Gong Xi Fa Cai to all NK parents!


Haven’t been on this forum for over half a year, and finally came back to see if there’s any feedback on the new Principal. Was very surprised to receive notification this year of the change in Principal. As always with NK, I’ll have to take leave and go "interview" the Principal to sound her out on her philosophy, as I realize in Kindys, they are only as good as the Principal is. I always find it rather strange with NK that parents have to take the initiative to meet the Principal, as there are few opportunities for interaction, or my son could graduate without me having met the Principal once!! My older boy’s previous kindy used to organise regular events where the Principal would be present. I will say this for the new Principal, I emailed notice that my son had to miss school due to illness, and she replied herself very promptly. I do appreciate that.

Any parents have feedback on the Kinderdance program? I attended my son’s year end showcase last year, and was quite dismayed at what little they have learnt, and the rather poor quality of what they did learn (I did dance for 30 years).

Hi new parents,


NK is not very welcoming when you ring up for an appointment to view the premises. I was rather put off, and the Principal doesn’t show you around either so there’s no one to answer your queries about curriculum etc. Term has re-opened so call now and book an appointment.

There is only one registration date so make sure you go early to wait in line. They don’t entertain any earlier registrations - first come first served.

I don’t drop my son off at school so I’m not familiar with the teachers etc. I’m not very impressed by the school this past 6 months. A lack of proper communication is my main grouse. I have no idea what goes on save for when my son brings home his worksheets at the end of term. There is very little communication between the school and parents other than collection of fees, signing up for enrichment, fees for school trips (which don’t seem to have any relevance to the topics/themes they are studying), and HFMD breakouts. They don’t even have a method of communication for parents to send notes to the school or vice-versa. I also don’t really like the Letterland Phonics system in place which doesn’t seem very effective in teaching the child to sound a letter, just associate it with some animal character name. I met his teachers in May, and I don’t have much confidence in them. They told me that my son had not participated in the weekly Show and Tell, but I said I wasn’t aware of it and why did they not send me a note??? I would love to have the kindy send me a termly newsletter to update me on activities past and planned, and themes that will be covered each term.

Compared to Holy Grace Kindergarten in the East Coast (where i moved from) which my older son attended, this school does not seem to have its act together or is as progressive. I believe how "good" a school is really depends on its Principal. I understand from parents the current Principal doesn’t seem on top of her game compared to the previous one. My cousin’s son is in K2 at NK and he has the same comment about the lack of communication, teaching standards, and has enrolled his younger child in another kindy. I am also on the lookout for another kindy to transfer my son to.

But please don’t be biased by my own experience, do your own research. Each of us seeks different things from the kindy. I’d like my son to have a holistic experience, not just academic.

Thanks for the head’s up Duriz. I’ve kept my son home last week as a precaution as his allergies were acting up too. Will look out for the notices about the tea session, or call the school for info. The last time the school gave me two letters both enclosing the wrong class’ time table, and had to chase them for the right one! Have not received replies to any emails sent to the school in Jan or last week, so I will raise the communication situation at the tea party with the teachers/admin. It’s only me that’s being anal, my DS seems to be enjoying school and is learning to understand Mandarin and actually like it…phew!

Dear parents,


Do any of you have any further updates regarding the HFMD situation in school? I find it quite disconcerting that the school has not issued any letter to parents to assure us as to measures being put in place to clean/disinfect the premises. As a result, I’m keeping my son home this week to monitor and avoid risk of infection as he had 3 cases in his class as of yesterday.

I am also a little put out that the school doesn’t have a communication booklet for staff and parents to keep in touch. Being a working mum, I don’t have the luxury of dropping my son off in school or picking him up, so I have no contact time with the teachers/school. I have concocted my own communication folder which I attach to the outside of his bag so the teacher can see it. In my older boy’s previous kindy, the K2 kids were taught to take out their communication folder in school and deposit in the tray if parents write a note in the book for the teacher to see, and also inform parents if the teacher/school has a note in the book for parents to read. Now in P.1, he has a similar system in place, so it’s not an issue since he’s used to this process.

One more thing: I understand that HGK is offering N1 classes from this year. Do call and enquire.

Hello all,


My son graduated from HGK last year and is in ACPS this year.

HGK is located at Upper East Coast Rd, near The Bayshore.

I was looking for a kindy with a heavier emphasis on Chinese, which is why I enrolled my son there (we lived in Siglap). I also liked the large airy and clean classrooms. Coming from an English speaking family, my son was averse to learning Mandarin, but 3 years at HGK and his is well up to speed and is so comfortable in the language it doesn’t faze him the way it did me in school! With a strong Eng speaking background I don’t feel his English was compromised, rather, his Mandarin was enhanced and he was more balanced. He did pick up Singlish, which going to ACPS is eradicating thankfully. In fact I find his Mandarin standard in K2 better than what is expected of him in P.1 now. He asked me the other day why they had to learn hanyupinyin when he already knew the chinese characters!!

I enrolled my son in daily enrichment class offered by HGK in K2 to prepare him for the longer school day in P.1. The transition has been smooth. I find the Principal quite modern in her thinking, and the teachers are very loving. He did have quite a few teacher changes during K1 and K2 due to staff turnover. I understand many of the "old guard" were leaving as they did not quite agree with the Principal’s policies. Even so, I don’t think his learning suffered in any way. I did not personally have any issues with the Principal and I find now that we’ve moved and enrolled 2nd son in another kindy, I miss the efficiency of HGK and appreciate all the measures put in place by the Principal to add value to the school.

edener:

My son is one of the few who has been with NK since N1. This is a good school in terms of character building and imparting right values to a child. He loves the school (especially the school song), the teachers and his friends. However, I am getting a little nervous now if he will be ready for P1 after graduating from NK. The content of his K1 work was indeed basic (too basic actually) and I thought it should be more in depth in K2. Apparently, it is not.


Example of K2 Spelling Words (only 5 words)
1. Scarf
2. Scone
3. Scatter
4. Scooter
5. Scale

Example of his K1 (end of term) Spelling Words from Enrichment
1. antidote
2. anticlockwise
3. binoculars
4. circumscribe
5. convince
6. community
7. extraordinary
8. hypermarket
9. forefinger
10. committee
- All the kids in the class got full marks and according to my boy, only 1 girl failed to get the perfect score.

Kids are so smart these days and to be honest, I do not think my boy will be ready for P1 if he does not attend any enrichment classes. He probably will face difficulties catching up. Other than English, he also attend Chinese & Maths enrichment since beginning of K1. It is really a MUST. Having spoken to the teachers during PMT, I do think there is any kid in his class who does not take enrichment classes.

Dear mummies of NK,

I do get quite alarmed when we all get all worked up about \"preparing our kids for Primary one\".

Let me share with you the week 10 spelling list from ACPS which my older boy is currently attending for some perspective:
1. yellow
2. purple
3. orange
4. black
5. brown
6. The fire engine is red.
7. I have a blue toy helicopter.
8. The small books are on the table.

Apparently Nanyang Pri is also using similar level of words as my niece attends that school and the words are from these books they are reading in class. I'm not sure what enrichment centre gave out that list of really difficult words but I certainly did not know them at age 7, and I still managed to graduate law school later in life!! So don't get your feathers all ruffled so early on. As a psychologist who gave us a parenting talk earlier this term shared: education is a marathon not a sprint - we need to pace our kids so they don't peak too early or lose their momentum and enthusiasm for learning. It is a looooong way to go, as we all know. We don't want burned out kids and parents by Primary six.

With Holistic Assessment replacing exams in Pri 1, I'm glad it is a more wholistic approach to assessing the strengths and weaknesses of our kids in various aspects of learning. I have volunteered as a teacher's assistant during the first five weeks of term during Primary one, and a lot of time is spent helping the children adjust to the new routines, rules, uniforms, going to the toilet, looking after their own belongings, getting along with others, learning to stand on their own two feet .... life skills really, and not book learning. I think that is the one thing to really focus on in preparing your child for the transition to primary one. If our children are confident, independent and love learning, then primary one will be fun and they'll adapt easily and enjoy going to school and learning will happen. Call me naive, but I think Kindy is really all about learning those life skills which will equip our kids to cope with \"big kids\" school later: getting on with others, discipline, working in a group, learning to write, going to the toilet on one's own, making friends, learning about oneself and the world we live in. Being an advocate of Brain Gym (http://www.braingym.org), I truly believe we all learn most effectively through play, and physical activity at the Kindy age is so important. My son has a slight learning and social disability, so he lags behind his peers in some areas, and encouraging his confidence and co-ordination through physical activity has boosted his confidence in coping with primary school and he is now more open to interacting with others and exploring the world around him.

I know not all parents share my view. In our zeal to help our kids (and who doesn't want the best for our kids?), we should also take into account their stages of development, character and the bigger picture.

Happy New Year everyone!


This very disorganised mum is wondering if there was any letter sent out to advise what to expect the first few days of school? We moved last Dec and have not heard anything from the school.

I recall from Orientation that there are 2 snack breaks for the kids? I have to pack my own as my son is pretty allergic to many foods. Can anyone please verify?

Are parents allowed to hang around the school during lesson times (downstairs)? Is there any point in doing so? Am dropping son off, but he takes school bus home.

Anything else to share anyone?

Many thanks fellow parents! Wishing one and all a good year ahead.

Many thanks LOLMum for the warm welcome and useful information. Am not so concerned about the academic part, just as long as ds enjoys school and makes some friends, I am contented. His cousin bought him a school jacket last weekend at the Carnival, which he is very pleased with. Happy holidays!

porcupine12trade:

Hi parents


I am concern about 2 classes sharing a big room divided into 2. In the same big room, there'll b almost 50 kids for k1/2. Kids r easily distracted. Will they be distracted by the other class during lesson time?

I do agree I was rather taken aback by the classroom set up. The noise from the other half is not blocked out by the furniture cum room dividers. And the class is long and rather dark as the one large window is also being shared. Has this always been the case? I don't recall from my previous \"tour\" which was rather brief and cursory. Any parents of current students have any feedback?