Pei Chun Public

[Imami]

Callie Tan:

Imami:

Can any parents let me know - if don't go sports class, can the kid still join sports related cca?

Yes the kids can join volleyball or basketball as a recreational CCA according to the Head of PE...

thanks Callie!

[jce]

As far as I am aware, P3 and 4 are not streamed according to their academic abilities, but there are 2 sport classes. P5 and 6, if academic is good, you may choose to go to the top class but still remain in the school sports team.

[mummyv]

Hey Callie :snuggles: yes overseas trips are usually at P5 level. I think there are 3 - Chinese immersion, aesthetics CCA and sports school team. So keep P5 holiday family plans last min - in case it clashes and DD is upset cannot go ... just like mine.. for once I planned 3 months in advance ... and it clashed with the Nov/Dec sports trip.


Hi bridesep sports class is from P3 to P6. Like you I was VERY apprehensive over time spent on sports CCA. It's only natural, we are PARENTS it is our job to worry. :evil:

1. Time management is school supported.
DD was so keen that she was willing to give up StarHub cable subscription so we took the plunge. I personally talked to the principal before committing to ensure that IF she does not do well I will not hesitate to pull her out. Don't worry, the school has a system in place. For P3/P4 on the days that sports training end late in the afternoon around 4/5pm, there is relatively little homework. This is VERY important as the child at P3 is still struggling with time management. Also during competition period, if the child misses school, the team may receive extra coaching during class time to ensure they can catch up. This is harder on the teachers. Sports CCA training is 3x a week w break for exams and also during school holidays (with 1-2 wk break for the long Dec hol).

2. Wide gap of students in sports class academically?
Yes this is true BUT it is true of every class at P3/P4 level in PCPS becos there is no streaming now. So this should not be a concern At P3/P4 - child needs to spend 1 day on CCA, so IMHO it will not matter if additional 2 days / wk is spent on sports if your child is coping well so far. Our children don't play enough. I take this as school supervised opportunity for play. And me being evil will naturally load DD with extra homework if she has too much free time to watch TV. :rotflmao:

3. Academic streaming at P5
Yes P3/P4 is your commitment to school. P5 onwards if the child is more academic then they will be streamed to 5A/5B etc. Only one sports class will remain. For me this is when the problem starts. Time management is no longer school supported... so as parents you have to be vigilant to ensure your child stays on top of things. It was a big issue for my child at the beginning, but children are amazing, they can cope IF they want to. Pace at P5 is very fast. For ex sports class kids streamed into academic classes, some dropped sports CCA at beginning of year when they could not cope, some out of school team after competition. This creates a \"vacancy\" so kids who did not stand a chance previously were \"promoted\" to school team even when they were not from sports class without extensive training at P3/P4 and their skills are not as good as those they replaced. There are kids who were not in the sports class who rose from the CCA ranks (those who train just once a week) to join school team based on talent. So sports class is just a grouping with time management supported by the school. Note, this streaming is current practice and may change whenever school decides.

4. DSA
I am no expert. I will not be exploring this as DD is not keen after experiencing first hand the amount of time needed. Seniors have successfully DSA but these kids are committed to the sport. Only time will tell if your child is committed to the sport. A friend of mine, whose child went in thru DSA said her DS was put in the last class in the sec school together with the rest of the DSA cohort and affiliation students whose COP are low. Thankfully her DS \"woke\" up and became a top scorer at Sec 3. Another friend whose child used DSA is still struggling academically even at Sec 4. So DSA is just another route. No good or bad, depends on the child and the opportunities for that year.

[jce]

DSA is a tough route, whether it is through arts or sports. Obviously you are eyeing for a top school, and so are hundreds of others. The child really needs to stand out in the sport or art in order to stand a chance. Once the child gets in, he/she needs to be equally strong academically otherwise he/she may be teased by other school kids. I have heard from AC and RI boys regarding this. So consider carefully if you are really thinking about DSA. To excel both in sports/arts and academic, it takes a lot of discipline and a dose of talent.

[bridesep]

Thank you, MummyV. Sorry to make you do a FAQs. Your answers are very detailed and impressive !


So is your daughter still in the VB school team? Sounds like P5 and P6 is even tougher. Already everyone tells me grades in P5 will drop 1 level as alot of stuff are cramped in P5 so that P6 can spend more time on revision.

Just curious, do the children in sports class still manage 9 to 10 hours of rest and can still manage tuition classes?

Aside to Callie - my views is just focus on 1 niche CCA. No way to do two. For me, I think even one is tough. ha ha..

[mummyv]

hi bridesep

i am loooong winded ... I nag too much.... that's why I am a mummy...
no DD is not in VB. Side note VB chance of hand injury is there. 9-10 hours of sleep for mine YES for P3/P4 no prob. No need to study on Sun except during exam prep time. But she only started tuition for science in P4 cos I gave up. We added in music at P4 after years of her asking when I was sure she could cope w sports CCA. P5 sleep is now down to 8 hours. P5 like I said was a struggle, still trying to find a balance. Sports CCA training is ave 8 hours/wk. Sun at best is half day rest. P6 I dunno we r not there yet and I am not one who plans too much ahead cos I am still struggling w P5 SA2 Seriously Chenouceau and other more enlightened parents use kid motivation as the main strategy - mine was more mummy say do this do that - so I am experimenting to try righting this... AND to remember if DD tries and tries hard enuf whatever she gets is OK. Process more important than results....

[999happygolucky]

Dear bridesep


Yes, 5A is the top class in PCPS. I think it still remains the same till this day. Naturally you will also see a lot of prefects from this class.
P3H and P3G are the sports classes. P3H is for table tennis and volleyball, during my DD’s time. Eventhough your academic results are good, as long as you have a niche CCA, you are in sports class. During her time, P3E was the top classes. But effective from year 2012, they don’t post students to P3 classes according to academics. They mix students of different levels of academics together in the same class. So you can’t tell where all the clever students are, in short, they are spread throughout all the P3 classes. But if you want to know who they are, very easy. The top 3 students of each class will be your top students.

If your child is in the school sports team, your chances to gain entry to a good sec school thru DSA is quite high. But you must check whether that secondary school has the CCA in the first place. Eg, Cedar Girls has a very strong volleyball team, thus they take in a lot of PCPS volleyball school team girls every year. If I am not wrong, this year they are taking 6 PCPS volleyball girls thru DSA to start their Sec 1 year next year. But Raffles Instuition does not have volleybal as its CCA, so it would be a waste of your kids’ time if you want to use this for DSA. Having said this, we should leave it to the kids to do the sports they like and not because of DSA.

999happygolucky

[bridesep]

Tks, MummyV and 999Happygolucky


Thanks for all the advice. Do you know what is the niche CCA for Hwa Chong Institute? I note that so far, the kids in the sports class are girls. I guess girls are more matured and manage time better.

I wonder how easy it is to drop out of sports class at p4. Maybe i can let my son try sports class and if his results drop, appeal to the prinicipal to be allowed to join normal calls at P4. What the PN said must be committed to P4. :scared:

MummyV , what CCA is your girl in?

999Happygo lucky , so you girl did not use the DSA route? Is she still active in sports now that she is in sec 2 ?

[kin]

Hi bridesep,


Understand why you are so worried. I think mummyv more or less summed up everything. Actually,it is a priviledge to be selected to be in sports class. And because the selection is based on sports, there are extremities in the results, hence the class consist of a mixed ability students. And I must second mummyv, I have checked with some of the non-sports classes for SA1 this year, it is the same and some even have even lower result range then the sports class.(we are proud and happy of this fact.)The school does stop CCA trainings temporarily nearer to exams so you dont have to worry about that too.

For my child, she enjoyed VB very much.The kids build team spirit, feel a sense of belonging to the school and when their peers win in matches, the atmosphere is really great. Of course the kids get physically tired with the training but the kids are very adaptive. They get special coaches to train them, they get to understand what sports discipline is like in the sport. I feel that there is value in that kind of school experience. EVen though the sch is top in VB nationals, I dont see the kids being pushed emotionally beyond their limit. The coach do not speak down to them or condemn them when they do not do well. I have not seen my girl come home emotionally upset because of training, except if she feels she has not played enough.I believe the coaches have handled them well and she looks forward to VB trainings.

If your child has art, music and swimming, I think that time management is crucial. In fact, my girl also has art, music, swimming as well as tuition. So her time is really packed. She enjoys it though but I have to be very strict in the sleeping time. I was like her "manager", managing her timing so she can enjoy her classes. When she fell sick this year, I cut away her art and swimming for now.

If we can replace CCA with our own enrichment classes, that would be great. But so far, thats not going to work for now. I think you dont have to worry so much for now. The volleyball training is not so tough in P3 and by the time its P4, your child will be well prepared. Of course, he must be consistent with his homework and I agree with mummyv, the teacher is not unreasonable to pile the child with hmwk during their training days.

In terms of learning, there is non of the sort, where,- since the kids are in the sports class, they are not academically inclined and so they need not be challenged academically. The kids are taught and exposed equally as with the other classes.

I believe that if you allow your child to enter sports class, it is because you value the experience your child get to gain from training in the sports class and their exposure to competition etc. At the end of P4 , there is streaming and that will be the real academic stress, by then you can decide to withdraw if you feel your child is not suitable.(in P5 sports class).

[kin]

Hi,

Just saw yr message, the prinicipal doesn’t allow any switch of classes in any point of P4 yr. AT the most, llike my girl has a medical condition, she is exempted from all trainings. There is no need to change class. Of course, this is a case to case basis. The quality of teachers the same. In fact, my girl’s teachers for these 2 years are very good.