Pat's Schoolhouse
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wow… suddenly this thread is alive since Sept!
my DS is in Whitley branch and so far so gd. He is in nursery level
his pm enrichment is actually from 1pm - 3pm. nap only after 3pm.
tat’s why alot of kids actually goes back at 3pm as after 3pm is nap and freeplay already.
I am also supported of NO UNIFORM! ooh… pls dun implement any now! -
I have a very good impression of Pat's Mount Emily during my visit in March this year. The principal Tanya was very friendly and knowledgeable. When I visited, it was at about 10 am in the morning with classes going on full-swing. The teachers were talking at the top of their voices (at least that's what sounds like to me). Booming voices in both English & Chinese. What I meant is the English teacher spoke in English and the Chinese teacher spoke in Chinese. Each class has 2 teachers one speak in English the other in Chinese - bilingual exposure each day!
The policy of no school uniform only enhances Patschoolhouse's philosophy of celebrating the uniqueness of each child. This I like if security issue is not a concern.
If not for the fact that distance is an issue plus school is on top of the hill and no schoolbus plying to our area, we would have signed up straightaway.
As it is now, I can only read this thread with envy at those of you parents who managed to put your kids into those immensely popular locations and can manage any logistics issues.
Enjoy!
:celebrate: -
Hi parents,
I don't mean to intrude but just want to give some feedback on the preschools. I am a primary school teacher.
We find that some preschools do not adequately train a child to be ready for Pri 1. However, from what I know, Pat's schoolhouse is quite good in this area.
There are many preschools out there that have fantastic curriculum but in the end, the child has a lot of fun and games but he or she is not ready to write or sit still in primary 1. I find that quite necessary to get your child off to a good start.
But this is just my opinion, some parents send their children for a lot of enrichment as well to get their children ready for Pri 1. So for them, it does not matter which preschool they go to.
My own child went to Little Skool House and I found it adequate
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mtdt:
Seems that there are more no uniform supporters!wow... suddenly this thread is alive since Sept!
my DS is in Whitley branch and so far so gd. He is in nursery level
his pm enrichment is actually from 1pm - 3pm. nap only after 3pm.
tat's why alot of kids actually goes back at 3pm as after 3pm is nap and freeplay already.
I am also supported of NO UNIFORM! ooh.. pls dun implement any now!
Anyway, Pat's havent reply me so guess they are very firm about this non uniform policy.
mtdt, the enrichment actually start from 1pm to 3pm?
Seems like different outlet has different practice!
For Mt Emily, the enrichment actually starts after naptime.
How is everything at Whitley?
Before i decide on Mt Emily, i was pondering btw Whitley and Mt Emily.
But i prefer the principal at Mt Emily.
That y ended up here. -
preciousmoments:
Hi Preciousmoments,Hi all
Been a silent reader of this thread for a while. Just wanna pen my 2 cents worth...
My 2 kids have been studying in a Montessori childcare since my elder girl was 2 years old - the montessori setup is a huge room partitioned by shelves into smaller sections for the different levels of classes. My kids, though very active do not have problems learning in such a setting. Engaging teachers can engage the most distracted student. If not engaging, even in a classroom, the distracted student can stil be distracted. In fact, according to their montessori, a smaller partitioned space is better than a bigger classroom as distracted students will wander off around the big classroom. I agree with that.
As my elder girl will be going on to P1 next year, we thought of switching my boy to Pat's. We visited two, Halifax and Mt Emily. Though we were impressed by Ada of halifax, it was really Mt Emily that captured our hearts. We love the park right at the doorstep, the very new and big toilet/bathroom, the big open space on 1 level only (no staircase to climb), and best of all no classrooms (except for 1 or 2 I think) - all of the above different from the Halifax branch. We signed up almost immediately, just that we did not bring along the cheque! Anyway, my boy will joining Mt Emily next year and we are excited!
Welcome to Mt Emily!
Your boy will be going to which level?
I'm surprised you prefer Mt emily than Halifax which is one of the most popular outlets for Pat's.
For me, i got into Mt Emily because the rest of the outlets are full when i was registering and my remaining choices were limited then.
In the end, i shortlised Whitley and Mt Emily and i choose the latter because of the friendly principal. :lol:
Why do you want to switch your boy from Montessori?
Btw, are u a local? -
crystalbelle08:
actually it's abit confusing for PATS. They actually have
Seems that there are more no uniform supporters!mtdt:
wow... suddenly this thread is alive since Sept!
my DS is in Whitley branch and so far so gd. He is in nursery level
his pm enrichment is actually from 1pm - 3pm. nap only after 3pm.
tat's why alot of kids actually goes back at 3pm as after 3pm is nap and freeplay already.
I am also supported of NO UNIFORM! ooh.. pls dun implement any now!
Anyway, Pat's havent reply me so guess they are very firm about this non uniform policy.
mtdt, the enrichment actually start from 1pm to 3pm?
Seems like different outlet has different practice!
For Mt Emily, the enrichment actually starts after naptime.
How is everything at Whitley?
Before i decide on Mt Emily, i was pondering btw Whitley and Mt Emily.
But i prefer the principal at Mt Emily.
That y ended up here.
- Normal program
- Extended Program
- Enrichment program
Normal program is until 1pm.
Extended program is from 1pm-3pm. No additional fees needed (besides the sch fees). besides Eng/Chi S&D, also hv Fastrackids program.
Enrichment programs is from 3pm onwards. Additional fees required on top of the 7pm-5pm sch fees). Includes Swimming/Maths in chinese and a Music program. $150+ per mth for 3 programs.
I would be surprised if mt emily starts their extended program after 3pm. the reason why they hv so many tiers of pricing is becos of their \"extended program\". it's really of no reason for any parent to sign up 7am-3pm (extended half day program) if from 1pm to 3pm is just napping right? but this extended program is only from age 3-6...
so did u get confused?
I was confused at first... then later got worried as my DS old CC naps at 1pm... I am worried if DS wld get used to the extended timing without rest. scare he get fussy due to lack of rest etc. but after 2mths - he seems to adapted well. he does take a shorter nap (330pm to 430pm)... but also means earlier rest at nite (10pm.. last time wont sleep till maybe 11pm! ;p).
Principal - I read all the past post and also read abt my infamous principal Well... so far so gd, havent encountered anything bad with her. I never visit other PATs actually as I am really looking at a convenient location. This branch is the nearest to me. but I thinking of visiting halifax as I might want to enroll my no2 to baby haven. Let me see the legenary halifax branch! hehehe
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crystalbelle08:
Yup, we are local. My boy will be in K1 next year. Actually, it's not that we had the choice of Halifax, it is full as well, but environment wise, we just like Mt Emily.. Very bright place with lots of sunlight and lots of green - good for the eyes!! :lol: I suppose the setup of Mt Emily is very similar to their current Montessori school, hence we felt very much at ease.
Hi Preciousmoments,preciousmoments:
Hi all
Been a silent reader of this thread for a while. Just wanna pen my 2 cents worth...
My 2 kids have been studying in a Montessori childcare since my elder girl was 2 years old - the montessori setup is a huge room partitioned by shelves into smaller sections for the different levels of classes. My kids, though very active do not have problems learning in such a setting. Engaging teachers can engage the most distracted student. If not engaging, even in a classroom, the distracted student can stil be distracted. In fact, according to their montessori, a smaller partitioned space is better than a bigger classroom as distracted students will wander off around the big classroom. I agree with that.
As my elder girl will be going on to P1 next year, we thought of switching my boy to Pat's. We visited two, Halifax and Mt Emily. Though we were impressed by Ada of halifax, it was really Mt Emily that captured our hearts. We love the park right at the doorstep, the very new and big toilet/bathroom, the big open space on 1 level only (no staircase to climb), and best of all no classrooms (except for 1 or 2 I think) - all of the above different from the Halifax branch. We signed up almost immediately, just that we did not bring along the cheque! Anyway, my boy will joining Mt Emily next year and we are excited!
Welcome to Mt Emily!
Your boy will be going to which level?
I'm surprised you prefer Mt emily than Halifax which is one of the most popular outlets for Pat's.
For me, i got into Mt Emily because the rest of the outlets are full when i was registering and my remaining choices were limited then.
In the end, i shortlised Whitley and Mt Emily and i choose the latter because of the friendly principal. :lol:
Why do you want to switch your boy from Montessori?
Btw, are u a local?
Erm, we are taking him out of his school as the good teachers have left. Rather than trying other Montessori schools which we have little idea of (not sure if they are the true blue Montessori schools and if the teachers are Montessori trained), we decided to go for Pat's which has many good reviews.
It would be interesting to see the differences and results of a Montessori kid (my gal) and a non-Montessori kid (my son)! -
HaleyCopterz:
This has a topic which I had once discussed with my current colleague. He too, felt the same way that there is no need to spend too much $$$$ on a premium preschool. However, I think this is very subjective and it all depends on the parent’s belief, faith, affordability, convenience, environment, food nutrition, curriculum, teachers quality, etc.....Hi parents,
I don't mean to intrude but just want to give some feedback on the preschools. I am a primary school teacher.
We find that some preschools do not adequately train a child to be ready for Pri 1. However, from what I know, Pat's schoolhouse is quite good in this area.
There are many preschools out there that have fantastic curriculum but in the end, the child has a lot of fun and games but he or she is not ready to write or sit still in primary 1. I find that quite necessary to get your child off to a good start.
But this is just my opinion, some parents send their children for a lot of enrichment as well to get their children ready for Pri 1. So for them, it does not matter which preschool they go to.
My own child went to Little Skool House and I found it adequate
We all know that a good preschool need at least a comprehensive curriculum + good quality teachers to deliver the programme, but often the output is not measurable. Only going through the programme and seeing a transformation of the child shall speak the best.
It is also true that some of these premium preschools may not be as good as they claimed. Parents are always making comparison and taking other factors into consideration before deciding a preschool.
In my case, I have visited several schools e.g. MMI @ SK, Character Montessori, Shekinah Montessori, Carpe Diem, Learning Vision, kinderland & Cherie hearts before making the decision. At times, I may be still wondering whether the dollar we paid for is fully utilitize and value for money as Pat's fees high. On the bright side, we do see a transformation in our DS in terms character and languages. Till now, I still feel a pitch in my heart for the premium fees, but I do not want to take any risk by changing the current preschool since preschool education is crucial in a child's growing progress..... -
for nursery class.. mine is a new class of only 6kids to 1 eng Tr. the chinese tr would only pops in for her class. so not really hv bilingual exposure. however since my DS stays till 530pm... he does get his fair share of mandarin exposure during afternoon as only a handful kids stay back.
so far seems ok... we just had a mooncake celebration. started sch at 2pm with activities like mooncake making/lantern making... then the kids had dinner. Parents were invited to the sch for mini performance+lantern walking in the playground.
This the 2nd time we were being invited to sch for kids performance. (1st time was national day). think the sch is trying to get parents involved and to show tat the sch is doing gd
but the sch is \"full\" now... i am wondering how are they going to cater for one more class next yr .... as this yr there is no k2... but with everyone promoting next yr... unless they do away with toddler class... -
DC Mummy -
My Ds was from Character Montessori… and I still love this CC!
we changed cc becos we moved out of that area.
Character monetssori gd pt is their theme surrounds a character trait. not the usual (my body, animals, world etc). my DS really learn very indepth abt the character. till today, when i need to discipline, i wld remind him of what he learnt at CM. lt really helps. sometimes just telling the kid - be attentive/be obedient etc. I dun think the kid really knows how/what etc. but CM surrounds all the learning with these characters, it kind of instill/gives them many examples etc to really learn and know what it is all about.
but PATs also has its strong pts lah. but if Pats also adopt this character theme - wow! I wld hv best of both worlds!!
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