Bukit Panjang Methodist Church Kindergarten

[Sparks88]

My child has been with them for 1 term now. I think he is doing fine. He has become more polite since he started lessons. He will say things like "thank you; thank you so much; you’re welcome". Definitely, he must have imitated what the teachers said to him. My son is like a "free-ranger" & likes to roam about. Since starting school, he has become a little more disciplined. e.g. he knows he is supposed to sit down when it is story time, etc. Overall, so far so good.


Sometimes I am a little worried. This is because whenever I ask him if he wants to go to school, he always reply that he wants to stay at home! Anyway, he is still so young & will probably need another 6 months for him to declare "I wanna go to school & not stay at home!!"

[Mum1113]

Sparks88:

My child has been with them for 1 term now. I think he is doing fine. He has become more polite since he started lessons. He will say things like \"thank you; thank you so much; you're welcome\". Definitely, he must have imitated what the teachers said to him. My son is like a \"free-ranger\" & likes to roam about. Since starting school, he has become a little more disciplined. e.g. he knows he is supposed to sit down when it is story time, etc. Overall, so far so good.


Sometimes I am a little worried. This is because whenever I ask him if he wants to go to school, he always reply that he wants to stay at home! Anyway, he is still so young & will probably need another 6 months for him to declare \"I wanna go to school & not stay at home!!\"

How old is your kid ? Sounds like they have their system of making sure kids listen well, follow through, and apply it in their daily lives activities. That is good and impressive. Have enrolled mine to join their K1 next year, cant' wait to start any time sooner
Nice to hear from you, and thanks for the sharing :love:

[Sparks88]

my son is in the pre-nursery class, so he is really new to school.

[cool_hi]

Hi, parents, any more recent updates or comments on this kindy?

considering Bukit Pajang Methodist church kindergarteb & Glory…
any comments on both??
thanks in advance!!

[Sparks88]

My son is happy to have the same form teacher follow him from pre-nursery into nursery. At the end of each term, the worksheets (Math, Chinese, Art & Craft & English) would be brought home. I have no point of reference/comparison on the curriculum, etc. So far, he is learning "strokes of chinese characters" & alphabets with rhymes using the Sunshine books series.


If I have any queries, the teachers/principal are quite responsive either via phone calls or emails. I am rather meticulous & "administrative" person, hence I find their administration/logistics a bit appalling. For e.g. I paid for the new uniforms in Sep/Oct , but up to the last wk of Dec, I haven’t heard from the school regarding the uniforms.

[ammonite]

I don’t like it for many reasons. It is perhaps suitable for parents who want their kids to be trained to sit down quietly with a lot of seat work involved or to be academically prepared for p1 in the old fashioned way. But it is not the place if you want your child to learn to speak out confidently, or if you envisage your child learning through interactive activities and crafts.


Yes their administration is rather messy, though I must say the admin lady and principal are very kindly. I think they are a little outdated in their approach and are too nice to remove staff who are not as qualified as they should be by today’s standards. The student-teacher ratio is quite big - one teacher to an entire class of 20 or more, but they do seem to have trained the kids to sit and work quietly. Personally I find it a bit abnormal and worrying to see the kids so quiet. I think children with special needs or learning issues should not go there.

Jm2c

[jedamum]

Ammonite,

Sorry about your bad experience with the school.
Your experience reflect some of my feelings during initial months at the school where I was feed backed numerous times of son 's behaviour. The what I considered qualified teacher is subjective. She who knows how to handle my kid gets
my vote and it is an irony that the teacher whom I

tsked earlier on how she handed other came round to make the most impact in my boy's life positively by her encouragement towards both him and me .
And the teacher who madethe most complaints even resulting in my boy didn't want to attend school came round to be one who instill discipline in him.
To those interested to know, this school has mini mid year concert held in their school to show case kids work plus ashort performance. They introduce basic key board theory in k1 during music lessons and kids learn simple tunes on toy keyboard during k2.

To be frank, our initial impression was not good, even to the extent of :yikes: when the principal shared about their discipline policy.So I guess this school may not be suitable for every one but is one of the best decision we made when we hear our boy saying his dislike weekends as there was no school.

[ammonite]

Jedamum,

No problem, it's good that it worked out for you in the end. i did not receive any complaints regarding my son so my impression of the school was not tarnished by that. There were parents who suggested that I change my son's class to one with a better teacher, and I agree that was a big factor. The teacher was simply unacceptable. Her articulation was so poor it was like an old auntie doing food demo and I could not bear to have my son listening to that everyday for two hours when he did not know any better. There were so many glaring grammatical errors as well. The child may learn to spell very well there, but there will be a lot of remedial work to do for other aspects of language with that teacher.

My child did not require extra handling or have any disciplinary issues and I did not feel the need to have him trained for seat work. Really, all I wanted was a qualified responsive teacher who could read well and model good English instead of using broken english. I did not share these observations with parents of classmates. We just left quietly.

There were other observations but it would not be right for me to say anymore except that having tried a few preschools, this was really bottom of the pile on every count, at least for me.

Truly no offence intended. After all expectations are subjective, though I do think that good english from an English teacher should be a prerequisite, no?

Mod: if you feel this is too much details, please feel free to delete it. No need to move to the alternative view section.

[huaywenandkenneth]

Yup, views are indeed subjective. I agree that teachers' level of English needs to be acceptable, but they do not need to speak *very* good English (in fact, I do not think you will find it in all the pre-schools). I speak good English to my children and I believe they are able to \"code-switch\" when they see who they are speaking to.


Being in the education field, to me instilling discipline, developing good disposition and character, being sociable and also the ability to do seatwork (to start-do-finish, not be disrupted and disrupting to others) is important at pre-school. You may find that children have a lot of problems at primary schools if they do not have these qualities, even if they may be strong academically and articulate.

I have no issues with BPMC now and they have been very prompt to take up all the issues I raise with them so far (be it principal or teacher). Admin could have been wanting at times, but generally info to parents is quite prompt. I was initially quite worried at the first half of the year at where the school is heading and spoke to the principal. This half of the year things seem to have fallen back in place again, somewhat.

My eldest boy, after graduating from the kindergarten for 2 years, still remembers his teachers very well and greets the principal happily when we see her on our way to piano lessons, and she remembers him too and called him by name. I think this is something really valuable, as I don't remember my students' names after they graduate for 2 years :oops: My second boy had communication problems (N2 this year) and his teachers had been most accommodating after I spoke and emailed them. He is so much better this year but I must applaud his N1 teacher (and the teacher assistant) for their patience when he was in N1 and being anti-social for most part of the year arising from behavioural problems as he could not get his messages across clearly. There is also a boy with behavioural problem in my youngest girl's class (N1 this year). I believe the teachers are not trained in handling SN kids but they still try their best with love and a large dose of humour at times.

All the best in finding a pre-school that you feel best for your child.

[ammonite]

huaywenandkenneth:

they do not need to speak *very* good English (in fact, I do not think you will find it in all the pre-schools).

Nope, they do not need to speak *very* good English. I agree with this, and that was precisely why it was unacceptable.
[quote] Being in the education field, to me instilling discipline, developing good disposition and character, being sociable and also the ability to do seatwork (to start-do-finish, not be disrupted and disrupting to others) is important at pre-school. You may find that children have a lot of problems at primary schools if they do not have these qualities, even if they may be strong academically and articulate. [/quote]I have an older primary-school going child so I am not an impractical parent. A creative curriculum that encourages a child to find his or her own voice does not mean a child without self-discipline, character or unable to respect others' space. I've yet to see a kindergarten that does not profess to instill all the above. But the kind of work, projects, means of delivery, quality of materials available can differ widely among kindergartens.

I do believe in the intrinsic value of childhood. I feel our primary school curriculum needs to be more creative - and I know many teachers snort at this because there is simply too much to cover in too little time to be creative - and not that preschool should try to emulate our current primary school education.
[quote] This half of the year things seem to have fallen back in place again, somewhat.[/quote]This is wonderful and good for the children still there.

I have written previously that I find the principal and admin very kindly and I have never stated otherwise. The principal does have a very good memory and I do also know other kids who liked it there. But most of these kids did not have much to compare with. As the parent, I can do the comparison with knowledge and I am only writing this in hindsight and in comparison to other preschools that I have had experience with and all in around the same price range.

As I stated earlier, this is a school good for those who want their children to be prepared in the old-fashioned way and trained in seatwork. I personally think it will prepare them emotionally for primary school because primary school may actually seem more interesting and inspiring than kindergarten after this. If you want your kids to knuckle down in preparation for primary school, this is a good choice. It is not for parents who want their children to experience creative trans-diciplinary education or to be in a creative inspiring environment.
[quote]All the best in finding a pre-school that you feel best for your child. [/quote]Thank you! We have indeed already found a preschool that is right for my child.

As before, no offence.
I generally do not post much on this forum. But I felt compelled to write here because I had enrolled my son after reading good reviews and talking to a few other parents who loved it. We went with great anticipation and I really wanted it to work out. It was only AFTER we left the school that those who have WITHDRAWN their kids from the school or decided against it came forward to talk to me. I understand the feeling. My post is what I wished I had the chance to read before I enrolled him, so it's more for parents who are using the forum to research into various kindergartens. \"Good\" ultimately depends on what you want for your kids.

Peace out!