I’m really happy that we were successful at the MSH balloting (phase 2B) exercise this afternoon.
I just want to share my first experience at MSH. The ballot is for SC > 2km and there are 44 going for 40 seats. This means that PR applicants are not involved (there were 5 PR in all that was eliminated, as SC has absolute priority in a balloting situation, regardless of the PR applicant’s distance).
All parents signed in at the door and were led into a room. Parents are all seated and there were MSH staff in the room assisting. The balloting process was explained upfront. We were told that the MOE protocol is a ‘ballot-in’ exercise. I noticed that the whole process was video recorded by MSH. There was however clear instructions for parents are not to film or take photos. As far as managing expectations is concern, parents are told that balloting outcome will be final. We were also told that as far as MSH is concern, unsuccessful parents are encouraged to look at phase 2C if they still want to enroll at MSH. As far as wait-list is concern, MSH won’t entertain at P1 but is open for transfer at P2-P5 provided spaces are available (you may want to verify this by calling the school).
Parents are invited to read out the applicant’s name with a pre-assigned ID. A spreadsheet with the applicant’s details and assigned ID are projected on the screen. Verification is requested for all parents to voice concern before the balloting starts. The numbered ping-pong balls are then inserted into the “rolling machine”.
Another set of parents are then invited for the actual balloting. This includes “shuffling” the ping-pong balls by rotating the machine (8x for luck). A ping-pong ball was then drawn, and the number read out. The number on the drawn ping-pong ball is also projected onto the screen for all parents to see. An admin person will update the spreadsheet. There is an announcement at the 10th, 20th, and 30th mark giving everyone an appreciation how the balloting is progressing. On the spreadsheet there is a large counter with the number ascending towards the 40 mark. Mine was drawn towards the end and all this while I was keeping my fingers crossed and praying hard. I can tell you that it is certainly nerve racking and absolutely stressful.
Overall, the whole balloting process went well and it was well organized. It went by fairly quickly and smoothly. I reckon that it’s done in 15-20 minutes. Everyone appeared cordial and I did not see any commotion.
To all the successful parents at MSH this afternoon, congratulations. All the best to the rest, chin up and don’t despair, look forward and plan for the next steps. I hope that you can all get into the school of your choice in phase 2C.
Just sharing my 2-cents and I hope some of you might find it useful. Cheers.
God bless.
