Raffles Girls' School (Secondary) [*IP]

[sleeping beauty]

Hi ! I'm wondering if any current RGS parent/pupil has any thoughts/feedback/experience to share on the Music Elective Programme and the Special Art Programme. Hope someone can address the following questions that I have.


1)What is the criteria for entry into the MEP and SAP ?
2)When can Sec 1 RGS pupils apply and roughly what is the intake per programme like ?
3)Are these examinable subjects ?
4)If a pupil is taking one of the above, are they still allowed to take a 3rd language or can they only choose to do 1 elective ?
5)What is the drop-out rate for the 2 programmes ?
6)What is the weekly timetable like - after school hours/how often/duration of each lesson/location of class ?
7)Are MEP/SAP pupils grouped together in the same class? I heard that they are for the current Sec 2s, but are spread out for the current Sec 1s.
8)Will the Sec 1s know their classes on reporting day(?23rd Dec) or only on the 1st day of school next year ? Just curious -- What is the programme like on reporting day ?

Thank you in advance.

[eri]

hi sleeping beauty, my dd is doing mep in rgs.

1) you will be briefed about the criteria duing talks conducted on reporting day and orientation. there should be an audition and interview. not so sure about the minimum standards cos my dd got in thru mep dsa and was excused from the auditions. but i think should be grade 5 theory and grade 6 practical.
2) you have to collect application forms for the programmes you are interested (mep/sap…) during reporting day. more details will be printed on the forms. intake should be less than 30 for mep. not sure for sap.
3) yes they are examinable.
4)during sec 1 brefing, the teacher in charge of mep highly discouraged mep students from taking 3rd lang but many still went on to take 3rd lang. anyway, from this year onwards, 3rd lang is reduced to just once a week. so should be no problem there unless cca takes up many days.
5) no one dropped out of mep in the first 2 years for my dd’s cohort. in fact one new student joined in sec 2.
6) mep and sap lessons for lower sec are conducted in sch during curriculum time. students take mep/ sap while the rest of their classmates take general aethetics classes. for mep upper sec, they stay back on wed afternoons for lessons. sap for upper sec should be conducted on one of the afternoons too. maybe fri? cos sch ends earlier on weds and fris.
7)there are 2 classes for mep/ sap. but of cos not the entire class take mep/sap.
sec 1s will not know their classes on reporting day. the programmes would be on admin matters, briefings on the different programmes like mep/ sap etc…, what to expect during orientation…

[sleeping beauty]

eri:

hi sleeping beauty, my dd is doing mep in rgs.

1) you will be briefed about the criteria duing talks conducted on reporting day and orientation. there should be an audition and interview. not so sure about the minimum standards cos my dd got in thru mep dsa and was excused from the auditions. but i think should be grade 5 theory and grade 6 practical.
2) you have to collect application forms for the programmes you are interested (mep/sap...) during reporting day. more details will be printed on the forms. intake should be less than 30 for mep. not sure for sap.
3) yes they are examinable.
4)during sec 1 brefing, the teacher in charge of mep highly discouraged mep students from taking 3rd lang but many still went on to take 3rd lang. anyway, from this year onwards, 3rd lang is reduced to just once a week. so should be no problem there unless cca takes up many days.
5) no one dropped out of mep in the first 2 years for my dd's cohort. in fact one new student joined in sec 2.
6) mep and sap lessons for lower sec are conducted in sch during curriculum time. students take mep/ sap while the rest of their classmates take general aethetics classes. for mep upper sec, they stay back on wed afternoons for lessons. sap for upper sec should be conducted on one of the afternoons too. maybe fri? cos sch ends earlier on weds and fris.
7)there are 2 classes for mep/ sap. but of cos not the entire class take mep/sap.
sec 1s will not know their classes on reporting day. the programmes would be on admin matters, briefings on the different programmes like mep/ sap etc.., what to expect during orientation...

Thanks for your detailed reply, Eri. Greatly appreciated ! :salute: I have another few queries to trouble you or anyone who happens to be in the know.

From what I understand, pupils will only know their classes on the 1st day of school. However, you mentioned that the MEP/SAP pupils are put together in separate classes. Does this mean that interested pupils have to apply on reporting day (or very soon after) and attend the necessary auditions and interviews in the last week of December, so that the school can allocate them to their respective classes by Day 1 ? Or, are the selections held only after school reopens ? If so, does this mean that MEP/SAP pupils may have to change classes in the 1st few weeks of school if selected ? Quite disruptive. :whut:

BTW, what are the normal school hours like ? Any activities on Saturday ?

Thanks again!

[eri]

for my dd’s year, the application was open during the last week of dec. she had to change classes on the 2nd day of sch but it was not really disruptive since the sch was still conducting orientation programmes and there were no formal lessons yet. lessons end at 3pm for mon, tue and thu, 130pm on wed and fri. ccas are conducted every afternoon after sch and on sat as well. for sec 1s (term 1), they have to go back on sat mornings for house activities and peer support sessions.

[turquoise]

Hi Dharma,


Do you know how the girls are selected for Math Olympiad (SMOJ) in RGS? Can anyone with good Math skills apply to take part in the competition, or will the school select only a few based on their SMOPS results?

Thanks.

[Dharma]

turquoise:

Hi Dharma,


Do you know how the girls are selected for Math Olympiad (SMOJ) in RGS? Can anyone with good Math skills apply to take part in the competition, or will the school select only a few based on their SMOPS results?

Thanks.

Good morning turquoise,

There will be a Selection Test somewhere in Jan and your child will be notified by the Maths Teacher. It is open to all pupils. Just sign up and sit for the test. The top 50 if I not wrong will be invited join the SMO (Junior) training sessions on Saturday mornings between 0900hrs to 1100hrs.

#The questions for Selection Test were largely SMOPS kind when my girl sat for it.

[turquoise]

Dharma:

Good morning turquoise,


There will be a Selection Test somewhere in Jan and your child will be notified by the Maths Teacher. It is open to all pupils. Just sign up and sit for the test. The top 50 if I not wrong will be invited join the SMO (Junior) training sessions on Saturday mornings between 0900hrs to 1100hrs.

#The questions for Selection Test were largely SMOPS kind when my girl sat for it.

Thanks Dharma. Good to hear that it's open to all students. Is there a significant difference between SMOPS and SMOJ? Thanks.

[Dharma]

turquoise:

Thanks Dharma. Good to hear that it's open to all students. Is there a significant difference between SMOPS and SMOJ? Thanks.

Just sent u a PM

[turquoise]

Thanks Dharma. Replied your PM.

[Dharma]

turquoise:

Thanks Dharma. Replied your PM.

Sent u another PM.