Newton Kindergarten

[postpet]

Do we have a feel of how many seats are there avail for public registration for pre nursery 2013?


I saw NK entrance has a banner for 2012 kindy registration. Does that mean there were seats left for 2012 or was that an old n forgotten banner?

[edener]

Snow Crystal:

Most schools do not reveal ranking of each and every of whole class, probably only for top few. So if this is your fear, please go to a primary school which confirm does not show and/or tell class position/ ranking :evil:

OMG! Sounds good but that’s not the whole idea. I still prefer schools that still conduct examination at lower Pri level. At least, this tells us how the child is performing. My main concern is whether my boy will have a hard time catching up in P1. Sadly to say, comparing kids his age, he is only average or below that.

[edener]

MummyThreeStreams:

edener, based on your post, i think your child is doing amazingly well!

:salute:
You need not worry about his performance in primary school. DS1 is in P2 and has still not been asked to use the word circumscribe! So I don't think yr son will be 30/30!

While your son and his enrichment classmates sound like fast learners, not all children are like that. I suppose the Kindergarten has to teach at a pace that allows the whole class to learn. Of course this may mean the faster learners may not be stretched to their full potential. But it also means the teachers can make sure the slower learners won't get left (too far) behind. Four hours isn't a lot of time, once you consider time for meals, toiletting, assembly, play, sports etc.

Before DS1 enrolled in P1, I suffered an attack of panic, coz he didn't go for any academic enrichment, and I didn't do any serious academic work with him at home. I have now realized that the hype is a lot worse than reality...I say this to reassure you that it's really not that scary. Go ahead and stretch your child with enrichment, but don't get too stressed about it, yah? :imcool:

The problem is my boy is still not doing well in school. He is definitely not a fast learner, just hoping he's not one of the slowest. :faint: This makes me feel quite worried. Reading your comments, it does make me feel a bit more relief.

Well over and above others, NK is really a great school. How a child is shaped depends very much on the social environment he is in. When you stepped into the school compound, you see well behaved, disciplined children. The school has very good teachers too. Every Fri when I returned home from work, he will show me his homework, all done and nicely colored. He has grown to be a more disciplined and responsible child. I feel really glad that I do not need to push him to finish his homework or get him to learn his spelling or 'ting xie'.

Only thing is the curriculum that needs to be reviewed and improved over time. Being an elite kindergarten, I am sure many parents have high expectations from the school. For me, I am hoping to see a solid foundation formed before he enters P1. Well prepared for the new challenges ahead.

[postpet]

Any parents know if there is a change in pre nursery for 2013?

Currently the class timings posted on the website are:
S1: 8-12pm
S2: 11.45-3.45pm

Will this be the same for 2013?

[IdoPilates]

edener:

My son is one of the few who has been with NK since N1. This is a good school in terms of character building and imparting right values to a child. He loves the school (especially the school song), the teachers and his friends. However, I am getting a little nervous now if he will be ready for P1 after graduating from NK. The content of his K1 work was indeed basic (too basic actually) and I thought it should be more in depth in K2. Apparently, it is not.


Example of K2 Spelling Words (only 5 words)
1. Scarf
2. Scone
3. Scatter
4. Scooter
5. Scale

Example of his K1 (end of term) Spelling Words from Enrichment
1. antidote
2. anticlockwise
3. binoculars
4. circumscribe
5. convince
6. community
7. extraordinary
8. hypermarket
9. forefinger
10. committee
- All the kids in the class got full marks and according to my boy, only 1 girl failed to get the perfect score.

Kids are so smart these days and to be honest, I do not think my boy will be ready for P1 if he does not attend any enrichment classes. He probably will face difficulties catching up. Other than English, he also attend Chinese & Maths enrichment since beginning of K1. It is really a MUST. Having spoken to the teachers during PMT, I do think there is any kid in his class who does not take enrichment classes.

Dear mummies of NK,

I do get quite alarmed when we all get all worked up about \"preparing our kids for Primary one\".

Let me share with you the week 10 spelling list from ACPS which my older boy is currently attending for some perspective:
1. yellow
2. purple
3. orange
4. black
5. brown
6. The fire engine is red.
7. I have a blue toy helicopter.
8. The small books are on the table.

Apparently Nanyang Pri is also using similar level of words as my niece attends that school and the words are from these books they are reading in class. I'm not sure what enrichment centre gave out that list of really difficult words but I certainly did not know them at age 7, and I still managed to graduate law school later in life!! So don't get your feathers all ruffled so early on. As a psychologist who gave us a parenting talk earlier this term shared: education is a marathon not a sprint - we need to pace our kids so they don't peak too early or lose their momentum and enthusiasm for learning. It is a looooong way to go, as we all know. We don't want burned out kids and parents by Primary six.

With Holistic Assessment replacing exams in Pri 1, I'm glad it is a more wholistic approach to assessing the strengths and weaknesses of our kids in various aspects of learning. I have volunteered as a teacher's assistant during the first five weeks of term during Primary one, and a lot of time is spent helping the children adjust to the new routines, rules, uniforms, going to the toilet, looking after their own belongings, getting along with others, learning to stand on their own two feet .... life skills really, and not book learning. I think that is the one thing to really focus on in preparing your child for the transition to primary one. If our children are confident, independent and love learning, then primary one will be fun and they'll adapt easily and enjoy going to school and learning will happen. Call me naive, but I think Kindy is really all about learning those life skills which will equip our kids to cope with \"big kids\" school later: getting on with others, discipline, working in a group, learning to write, going to the toilet on one's own, making friends, learning about oneself and the world we live in. Being an advocate of Brain Gym (http://www.braingym.org), I truly believe we all learn most effectively through play, and physical activity at the Kindy age is so important. My son has a slight learning and social disability, so he lags behind his peers in some areas, and encouraging his confidence and co-ordination through physical activity has boosted his confidence in coping with primary school and he is now more open to interacting with others and exploring the world around him.

I know not all parents share my view. In our zeal to help our kids (and who doesn't want the best for our kids?), we should also take into account their stages of development, character and the bigger picture.

[IdoPilates]

Dear parents,


Do any of you have any further updates regarding the HFMD situation in school? I find it quite disconcerting that the school has not issued any letter to parents to assure us as to measures being put in place to clean/disinfect the premises. As a result, I’m keeping my son home this week to monitor and avoid risk of infection as he had 3 cases in his class as of yesterday.

I am also a little put out that the school doesn’t have a communication booklet for staff and parents to keep in touch. Being a working mum, I don’t have the luxury of dropping my son off in school or picking him up, so I have no contact time with the teachers/school. I have concocted my own communication folder which I attach to the outside of his bag so the teacher can see it. In my older boy’s previous kindy, the K2 kids were taught to take out their communication folder in school and deposit in the tray if parents write a note in the book for the teacher to see, and also inform parents if the teacher/school has a note in the book for parents to read. Now in P.1, he has a similar system in place, so it’s not an issue since he’s used to this process.

[Shoe]

Why on earth would a kid need to learn the word ‘circumscribe’?

[phtthp]

what is \"circumscribe\" ?


a) Geometry

in Montessori class lessons
========================
children learn geometry, a subject taught in Montessori pre-schools. Pupils learn - what is a triangle, square, rectangle, circle, sphere, polygon? Teacher ask child, \"can you use your hands to touch and feel this 2 dimensional circular globe, or touch this 3D shaped polygon? How does it feel ? can you describe the feeling ? can you feel that the globe is round, that the globe is circular ? can you see that when i spin the globe, what shape is been retained ? Circle ! How many sides do you think a square has ? how about a rectangle ? can you see that the 4 sides of a square are equal ? can you see that the 4 sides of a rectangle are not equal ? 2 sides are longer, and 2 sides are shorter ? \"

objective: to build a strong foundation in geometry, and to help students visualize and develop spatial concept.

after kids learn geometry \"hands on\" via feel and touch Sensorial, teacher may set worksheet exercises drawing for geometry, to reinforce the concept of spatial shapes, objects and dimension imprinted deeper into their mind. They may ask an advanced learner or higher ability K2 child , \"now, can you show me how to circumscribe a circle onto a triangle?\"

in Montessori Maths -
the syllabus taught and covered is equivalent to our Primary 3 Singapore syllabus, because kids get to learn up to Thousands during \"Place Values\" concept taught in class. In Montessori environment, there is no setting of any upper limit to a child. The sky is the limit. If your K1 / K2 child is an advanced learner, Montessori teacher can teach beyond P1 syllabus.

however, in traditional classroom setting non-Montessori, it is different. Here, it involves \"mass education\" environment in a big kindergarten class of around 30 kids (eg: PCF setting). Here, kindergarten teach kids only up to maximum number 100, compliance to MOE Primary 1 Maths Syllabus covered.

b) testing Phonics sounds

to test if a child is able to sound out a particular word phonetically - via \"decode\" the sounds. That means, if a child sees an unfamiliar word, can child still able to read aloud this particular word, even though it is the first time he comes across such word ? if the child can still read aloud the new word correctly, means he has mastered the \"decoding\" or breakdown of sounds, phonetically well.

very often when a child reads a storybook with long passage, comes across any unfamiliar words in the passage, if a child is still able to continue to read, means phonetically, the child is more or less there.

at this point, we're not too particular if the child understands the meaning associated with the word. Of course if the child understands the meaning, that is great! If not, child can always refer to a dictionary later, look up its definition.

another 3 tone sound similar to \"circumscribe\" is \"fantastic\".
Teacher can ask child, \"what sounds do you hear when i say the word \"circumscribe\" very slowly ? can you decode (breakdown) the sounds for me ?\"

child may reply, \"I hear cir is \"c - i - r\", and i hear cum is \" c - u - m\".\"

scribe the child may not know. So teacher prompt child, \"what sounds do you hear, when i say scribe slowly ? then repeat scribe slowly, 3 times. what do you think the sound \"scribe\" begins with ?\"

child reply, \"i think scribe sound begins with ... s - c - r\"

teacher ask, \"Good! That's correct! now, what sounds do you hear, when i say ibe ? then repeat ibe slowly, 3 times ...\"

child reply, \"i think ibe sound is ... i - b -e\"
teacher respond, \"Great! That's correct! now, can you spell for me the sound scribe, by joining scr and ibe together ?\"

child reply, \"is ... s - c - r - i - b - e\"
teacher respond, \"Bravo! That's correct! clever boy! now, can you spell for me the word circumscribe, slowly ? Try!\"

child reply, \" i think it is ... c - i - r - c - u - m - s - c - r - i - b - e\"
teacher respond, \"Fantastic! you got it correct! now you can choose a sticker! \"

[Shoe]

Hehe, thanks phtthp! So it is a term they will use normally in the Montessori school setting huh…

[Mimama]

But Newton is not using Montessori right? Then why "circumscribe"?