Pat's Schoolhouse
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I put mine with pat’s because of the many success stories I heard. But the feedback were quite some times back. Anyone with elder child in pri 1/2 now who is coping well in school? Hope to get some positive assurance since the chances of transferring out is low. Good preschools are hot in demand nowadays! Enquire with a few not bad ones and they were all full with long waiting lists. Finally found one kindergarten with a relatively shorter queue. Fingers crossed.
In fact I am surprise when I read about the parent in this tread who pulled out from MFS to enroll in pats. The waiting lists for MFS is no joke. I was told that unless its a new center, i can forget about queueing. Too bad the new centers are not near my place.
My colleague with two children in MFS is full of praise for them. The updates are timely and she know exactly what her boys were doing each week. Even though their enrichments are additional cost, the total fees she paid for full day + enrichment is only 50% of what I paid to pats. Heard their speech and drama from Act3 and abacus, science are well received.
Only con is the teacher student ratio is pretty high. -
I’ve sent my 2 kids to Pat’s Mt Emily since they were 2. One is in K2 and another N2 now. Until this year, I’ve been quite satisfied with Pat Mt Emily but starting this year, quality has deteriorated a lot. Yes, the new principal (still new to me 'cos I only saw her twice this year) is NEVER there, to the extent that I’m wondering if she’s a part timer or running 2 schools concurrently. Staff organization is messy. Back office is quite a mess and the only communication I got from them is reminder about more deposit top ups and school fees. The saving grace is that the teachers are still ok and the fact that my K2 daughter has only less than 1 yr to go and she’ll miss her friends a lot if I change schools now. But next year, I’ll take my younger one out because I don’t have confidence in that school anymore. Patricia Koh left last November from the school she founded and sad to say, things are really 180 degrees different now. It probably is better at other branches if the principals are unchanged and remain as dedicated.
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Karl12,
We were on Pat’s waiting list long before we got our MFS vacancy!
There were a few reasons we decided to do the switch:
1. Core of all, MFS had a very organised curriculum, but lacks the teachers and support to deliver content.
On some days when teachers are absent and they are short handed, the toddler class was left to do their own activity (aka fiddle with toys).
The quality of teaching staff can vary widely.
I’ve tagged along for 1 school excursion, but I didn’t think the Teacher-In-Charge maximized the learning opportunities nor planned the content very well.
My child’s MFS Chinese teacher was very old-school, even I couldn’t identify with her during PTMs.
Comparably, the teachers at Pat’s Tanglin are really passionate with their charges. My child never fails to give his Chinese teacher a hug before going home, unprompted. I think that says a lot.
2. I felt the Letterland system provided a very comprehensive and cohesive foundation. 8 weeks in, my child is telling me about Annie Apple and Dippy Duck and humming the songs when I prompt him.
3. The bilingual immersion feature works for my child.
Having both English and Chinese teachers assigned to the class allows my child to see how the language blends into daily activities and keeps it relevant/ timely for him.
At MFS, Mandarin came in the form of Chinese lessons.
At Pat’s, I see the language cottoning on to my child in the form of fun/ daily conversations/ frequently used terms.
So yes, I could see very concrete learning objectives at MFS and the fees were way more affordable. But I saw/ felt a lot more passion from Principal Ada and her staff when they are interacting with the children.
Plus, my child is still enthusiastic about "going Pat’s" every morning, unlike some days when he was at MFS. -
And yes, MFS teacher: child ratio is very high.
1:8 was my experience, 24 kids to 3 teachers at the time of our exit (so you can imagine the chaos when 1 teacher takes MC!)
Because the cohort is large, some of the teachers find it hard to engage my boy as he doesn’t like sitting down too long (I am told he continues to fiddle and explore during class time at Pat’s!)
So far, we’ve been getting a weekly lesson debrief (about things they learn in class - called Playground Chatter?) + my son seems to be more vocally expressive about bits & bobs he heard in school, it does seem like he is liking it. -
I’m glad we made the change from a church kindie in 2012 to Pats in 2013.
Even thou Pats Tanglin may not do extensive learning profiling for my boy yet, but e casual chat with e chers give me e assurance they know way they r doing.
Even I as a mommy looks forward to send him to Pats! I also like the fact that they introduce new words & phrases thru e storytelling & interaction…lots of interesting Mandarin songs with actions.
My boy oso learns how to play ‘Scissors, Paper, stone’ in mandarin n recite ‘My body parts’ in a catchy chant…
E only thing is that written work probably comes in later part of N2 so continue to do learning while home… -
I’m also rather glad I made the switch from a church kindy…My son who is currently in K1 at Pats Serangoon will blurt out things like, "A dying star is very bright" and "Humans have red blood but not spiders" and talk to me about earthquakes. These are things that he learnt from his school excursions and Fastrack lessons. He used to complain about going to church kindy because he "doesn’t like learning", but he doesn’t complain anymore.
I withdrew him from the church kindy after I’d paid fees and bought materials, so I have the K1 workbooks for the entire year. Church kindys seem to be uniformly academic and the workbooks combined are 3cm thick! On weekends, I try to work through them with my son. For Chinese, the standard at Pats is similar to the kindergarten. They do similar things like writing and reading simple characters. Phonics, the syllabus is also on par as my son can do the workbook by himself. For English/Math, my son is really bored with the workbooks and has to be pushed to do them… However I don’t think he struggles to cope. I have noticed the workbooks for 2nd semester get more challenging (introducing longer words and addition and subtraction), so I’ll have to see how he copes with those. But for now, I wouldn’t worry too much about whether Pats is sufficiently academic. -
Hi camleelaa,
This is something new. I will go bac and check with my DS if he know whether \"the dying star is very bright\".
Do keep us updated on the academic aspect of the school's progress since you have another kinder's workbook to compare to.
My DS don't have to be learning K2 or Pri 1 work, like what some of the other kindergarden are drilling. I just hope his knowledge is on par with what normal K1 children are learning.
Anyone have MFS's K1 curriculum to share? My colleague call me kiasu so i dont really want to ask from her. :frustrated:
Anyway, I was told her K1 kid has homework and she has to spend time doing with her kid. Something i rather not have
Oh my center has some improvement.
I received the first K1 bulletin for the year. Finally, i know what my K1 has been doing for the past 2 weeks. The bulletin seems to be a fornightly update. Anyway, its the only one I received this year, so far. Even though he has attended school for 2 month+.
How about yours? How frequently do you receive such bulletin? -
Hi Mommee,
Glad to know that your DS is happy with the switch.
Mine also enjoy school. Guess the problem lies with me.
My kiasu-ism doesnt allow me to stand there and watch while he is slacking behind other children his age.
So now its quite tiring for me, after work i still have to go back and tutor him so that he can be on par with the other K1s from other schools.
I reckon if i dont buck him up now, K2 will be worse.
His cousin who is 6 months older than him is already reading chapter books.
Mine cant even read simple 5 letter words.
Anyway will be sending him to \"I Can Read\" soon.
Wondering if this is normal for Pat's children to attend reading enrichment program?
Or its just my DS??
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Just relax:
I am rather surprised at the many comments suggesting a drop in the PSH standards. Both DSs were at Claymore and were well prepared for P1 and many of their peers from parents' feedback were also happy and well prepared for P1. Though I must say this was when Pat Koh still owned PSH. That would be at least 5 years ago for DS2.
Seldom visit this thread. I am very surprised too to read some of the negative comments of Pats.
Has Pats std really dropped ? :? i ponder.....
My gal attended Pats some 10 yrs ago, initially at Katong and later yrs at Halifax.....
I have all prasies for Pats, esp Halifax branch, the Principal and her both El and CL teachers, caring and passionate......
Yrs after gal had left Pats, she still visisted Pat Koh, and her teachers during the sch holidays, and they all still remembered us....
To recall, majority of her Pats classmates did very well academically when they went to their respective primary schs.
Did very well .....in the sense that they were often amongst the Top few in the class.
In fact, Pats did a \"kinda of survey\" on their K2 graduates, seeking for feedback of the Kids' academic performance in primary schs.
My gal was chosen to be invited to go on TV for that particular Pats Program, but i rejected the offer......
as we dont feel comfortable \"to expose her on TV\"......
Even till date, those K2 classmates of my gal are still doing well, currently studying in various IP sec schs.....
whether co-incidently or not.....
i am still grateful that Pats had built and laid a strong foundation (all rounder) for my gal during her preschool days.....
instilling them their confidence and their hunger for knowledge and learning.....
these positive attitude will be with them for life......
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Just relax:
The standard of teaching was average but during my children's time 5 years ago and earlier they had Beijing-born Mandarin teachers who spoke only in Mandarin so children had no choice but to speak and so spoken Mandarin is good. I do not know if PSH has maintained that strict Mandarin standard now.
Same for my gal CL teacher, she was fr China.
her mandarin pronunciation was excellent, very accurate....
that was where she acquired her good foundation of CL and her accent ....
so much so that when she went for her CL oral exam in her primary sch...
she was often being asked the question if she a local ?? (singaporean)
But after a few yrs, being taught by locals in her pri sch, she lost touch of the accent......haha....
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