Raffles Girls' School (Secondary) [*IP]

[Choco05]

kcym:

don't worry too much about non-routine it's a whether you get it or don't get it kind of test so don't fret if you don't get a very good score! and if it's anything comforting those who do so-so for math exams or below average can do very well (even score full marks!) for the non-routine


and regarding fix_you's post (haha hi batchmate you're year 4 aren't you) yes there is banding but only for subjects and not for overall academic results. I think banding affects more of the sciences I guess (though I think bio is left untouched!) and not all classes are affected.

hmm \"banding\" in some sense happens in math -- there's this math advanced, enriched thing in Year 2 apparently (hmm Year 2s, would you like to elaborate? I'm not sure about how this goes), and in Year 3/4 there's math clinic, where weaker students are identified to go for math clinic which will offer them extra help through an extra lesson almost every week (if I am not mistaken), and teachers will also pay extra attention to them for lessons, which is great as it really helps them grasp the concepts better.

oh and regarding assessment/guidebooks for math practice/revision (which I saw somewhere), my take is actually it's not necessary (especially for Sec 1 and 2!)- the school will provide more than enough practice, and the worksheets should be clear enough, and usually have some sort of summary included (especially if it's very big topics) for the student to revise. I think the math textbook has practices too (I hope I'm not wrong...long time since i've been Sec 1). In Sec 3 and 4 the teachers will encourage you to buy a certain type of assessment book so that's when it's encouraged

not sure if the Sec 1s do this, but there's this thing called unit summary that Sec 2s to 4s do for math: teachers will assign a group of students, or for the whole class to do individually, a certain math unit that was taught, and they have to summarize all the key learning points of the topic within some page restrictions. It really aids in revision, for Year 3 they assigned all the students one of the hardest topics with the most number of things to remember, and when we really did the summary we realized it was so so useful for studying later on in exams if different units are assigned to different groups, by the end of the year you'll have a summary of each topic since it's shared.

it's a graded thing though, this unit summary, but not to worry it's rather simple. if sec ones aren't doing this, then you can suggest to your DD to do this on her own and summarize the topic when the teacher finishes teaching (or just before a math test) for her own revision--> for me, it really does help.

p/s Tinkerbelle --> i think your DD is expected to fill up the rest of the worksheet titles on her own? (i might be mistaken though!)

Yes year 2 has enriched/advanced. I think advanced is for those who got selected via the test! And enriched is made up of those who don't pass it, and some GE classes. Like i'm in enriched. There are 3 enriched+1 advanced altogether i think. Or is it 2 enriched and 2 advanced? There are also math clinic sessions for year 2s, if your math GPA is below 3.6, and the teacher calls you for it...

Unit summary is quite fun actually! Though it's graded it's pretty cool. The trick to pick the topic to be presented after June holidays/any other holidays. You get the entire month to do it yay. That's what my group did for last year. It's not difficult to score, and at the same time when you're explaining to others about that unit, you're actually understanding it better yourself too!

I think for year 1 the contents page is already printed with how many worksheets and its title:) It was the case for last year. Even for sec 2 we're getting content pages.

[kcym]

Choco05:

kcym:

don't worry too much about non-routine it's a whether you get it or don't get it kind of test so don't fret if you don't get a very good score! and if it's anything comforting those who do so-so for math exams or below average can do very well (even score full marks!) for the non-routine


and regarding fix_you's post (haha hi batchmate you're year 4 aren't you) yes there is banding but only for subjects and not for overall academic results. I think banding affects more of the sciences I guess (though I think bio is left untouched!) and not all classes are affected.

hmm \"banding\" in some sense happens in math -- there's this math advanced, enriched thing in Year 2 apparently (hmm Year 2s, would you like to elaborate? I'm not sure about how this goes), and in Year 3/4 there's math clinic, where weaker students are identified to go for math clinic which will offer them extra help through an extra lesson almost every week (if I am not mistaken), and teachers will also pay extra attention to them for lessons, which is great as it really helps them grasp the concepts better.

oh and regarding assessment/guidebooks for math practice/revision (which I saw somewhere), my take is actually it's not necessary (especially for Sec 1 and 2!)- the school will provide more than enough practice, and the worksheets should be clear enough, and usually have some sort of summary included (especially if it's very big topics) for the student to revise. I think the math textbook has practices too (I hope I'm not wrong...long time since i've been Sec 1). In Sec 3 and 4 the teachers will encourage you to buy a certain type of assessment book so that's when it's encouraged

not sure if the Sec 1s do this, but there's this thing called unit summary that Sec 2s to 4s do for math: teachers will assign a group of students, or for the whole class to do individually, a certain math unit that was taught, and they have to summarize all the key learning points of the topic within some page restrictions. It really aids in revision, for Year 3 they assigned all the students one of the hardest topics with the most number of things to remember, and when we really did the summary we realized it was so so useful for studying later on in exams if different units are assigned to different groups, by the end of the year you'll have a summary of each topic since it's shared.

it's a graded thing though, this unit summary, but not to worry it's rather simple. if sec ones aren't doing this, then you can suggest to your DD to do this on her own and summarize the topic when the teacher finishes teaching (or just before a math test) for her own revision--> for me, it really does help.

p/s Tinkerbelle --> i think your DD is expected to fill up the rest of the worksheet titles on her own? (i might be mistaken though!)

Yes year 2 has enriched/advanced. I think advanced is for those who got selected via the test! And enriched is made up of those who don't pass it, and some GE classes. Like i'm in enriched. There are 3 enriched+1 advanced altogether i think. Or is it 2 enriched and 2 advanced? There are also math clinic sessions for year 2s, if your math GPA is below 3.6, and the teacher calls you for it...

Unit summary is quite fun actually! Though it's graded it's pretty cool. The trick to pick the topic to be presented after June holidays/any other holidays. You get the entire month to do it yay. That's what my group did for last year. It's not difficult to score, and at the same time when you're explaining to others about that unit, you're actually understanding it better yourself too!

I think for year 1 the contents page is already printed with how many worksheets and its title:) It was the case for last year. Even for sec 2 we're getting content pages.

whoops as previously mentioned misunderstood the topic in the unit thing ><
sec 3 the teachers aren't so nice anymore to give you content pages.
and seriously, 3.6? can't be that high. that's below 70%?

[Tinkerbelle]

kcym:

don't worry too much about non-routine it's a whether you get it or don't get it kind of test so don't fret if you don't get a very good score! and if it's anything comforting those who do so-so for math exams or below average can do very well (even score full marks!) for the non-routine


and regarding fix_you's post (haha hi batchmate you're year 4 aren't you) yes there is banding but only for subjects and not for overall academic results. I think banding affects more of the sciences I guess (though I think bio is left untouched!) and not all classes are affected.

hmm \"banding\" in some sense happens in math -- there's this math advanced, enriched thing in Year 2 apparently (hmm Year 2s, would you like to elaborate? I'm not sure about how this goes), and in Year 3/4 there's math clinic, where weaker students are identified to go for math clinic which will offer them extra help through an extra lesson almost every week (if I am not mistaken), and teachers will also pay extra attention to them for lessons, which is great as it really helps them grasp the concepts better.

oh and regarding assessment/guidebooks for math practice/revision (which I saw somewhere), my take is actually it's not necessary (especially for Sec 1 and 2!)- the school will provide more than enough practice, and the worksheets should be clear enough, and usually have some sort of summary included (especially if it's very big topics) for the student to revise. I think the math textbook has practices too (I hope I'm not wrong...long time since i've been Sec 1). In Sec 3 and 4 the teachers will encourage you to buy a certain type of assessment book so that's when it's encouraged

not sure if the Sec 1s do this, but there's this thing called unit summary that Sec 2s to 4s do for math: teachers will assign a group of students, or for the whole class to do individually, a certain math unit that was taught, and they have to summarize all the key learning points of the topic within some page restrictions. It really aids in revision, for Year 3 they assigned all the students one of the hardest topics with the most number of things to remember, and when we really did the summary we realized it was so so useful for studying later on in exams if different units are assigned to different groups, by the end of the year you'll have a summary of each topic since it's shared.

it's a graded thing though, this unit summary, but not to worry it's rather simple. if sec ones aren't doing this, then you can suggest to your DD to do this on her own and summarize the topic when the teacher finishes teaching (or just before a math test) for her own revision--> for me, it really does help.

p/s Tinkerbelle --> i think your DD is expected to fill up the rest of the worksheet titles on her own? (i might be mistaken though!)

:thankyou: kcym for your detailed sharing.
Will not rush out to buy any assessment books then.....haha

Yes, DD mentioned they've done 1 Unit Summary for maths so far. She has taken note of your tips about unit summaries. Seems like RGS does a lot of journals as well.

As for math file contents page, first page is all nicely filled up by the sch already but there are blank spaces on the second and third pages....yet to be filled up...keke :evil:

[Tinkerbelle]

Choco05:

Tinkerbelle:

[quote=\"Choco05\"]Does she have the math file contents page for unit 1? If she does, whatever is listed up there, is all that you'll be getting for the unit:/ Might not be enough, but for every unit, it's like that. You can get only 2 worksheets for 1 unit even.

Just looked at DD's math file contents page......For Yr 1, there's only 1 worksheet for each topic :shock:

From your experience, where do the gals find other resources to practise on? Just buy assessment books? Thanks.

Haha it's the same for every year i guess. Each topic in the unit has only 1 worksheet. Some people can survive without assessment. Oh, ace-learning quizzes! They are quite useful, and has detailed explanations. But that also one quiz per unit...[/quote]Oh yeah, forgot about ace-learning quizzes. Thanks, Choco_05!

[Tinkerbelle]

Choco05:

Yes year 2 has enriched/advanced. I think advanced is for those who got selected via the test! And enriched is made up of those who don't pass it, and some GE classes. Like i'm in enriched. There are 3 enriched+1 advanced altogether i think. Or is it 2 enriched and 2 advanced? There are also math clinic sessions for year 2s, if your math GPA is below 3.6, and the teacher calls you for it...


Unit summary is quite fun actually! Though it's graded it's pretty cool. The trick to pick the topic to be presented after June holidays/any other holidays. You get the entire month to do it yay. That's what my group did for last year. It's not difficult to score, and at the same time when you're explaining to others about that unit, you're actually understanding it better yourself too!

I think for year 1 the contents page is already printed with how many worksheets and its title:) It was the case for last year. Even for sec 2 we're getting content pages.

Thanks for sharing your valuable experiences.
It's great having all you helpful seniors & mummies around. :salute: :grphug:

[dawnpingpong]

kcym:

p/s Tinkerbelle --> i think your DD is expected to fill up the rest of the worksheet titles on her own? (i might be mistaken though!)

Yes year 2 has enriched/advanced. I think advanced is for those who got selected via the test! And enriched is made up of those who don't pass it, and some GE classes. Like i'm in enriched. There are 3 enriched+1 advanced altogether i think. Or is it 2 enriched and 2 advanced? There are also math clinic sessions for year 2s, if your math GPA is below 3.6, and the teacher calls you for it...

I think the class for Math in Sec 2 thing is a bit wrong. Like at the end of sec1, the teachers will choose the students who score well in math for this selection test at the end of the year. Then from the test, they will band 4 classes (usually is 4 or the GEP classes with the most no. of people getting into the class), and these 4 classes will be split into 4 classes again: Advanced, Enriched, RP1 and RP2. Basically advanced is the advanced class, then enriched is like still part of the advanced class, but for those who didn't get as high (might be mistaken here). Then the 2 other RP classes are just like the normal RP classes. Because only 4 classes are banded, the rest of the ppl in the other classes (that are not banded) are 'left out' in a sense. Last time they used to have special pull out classes for these people, (ie during math they are pulled out to have individual/small group lessons with a teacher who teaches them more advanced stuff) but I think now it's gone (rumor is lack of manpower or sth? don't know). But these group of people still have some 'special treatment' in the sense that they are still encouraged strongly to participate in math competitions etc.

I think so, don't know whether they changed it. But then since this year 108 is math DSA, the 4 classes might not come from the GEP classes anymore.

[jtoh]

dawnpingpong:

kcym:

p/s Tinkerbelle --> i think your DD is expected to fill up the rest of the worksheet titles on her own? (i might be mistaken though!)

Choco05:

Yes year 2 has enriched/advanced. I think advanced is for those who got selected via the test! And enriched is made up of those who don't pass it, and some GE classes. Like i'm in enriched. There are 3 enriched+1 advanced altogether i think. Or is it 2 enriched and 2 advanced? There are also math clinic sessions for year 2s, if your math GPA is below 3.6, and the teacher calls you for it...

I think the class for Math in Sec 2 thing is a bit wrong. Like at the end of sec1, the teachers will choose the students who score well in math for this selection test at the end of the year. Then from the test, they will band 4 classes (usually is 4 or the GEP classes with the most no. of people getting into the class), and these 4 classes will be split into 4 classes: Advanced, Enriched, RP1 and RP2. Basically advanced is the advanced class, then enriched is like still part of the advanced class, but for those who didn't get as high as those who got into the advanced class (might be mistaken here). Then the 2 other RP classes are just like the normal other classes. Because only 4 classes are banded, the rest of the ppl in the other classes are 'left out' in a sense. Last time they used to have special pull out classes for these people, (ie during math they are pulled out to have individual/small group lessons with a teacher who teaches them more advanced stuff) but I think now it's gone (rumor is lack of manpower or sth? don't know). But these group of people still have some 'special treatment' in the sense that they are still encouraged strongly to participate in math competitions etc.

I think so, don't know whether they changed it. But then since this year 108 is math DSA, the 4 classes might not come from the GEP classes anymore.

Yes, there's only 1 Advanced Math and 1 Enriched Math. Everyone else (GEP and Mainstream) do RP Math.

[TheHamsterLover]

Hi, to all of u who don’t know yet: RGS CCA Trials 2012 results are on ccabook already… Good luck!

[friendship]

dawnpingpong:

I think the class for Math in Sec 2 thing is a bit wrong. Like at the end of sec1, the teachers will choose the students who score well in math for this selection test at the end of the year. Then from the test, they will band 4 classes (usually is 4 or the GEP classes with the most no. of people getting into the class), and these 4 classes will be split into 4 classes again: Advanced, Enriched, RP1 and RP2. Basically advanced is the advanced class, then enriched is like still part of the advanced class, but for those who didn't get as high (might be mistaken here). Then the 2 other RP classes are just like the normal RP classes. Because only 4 classes are banded, the rest of the ppl in the other classes (that are not banded) are 'left out' in a sense. Last time they used to have special pull out classes for these people, (ie during math they are pulled out to have individual/small group lessons with a teacher who teaches them more advanced stuff) but I think now it's gone (rumor is lack of manpower or sth? don't know). But these group of people still have some 'special treatment' in the sense that they are still encouraged strongly to participate in math competitions etc. I think so, don't know whether they changed it. But then since this year 108 is math DSA, the 4 classes might not come from the GEP classes anymore.

They still separate those best among the best. Maths Olympiads qualifiers are clearly seen from 108, and these are the students who DSA thru maths. Even Top PSLE student is not even selected.

My friend attended St Nick's orientation for few days. The class lists are very transparent, telling outsiders which classes are under DSA. The principal acknowledged that they admitted a girl scored 190 plus this year because this girl is good is gymnastic using ribbon which is not common in Singapore.

High Scorers are placed in 1 Diligence. Highest aggregate is 266 and about half of the class score 260.

[jtoh]

friendship:

They still separate those best among the best. Maths Olympiads qualifiers are clearly seen from 108, and these are the students who DSA thru maths. Even Top PSLE student is not even selected.

My friend attended St Nick's orientation for few days. The class lists are very transparent, telling outsiders which classes are under DSA. The principal acknowledged that they admitted a girl scored 190 plus this year because this girl is good is gymnastic using ribbon which is not common in Singapore.

High Scorers are placed in 1 Diligence. Highest aggregate is 266 and about half of the class score 260.

Students who qualified for Math Olympiad training were selected based on a test which was open to all Year Ones. Of those who sat for the test, the top 30-40 or so were selected for training. Not surprisingly, those who DSAd via Math would be among those who qualified as this is their talent and they would have excelled at the selection test. Being the top PSLE student doesn't mean you're better at Math than other students who sat for the test. You don't get selected based on your PSLE score. The system is fair. If you do well at the selection tests, you get selected.

As for class allocation, it's clear which are the GEP classes and which are the mainstream ones. The students are also aware which are the classes with DSA Sports and Academic students. But why is this important? All the students do the same programme and sit for the same exams. Let's not compare the classes and say which is the best class. Does having a top PSLE student in your class make yours the top class? Does having Math DSA students in your class make yours the best class? Are you a top student by virtue of mere association with top scorers and DSA students? No. Your child is a student in her own right. Be proud of who she is and that she got into a top school on her own merit.