All About GEP

[smurfette3]

sakura_2009:

I'll be more than happy if DS says he doesn't want to go for the 2nd round BUT he is telling me he wants to go because close to half of his class are going Definitely not the right attitude and I have given him a piece of my mind :x

Mine is opposite, he does not want to go because his friends are not going. They are so young and already influenced by peers.

[smurfette3]

Neko:

Hi. When dd was offered GEP, I was not for joining. My (weird ? lazy?) thinking was if she stays in mainstream she'd probably be able to breeze through & hv a stressless childhood (except for chinese, she does not attend any enrichment -- really lots of time to play). But dd decided to join GEP after some careful deliberation.

What surprises me is how relaxed dd is this yr. She is aware that she is not likely to top the std like last time and is perfectly fine with it. Though her math is no where near the stds of her mostly math-geniuses classmates, she is not perturbed cos she was told by teachers that 'they are good at different things, there is no need to compare.' With a relatively smaller class of 26, the teachers are able to spot and nurture talents accordingly (e.g. story writiing competition for those with a flair for writing). She has learnt to be an independent learner and is very happy this year. I am glad I supported her decision. As her teacher puts it : 'she's finally come home'.

Find out as much as possible about GEP, present the facts to your son and let him make an informed decision. If a child gets selected without 'training', GEP would be an enriching experience.

Your daughter's teacher seems very good. I heard GEP teachers are specially selected from the existing cohort of teachers in school. They choose those teachers that are known to have good content knowledge so that is another plus for going to GEP, I guess.

[KSmom8]

TwaTau:

Neko:

May I know what is P5 GEP like ? More projects? Heavier workload ? :thankyou:

This is mainly from my observation of DS the past year. Project wise, at the end of last year, they were asked to choose between IvP and FPS. Workload was heavy for first half of the year and either they have become more efficient with their work or the programme taper them down, it seems to become lighter now. They attended quite abit of competitions throughout the year.
Only thing DS ask me occasionally was Maths, and it is still just as difficult compare to P4. The rest he seems to be able to sort out himself.

Thank you for the information!

Just to clarify - the P4 GEPpers have to select between IvP and FPS by end of this year???

Exams are finally over (well ... almost... DS still has listening compre next week). DS is now happily playing with his Wii :lol: Will let him know about IvP and FPS ... perhaps ... next week.

[vlim]

Neko:

May I know what is P5 GEP like ? More projects? Heavier workload ? :thankyou:

more writeout assignment for SS and EL as compare to p4, Science ok. the various olympaids for science and Maths will start from term 2. All geppers are encouraged to take up Maths olympaids but for most Science olympiads the teacher will select the students for it...For those who are qualified for the second round of olympiads, it will keep them abit busy in term 3...If your child joins the school debate activities, which the teacher will check who is keen to join in early p5 ..that will also keep your child pretty busy...(my ds chose not to join without my consent ....

[fruitplus]

smurfette3:

Wow, fruitplus, your feedback has given me much more insight to the GEP programme. My son is indeed creative and inquisitive and he gets bored easily in his class at times. He is also not the top in the best class. He is somewhere in the 10th - 12th position.

But he is the kind that will get very upset if I push too much so I was very hesitant about getting him to go for round 2 of GEP. However, after reading what you said, I think the GEP does not sound like a pressure cooker. It sounds interesting and I think I can share this with him. I can't imagine how the children who are trained for GEP will feel if they don't get in. I really feel strongly that GEP is something that we should not train our children for.

Hi smurfette3,

What I did was: I asked my son to treat the selection test as any other normal test, and try his best. I told him: No harm trying.

I still remember my son's Nursery teacher (Montessori) said that my son was very creative. But I didn't think there was any significance at that time. His P1/P2 English teacher said he was way too imaginative (haha), becos he wrote in a fairy tales story: The prince climbed 2000 stories to save the princess !!! (Poor prince must be very tired!!)

If your son is like my son, and feel bored in class, GEP should suit him.

My friend's son is very good in Maths and Science, but not very keen on languages. He managed to pass GEP 1st selection test, but not the 2nd round. He is real sharp and smart. At P5, P6, he was bored to death and lost interest in school, bcos maths and science was too easy for him. I think he would have done well in GEP. He is waitlisted to DSA NUSH now.

By the way, the GEP teachers are very well-trained and the students are encouraged to ask questions and participate actively in class discussions. Due to small class size, the teachers know every students very well. They can pinpoint their weakness very easily and the teacher/student rapport is really very good.

So, it is a very different style of teaching compared to mainstream class. When my son was in P4, I helped in Parent support group and I found out 1st hand that they are very 'nosy' (they asked so many questions!!!), very confident, very cheeky, compared to mainstream class. I personally think that it is very difficult to teach such classes, and the teachers are all great.

Oh, after a year in GEP class, my son became more 'cunning', more vocal, and more cheeky. He always tries to find 'loop-hole' in what I said, he is not as obedient as before. Well, I guess that is how it goes...

I just remembered 1 of the Interesting (and humorous) Maths worksheet he did in P4. The kids loved it!!! They get to count M&Ms, then did some groupings and answered some observations. I remembered Instruction 1 said: Open the M&Ms, BUT DO NOT EAT THEM. The last instruction on the worksheet said: NOW YOU CAN EAT THE M&Ms!

Don't you think it is a very enjoyable way to learn Maths??! My daughter from mainstream was so envious!!

I almost forgot. The other things that the kids would learn is : Filing.

There is no textbooks for English, Maths, Science and Social Studies, just lots and lots of worksheets. The kids are given content page every term, they have to file the worksheets and test papers accordingly. The filing contributes to 10% (I think) in the final results.

I think this is to encourage the kid to be organised and systematic.

[fruitplus]

Hi vlim,


Wow, your son made the decision himself!! Actually, it is good to join the debate team.

For my son’s case, he was not chosen by the teacher. My son told me the debate team in his school are trained by someone from RI. If I remembered correctly, everyone in the debate team got confirmed offer for DSA into RI.

[TwaTau]

KSmom8:

Just to clarify - the P4 GEPpers have to select between IvP and FPS by end of this year???

That is what I remember, as they were informed beginning of this year on who get what. The school will probably brief them on IvP and FPS near the semester end, then they can decide on what they want to take up.

[wwcookie]

fruitplus:

By the way, the GEP teachers are very well-trained and the students are encouraged to ask questions and participate actively in class discussions. Due to small class size, the teachers know every students very well. They can pinpoint their weakness very easily and the teacher/student rapport is really very good.

So, it is a very different style of teaching compared to mainstream class. When my son was in P4, I helped in Parent support group and I found out 1st hand that they are very 'nosy' (they asked so many questions!!!), very confident, very cheeky, compared to mainstream class. I personally think that it is very difficult to teach such classes, and the teachers are all great.

Oh, after a year in GEP class, my son became more 'cunning', more vocal, and more cheeky. He always tries to find 'loop-hole' in what I said, he is not as obedient as before. Well, I guess that is how it goes...

I just remembered 1 of the Interesting (and humorous) Maths worksheet he did in P4. The kids loved it!!! They get to count M&Ms, then did some groupings and answered some observations. I remembered Instruction 1 said: Open the M&Ms, BUT DO NOT EAT THEM. The last instruction on the worksheet said: NOW YOU CAN EAT THE M&Ms!

Don't you think it is a very enjoyable way to learn Maths??! My daughter from mainstream was so envious!!

I almost forgot. The other things that the kids would learn is : Filing.

There is no textbooks for English, Maths, Science and Social Studies, just lots and lots of worksheets. The kids are given content page every term, they have to file the worksheets and test papers accordingly. The filing contributes to 10% (I think) in the final results.

I think this is to encourage the kid to be organised and systematic.

Shouldn't all classes be conducted in this manner? GEP or otherwise? I'm sure all children will benefit from such creative ways of teaching, not just the gifted ones. MOE should strive to nurture creative and confident children, regardless of whether they are in the top 1% or not, and not just exam-smart children.

[jtoh]

KSmom8:

Just to clarify - the P4 GEPpers have to select between IvP and FPS by end of this year???

:

Some schools offer more than just IvP and FPSP. Your child should have received a comprehensive briefing already. Selection and assignment for the RS should be at end of P4.

[cluelessmama]

KSmom8:

Exams are finally over (well ... almost... DS still has listening compre next week). DS is now happily playing with his Wii :lol: Will let him know about IvP and FPS ... perhaps ... next week.

Yep, only left with listening compre - doesn't need to prepare. My kid played Wii shooting game with me (mum needs to relax too) Now, I'm glad that the exam is so early, coz it ends early ... Yeah!