keroppi:

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question, kohjl! Part of my concern was whether they are as good as the true maths hub in Bukit Batok. I will definitely give it some consideration. Currently, the problem is in finding a suitable time slot for my DS. Also, I need to train him on taking a bus there by himself.

You are welcome. From what I understand, the trainer comes from Maths Hub in Bt Batok. All the best in sorting out the logistics! Regards.

keroppi:

I am thinking of signing my DS up for Maths Arena in Tampines? Is that center any good? Anyone's kid in there?

Hi keroppi,

My son is currently in Math Arena for SMO Jr training. It is a branch of Maths Hub, set up to cater to the eastern part of Singapore, so all the lesson plans and teaching methods are the same as that of Maths Hub (which is in the West). Hence, it’s a reputable setup.

My son has not been there long – since late Nov 09. But based on that short time, I have found the programme good. The trainer is rather young, but committed and can handle the questions/programme well. The management there, I feel, is approachable, genuinely interested in the students and want to ensure that the students benefit from the course. When my son’s CCA clashed with their training programme schedule, they were willing to make arrangements to accommodate him – and that spoke volumes of their genuine concern for their students.

That’s my personal take – hope that helps!

Hi Jennifer


I haven't been browsing the forum for some time.... and happen to log in today. Glad I did, cos I just read that it's yr birthday! So...

:rahrah: HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNIFER! :rahrah:

Wishing you and yr family all the best for 2010.

mjl:

Hi kohji,
Yes, I agree that it is a good way to pick up MO skills by practising past year questions. My kids have been learning MO thru solving lots of problems from SMO solution books. I think it is more effective than attending enrichment classes! Your son could also check with his older brother if he could not understand the solutions given.

Thanks, justbehappy, Dharma and mjl for your advice. I am quite suaku about this even though I had an elder one that went thru it cos my Sec 4 son is a really independent self-learner who had sat for SMOPs and SMO on his own steam. I have never bought any SMOPs or SMO books for him before. But my younger P6 son needs a more guided approach - so thanks for all yr advice! Much appreciated.

justbehappy:

Hi kohjl, you might consider letting him work on the questions from the past year SMO solution books. Just 4-5 questions a day, and refer to the solutions only at the last resort. By the end of the holidays, he would have quite a good grasp of the MO concepts.

Hi justbehappy
Thanks for your good suggestion! Any idea whether I can get the SMO books from Popular? Regards.

mjl:

kohjl:

My son was eligible to do RA in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Maths, History and Geog. He was in a dilemma whether to choose two Science RA subjects or to go for the two that he REALLY liked, ie one Science and one Humanities.

Did he take all the RA selection tests (+interviews, where necessary) for all the subjects mentioned above, or only those 2 that he eventually got in?

Cheers.

Hi mjl
I mentioned that he was eligible for these subjects meaning that he had met the requirements of achieving 4.0 for these subjects. Out of the lot, he clearly liked 2 Science and 1 humanities subjects. Then, he whittled that down to 1 Science and 1 humanities because he liked those 2 subjects best and just went for the tests and interviews for those 2 subjects. To him, he felt that there was no point in going for more tests/interviews as he had already talked to his teachers and had also chosen what he wanted to do as RA subjects. Some of the tests were arranged back-to-back on the same day. In my son's case, he had gone for the two tests on the same day and that was quite tiring!

vlim:

Hi, my son is still in p4 and hopes that he can get into RI in future. I would like to find out more abt secondary systems/syllybus/streaming or what so ever and the RA which u all have been mentioning.

Hi vlim
Suggest that you check up the RI website to learn more, and also read from the start of this thread on RI as most of what my son and I can share about RA has already been elaborated here.

edanson:

Was your boy a former GEP ? Oh yes, I do understand that you have another boy right? So he will be going to RI? Is he from GEP too?

Hi edanson

The RI son was from GEP, but the P6 son is from mainstream. And yes, I feel very blessed by my whole family! Thanks for yr kind comments.

kohjl:

Hi Aya and atutor2001,

Do check this out:

http://road-to-psle.blogspot.com/2007/11/how-psle-aggregate-and-t-scores-are.html

It tells you how PSLE scores and T-scores are calculated. And yes, from the looks of all the worked examples in the above link, all subjects work out to have equal weightage....(Please correct me if I am wrong.)

There have been discussions on this matter in other threads of this forum too. For info.

Further to this, is Part 2 of the blog (by Excel Eduservice), which in fact talks specifically about the question that Aya had asked. See this link:

http://road-to-psle.blogspot.com/2007/11/more-on-psle-aggregate-and-t-scores.html

As the blog by Excel Eduservice had stated,
\"One concern parents and students have is that there may be bias towards language subjects because the total score is 200, while the total for Maths and Science is 100.

In this post, we will see that there is no bias towards any particular subject, although the total scores for languages is twice that of Maths and Science.\"

In short, ALL subjects have equal importance in PSLE.

Hope that helps.

atutor2001:

Aya:

Just asking:


Does all 4 subjects, English, Maths, Science and Chinese contribute to PSLE score equally?

Or does English and Chinese play a more important part, while Maths and Science not so?

Last time I asked my dad and he said LANGUAGES are important in PSLE score, but just a few days back, my school mate told me all subjects play an equal part in the total PSLE score.

If my school mate is correct, I guess I'm done for..........

My Maths and Science will ruin my PSLE score for sure.

Hi Aya

You have raised a valid question. Many years back when my kid was taking PSLE, I did call MOE to find out. Unfortunately, I did not get a definitive answer from the person at the other end of the helpline. He only hinted that there will be some form of \"weightage\". No other details beyond that. Till today I am still wandering. Anybody with more info who can help?

Regards.

Hi Aya and atutor2001,

Do check this out:

http://road-to-psle.blogspot.com/2007/11/how-psle-aggregate-and-t-scores-are.html

It tells you how PSLE scores and T-scores are calculated. And yes, from the looks of all the worked examples in the above link, all subjects work out to have equal weightage....(Please correct me if I am wrong.)

There have been discussions on this matter in other threads of this forum too. For info.