Yes n I didn’t see many cars going into Hillcrest Road. No school for RGPS yesterday and today??

dunnoleh:

pinky88:

The traffic is bad on the opp side of HCI cos' a lot of cars turning into NYGH, NJC, RPS...

Dunnoleh, u make the right choice to drop yr girl at the bus stop outside HCI, faster to walk across the bridge than make a u-turn, the left lanes on the opp r too conjested. Rainy days also ok cos' its a sheltered overhead-bridge.

yes, noticed traffic on NJC side really bad, especially the left lane, also many cars filling up the right lane on HCI side, u-turning into NYGH and NJC.

wonder if this situation is consistent year round? what's the experience of \"senior\" parents taking this route over the last few years? advice appreciated. [/code]

I've lived in the NYGH area for a no. of years now and can say the traffic is bad all year round during the term. Left lane is bad from Linden to Hillcrest and then just before Adam which is partly why I was glad my son didn't want to go to RI cos the turn off to Adam from Dunearn is mostly bad except for the occasional few days. Just to get to NYPS from NYGHS I have to go up to Kheam Hock and to get across to Dunearn from NYPS I'd rather make a big but flowing loop along Jln Haji Alias n Sixth Ave then be stuck along the right lane of Bukit Timah Road. Some days it's smooth and light but those days are fewer and far between.

Thanks pinky88:-) I guess they’re able to cos they have been given enough to be able to save part of their allowance. I don’t want them to skip meals just to be able to buy something. We’re very stingy with toys tho- the 3 brothers share one swaveboard half the price of which they had to pool together to contribute toward. They’ve always had to share toys as we don’t believe in having to buy 3 of everything as most people thought we had to- the rule is you either share or don’t play.


As for whether $50 is excessive, it’s really a question of opinion and there’s really no market rate or right or wrong amount. I give enough for them to treat themselves if they want to, bless others and save and watch their kitty grow. It makes them want to save more:-)

As for the scholarship, I feel the child earned it, so I credit his account for the amount. Spoiling the market? There’ll always be people you feel are getting a better deal in life, and my kids feel the same way too about some people but they know better than to tell me!!

kirakira:

Mandarin, Chirunner


My sentiments are exactly like Harini's. I was so impressed when I read about your sons. As their parents you must indeed feel relieved and proud at the same time! :celebrate:

And I must say they are very well rounded, and the school must has given them the environment to excel in various areas, and not just academically.

My DS has to find his way around the long travelling too. 1.5 hrs by public transport on his way home.

Thank you again for the sharing, its really valuable for us newbies to understand what it is like.

glad you found it useful:-) you will see you son develop in many areas as I have witnessed in my son. All the best!

pinky88:

Anyone knows which other day is the Malay Special Prog held other than Thurs? Start & end at what time?

my son says his is on Tue n Thur. Do you know what books are required? We forgot to register in school 30 Jan so don't know what's on the booklist. TIA

My sec 1 boy gets $50 a week, up from $30 in pri sch. He doesn’t need to use ez link card, n he has lunch at home mostly unless he has to stay back or activities.


His sec 2 brother has been getting the same last year, I pay for ez link top up n he even pays for his own haircut out of it even tho I say I’ll pick that up. I’m thinking of increasing it to $60 cos I think first born should have some privileges and also cos he’s been very good with his money. He tithes 10% out of that allowance and has never asked me for extra. He even offered to contribute $50 when I wanted to buy him an $80 schoolbag. Generally he also saves up and pays for stuff he wants.

I find that it’s not excessive cos it allows them to save and also gives them the opportunity to bless others if they choose to. Ds2 routinely gives me $100 for my birthday every year n gives Ang POWs to his grandparents too in smaller amounts.

Another question; for kids on scholarship, do you give them the $200 to keep? I deposit the money in their bank accounts.

My son told me he’ll have to bring his PE attire to school m change.

Any parents with sons in both RI and HCI? Would you care to give your opinion on one school vs the other? My son was dead set on HCI and it’s so near home it really made sense to save the daily commute to any other school. Only 13 out of the 60 odd boys in his cohort chose HCI. Almost all of the others are in RI. I’m wondering if they know something we don’t?? Is RI a better school?? I have another boy doing his PSLE this year, so it’ll be helpful to hear comparisons from parents with boys in both schools. TIA

I’m wondering whether to let my son take up a third lang. He’s in iSpark ( I don’t know whether this means a heavier workload??) and he’ll be in the tennis team which trains 3 times a week, and he also trains twice a week outside from 6.30 to 9 pm and plays matches on weekends for a few hours. We live very near school so he doesn’t spend time commuting - he walks to school in under 10 min. He chose Malay cos it’s held in school so he won’t need to commute, and it’s held between school dismissal and start of cca so he can fit it in if he wants to. Should I let him start or should I just ask him to forget it and just concentrate on his main subjects? Lots of people end up dropping their 3rd lang before they even get to sec 3, I hear. Would appreciate any opinions before I buy any books for him. TIA

The mode of assessment for the IB consists of tests in the 1st term/semester and coursework for the 2nd. My son was very tired by the time he got back from school n would often fall asleep reading the newspapers on the sofa. He doesn’t always get 8 hours’ sleep as he’s the sort who wants to get things done so I hear him practising his cello at 11 sometimes. There are days when he falls asleep at 8.30 and sleeps through the night through sheer exhaustion. I don’t know if he manages to complete all his work on those few occasions.


Although there’s a lot of work, the deadlines are usually made known way in advance so there’s definitely time to complete the work if the child is disciplined and keeps track of the various deadlines and is able to prioritize. I see my so doing lots of projects at one time but they’re not due till some time later. It’s important to keep track so you don’t end up rushing to meet too many deadlines at the same time.

I was initially concerned that he might have bitten off more than he could chew but he didn’t want to drop any of his ccas n I thought it would be a shame not to pursue them since he was so keen on them. Also, I thought he would be forced to be disciplined since he had little time to waste.

Anyhow, he did pretty well, picking up several sports and academic trophies last year in his level in spite of the ccas and class and cca leadership positions so I couldn’t say that he wasn’t able to cope and hence had to respect his choices. He did assure me he was coping fine.

It is pretty pressurizing in the IB track with threats of being dropped from the program if certain minimum standards are not met.

As for switching of ccas, I’m really not sure cos my son hasn’t tried switching. For UYOs you pick a few and then get allocated one. I’m not sure if you can request for a change in UYO.

Good luck!