cambriant:

Thank you all for your thoughts and comments. My husband's school is ACS so that is by no means an easy decision to make (if you think of how strong the ACS spirit is in my household! lol!). We live in Clementi, so NYPS is slightly nearer but I think that is not a deal breaker.


Of course I would love for my son to go to NYPS but my son is the sort who would zone out if he is forced to do work, but when he wants to do something, he masters it easily and quickly. The trick is to get him in the mood. Thus, on one hand, I would love for him to be in the Chinese environment and the exposure as opposed to ACS, and for him to be in a mixed school, yet on the other hand, its natural for a parent to want to lend a helping hand. By sending him to my husband's school, I am not suggesting PSLE will be any easier, but it will at least lessen some stress which comes from selecting a secondary school.

If I were in your shoes, I'd probably send my son to ACS. getting into ACSI would be a given, n it is a good school. One of my sons is there n loving it. It will definitely take some pressure off PSLE. That's what I would do, but I guess you'll have to work it out with your husband and also ask your son where he'd rather be; after all, he's the one who's going to have to be in the school for 6 years. I know some boys who transferred out of NYPS to ACS cos of Chinese. Another friend has 2 boys and a girl, n the 2 boys attended ACSP while the girl attended NYPS.

Sigh.. you would think things will get easier when kids are older, but from the looks of it, its only going to get trickier, especially when they start formal schooling.

cambriant:

Can any parents of current students, comment on the stress level in the school? I have been told that kids at Nanyang are under a lot of pressure and always stressed.


Any thoughts?

2 of my sons went through the NY GEP, n I dare say they weren't stressed. I've asked them n they said no. I think it's up to parents to control/moderate the amount of stress the child feels to a certain extent. If we choose to focus excessively on achievement rather than effort without regard for the child's best interests, the child will be stressed by our unrealistic expectations and demands. The child who is plied with tuition and lots of ECAs against his will will be stressed and resentful.

Having said that, PSLE is potentially a very stressful event cos a lot is at stake. With no affiliated secondary school for boys, if the boy doesn't get a DSA spot then entry into secondary school will depend on PSLE scores. I suppose that's why many parents send their children for tuition to ensure they make the grade for entry into their schools of choice. My sons didn't want tuition, and I asked their NY teachers if I ought to send them for tuition or buy assessment books for them n their teachers told me no. They had some help with Chinese from time to time because they didn't want regular tuition.

If you're happy with your son going on to your husband's Alma mater then it seems sensible to go that route n save him the stress of having to attain a certain score to gain entry into your school of choice. But if you want your son to have more expOsure to the chinese language n culture, NY will be a good choice. We don't speak Chinese at home - my husband can't even speak it- but my sons enjoyed NY tremendously n return during CNY n Teachers' Day to visit their teachers. Good luck with your decision!

kitty2:

Chirunner:

[quote=\"kitty2\"]
It's at Jubilee

Where is this? I'm looking for makan places around J8.

http://www.gurneydrive.com.sg/penangnoodle.htm[/quote]Tks:-)

keborah:

Wow, impressive. Must be very proud having such 3 smart kids! How many students went to GEP last year as I did not get any numbers from the school. I knew in 2009 there were 9 kids.

markfch:

[quote=\"Chirunner\"]It is a very decent school, nice neighbourhood. My 3 boys started there in P1 n 2 transferred out cos of GEP. 2 of their cousins too. N a few of my friends' kids too. N none of our kids was coached for GEP or had any tuition except for some Chinese tuition. You don't get the kind of resources like in the more popular schools but it's really not bad at all. My son who didn't get into GEP managed a DSA into a premier boy's school through academics n my kids didn't have any tuition except for Chinese at some point so I think your kids are in pretty good hands.

So your boys are one of those GEP kids that my friend was telling me about. Looks like all your 3 kids are very academically inclined. :celebrate:

[/quote]Tks keborah. I don't have figures for last year, but I believe there are 9-12 each year that my sons were there, which is a very decent number for a neighbourhood school.

verykiasu2010:

Zann:

[quote=\"kiasuson\"]
RI do split the students. The reason is to let the mainstream students to have a chance to catch up with some syllabus or topics that the GEP students study in their primary school. They study the same book, do the same worksheets, project, etc. By year 3, they are all mixed and arrange in their subject combination.

sry if I did not phrase my question clearly. It should be whether RI select some non-GEPers and put them in the GEP classes at the begining of sec 1? If yes, what is the selection criteria used?

as mentioned in my earlier post, they do mix the GEPer with the non-GEPers in the same class, from 1I to 1Q, 7 classes. each class 20+ GEPers plus the balance non-GEPer to make up each class to 30 students. Criteria is PSLE high scorers, like 267 and above[/quote]Do they rank the GE classes I to Q?

verykiasu2010:

Chirunner:

Is there anyone here living around Greenwood? Bus company quoted me $150! I refuse to be ripped off so I'm sending him to school. He may take the public bus too. Anyone whose son is in 1I?

you have a direct bus, SBS 157, very convenient, and very fast as there is hardly any stopping along Lornie Road

another direct bus is 156 but it goes via Whitley Road and will take a longer time

forget about school bus

Thanks. We've checked out the bus routes n 157 is indeed very convenient.

kitty2:

coolit:

I heard there is a cafe or restaurant at AMK selling Penang food. Does anyone know where it is? I have a craving for Penang food :rubhands:

It's at Jubilee

Where is this? I'm looking for makan places around J8.

Any recommendation for brand? I’m looking for one that’ll it a pull out bed- about 6 inches. Has anyone tried Seahorse? Seems cheap n feels ok but don’t know what it’ll be like sleeping on it for a whole night. Any feedback?


What about Tempur? Super ex tho- over $1,700 for a single. Any feedback from users?

autolycus:

ACS(I) IB Diploma results are out. They'll be officially released to students at noon tomorrow. Heh heh heh.

My son came home today n told me 28 perfect scores from ACSI- Incredible!

Mainstreamers are placed in ispark if they do well enough in the GAT. I guess if your sons scored well enough in the GAT, that’s an indication that they’ll be able, at least in the eyes of the school, to cope with the enriched curriculum, so don’t worry.


The GAT (an aptitude test) is a better predictor of success than achievement tests like the PSLE. I was told by the ispark director that the school has seen boys who score top marks in PSLE struggle in sec school.