Marymount Kindergarten

[pudgyme]

Hi Jul04, this is already a great help in enlightening me in school matters! Thanks alot ya~


....still torn whether to switch my boy to MMK & my 2nd child (2009) is also due to register for preschool soon...haha! so stressed! The main thing that is holding me back is the location/logistics/inconvenience...putting the limited vacancies & high costs & added costs of schoolbus transport aside..:p wah...

[jul04]

pudgyme:

Hi Jul04, this is already a great help in enlightening me in school matters! Thanks alot ya~


....still torn whether to switch my boy to MMK & my 2nd child (2009) is also due to register for preschool soon...haha! so stressed! The main thing that is holding me back is the location/logistics/inconvenience...putting the limited vacancies & high costs & added costs of schoolbus transport aside..:p wah...

Oh mine's also 2009. So must register this year if I want to send him to MMK for pre-nursery next yr. Or to put him into a Montessori playgroup & pre-nursery then switch to MMK for K1/K2. All this thinking is giving me a headache. :?:

[DesertWind]

pudgyme:

And is there any advice pertaining to the schoolbus to & from Toa Payoh to MMK? i'm interested to know what's the estimate duration of the journey, & the fees? And most importantly, is the kindy able to prepare the child for P1? i understand that there's not much discussion on the curriculum, tho i quite like that the focus of teaching is on child’s character building.. sighz..very stressful in making decisions...

:

Hi pudyme and jul04,

For schoolbus enquiries, please call CHUA BUS SERVICE at Tel: 9674-2287.

On the curriculum, actually the teachers gave a 2-hr briefing to all parents during the parent orientation in Sep10. It is an all-rounded ciriculum, I also don't know how to tell you. But my impression is MMK is not known as a very academic kindy or a kindy which gives tonnes of homework. One parent whose child already moved on to primary school gave feedback that comparatively, the standard may not be as high. If you want very academic kindies, think PAP and Kinderland for eg. But MMK is MOE registered and will prepare the kids for primary 1 I am sure. You must decide for yourself what you want for your kid.

Yes, it is not easy to make such decisions and you fear you may make a mistake for your kid. But from my personal experience, it helps to go visit a number of kindies and CCC yourself and ask questions. After a while, you will get a hang of it and you will get a gut feel whether you/your kid will like the place/teachers/cirriculum or not. Visit with your husband and kid too and both of you can discuss your first impression etc. which will lessen the stress.

All the best!

[greenbean2011]

hello smurf,



let’s ignore the one time registration fees and the one time refundable deposit from both kindergarten, and ignore the English / Chinese readers per year. These are all one time payment. Let’s zoom into the per term regular payment instead.


compare the school fees per term alone.
But make sure compare apple to apple.


i)\tmmk 3 hrs Pre-nursery playgroup $ 802.50 per term vs. also 3 hrs Newton playgroup $970 (ie. 800 + 80 + 90) per term –> difference of $170.


ii)\tmmk don’t have 4 mmk playgroup. So there’s nothing to compare.


iii)\tmmk 3 hrs Nursery $ 706.20 per term vs. 4 hrs Nursery Newton $1045 (ie. 875 + 80 + 90) per term. Difference of how much ? $ 340 more per term.


But 1 term got 10 weeks - so it’s about 3 mths closest round up?
take $340 divide by 3 mths means approx. $ 110 more per month.


pay $110 more per month at Newton for what ? to stay one hour extra longer duration, everyday Monday to Friday, compared to mmk.


I think it’s worth it.

Pay $110 more per month – to pay teachers’ salary for teaching an extra hour longer everyday, to pay classroom aircon fees by an extra hour of usage, to buy extra food ingredients for tea time makan, to pay kitchen staff salary cook more extra portion to supply tea time meal food for kids, prevent them from hungry.

[smurf]

Erm, I think it's not correct to calculate in this manner leh. I do agreed that pay extra more for an extra hr, but I dun agree to pay much more for the , food, etc, as this is already input into the extra 1 hr fee.



Actually, if MMk changed to 4 hrs, the fees are comparable, but MMK has very big play area? I'm not too keen in air con classroom leh...

[jul04]

DesertWind:

Hi pudyme and jul04,

For schoolbus enquiries, please call CHUA BUS SERVICE at Tel: 9674-2287.

On the curriculum, actually the teachers gave a 2-hr briefing to all parents during the parent orientation in Sep10. It is an all-rounded ciriculum, I also don't know how to tell you. But my impression is MMK is not known as a very academic kindy or a kindy which gives tonnes of homework. One parent whose child already moved on to primary school gave feedback that comparatively, the standard may not be as high. If you want very academic kindies, think PAP and Kinderland for eg. But MMK is MOE registered and will prepare the kids for primary 1 I am sure. You must decide for yourself what you want for your kid.

Yes, it is not easy to make such decisions and you fear you may make a mistake for your kid. But from my personal experience, it helps to go visit a number of kindies and CCC yourself and ask questions. After a while, you will get a hang of it and you will get a gut feel whether you/your kid will like the place/teachers/cirriculum or not. Visit with your husband and kid too and both of you can discuss your first impression etc. which will lessen the stress.

All the best!

Thanks for the school bus contact!

Yeah I seem to gather that MMK is not the 'study study enrichment prepare for gifted 'type of kindy. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to be known more for the patient & loving teachers & environment?

I'm caught in that dilemma. I'd want my boy to have his childhood so to speak. Not to have to study & study at this young age. But it's so pressurising when everyone else ard is doing so much more than him - what Shichida, music, Little Neuro Tree, Growing Up Gifted.. I have no idea what all these are! So.. willing or not, I get caught in the rat race.

I have to think abt it some more, but I'd like to put him in a place where there is caring & kindness.. enough prep for Pri 1 would do, no need to be gifted. But I have to determine if I can stand firm in the face of all the peer pressure

[smurf]

Hi jul04,


Have PM u.

For MMK, it's not about academic, if you want your child to ace in academic then MMK is not for u. There is NO spelling or tingxie even in k2, and Chinese isn't very strong. But there is chinese enrichment twice a week, after school hrs. They are very strong in English though. Teachers are strict but they are not fierce. They teach children well, in term of behavior and character.

:celebrate:

[greenbean2011]

hello smurf,



may i know what Phonics is Marymount kindergarten using ?

[smurf]

greenbean2011:

hello smurf,



may i know what Phonics is Marymount kindergarten using ?

Erm, actually I'm not too sure, even though my boy graduated from there! Hee...but I remember one mummy said they use in house phonics? :?

[greenbean2011]

hi smurf,


last time did you send yr elder son for Speech & drama ?
which one did you send - english or chinese ? does it help ?