All About Parent Volunteers (PV)
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Hi tjkok,
Not sure if you can help me… You sounded so helpful and knowledgeable. Heres my case. I have three schools within 1km. One is a branded one - need to do pv. But even with pv, only those wihtin 1pm need apply. A very popular school. Seond one is a popular neighborhood school, with established record - no high scorers but the pupils are known to be disciplined and well behaved. Third one has a lot of vacancy, even at phase 2c supplementary.
If I am willing to do pv for number one. What would you suggest my strategy to be? If phase 2b need to ballot and my child couldn’t get in, what shd I do? -
Hello Tjkok,
Really thank you so much for offering so many valuable advises!
Now I'm much more aware in which direction I should go.
Ohh your child is also born in 2008? My guess is that the Sch that u are going will b somewhere in Bt Timah ma? I wish to stay within that area too as there r so many good school ard there! Hee!
Btw, white sands Pri have called me up for the PV though it's not my first choice of Sch can I withdraw my PV should I being short listed by the Sch that I desired while doing my PV in white sands? I'm so sorry that I sound so selective however i do hope that u will understand that most parent would want the best for their children. -
Imami:
Thank you for your compliment :hugs: , I've benefited from KSP forum as well, so if I am able to help, I'll be glad to helpHi tjkok,
Not sure if you can help me.... You sounded so helpful and knowledgeable. Heres my case. I have three schools within 1km. One is a branded one - need to do pv. But even with pv, only those wihtin 1pm need apply. A very popular school. Seond one is a popular neighborhood school, with established record - no high scorers but the pupils are known to be disciplined and well behaved. Third one has a lot of vacancy, even at phase 2c supplementary.
If I am willing to do pv for number one. What would you suggest my strategy to be? If phase 2b need to ballot and my child couldn't get in, what shd I do?
.
From what you have listed above, I would probably guess:
1) Your preferred choice would either be school no. 1 or school no. 2
2) School no. 3 is your back-up plan at Phase 2CS supplementary should in worse case scenario, your child is unable to get into either school 1 or school no. 2 in Phase 2B or Phase 2C.
From this perspective, and since you did not specifically name the schools, and the year that your child is due to register for P1, I'll probably advise based on the following:
1) School no. 1 - Branded school and even at Phase 2B, those who stay >1km are cut off already (i.e. do not even have the slightest chance of balloting).
First up, if school no. 1 is branded and very popular among parents, the school is likely to be very selective on the PVs they take in, so it might be best to call up the school to check on what are your chances on being accepted as a PV. Some of the more branded and popular schools are known to prefer PVs with specific skill sets rather than PVs for weekly / ad-hoc activities.
Let's go on the basis that you qualify as a PV with the school. Based on its popularity by branding, even if you qualify as a PV with the school and clock the hours required to qualify for Phase 2B, will there be a chance that balloting may be required even for parents staying within 1km in future for Phase 2B? Don't forget Phase 2B is not just for PVs, but also for GRLs and related clan / religious affiliations with the school as well. It's a risk you must consider, and I will advise to look at the past and current registration trend of school no. 1 to better assess the risk.
School no. 2 - Popular neighborhood school, with established record - no high scorers but the pupils are known to be disciplined and well behaved
Actually I'm kinda :scratchhead: on the definition of school no. 2 but I'm going with the idea that this school, while not academically inclined, is focused more on character building and holistic development of the student, which is why it is popular among parents as well. Since you had not mentioned anything about Phase 2B for this school, I would assume by popular is that at Phase 2C, the number of applicants has always outweigh the number of vacancies available? If that is the case, you will need to assess the balloting risk of school no. 2. If based on past balloting records, parents who live within 1km also require balloting at Phase 2C, you can be sure the trend will likely to continue on for the next few years to come. If that is so, you may need to consider the possibility of securing your chances for school no. 2 via Phase 2B instead of 2C.
All in all, my advise might be to go with
1) School No. 1 - Phase 2B (do assess the risk / chances of balloting before you make the call)
2) School No. 2 - Phase 2C (if school no. 2 has no risk of balloting <1km at Phase 2C) or even Phase 2B (if school no. 1 has high risk of balloting <1km at Phase 2B, and/or school no. 2 has high risk of balloting <1km at Phase 2C)
3) School No. 3 - Phase 2CS (back-up plan if all else fails)
Above all I've said, at the end of the day, do evaluate your school choices based on its strengths and which school will serve the parents and the child's needs and requirements best. After all, the child will be spending a full six years of their lives there
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rainn_77:
My DD is born in 2007 actually, and my future abode is at Redhill areaHello Tjkok,
Really thank you so much for offering so many valuable advises!
Now I'm much more aware in which direction I should go.
Ohh your child is also born in 2008? My guess is that the Sch that u are going will b somewhere in Bt Timah ma? I wish to stay within that area too as there r so many good school ard there! Hee!
Btw, white sands Pri have called me up for the PV though it's not my first choice of Sch can I withdraw my PV should I being short listed by the Sch that I desired while doing my PV in white sands? I'm so sorry that I sound so selective however i do hope that u will understand that most parent would want the best for their children.
Nice guess on Bt Timah though, I don't stay there but I work there 
Yes, you are allowed to withdraw as a PV with a school as I highly doubt that any school has enforced a binding contract with PVs. So far the terms and conditions for PV applications I've seen are relatively straightforward, usually stating that if parents do not clock the stipulated hours, they will not be eligible for Phase 2B, and even clocking the stipulated hours does not 100% guarantee a placing in the school. -
Just to add (no offence to anyone though), even though PVs "can" withdraw halfway, have to consider that any withdrawal will not create great inconvenience to the school and students.
I am doing my PV now in a program to "help" some students assigned to me. However, if I were to withdraw my service halfway, the students will be left in the "lurch" and the school will have to find a replacement. In this case, I still have to complete my PV (or at least complete the "program’) even if decided to go for another school. In some situations, it is a "committed responsibility". -
tyut:
Agree with you on this point. If there's a commitment given to a certain project, I would think it's only right to see through it irregardless of whether it's the school of choice or not, especially like in the scenario you have mentioned above, withdrawal after assignment would result in great inconvenience for the school and its staff and students.Just to add (no offence to anyone though), even though PVs \"can\" withdraw halfway, have to consider that any withdrawal will not create great inconvenience to the school and students.
I am doing my PV now in a program to \"help\" some students assigned to me. However, if I were to withdraw my service halfway, the students will be left in the \"lurch\" and the school will have to find a replacement. In this case, I still have to complete my PV (or at least complete the \"program') even if decided to go for another school. In some situations, it is a \"committed responsibility\".
But I do believe parents who are evaluating their PV options between schools will know better not to commit to projects like these unless they are pretty sure they want to and are able to follow through on them. :xedfingers: -
tjkok:
Thank you for your compliment :hugs: , I've benefited from KSP forum as well, so if I am able to help, I'll be glad to helpImami:
Hi tjkok,
Not sure if you can help me.... You sounded so helpful and knowledgeable. Heres my case. I have three schools within 1km. One is a branded one - need to do pv. But even with pv, only those wihtin 1pm need apply. A very popular school. Seond one is a popular neighborhood school, with established record - no high scorers but the pupils are known to be disciplined and well behaved. Third one has a lot of vacancy, even at phase 2c supplementary.
If I am willing to do pv for number one. What would you suggest my strategy to be? If phase 2b need to ballot and my child couldn't get in, what shd I do? .
From what you have listed above, I would probably guess:
1)\tYour preferred choice would either be school no. 1 or school no. 2
My preferred choice is no.1 actually due to its strong Chinese coverage. If I am not wrong, the pupils can take higher Chinese.tjkok:
Yes correct.2) School no. 3 is your back-up plan at Phase 2CS supplementary should in worse case scenario, your child is unable to get into either school 1 or school no. 2 in Phase 2B or Phase 2C.
tjkok:
Oh is this important? Sorry, I overlooked this part – my child is a 2008 kid.From this perspective, and since you did not specifically name the schools, and the year that your child is due to register for P1, I'll probably advise based on the following:
tjkok:
Er… I don’t think I would call the school. My thoughts are – if we are not selected for PVs, then we would go for school no.2 with this in mind, do you think there is still a need to call school no.1? Do feel free to offer your opinion if yours differ from mine.1) School no. 1 - Branded school and even at Phase 2B, those who stay >1km are cut off already (i.e. do not even have the slightest chance of balloting).
First up, if school no. 1 is branded and very popular among parents, the school is likely to be very selective on the PVs they take in, so it might be best to call up the school to check on what are your chances on being accepted as a PV. Some of the more branded and popular schools are known to prefer PVs with specific skill sets rather than PVs for weekly / ad-hoc activities.tjkok:
Let's go on the basis that you qualify as a PV with the school. Based on its popularity by branding, even if you qualify as a PV with the school and clock the hours required to qualify for Phase 2B, will there be a chance that balloting may be required even for parents staying within 1km in future for Phase 2B?
Don't forget Phase 2B is not just for PVs, but also for GRLs and related clan / religious affiliations with the school as well. It's a risk you must consider, and I will advise to look at the past and current registration trend of school no. 1 to better assess the risk.
Yes, based on the past 4 years’ trends, even staying within 1km, need to ballot. So I don’t think there would be any difference within the next two years. The fortunate thing is that it’s always 1.5 applicants to 1 vacancy. At its worst, it’s 2 applicants to 1 vacancy.tjkok:
in Phase 2B, school no.2 has plenty of vacancy and demand is always less than supply. Even in Phase 2C, demand has always been met (no balloting required, applications match vacancies. However, by the end of Phase 2C, almost all (99%-100%) the vacancies would have been taken up. Based on past trends, there is no need to do PV but in order to secure a place, one would need to register within Phase 2C. Phase 2CS is a little risky.
School no. 2 - Popular neighborhood school, with established record - no high scorers but the pupils are known to be disciplined and well behaved
Actually I'm kinda :scratchhead: on the definition of school no. 2 but I'm going with the idea that this school, while not academically inclined, is focused more on character building and holistic development of the student, which is why it is popular among parents as well. Since you had not mentioned anything about Phase 2B for this school, I would assume by popular is that at Phase 2C, the number of applicants has always outweigh the number of vacancies available? If that is the case, you will need to assess the balloting risk of school no. 2. If based on past balloting records, parents who live within 1km also require balloting at Phase 2C, you can be sure the trend will likely to continue on for the next few years to come. If that is so, you may need to consider the possibility of securing your chances for school no. 2 via Phase 2B instead of 2C.
My concern arises from this scenario – we do PV for school no.1 and try for Phase 2B. If we dont have enough luck in Phase 2B (got balloting but my child didn’t make it), we try Phase 2C (in Phase 2C, school no. 1 also need balloting for those within 1km). If we fail Phase 2C, we may not be able to our child into school no.2. Then we would end up with School no.3tjkok:
How do I evaluate a child’s needs and requirements? I have some idea about the schools’ strengths but not too sure how to go about assessing the needs of my child. Also, how does the parents’ needs come into picture?All in all, my advise might be to go with
1) School No. 1 - Phase 2B (do assess the risk / chances of balloting before you make the call)
2) School No. 2 - Phase 2C (if school no. 2 has no risk of balloting <1km at Phase 2C) or even Phase 2B (if school no. 1 has high risk of balloting <1km at Phase 2B, and/or school no. 2 has high risk of balloting <1km at Phase 2C)
3) School No. 3 - Phase 2CS (back-up plan if all else fails)
Above all I've said, at the end of the day, do evaluate your school choices based on its strengths and which school will serve the parents and the child's needs and requirements best. After all, the child will be spending a full six years of their lives there -
I would like to know for PV duties, can a parent bring along the child? I am still thinking of the PV part since there is no schools within 1km from my place and those between 1.5-2km all hold balloting only for <1km
I don't have a helper so if I have to do PV, my DD will have to go along. Do I need to camouflage her? :siam: -
I think you should ask the schooling question. A friend of mine wanted to bring her younger child while she did PV for the older one. Unfortunately, the older one is in girls school, and the younger one is a boy. So the answer was no, no boys allowed in the school. LOL!
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Sorry. Pls ask the school IN question. Typo error.
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