I better take this opportunity to ask you all these questions as you mentioned that you are 'slacking in the hols'. I din known that this is :offtopic: as I thought that it is a GEP but in another place (sec school). Anyway, whether it is on or off topics, I appreciate your time and sharing on it. :snuggles:

[Faun]

achild,


Thanks so much for sharing info. No, i’m not kiasu or kiasi. In fact I am planning to bring dd for a shoestring travel to India during the June holiday before the PSLE. For my other kid, we did the same, go Disneyland and detox just before PSLE.

Can I check with you is AMEC worth joining? Dd has been invited but I’m hesitant as there’s also SYF competition next year. Plus with what you just decribed on the workloar, now I really think it’s not wise. For me, first priority is enough rest, all else is secondary, at least for now. There is only 1 year of childhood left.

You sound like a pretty balance student. You apPear to me to have good awareness of yourself and your environment. For this, I congratulate you. As for Mrs Tan, she’s my son’s current principal. We like her alot.