2013 Sec 1 Discussions

[janet88]

He was so tired that he wanted to sleep at 7pm…but I had to keep him up till 9pm or he will wake up from power nap and have problems sleeping after that. Guess that is reason why our kids have high myopia problems.

Gosh, he has 1 CCA and already tired…what about some schools which have compulsory 2 CCAs? Better start investing in some vitamins to boost immunity and prep him up mentally.

[fifiyeo]

janet_lee88:

Hubby told son he took scouts back then...how his Sunday was burnt having to stay at home to finish school homework. Why Sunday? Bcos after scout CCA on saturdays, he was too tired after that to get anything done. So we had an agreement - NO UG.



Today, son stayed back for CCA...first day. Then he said there may be days he has to stay till 7 for CCA...I was like :yikes: wake up at 6am and last till 7pm in school? :nailbite: Only Sec 1 and school life is so demanding?

I seriously think MOE and schools should relook the curriculum. Sure agree that the kids are expected to go through their days like an adult. Even some adults don't work such long hours. Certainly isn't promoting healthy lifestyle.

Also noitced that DS eats reccess at about 9+am but won't get another break until 1.50pm or 2.25pm. Isn't that a bit too long in between? The pupils must be hungry. For sure my DS is!!

[fifiyeo]

slmkhoo:

fifiyeo:

Not true. DH told son even before choosing CCA. NO UG!!! That takes too much time and you will end up in trouble with your work. Everything is good depending if you can cope. No need to add extra stress. Mommy will go crazy.

As I said, even with my husband, he does assess the child's ability to cope first.

Sorry no offence. Wasn't directing at you.
Just meant that DH here also behaving like mommy or maybe don't want mommy here to lose her sanity and scream at him too!!

[janet88]

I agree sec school is very different from primary school. But just don’t understand why the poor kids have to face that ‘culture shock’ from having to stay back till 4+, 3-4 times a week…where will they find time to revise their work ? At the moment, there are no group projects or whatever. But CCA till 6pm or 7 is a little insane. If these long hours are at tertiary levels, that is understandable. The jump from P6 to Sec 1 is too BIG. Sorry for the ranting.

[Just relax]

I don’t think the jump between P6 and Sec.1 is that great if you are looking at time spent in school.


In P6 DC stays back 2x till 4 for supplementary classes, 1x for CL till 4.30, 1x for CCA till 4.30 so only 1 day finish on time. On that "early" day DC will have tuition which stretches till 7.00. On Sat because of what DC does, DC has outside training for competition from 7 pm till 11pm and on Sun training from 2 pm till 4 pm. On top of this DC does badminton for fun & family time from 6-8 on Fri nite and 6-8 on Sunday nite.

So being a typical P6 DC I think, as in the class when u speak to other parents this routine is normal for P6, some P6 for competition train every day after school from 5-7 (swimming, water polo, sailing activities are some egs).

So in P6 there is already this substantial increase in school hours because of PSLE. In Sec 1 it just carries on but without the added pressure of a serious exam at the end of the year.

[kwcllf]

janet_lee88:

I agree sec school is very different from primary school. But just don't understand why the poor kids have to face that 'culture shock' from having to stay back till 4+, 3-4 times a week...where will they find time to revise their work ? At the moment, there are no group projects or whatever. But CCA till 6pm or 7 is a little insane. If these long hours are at tertiary levels, that is understandable. The jump from P6 to Sec 1 is too BIG. Sorry for the ranting.

So far, my DS school only requires him to stay back for games every Tuesday until about 4-4.30pm, other than CCA which has not started yet.

From your earlier posts, I was thinking like \"Wow! What school is this? So fast have tests and so many programmes and really 'on the ball'\". But given the number of days spent in school and the long hours, seems like an overkill.

Perhaps, you may want to find out more from the school and feedback to them?

[janet88]

kwcllf:

janet_lee88:

If these long hours are at tertiary levels, that is understandable. The jump from P6 to Sec 1 is too BIG. Sorry for the ranting.

So far, my DS school only requires him to stay back for games every Tuesday until about 4-4.30pm, other than CCA which has not started yet.

From your earlier posts, I was thinking like \"Wow! What school is this? So fast have tests and so many programmes and really 'on the ball'\". But given the number of days spent in school and the long hours, seems like an overkill.

Perhaps, you may want to find out more from the school and feedback to them?

I did email the Math teacher regarding supplementary lessons...was told for secondary school, students are expected to keep weekdays free.

[SAHM_TAN]

Not sure why I’m posting this comment here. Just feel wanted to share, of course can ignore. On the subject of staying later in school, of course my example is peanut. dd1 stayed back in school when she was P1 once a wk till 4.15pm becos of CCA. This year P2 her CCA has 2 days commitment, so this yr there are 2 days she will stay in school till 4.15pm.

[TheAnswer]

I think it’s normal for secondary school students to stay back on weekdays. My student stays back on 3 weekdays to practice for SYF band and sat from 8.30am to 6.30pm for band also. This is insane!

[BeContented]

Perhaps I'm the minority, but I think my kids may be a little trained liao.

Currently, he reach home at
Tues ~8pm / Thurs ~6.30pm / Mon & Fri after 4pm & still pending another CCA to be made known.

Last 2 years while DS was in P5&P6,he was already staying back in school 3-5days a week.
Mon - supp class + councilor meeting (end 3.30pm)
Tues - HMT + sports CCA (5pm)
Wed - MO programme held in another Sch (end 4pm)
Thurs - supp class + Mathsclub CCA (end 5pm)
Fri - impromptu (he had some additional competition/programme etc)

Yes, sometimes he feels tired but on the whole, he is motivated cos he enjoyed whatever activities he had participated & I believe he felt he had contributed. And yes, on top of the above, he still had his 4 subject tuition/enrichment.
However in P6, workload was heavier & he had to work past 11pm often. Eventually ~Apr, I had to ask him to cut down on his CCA - he had wanted to continue his MathsClub & Sports even in Term3. Tho he concentrated on studies in term3, I do think kids still need some 'relaxation'. So instead of the CCA, he joined a friend to play table-tennis on Fri from 2-6pm. Also occasionally, he went to a classmate house for a 2-3 hour gaming. on sat&sun, he still had his 2hours gaming plus other playtime. All these lasted till end Aug. Honestly, if he had to study non-stop & had no play time, I think they will burnt out fast. I will go crazy too just by watching them study & study. (mommy not a very studious student myself )

Kids have a lot more energy than us. Let them learn some time management early. Much as I pity them at times, but it's good to push a little (gauge & judge for your own kids capacity) so that they can build some resilience. Dun want 'strawberries' to grow at home In my case, so far so good.

So eventually, we as parents will have to observe & adjust accordingly. For my P6 gal, she may have a slightly different approach since her school workload is a lot more. So I'll be dropping 1 of her tuition from Apr for more rest time & may adjust more as we go along. (She also not as energetic as the boy).