Pei Chun Public

[Callie Tan]

Hi Kin,


Thank you so much for your sharing…

I am having slightly better idea now… and have spoken to another parent too… Yes I agree that taking 2 CCAs is going to be taxing on our children. I think the entire system of choosing a CCA is not "friendly" at all. We were asked to choose a CCA in July from Chinese Dance, Chinese Orchestra and Choir. At that point of time I have no clue whether my girl is selected for any sports yet so thinking that it is a must to pick at least a CCA for her, we picked CO. Practises have started and my girl is enjoying the sessions with her close friends. Now that this volleyball thingy pops up, it is disruptive and we are caught in a dilemma. I can’t possibly tell my girl to quit CO to switch to volleyball, which is also something she enjoys. So now how??

[999happygolucky]

Hi Yellowbelt


I am trying to recall from memory as my DD is already Sec 2 now. Like what Yellowbelt said, volleyball training for school team members will step up after 2nd term in P3. Remembered her going for extra training on Sat afternoon (including 1 afternoon training on weekday).

I don’t send my kid for tuition, so it did not affect the time she spent on studying. But definitely she felt more tired as they trained real hard. The girls’ team are always the top three for zone and national championship, so the tough training.

My DD was in P4H (Sports class) but in P5A and not P5H eventhough she is in the school team. They will stream you according to academics from P5 onwards. So there were times when she had to miss lessons and did lots of catch up when she went for competitions. She was the only volleyball player in her class, so a lot depended on her own to seek for help. Competiton starts from Feb and last til April (if you get into National).

As long as your child knows how to juggle between sports and studies, I am sure she will like it.

happygolucky

[Callie Tan]

Hi 999happygolucky,


Thank you for your sharing too…

Honestly, the other reason why I am caught in this dilemma is because I heard that some students from PCPS managed to opt for DSA through CCAs such as basketball and volleyball. If my girl is keen in volleyball and there’s this open opportunity/option in time to come, I don’t see why I should give up the choice of taking up volleyball as CCA… the only qulams I have is whether my info is accurate/true… Is it too kiasu if I were to analyse this whole CCA issue in this manner? According to the teacher I spoke to, Chinese Orchestra is also the niche sport in PCPS?

[minty2000]

The volleyball training is even tougher when the kids DSA into the secondaries school which really stress the importance of training… my nephew won’t be home till 10pm and the training sometimes in sentosa beach !!! I faint when i hear that, where got time to revise and won’t they be tired out totally ??

[ijul]

Hi.

I’ve a son in P3 volley ball class. No doubt to have a chance in volley ball team is excellence however i thinking to try other CCA for him.
Any advice how to do it ? Does he need to complete 2 years ?

Thank you

[kin]

Hi Callie,


You know, I entered also with that kind of thinking - DSA. IF and if your child is a star player, she probably be invited to the secondary sch -there is one in Bukit timah Rd that is excellent in VB and Academics, the other is near Macpherson, Another should be in AMK.

But as the other mummy said, it is really really tiring. And at the end of the day, the child is not coping well. So I would say, if you want your child to enter through DSA, that means you will push your child for both studies and CCA. Incase, she dont make it with studies, she can use CCA. DSA application starts early. A VB team consist of 5 players. From my understanding, My girl said that there is only ONE VB team in the class, the rest, are either the reserves(not sure how many). My girl can spend the entire VB training playing/ or even just doing drills. If competition draws near, the coach only focus on the team. If not, there will be 2 teams plus reserves. So, can be quite demoralising. The rest of the classmates are table tennis players. Currently, 4I is basketball class and 4H is volleyball class.

As much as I said, that is how it is run. There is no unfairness. The fittest survives. To me, now, is for my girl can get in to 5A, B or C ( my goal for my girl now.)So If your girl is really gd in her studies, she will naturally be streamed into 5A, as with the rest of the niche CCA players who are gd in studies. You can call up the head in charge of the CCA and talk to them. In any case, please dont let them know that you know so many details.I believe there is more or less changes to the schedules year after year. So better to check with them if you want a fuller picture.

[Callie Tan]

ijul:

Hi.

I've a son in P3 volley ball class. No doubt to have a chance in volley ball team is excellence however i thinking to try other CCA for him.
Any advice how to do it ? Does he need to complete 2 years ?

Thank you

May I know why you want to try other CCA?

[Callie Tan]

kin:

Hi Callie,


You know, I entered also with that kind of thinking - DSA. IF and if your child is a star player, she probably be invited to the secondary sch -there is one in Bukit timah Rd that is excellent in VB and Academics, the other is near Macpherson, Another should be in AMK.

But as the other mummy said, it is really really tiring. And at the end of the day, the child is not coping well. So I would say, if you want your child to enter through DSA, that means you will push your child for both studies and CCA. Incase, she dont make it with studies, she can use CCA. DSA application starts early. A VB team consist of 5 players. From my understanding, My girl said that there is only ONE VB team in the class, the rest, are either the reserves(not sure how many). My girl can spend the entire VB training playing/ or even just doing drills. If competition draws near, the coach only focus on the team. If not, there will be 2 teams plus reserves. So, can be quite demoralising. The rest of the classmates are table tennis players. Currently, 4I is basketball class and 4H is volleyball class.

As much as I said, that is how it is run. There is no unfairness. The fittest survives. To me, now, is for my girl can get in to 5A, B or C ( my goal for my girl now.)So If your girl is really gd in her studies, she will naturally be streamed into 5A, as with the rest of the niche CCA players who are gd in studies. You can call up the head in charge of the CCA and talk to them. In any case, please dont let them know that you know so many details.I believe there is more or less changes to the schedules year after year. So better to check with them if you want a fuller picture.

Thank you for your advice.

I do understand where you are coming from. DSA is an important option but I agree we need to also consider other factors. The Head of PE has told me that my girl is not the top few students selected for volleyball. Apparently some of the \"more talented\" kids decided to drop out so they go down the list and my girl is next... so this does affect my decision process... Yes you hi-lighted an important fact which is how many of the kids will be selected into the school team. The chances will be very slim... considering that my girl might not belong to the highly talented group in volleyball.

I am hoping to speak to the teacher-in-charge of CO so that I can better evaluate this situation. My girl is enjoying herself in CO and the last I want is to rock the boat...

[mummyv]

Callie Tan:

we picked CO. Practises have started and my girl is enjoying the sessions with her close friends. Now that this volleyball thingy pops up, it is disruptive and we are caught in a dilemma. I can't possibly tell my girl to quit CO to switch to volleyball, which is also something she enjoys. So now how??

Hi Callie

Just to share some personal observations. My DD was from sports class. Some kids in her class took one sports CCA and one other CCA. Sports CCA training is usually 3 times a week, 4/5 times more intensive during competition AND some parents opt for private coaching (more for individual sports). In P3/4 no issue. In P5 level of schoolwork difficulty increases so many who took double CCA were forced to choose one. DSA route depends on child, mine won't use this because she wants to try out other CCAs in sec school without pressure of committing to the same sports.

During the sports class briefing, the Principal then made this observation - kids who are active will be active. It does not mean if more time is spent on a sport, studies will suffer. If the child does not attend training it does not mean he/she will use the time to study. My own observation with my child and her friends is this is true. However the sports class students are more playful and the teacher will be pressed to engage them to be serious. The hope for me is with sports training the values of sportsmanship and making smart use of time is reinforced. Feedback from school coaches is not automatic, you have to seek it out.

One last observation, the change from sports to academic class can be quite a culture shock for the playful child who realises the academic class students can be so studious.

[Callie Tan]

mummyv:

Callie Tan:

we picked CO. Practises have started and my girl is enjoying the sessions with her close friends. Now that this volleyball thingy pops up, it is disruptive and we are caught in a dilemma. I can't possibly tell my girl to quit CO to switch to volleyball, which is also something she enjoys. So now how??

Hi Callie

Just to share some personal observations. My DD was from sports class. Some kids in her class took one sports CCA and one other CCA. Sports CCA training is usually 3 times a week, 4/5 times more intensive during competition AND some parents opt for private coaching (more for individual sports). In P3/4 no issue. In P5 level of schoolwork difficulty increases so many who took double CCA were forced to choose one. DSA route depends on child, mine won't use this because she wants to try out other CCAs in sec school without pressure of committing to the same sports.

During the sports class briefing, the Principal then made this observation - kids who are active will be active. It does not mean if more time is spent on a sport, studies will suffer. If the child does not attend training it does not mean he/she will use the time to study. My own observation with my child and her friends is this is true. However the sports class students are more playful and the teacher will be pressed to engage them to be serious. The hope for me is with sports training the values of sportsmanship and making smart use of time is reinforced. Feedback from school coaches is not automatic, you have to seek it out.

One last observation, the change from sports to academic class can be quite a culture shock for the playful child who realises the academic class students can be so studious.

Appreciate your sharing. In fact, it will be really helpful if some parents can share their personal experiences with me so that I can know what to do. You have enlightened me on one point : that although my girl enjoys volleyball now but opting for the DSA route (if ever possible) might deprived her from choosing other CCAs in secondary school.

My daughter is ok with both volleyball and CO but we know that there's no way she can cope with both in time to come. We gotta choose one. If this is the case, it's really no point for her to struggle between the 2 at all, might as well decide now...