Maris Stella High School
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My son studied in Maris stella in 2003-2004. I transfered him out in 2005 to a neighbourhood school. He scored 13 points for L!R5 in O-level.
He would not have acheived this result if he continued with Maris Stella. According to him, 30% of his classmates repeated Sec-3 while another 30% were asked to leave for another school, converted to N-Level.
The situation in Maris Stella may be better now. Unfortunately they are still far from the top 10 position, which is the ranking when I did my secondary education there. As old boy of Maris Stella. I hope they can be more serious about bringing the school back to glory. -
Thanks Bentan for your review.
I am seriously considering this school for my son who scored 245.
Would love to hear more about the school, now that they have a new principal and using the mac book. -
Bentan:
My son studied in Maris stella in 2003-2004. I transfered him out in 2005 to a neighbourhood school. He scored 13 points for L!R5 in O-level.
He would not have acheived this result if he continued with Maris Stella. According to him, 30% of his classmates repeated Sec-3 while another 30% were asked to leave for another school, converted to N-Level.
The situation in Maris Stella may be better now. Unfortunately they are still far from the top 10 position, which is the ranking when I did my secondary education there. As old boy of Maris Stella. I hope they can be more serious about bringing the school back to glory.Bentan:
Hi Bentan, thanks for your reply.My son was from Maris Stella and my daughter from TKSS.
Maris Stella looks after top students very well. If your son is at 240, he will get very good care and attention.
http://singapore.math-chinese-tutor.com/contact-us/ if you need to talk.
I get the picture now! -
Hi, bentan, I am also an old boy of Maris Stella. Has the swimming pool being built?
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HoSayLiao:
Hi, bentan, I am also an old boy of Maris Stella. Has the swimming pool being built?
After many many many donkey years of fund raising and when they finally got the money, they found that the land is unsuitable for constructing a swimming pool. They've built new wings to the school instead. -
Hi Bentan,
Is the school strong in both languages? I was told is a SAP school and your child must be strong in chinese language. Any view on this?
Thanks in advance! -
Just wondering, is this school made up of mostly rich men’s sons??
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jinglebelle:
Just wondering, is this school made up of mostly rich men's sons??
I doubt it. What made you think so? -
Hi Claire,
We did not attend the open house. Anyway PSLE results already released, my child did not score well too. Quite disappointed for a while as he did well in his prelims, hoping that he may do well in Sec 1 and request for a transfer to Maris Stella.
Well, any one has experience transferring to another sec school using the sec one results? I heard if attained 70% for overrall subjects, we may do so. Is it true?
Please advise.
Thank you
lovethekidsclaire:
Hi lovethekids
Did you eventually go to the open house at Maris Stella on saturday ? We went and my child is quite impressed by their innovative MACbook one-to-one learning during curriculum time.
We've advised him that there are alot of other factors to consider while choosing a school. We are not near Maris Stella and distance is therefore one of the considerations for us. However, he is still very keen, but I suppose we'll all have to wait for the PSLE results to be released before he decides making any final decision.
Hi Tianzhu,
We have seen how the MACbook is being used as part of the classroom curriculum , and it's indeed \"appealing\" to the students as children nowadays are really drawn towards IT/Infocomm technology. I agree with you that some families may have problem getting the child a MACbook. But I think in such cases, the school might help those who are in need.
Wishing all our children the best with the PSLE results. -
lovethekids:
I would suggest appealing to the school on the 23rd December. Don't worry about the T-Score gap from the COP. If you like the MacBook program, find a way to mention it in the appeal process. After all, it appears to be the only Secondary School in Singapore that is using MacBook.Well, any one has experience transferring to another sec school using the sec one results? I heard if attained 70% for overrall subjects, we may do so. Is it true?
There is a streaming process for Secondary 3 that depends entirely on the Secondary 2 results. The child needs 70% and above for Maths, Science and Overall Average, before he can opt for triple science. -
lovethekids:
It depends from school to school. You will have to call the new school in Term 4 to check if there are any vacancies. They may ask your child to take some exams, usually in Maths, Science and maybe English, Chinese.
Well, any one has experience transferring to another sec school using the sec one results? I heard if attained 70% for overrall subjects, we may do so. Is it true? -
Anyone has boys in Maris Stella to share about the school? My son will join the sec 1 class next yr there. It seems so happening. 1st week already has 3D2N Orientation and Discovery Camp. But i guess this is the best way to get to know one another. Thanks!
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skyjuice:
I wrote something in the 2009 COP forum topic. Believe it was on the 23 Dec. Yes, it seems they have camps every year. I'm not a camp fan, but the kids seem to survive quite well. Generally secondary school is a big change for kids. There will be a number of team projects and initially the kids are not sensitive to deadlines. Depending on the teachers, the kids may be awarded zero for not handing up work on time. You can help your kid by checking Studywiz regularly. But some assignments are not posted on Studywiz although more than 80% are.Anyone has boys in Maris Stella to share about the school? My son will join the sec 1 class next yr there. It seems so happening. 1st week already has 3D2N Orientation and Discovery Camp. But i guess this is the best way to get to know one another. Thanks!
Make sure you can log on to both Studywiz and Admin Portal. Academic performance is posted on Admin Portal. Some kids neglect to vet their Admin Portal access choosing to use parent's account instead. Not a good idea as some info (especially at sec 2) are only accessible with student account.
The school has this system of teaching Geography, History, Home Economics and D & T for only half a year. So if he is studying Geography for first half, he can forget about Geography in second half of year. Many kids do struggle with Literature so take note. If your child is weak at Chinese, make sure he look out for the exam list with 造句,完成句子,etc to memorise. Sec 1 Design & Technology has a section on isometric drawing
which may be challenging for some kids. -
Heard that it is compulsory to buy laptop in Sec1. is it true? how to prevent mis-use such as playing computer games?
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The students have to buy a Macbook and it comes with a parental lock system. However, it is no use. The students are so smart. They load in Microsoft OS which will bypass the parental lock system and play internet games.
The only foolproof way to prevent them from computer games is to guard the laptop physically. Very “Leh-jeh”. -
MintLeaf:
I wrote something in the 2009 COP forum topic. Believe it was on the 23 Dec. Yes, it seems they have camps every year. I'm not a camp fan, but the kids seem to survive quite well. Generally secondary school is a big change for kids. There will be a number of team projects and initially the kids are not sensitive to deadlines. Depending on the teachers, the kids may be awarded zero for not handing up work on time. You can help your kid by checking Studywiz regularly. But some assignments are not posted on Studywiz although more than 80% are.
Make sure you can log on to both Studywiz and Admin Portal. Academic performance is posted on Admin Portal. Some kids neglect to vet their Admin Portal access choosing to use parent's account instead. Not a good idea as some info (especially at sec 2) are only accessible with student account.
The school has this system of teaching Geography, History, Home Economics and D & T for only half a year. So if he is studying Geography for first half, he can forget about Geography in second half of year. Many kids do struggle with Literature so take note. If your child is weak at Chinese, make sure he look out for the exam list with 造句,完成句子,etc to memorise. Sec 1 Design & Technology has a section on isometric drawing
which may be challenging for some kids.
Thanks, MintLeaf. Tat's very helpful. My son is very weak in Chinese. Do you know why the booklist doesn't come with Ch textbook? Any advice on CCA? My son is thinking of joining Infocomm cos he likes robotics and web design work. How many CCA are they required to join? Thanks in advance. -
The CL textbooks are stored in the Macbook, hence no textbooks. The students are required to join only one CCA.
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claire:
Hi Claire, did you son manage to get into Maris Stella?Hi everyone,
Does anyone care to share more about Maris Stella High School if your child is currently in this school ?
My son is waiting for his PSLE results and is keen to go into this school but there has been no open house so far (unless we had missed it ? ) .
Thank you. :lol:
Claire -
I just realized the books I bought from MS bookshop didn’t come with the CDROM as mentioned in the book list. Does anyone know why is this so? A friend told me in another school, the bookstore stamped on their booklist for the students to collect the CDRom in Jan. But no stamp for me. Perhaps it will be installed in the macbook? What gives??
Also, does anyone know anything about Maris Stella’s CCA points system? Seems we’ve to select CCA strategically taking into consideration the child’s interest plus points that can accumulate… Any input on ODAC and Infocomm or sports?
Thanks! -
skyjuice:
Hi Skyjuice,
Thanks, MintLeaf. Tat's very helpful. My son is very weak in Chinese. Do you know why the booklist doesn't come with Ch textbook? Any advice on CCA? My son is thinking of joining Infocomm cos he likes robotics and web design work. How many CCA are they required to join? Thanks in advance.
My son was given the eBooks sometime in the term, but some books such as Chinese and Literature were missing. For Literature, it could be due to copyright issue. As for Chinese, I am not sure why. The teacher gave a Word document for Chinese Book A during the first semester. But I did not see Book B for the second semester. They use the same Express textbooks that you can buy from Popular book store. I bought them on my own accord. The teacher does not teach every lesson in the textbook. I have listed the first 10 lessons for you below, so that you can check out the textbooks at Popular.
1\t您贵姓
2\t学好本领
3\t久别了的阳光
4\t挥一片春意
5\t给予是快乐的
6\t你给我拉车
7\t神农尝百草
8\t放心的地方
9\t这是怎么一回事
10\t新加坡河-我们的母亲
The HOD for Chinese was a contributing member for this text. Hence it's highly likely that they will be using the same textbook. By the way, my son is not doing HMT. If yours is, he will definitely be using different text.
Unfortunately, I am not familiar with the CCA. It's so complicated nowadays with the LEAPS system. I am not sure what the Infocomm CCA does. I only remembered one of my son's friends joined the Artificial Intelligence related CCA and quit because he felt he was not learning anything. He became a Scout in Sec 2.
A couple of CCA I thought could be interesting are Archery and Air Rifle. I have the impression that my friend's son bought his own bow for Archery and a good one may cost quite a fair bit. Your child can also volunteer to be a student councilor. If I knew about this earlier and the possibility of contributing to Leadership CCA points, I would have asked my son to volunteer.