KSer:

my girl got agg of 223 but we're having problems choosing a sec sch becoz we stay in the east in tampines but this agg is not gd enough for schs like ngee ann and st. hilda's coz of the 230+ agg which used to be one of her choices. The schs around us are either too low or too high to aim for, hence we would appreciate some help from you guys. thks!

Just helped a parent this morning to do the selection. She is also from the East. Her son scored 213 and I did the following with her:

1) List down all the schools with COP between 214 to 208. Location is important but not the limiting factor. For this particular parents, she allow her choice to go all the way to Queenstown but not Clementi.

2) Note down also their score range: the narrower the better. For example: 210-230 is better than 213-248. Narrow range means that the students in the school are around the same standard.

Once this is done, you would have some good idea on which school you are eligible. Next would be to call up friends with children studying in these schools.

Once you have shortlisted the first 3 choices, pay the school a visit and take opportunity to talk to the students to find out more about the school.

Hope these suggestions are helpful.

skyhigh_18:

Just Mama:

Can someone pls adv how we can appeal to the school which yr child wants to go but has not met the minimum cut off? Our dream school is njc, cut off 259. child only scored 255 .... depressed mama

4 points is a lot consider the whole corhort...chances are slim...somemore is njc...do consider carefully about your first choice....

i agree. 4 points make a big gap so your chance is not high.

Having said that, since your single-minded child is so depressed, I think you should do something to reward her efforts. Put NJ as first choice and another school of 254 as second choice. After you get your posting, go NJ and appeal. (Some schools are actually accepting appeals now. Call NJ and check).

I did it for my daughter, COP 236 but she only got 234. I appealed and finally got into her dreamed school, on the 2nd Friday of January. It is going to be a rewarding experience as the process itself would yiled strong bonding between parents and child ....

Blobbi:

Tks very much for your tips.

Do you know of a good radio station in Chinese that is more kid friendly? Or fun Chinese websites? Sorry I'm very kantang.

Also, which assessment books do you recommend? I went to Popular and was confused by the huge array of choice.

TIA.

There aren't many Chinese radio stations in Singapore. Go to http://www.mediacorpradio.sg/ and check them out. You can even listen to some of them through internet. Try and decide which one is your taste.

Since you are kantang, Popular is the wrong place to go. You should vist the video rental shop instead. Go for Chinese Classic and enjoy the show with your child during this holiday. Try Red Cliff, Swordman type and your child will love it. http://singapore.math-chinese-tutor.com/contact-us/ and I will talk to you in Mandarin.

If I am not wrong, you are considering St. Patrick because they give you a chance to go into Express by affilliation?


Judging from the choices mentioned, I believe ACS Barker is nearer to your home then St. Patrick. However, ACS Barker would only offer your boy NA. Nonetheless this is still much better then Express in St. Patrick.

I know of at least 3 cases of NA student in ACS Barket make it to Express after Sec-1. If you care to share more about your boy, please http://singapore.math-chinese-tutor.com/contact-us/.

carebear:

Thanks for the review.
So, is your DD going to apply for TKSS now?
How about TKGS?

In my case, i am torn between TKSS and maris stella for my son.
Are there any TKSS students or parents who can give further review?
TIA.

My son was from Maris Stella and my daughter from TKSS.

Maris Stella looks after top students very well. If your son is at 240, he will get very good care and attention.

http://singapore.math-chinese-tutor.com/contact-us/ if you need to talk.

If you have the time to spare, you can motivate a 10-year old child to learn chinese by:


1) Conversing in Chinese with him
2) Watching Chinese TV News with him (10 - 10:30 pm) - Do not waste time on Chinese serial and get him addicted to TV.
3) Tune into Chinese channel while driving with him.
4) Sit next to him and go online to some children sites in Chinese (learn chinese words, learn chinese children songs, learn famous Chinese stories etc)
5) Bring him to China for leisure, immersion program, ecotour or even become a http://singapore.math-chinese-tutor.com/chua-thow-chiang/.
6) One of the most time consuming but very effective way is to sit next to him and watch Video on Chinese Classic. Assuming each video plays for 1.5 hour and each set comes with 50 pcs of DVD, it would take at least 75 hours of your time.)

If you do not have time to do this, consider getting a good Chinese tutor.

jinglebelle:

Any old/current boys from St Andrew's/Maris Stella High here? Care to share your experiences? Many thanks.

Read about Maris Stella here:

http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6298

shrext:

Hi parents, would like to hear your views on my niece's case. She scored only 163 for her psle and now my sis and I are in a dilemma - to try to put her in some neighbourhood schools in Normal Acad stream or try Paya Lebar Med or CHIJ SJC but in Normal Technical stream? Which option would be better?


Appreciate your advice.

Students from NT (Normal Tech) can go as low as 70. So you have to do a lot more homework if you decide to let her join the NT class. May I suggest the following considerations:

1) You should assess your niece carefully and ask her what she wants. If your niece is not ready for Poly or JC, NT is probably the better choice as NT students are destined for ITE. Whereas if she is keen to do better than ITE, NA should be the choice for her.

2) PLMS is a good school. Check with them what is their lowest for NT. The higher the better since your niece is at the high range. Check also with them what is the criteria of converting your niece to NA at Sec 2. Some school such as ACS Barker allows good students to be converted at Sec-2.

Hope the suggestions are acceptable. Drop me a note at http://singapore.math-chinese-tutor.com/contact-us/ if you need more assistance.

My son studied in Maris stella in 2003-2004. I transfered him out in 2005 to a neighbourhood school. He scored 13 points for L!R5 in O-level.


He would not have acheived this result if he continued with Maris Stella. According to him, 30% of his classmates repeated Sec-3 while another 30% were asked to leave for another school, converted to N-Level.

The situation in Maris Stella may be better now. Unfortunately they are still far from the top 10 position, which is the ranking when I did my secondary education there. As old boy of Maris Stella. I hope they can be more serious about bringing the school back to glory.

It is important to train a student to acheive speed and accuracy for PSLE, especially for Math paper.


Accuracy can only be acheived when the student can attain high concentration. Concentration can be trained, ideally from Pr 5 onwards. By June of PSLE year the student must be able to concentrate for at least 1.5 hours. This translates to score of 60 to 70% for Math paper. Some students have problem going beyond 1.5 hours (especially the boys). Correspondingly their PSLE aggregate are quite predictable.

Speed is familiarization through practices. This is why parents are buying assessment books for their child to practice. However, many parents cannot tell the difference between speed and speeding. Speeding is bad, especially for a student with low concentration. His speeding will get him more careless mistakes.

I hope my explanations are acceptable to all parents. Please leave me a message at http://singapore.math-chinese-tutor.com/contact-us/ if you want me to explain more.