Pei Chun Public

[bridesep]

Imami:

Can anyone share with me - is there any cca or any school activities on saturday? Thanks.

I know Wushu is on Sat morning. I do see pupils in sports attire going to school

[bridesep]

This is what I found out from the sports class briefing:


1. there are 2 sports classes: 3H and 3I. They will move up to 4H and 4I. There is no competition at p3. Practice is once a week from Jan to June. This is because the external coaches are busy preparing the other levels for competition. From July to Dec, practice will be twice a week. For VB, practice will start from term 1 week 2.

2. At the end of P4, only half will make it to the school team. Those who make it to the school team will join 5G and then move on to 6G. At the end of p4, pupils will be streamed based on academic results. Those in sports class 4H and 4I, if their results are good, they get to go 5A and 5B. Even if fail subjects in 5G, the pupils still get to move up to 6G, they will not be asked to stay back in primary 5.

3. Come June holidays, practice is 2 weeks out of 4 weeks. Frequency can be twice or three times a week. For Dec holidays, 5 weeks out of 6 weeks have practice. Only the Christmas week is a true break.

4. Pupil in Sports class will join the coach for training for 2 out of the 3 PE sessions.

5. Competitions only start in P4. They will play inter-school, zone and then national. At P6, competitions will end around Apr so that the pupils can prepare for PSLE.

6. From 2005 to 2010, school team went for overseas training. From 2011, they will go for overeseas tournament. In 2011, the school team went to Taiwan together with Principal, Sports HOD and 9 teachers. Trips only meant for P5. Parents cannot accompany and the trip is not free but subsidised. Duration is about 7 to 8 days. So far, they have been to Hangzhou, Xiamen, etc…

7. For DSA Volleyball for boys, the schools are Catholic High, Dunman High and Chung Cheng High. For VB girls, they are Cedar, Nanyang and SCGS. During tournaments at p6, secondary school coach will watch the tournaments and identify the players. They will then approach PCPS teachers. So far, Cedar take the most VB girls, can be up to 6. Sorry didnt manage to take down the DSA schools for other sports. Once offered DSA, as long as PSLE score 200, can get into the school.

8. To do well in sports calls, need to be very disipline and good in time management. The school is there to help and will make sure that the pupils’ academic results do not suffer. But parents’ support is the most important.

9. Once in the sports class, not advisable to take up another CCA. The pupil will not be able to cope.

Hope the above info helps.

[Imami]

bridesep:

Imami:

Can anyone share with me - is there any cca or any school activities on saturday? Thanks.

I know Wushu is on Sat morning. I do see pupils in sports attire going to school

Thanks bridesep

[Callie Tan]

Think bridesep has covered most of the points discussed during the dialogue session.


After the session, I learnt a few things pertaining to my situation. One of them is as my girl is not "highly talented" in VB and the fact that she has already chosen CO as the CCA, the school will not offer her any place in the sports class at all. We will not be notified at all. It was only because I contacted Mrs Bernadette Chen to ask (I saw the scheduled sports dialogue session from OCT newsletter) hence they did a check and got back to me then I knew about this selection result.

Anyway, I am still thankful that it is not too late and the school allows us to consider and decide… I am quite impressed with the school’s support to the sports class students… It is just a little puzzling to me that such a programme (they gave a name to this programme which I didn’t really catch it) which has been implemented so long ago to identify sports talent in PCPS is like a mystery to many parents including myself… It will really be helpful if parents know and understand this entire programme much much earlier (Like when the kids are in P1) in order to choose an appropriate CCA. (by that I mean something the kids will enjoy and yet beneficial to their subsequent academic routes)

[Table Spoon]

Bridesep has given a good summary of the sports classes.


A few more points here for parents who are considering sending their kids to sports classes.
- Training can be v demanding and tough. The kids must have the passion for the sports.
- Parental support is v important. Missing training sessions regularly is not a good idea.
- From P4 onwards, there is training on sat. Be prepared to reschedule your kids’ piano lessons and tuition classes.
- DSA provides students with special talents, who have not met the PSLE cut off point for entry into certain sec schs, a chance to join the sch, but the kids must make sure they can catch up academically. Some sec sch has sports classes with small class size (like 15 to 20 as opposed to 40 in a class) and special programs to ensure that their sportsmen’s academic results are on par with the rest by end of 1st or 2nd year.
- Schools for DSA VB also include Anderson Sec, Chinese High and Bukit Panjang High.
- As compared to VB, there are in fact many more schools offering DSA table tennis, eg. RI, RGS, Nanyang Girls, Cedar, Chinese High, Catholic High, CHIJ St Nicholas, Dunman High, Maris Stella, SJI, etc…
- If your kid is really good at the sports, the sec sch coaches will keep calling you during P6 DSA application time.

Hope the above helps.

[Callie Tan]

I called Nanyang Girls and Dunman High today. The schools confirmed that they do take in students from Chinese Orchestra too… can any parent share their experience of their children from CO entering these schools via DSA?

[Callie Tan]

For all the parents who have shared their experiences and advices… I have signed up my girl for volleyball… she should be in the sport class next year. I really hope this is going to benefit her… thanks for all the help!!

[Table Spoon]

Callie, well done. I’m sure it will work out well for your daughter.


My girl in 3H enjoys every VB training session. Coach is strict but they learn well. She hopes to get into the school team although I think the most important/rewarding thing is that she stays fit through the sports she likes.

[Callie Tan]

Table Spoon:

Callie, well done. I'm sure it will work out well for your daughter.


My girl in 3H enjoys every VB training session. Coach is strict but they learn well. She hopes to get into the school team although I think the most important/rewarding thing is that she stays fit through the sports she likes.

Thanks for your encouragement Table Spoon...

May I check... so far your P3 girl's training this whole year is it tough? Have they started to take part in competitions yet? Or they are asked to go to various competitions to observe?

[Table Spoon]

Training for first half of the year is very manageable as the coach will be focusing on the sch team participating the zonal and national competitions. For P3 kids, training only stepped up in term 3 when they have an extra training session every Mon afternoon. Hence, training is 3 times a week - twice in the afternoons and once during PE. More physical and skill training from term 3 onwards, can be very tiring.


My girl participated in inter-school Bassaball, a fun telematch-style volleyball game. They are also asked to watch and cheer for the school team during competitions. Almost all inter-school VB competitions are held in Pei Chun since it has one of the best VB courts (better than the ones in Cedar, Nanyang Girls and Hwa Chong) and it’s the south zone Centre of Excellence for Sports.

On the whole, I’m happy that she enjoys the sports and benefiting from the sports class so far. Her teachers are very good, too!