All About Parent Volunteers (PV)

[Imami]

tjkok:

Imami:

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?

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 help .

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:

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.

Yes correct.

tjkok:

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:

Oh is this important? Sorry, I overlooked this part – my child is a 2008 kid.

tjkok:

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.

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.

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:

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.

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.

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.3

tjkok:

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

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?

[Canvas]

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:

[Laura02]

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!

[Laura02]

Sorry. Pls ask the school IN question. Typo error.

[Okosbaba]

Canvas:

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 am doing PV in a branded school.. most of the programs you will have a student assigned to you, hence it will be nearly impossible unless you are say doing ad hoc and such as packing up a cupboard or something like that. Most parents do not bring their kids along.... infact all only one has brought her DD along (DD very well behaved mind you and stayed in the library. while the parent did the volunteering duties) and even that is looked upon with certain resentment.. not advisable in my opinion.

[rainn_77]

Hello Tjkok,


Was sick for the past few days so din reply ur post till now… So sorry!

My ideal school for my dd will b Gongshang Primary School (1st choice),
Chongzheng & White Sands Primary School (2nd choice) still couldnt decide which is a better school… Could u advise me based in your expertise which school should b my backup plan should my idea school PV is not successful?

As I do not wish to jeopardise the students’ work hence Im still deciding whether should I do PV for white sands Pri school as my ideal school haven’t gotten back to me regarding my PV application.

Hm… Can u give me some advise? Thank you!

[alng]

rainn_77:

Hello Tjkok,


Was sick for the past few days so din reply ur post till now.. So sorry!

My ideal school for my dd will b Gongshang Primary School (1st choice),
Chongzheng & White Sands Primary School (2nd choice) still couldnt decide which is a better school... Could u advise me based in your expertise which school should b my backup plan should my idea school PV is not successful?

As I do not wish to jeopardise the students' work hence Im still deciding whether should I do PV for white sands Pri school as my ideal school haven't gotten back to me regarding my PV application.

Hm... Can u give me some advise? Thank you!

Hi, just want to share my experience here. Three years ago, I applied for PV in school A. The success rate was less than 20% and the school would not release the outcome till very late. By then, if I was unsuccessful, I would not have sufficient time to apply for PV in another school. So I applied PV in school B. I was accepted by school B and started my PV. When I was about to complete my PV in school B, school A accepted me. I went on to complete my PV in both schools. I never regretted doing that as by doing the PV, I get to know the school culture and change my views about the schools. I started to hesitate sending my ds to school A.

The outcome was my ds did not get into both schools at phase 2B registration last year due to fierce competition. Both schools are also very hot this year. In the end, my ds was transferred to school B when the school term started this year and he is happy in school B now.

So if you can afford the time, continue your PV. It pays to standby two schools for phase 2b.

[rainn_77]

Wow Tjkok, u really put in 101% effort in your ds primary school. Really pei fu!!!

I really should learn from you so that I can have clear conscious in future that I have put in as much effort as you in putting my dd in my desired school! Haa!

As I'm a mother of two and with no maid to help out so really in a difficult situation as in which 2 schools should I do PV (Gongshang, White sands or Chongzheng)? Based on your reply, it seems to me that you would advise me to submit all 3 first as not all PV applications would b successfully accepted right? Hopefully the timeline for the school would b almost the same...

Congratulation in placing your ds in the school b! Im sure all the PV done in the school is worth it and would u mind sharing with me did your ds transfer in his p1? Was it easier to do a transfer as compared to registering?

Await for your treasure advise!

[alng]

rainn_77:

Wow Tjkok, u really put in 101% effort in your ds primary school. Really pei fu!!!

I really should learn from you so that I can have clear conscious in future that I have put in as much effort as you in putting my dd in my desired school! Haa!

As I'm a mother of two and with no maid to help out so really in a difficult situation as in which 2 schools should I do PV (Gongshang, White sands or Chongzheng)? Based on your reply, it seems to me that you would advise me to submit all 3 first as not all PV applications would b successfully accepted right? Hopefully the timeline for the school would b almost the same...

Congratulation in placing your ds in the school b! Im sure all the PV done in the school is worth it and would u mind sharing with me did your ds transfer in his p1? Was it easier to do a transfer as compared to registering?

Await for your treasure advise!

Hi rainn_77, I am not Tjkok . I am not familiar with the three schools you have shortlisted. What I would suggest is that you should find out more about the registration statistics of these three schools. Do the phase 2b always been filled up? If yes, then very likely, the schools are popular and have lots of PVs. In that case, you will face competition when you apply for PVs.

If there is no guarantee that you will be successful in your PV application, do play safe to apply in more than one schools. If more than one school offer you PV, go and listen to what you need to do. Of all you know, the PV hours and work do not overlap. For example, in school A, other than the 2-3 meetings on site, I only needed to be present in a school's event on one morning. The other PV hours were work done at home. In school B, the PV hours were all clocked on site on 1-2 afternoons a week for almost a year as I was supervising some students. I am a full time working mom with two children. But I am blessed with flexible working hours and my mom-in-law helps me out at home. You could also see if there are PV work that can be shared by your dh.

Some parents opt for traffic wardens where the husbands will do the early morning session and the wives will do the afternoon or evening sessions. Or wives will do recess supervision at mid mornings and mid afternoons. Traffic wardens and recess supervision are two common PV tasks. Involving the husbands is great so that they know the efforts needed to get our dear sons and daughters into our dream schools.

By PVing in more than one schools, you get to know the school management, culture and how the school functions. The first meeting at school A left me with good impression - very organised and efficient. The first time I sat in the general office of school B waiting to meet the teacher in charge, I was impressed to see a 70+ years old teacher coming back to help out in a dance event. I was very touched. I also see how the school teachers interact with one another. I also see how the students behave. The students in school B will greet me good morning or good afternoon when they see me even up to today. All these tell me a lot about the school.

My ds was transferred in early February after the school term has started. I was on the waitlist for both schools A and B. And that \"strike million dollars lottery\" phone call came just after the Chinese New Year holidays. We were very thrilled and within a week, my son was transferred. I found out subsequently from the other parents that that class started the school term with 1 student less. But so how, the school did not contact me earlier. I understand that my ds was the only transferred student in that school so far. Many parents have asked me how did I get the transfer but I really do not know. We must be very fortunate. It must be of good intention for us to go through all these so that we are very appreciative of what we have gained today.

All the best in your application for PV and in getting your child into your dream school!

[Imami]

Hi alng,


First of all, thank you for sharing your experience here. Reading about your experience has opened up new dimensions on this subject for me.

Just to clarify, if your child was not with sch a and sch b initially, is your child with sch c at the start of school term? What are the considerations in deciding to shift your child to sch b? Can you share with us the "go" or "stay" factors? What did you do/prepare your child before/after the transfer?