fairfrozen:

Hi, i'm gathering info for my kid's P1 registration, but can't find some info on the NVP website, so I hope the parents can help.


1) Any CCA for P1?

Some yes. But only as modular (tryout basis)

2) based on their website, other than CCAs on every monday, they also have enrichment and supplementary programmes on Wed, Thu & Fri. Is this applicable to P1?

No, only P5 and 6.

3) Approximately how many afternoon per week need to stay back in schools for the above?

Thanks in advance!

depends. Changes year by year.

Just to add my two cents worth after reading through the previous posts.


The first thing to remember is every child is different. A style that works on one child may not work on another. There are, however, certain rules that can be applied to every child.

There must be a balance of positive and negative reinforcement. Praising your child for correct actions will encourage them to go the right way while punishing them for wrong actions will deter them from repeating the said action again. Remember that children are learning the rules of the world as they grow up and will constantly ‘test water’. It is important to send the right message to them when they do. One of the earlier posts mentioned a child who was constantly caned but still grew up to be a delinquent. This was likely due to an over application of negative reinforcement. Our minister called the current generation ‘strawberries’, all created by an over application of positive reinforcement.

The ultimate goal of disciplining the child is not to vent our anger but to steer them to the right path. That means that by the end of the punishment, the child must understand:
#1 - That he is wrong and WHY he is wrong
#2 - There are consequences for his actions
#3 - There is an acceptable alternative to his actions
#4 - He will be forgiven if he follows the rules
#5 - Develop the ability to use his moral compass

#1 means that caning your child without explanation will not work. For example, how often have we explained to children WHY exactly it is bad for them to overplay their computer games? Tons of people around the world play on their computers for hours at a time without visible side effects and your child knows it. This is when we could explain priorities such as homework and chores need to be completed first or we could show them real world articles of how over-gaming has negatively affected people, even leading to death. You will be surprised that some children do not realize why stealing and bullying others is bad until you ask them how they would feel if the tables were turned. As a teacher, I always ask my students why I was punishing them and 90% of the time the answer would be a variation of "Because you are angry with me". I would then follow up with a proper explanation of why their action was wrong and the consequences of it. Eg. You could have burnt yourself by playing with fire. or How would you feel if another person did that to you? This step is key because the child needs to realize the action is wrong and he shouldn’t do it when you aren’t looking.

#2 means that there has to be some form of deterrent. Consider this: If a child is caught shoplifting, and his punishment is to say sorry and return the item, what would the child have learnt? I have seen students who reasoned it as such. Possibility A: I get caught, I return the item, fake an apology, and no harm no foul. Possibility B: I don’t get caught, I got myself something free. Combined together, it means its a no-loss situation and I should continue with the action. And now some of you are thinking that there is no way a child would be capable of such high level reasoning. Sorry to disappoint, but remember what I said earlier about testing water. The children are learning social norms EVERY DAY by using this logic pattern, even if they aren’t aware of it themselves. Is the action worth the cost? I am in no-way endorsing what happened during WWII, but the fact is when the Japanese enforced the penalty of death for every little thing, the crime rate dropped because the crimes were no longer worth the penalty (except in the case of starving people who would have died anyway, but I’m digressing). Another parent said that all they do is just counsel the child. But remember that the child may already know the action is wrong and intentionally chose to take it anyway. Counselling (discussed in #1) only lets the child know why their actions are wrong. It doesn’t deter them from choosing the ‘dark side’. Eg. I know that drawing on the wall would mean the maid would have to painstakingly clean it later. I, however, lose nothing by doing this so I do it anyway. Taking away privileges is one way to show the children you mean business. Another is Judge Judy style of punishment should match the crime. Child vandalized the wall? Make him clean it. Child stole something? Make him work it off.

#3 - So now your child knows which path he shouldn’t take, it doesn’t necessarily mean he knows which path is right. Imagine you knock on the wrong door, are embarrassed because you disturbed a complete stranger and know you shouldn’t knock on that door again but you STILL don’t know which is your friend’s house. That’s how your child feels if you skip #3. Eg. We punish him for stealing, but the fact remains he wanted the item. Discuss with your child what other possible actions are available. Eg. Could he go to you and ask you for money? My own mum gave me ‘jobs’ around the house to do to earn the cash or showed me how to save my pocket money for it. Don’t leave your child confused as they likely chose that action for lack of other options.

#4 - Sun Tzu said this. If you corner an enemy, leave a way out. A cornered mouse with only one option will fight with all its power against the cat. I’m not saying your child is the enemy but do remember not to make him feel as such. Praise him for good actions. Encourage his efforts to do the right thing. Sometimes, as adults, we may take certain actions for granted when we should. Does your child help his younger sibling or with chores around the house? Too often we rely on punishments and forget that this will alienate your child. Put yourself in the child’s shoes. Normal society constantly punishes you and makes you feel horrible about yourself, where as gangsters and other ah bengs welcome and accept you. Which side would you choose? Another important point here is that we have to explicitly make it known to the child they are forgiven. Make sure they are aware the door is always open for them.

#5 - Remember life is filled with grey areas and your child will need to make decisions that no one has prepared him for. Avoid always spoon-feeding the correct answers and let them speculate once in a while. That is why in #3 I used the word ‘discuss’. Ask your child what the right alternatives are. Let them practice reasoning out how their actions could have hurt themselves or others and what alternative solutions are possible. It is impossible for us to tell them whether every action they do is right or wrong and it is important for them to have the ability to discern by themselves.


So back to the question on whether to cane or not. I would say it depends on the situation, your understanding of your own child, and what message you want to send. My vote goes to ‘cane’ because I view ‘the rod’ as metaphorical for punishment.

Hi, I am a teacher and I registered my two children (P3 and P5) at the Tampines branch. Do note, what I am about to state is based on my own limited experience with them as I withdrew them after one term. Please review the information with your own experiences before passing judgement.


For Math, the students are given far too many worksheets in a single session for any productive teaching to occur. In his first lesson, my P5 son had to complete 4 sets of problem solving worksheets on top of 2 sets of challenging questions. Given that the children need a break of around 5 minutes, this leaves only 15-20 minutes for the teacher to go through each worksheet, which amounts to around only 5 minutes to teach each question (since the students need time to complete the worksheets). Where is the time for the teacher to go through corrections? Properly teach the concepts involved? or how the child should identify the question in an exam paper? My son told me his classmates all just got by by following the example. Would this help them in exam?

English has tended to swing to both extremes in terms of standard. Some of the phrases they have given are indeed good for the students to learn. However, the worksheets my children have brought home show a very heavy focus on vocabulary when the key issue primary school students face is content. Aside from the cliche poorly developed ones that accompany the question, there is no guidance for students on how to plan a good story. I managed to see some of my son’s classmates’ works and all of them began with amazing introductions (copied from the tips given) before degrading to below mediocre standard when the actual story begins. As a teacher, I can tell you that while the introduction is impressive, if the rest of the story doesn’t flow with it, there aren’t many teachers that will give high marks. As for the copying of their "model" compositions, I was horrified when I read the first one my P3 son brought home. On top of all the blatant misuse of phrases, the story began with the main character dreading his after school class art class but suddenly, one paragraph later, he suddenly loves it and wonders where his art teacher is. I do not know who checks their worksheets, but this is one of MANY errors that frequently pop up.

And finally, Science. In general, I would never recommend a tuition center for science due to the way the science curriculum works. Unlike English and Math, schools are allowed to arrange the order of the topics they teach across 2 levels. For example, a student in school A could study the topic Energy at the beginning of P3 while a student in school B would only study it in P4. Seeing as how mindstretcher has to cater to students from many schools, it is unlikely your child will receive the guidance necessary. Also, in stark contrast to their math, the Science worksheets provided are lacking. The types include topical notes (which are thicker than the textbook making them worthless for revision), Brainpop Quizze s which are taken from the Brainpop website and I’m not entirely sure it is legal for mindstretcher to be selling them but more importantly tend to test from outside the Singapore syllabus (eg. using Ferenheit instead of Celsius), and experiments. The experiments would probably be the only reason I would sign them up for the class except the same experiments are likely to have already been conducted in school.

Hi, I see a lot of concerns regarding the school and I would like to shed some light on what I can. I am in the service and have friends there so I hope I can share from a different perspective. (They would speak up themselves but I’m going to guess their school leaders would have enforced that teachers keep quiet on such matters as with most schools.)


1) Staggered recess and not enough time to eat - The queues are generally gone after 20 - 30 minutes. Also, there are some stalls with shorter queues. Considering the combined time of the 2 recesses (20mins +45mins), the children actually have more time to eat and play than other schools. Also, children can buy food from the stall at the galaxy (upstairs next to the library).

2) The Reggio applied at the school is broken down into its base philosophies.
a) "Children as protagonists" - Children have a large say in how things are run. From what I’ve heard, many of the school’s design themes were chosen by the pupils. Also, pupils can extend their learning by asking questions on what they would like to know outside the syllabus. The IRS subject also allowed pupils to choose their own topic of research.
b) "Parents as partners" - The teachers work closely with parents on many activities. There are programs such as the breakfast program which are in line with this.
c) "Environment as 3rd teacher" - Pupils work are put up around the school and other items which serve to provoke the pupils thinking.
The statement that there are NO lesson plans done by teachers is false. The teachers still follow the curriculum, but they do so with the above philosophies in mind. They do have a lesson format that they follow and they do prepare their resources. Feedback from the pupils might affect how the teacher plans the lessons, but the planning is still done.

3) For the issue regarding the untrained teacher, I’m not too sure of the situation but it is highly likely this is a Contract untrained teacher. This refers to teachers who are about to go to NIE but are serving in a school first so that they can get a feel of what teaching is like before committing. This is happening across all schools in Singapore, not just NVTPS. It is likely she has the support of the other teachers and was attached to a teacher the year before (most contract teachers enter around August)

I’m sorry I can’t help answer every issue. This is what I gather when I compare schools with my friends over there. From what you have said about the school leaders, it is disturbing but I can assure you all principals have their quirks. Some principals are not even seen by the parents no matter how much you ask for them. I believe that most of the teachers in the school are dedicated to helping the children and that is the most important factor when it comes to a school.