I think work is not a bad thing for a child to experience. It gives them a better understanding to working life. In schools, there are an increasing amount of schools offering job shadowing for respective job roles. I believe that this should be explored.

I think exams honestly has lost its meaning. Exams and tests are supposed to be a way to take stock of ones learning and allow one to discover their weak points. Exams have only fed stress to students, and i feel that doing away with mid year exam is a good start to reduce the stress and workload of a student. After all, it is not important to score, but rather, to learn.

I don’t think there needs to be a big debate in what phone to get your children. While it is true that more or less any phone will suffice, I believe that you should just look to get something you can afford. Wanting to give your children something better is not a crime. It is more important to teach them to be thankful for everything that they have and not to compare their belongings or even themselves with other children.

Hi!

Please always emphasize character above all else!
All children are gifted in some way or another, and as a parent, I feel that one should do their best to let their child realize their gifts and potential.
Always be honest but encouraging!
Checkpoints at an early stage is not as important as character building and the drive to learn.

Hi. I think that both JC and Poly has its advantages.

You need to decide for yourself how you best study and how you best learn.
JC is more suited for academia while Poly is more suited for hands on learners.

Keeping you in prayer. I advice to keep your girls in full knowledge of the situations, but not to tear their father down. I believe all children know the things that are going on, and we as adults should never look down upon them and keep them out of the loop, especially if the situation concerns them.

Personally I feel that it depends on what you need to do with the laptop.

For JC’s PW, an i5 Laptop with 8GB RAM and an SSD would be more than sufficient, and there are many lightweight laptops that you will be able to find with that specification for under SGD $1200.
If you require coding, i would suggest an i7 model with at least 8GB RAM and an SSD.
If you edit photos or videos, definitely get a laptop with a graphics card. Commonly used ones that is not too pricey is an NVIDIA MX150. If you have more money to spend, you can look at NVIDIA GTX1050, GTX1050TI.
If you want gaming, definitely get better specifications.

I really like the move to remove the class and level position. I think that such comparisons breeds an unhealthy spirit of competition, where students do not seek to improve themselves, but rather seek to do better than their peers. It also adds unneeded stress on the students.