All About Parent Volunteers (PV)

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Daddy

Another article from Sunday Times


A mother who was keen to enrol her child in Catholic High School is now having second thoughts.

Its volunteer programme asks parents to come up with a 'project which has long-term benefits to pupils'. One approved project involved making a mounted map of the world, with sample currencies of every country.

Schools say they draw the line at asking for donations.

this CHS project with \"long term benefits to pupils\" involving a \"mounted map of the world, with sample currencies of every country\" - can be an expensive project, from the beginning initiation stage till final implementation. Depend on what material the project used, and what resources being deployed.

a) if the parents of this K2 boy eventually get admitted into CHS P1, do they still need to continue fund this on-going project, for the school ?

\"Schools say they draw the line at asking for donations.\"

b) But if individual parents need to fork out $ out of their own pocket to fund this so called long term school project, isn't it indirectly asking for donation subtedly (hidden), via a new terminology called \"on projects basis\" instead of the explicit traditional \"direct cash collection\" basis ?
Maybe because it benefits the school, so is treated differently.

[phtthp]

Daddy

Article from Sunday Times....


Nanyang Primary looks for help in IT, for instance, robotics or web page design; South View needs help for its teachers to create digital learning tools.

Rosyth stopped accepting volunteers this year.

seems like parents working in IT field have a niche area of advantage for PV in Nanyang and South View.

[phtthp]

Straits Times, 21 May 2012


Schools \"free to decide how parents volunteer\"

Primary schools will be left to decide how they want parents to volunteer, said Education Minister Heng Swee Keat.

But the parent volunteer scheme should not be just about getting priority for their children in the Primary 1 registration, he pointed out.

Parents should use the opportunity to get to know the programmes offered by different schools in their neighbourhood, he said.

His comments followed a report in The Sunday Times that more brand-name schools are raising the bar for parents wanting to volunteer because of the overwhelming response. They are asking parents to commit longer hours or come up with specific projects.

source
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_801215.html

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janeng:

dear parents,


i'm a reporter from Straits Times doing a story on parent volunteers in popular schools and what schools are requiring parents to fulfill. Pls email me at [email protected] with your contact details by Friday 18/5 if you don't mind sharing your experience. Thank you!

Thank you very much, Jane, for contributing your interesting article to Straits Times.
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_800920.html

at least parents are now aware of what key skill sets hot popular schools like Nanyang, South View, etc. are looking for. eg: IT.

in the past -
all these were \"hush hush\", top secret stuff.
Due to stiff keen competition amongst parents competing with one another to get selected as a PV into their desired school of choice(s), not many people willing to divulge what skill sets hot, popular schools are looking for, even though they may have attended PV interview(s) before. Some parents submit long, impressive curriculum vitae to schools. However, if the school does not need their particular skillset(s), it may not be of help/ use.

example:
one parent works in a foreign bank, a high flyer private banker.
at one of the reknown, popular school(s) that require balloting less than 1 km, during PV interview the VP ask parent, \"are you able to come down an hour earlier before recess time, cut fruits for our pupils here ?\"

Hope to see you publish more ST articles on skill sets coming from other popular schools as well (besides those few schools which you'd just mentioned). Thank you.

[phtthp]

Daddy

Article from Sunday Times....


South View needs help for its teachers to create digital learning tools.

example:-
Engineer Chong Lip Min, a parent volunteer, teaching a class how to develop iPad apps, at South View Primary School.

Parent volunteers putting in hours in primary schools

Mention parent volunteers at primary schools and most people would imagine kiasu parents frantically trying to clock in hours by doing duties such as directing traffic and arranging library books, just to get their kids into popular schools.

In reality, not all of them perform mundane tasks and some even go above and beyond what is required of them.

Research and development engineer Chong Lip Min, 35, teaches pupils of the media club at South View Primary School to develop applications for the iPhone and iPad.

Housewife Katherine Wong, who is in her 50s, continues to facilitate reading and mathematics remedial sessions at St Hilda's Primary School long after her daughter got into the school.

Under the Ministry of Education guidelines, parents who are not alumni of a school or who do not have any other ties to the school, can register their children under Phase 2B if they join the school as parent volunteers by a specified date and have given at least 40 hours of voluntary service, also by a certain date.

'It was tiring because it was a commitment you had to fulfil every week. But I pushed myself because I did not want the kids that I was helping to be disappointed.'

MS LI-ANNE SIA on spending five hours a week to help weaker pupils.

source
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_760640.html

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janeng:

dear parents,


i'm a reporter from Straits Times doing a story on parent volunteers in popular schools and what schools are requiring parents to fulfill. Pls email me at [email protected] with your contact details by Friday 18/5 if you don't mind sharing your experience. Thank you!

Straits Times, 20 May 2012
reporter: Jane Ng

Want P1 place? Suggest a project

Schools asking parents to work on more challenging tasks and for longer periods.

Popular primary schools have raised the bar for parents hoping to earn a place for their children by being volunteers.

The schools are asking parents to commit to longer hours or come up with specific projects. Not everyone who applies can be a volunteer.

More schools have set 60 to 80 hours of voluntary work if parents want their child registered at Phase 2B of the Primary 1 registration exercise. This is well over the Education Ministry's guideline of 'at least 40 hours'.

Phase 2B is for children whose parents are not alumni and have no other ties to the school.

At least three schools increased their volunteer requirements this year from 40 to 60 hours - Raffles Girls' Primary, St Hilda's and Poi Ching School. Nanyang Primary earlier upped the contribution to 80 hours, Nan Chiau to 60, and Rosyth to 70 hours. Rosyth stopped accepting volunteers this year.

The volunteer scheme was started in 1998 to encourage parents to contribute and know the school better before enrolling their child.

Schools say they limit the number of volunteers to give those who volunteer a better chance at getting their children in. There have been cases of volunteers who were sorely disappointed when their children missed out in a ballot for limited places.

An Education Ministry spokesman said schools are free to ask for more volunteer hours 'depending on individual schools' needs'.

Either parent can be a volunteer, or both parents can split the work over two years.

Poi Ching principal Lawrence Chong said the school increased its requirement as it was in high demand. It has kept to 30 volunteers every year to ensure that most, if not all, parents can get a place.

'We have so many parents asking. Some don't mind doing more hours, others continue to serve even after they complete the hours,' he said.

The more stringent requirements have left some parents feeling discouraged, while others said they would do whatever it took to get their children into Phase 2B.

About 40,000 children enter Primary 1 each year.

Popular schools said they typically receive 100 to 200 applications a year, but accept no more than 30 volunteers.

St Hilda's has further trimmed this to 25 this year, said Mrs Katherine Wong, programme executive of the parent support group at the school in Tampines.

With fewer volunteers, more hours are required of each, and several have in fact chalked up 300 hours.

Among them is Ms Adelina Ko, 48, a part-time polytechnic lecturer who will be registering her elder son, Ethan, six, this year. She has been helping in two reading programmes once a week for three hours.

Nanyang Primary looks for help in IT, for instance, robotics or web page design; Catholic High wants long-term projects; and South View needs help for its teachers to create digital learning tools.

Principals said their hands are tied when it comes to the number of places that can go to children of parent volunteers as it depends on the number of vacancies left after each phase.

Nan Chiau principal Tan Chun Ming said parents who do not get their first choice should not despair as schools are comparable in terms of standards and rigour.

But that is unlikely to sway parents who have set their sights on a particular school. It explains why some even try to volunteer at more than one school.

Mrs M. Lim, 36, a housewife with a toddler, is eyeing two popular girls' schools.

'The P1 registration system has become like a gambling game and parents will do anything to buy more chances for their children,' she said. 'If we volunteer at more than one, we can register at the school with more vacancies during Phase 2B.'

[email protected]

[Chen Tai Tai]

Hi parents, may I ask what are 'usual' questions during a PV interview? What will the principal asking?


I just got a call for interview next week. Super nervous!! Appreciate your help!

[Seasons Parent]

Hi, parents, my kid is born in 2008. When will PV be open for application?

[phtthp]

call up / write into respective school, find out when individual school start PV for 2008 kids.

[nite]

Hi,


I have a question with Ph2B and Ph2C.

Say, I have chosen school A (target) for Ph2C and school B (standby) for Ph2B. If I get into my school B first in Ph2B but wish to apply for school A in Ph2C, must I withdraw from school B first before registering for school A in Ph2C or can I wait for the results out of school A in Ph2C before withdrawing from school B?

Thanks.