Anyone has any information on the background of the new principal Mdm Fiona Yeo Su Ling? I noted that she is currently Superintendent, East 6 at MOE. Does she have any prior experiences as the principal of other schools? SNGS is a large school with both primary and secondary sections. I would be quite concerned if she does not have any prior experiences.


By the way, does anyone know where Mrs Tan, the current principal, is going? I don't see her name in the list of new principal appointments. Quite disappointed to learn that she's leaving.

Marymount Kindergarten is moving to a new location that also houses a crisis shelter for women, children and foreign maids…isn’t security a concern with so many strangers moving in/out of the compound?



By TEH JEN LEE
The New Paper
Monday, Feb 13, 2012
The residents were not aware that Marymount Centre children’s services was moving into their neighbourhood.

But when told, most were fine with it.

That’s what The New Paper found when we spoke to residents at Toa Payoh Lorong 8 about the proposed move of the children’s services there next year.

The Marymount Centre, which also has a crisis shelter for women, children and foreign maids, will relocate its children’s services from Thomson Road to the former site of Braddell Primary School.

The relocation is to make way for the upcoming North-South Expressway.

Run by the Good Shepherd Sisters, an order of Catholic nuns, Marymount Centre provides residential care to girls who come from single-parent families or families in which parents cannot cope with the child and/or having marital problems.

The centre also has student care services for children aged seven to 14 who need adult supervision and who come from single-parent or low-income families.

Of the 14 residents of Toa Payoh Lorong 8 that TNP spoke to, only one knew about the plan as she had heard about it from friends.

The housewife, who gave her name as Madam Arsiti, 41, said she felt the move was a good one because the centre will be able to help people in need.

Although the rest had not heard about the plan, there were some strong supporters among them, such as Madam Chuang Ngee, 63, a retiree.

She welcomed the move, saying: "These children should not be cast aside but should be among us. "I felt it was such a waste when the primary school was torn down (last year), but now I’m glad that the piece of land is being put to good use."

Acquired last year

TNP understands that the Good Shepherd Sisters acquired the location last year.

Member of Parliament for Potong Pasir Sitoh Yih Pin told TNP he had met the nuns, Marymount Centre staff and volunteers on three occasions to discuss the move.

He said he wanted the nuns to be able to continue the good work they have been doing.

"They have been serving Singapore well since 1939. It would be wrong if they have to stop," he said.

He added that the new centre will have expertise to counsel low-income families and give talks to the elderly, in addition to serving the children.

Teacher Kuah Leck Ping, 42, who has been living in the area for 30 years, feels the children’s services will also benefit those living in the area.

She said: "Unlike the other places which opposed the elderly facilities, it’s not crowded here."

She was referring to the unhappiness some residents in Woodlands and Toh Yi had expressed over the building of facilities for the elderly.

Mr Sitoh said there will be minimal inconvenience to residents because the proposed building to house the children’s services will be on the fringe of the estate.

He plans to speak to residents about the move later, after determining what Marymount Centre needs. He is confident that it will be "part and parcel of our community".

However, an elderly couple living in Block 224, the block nearest to the proposed site, was worried about whether the centre’s children may negatively influence the young ones in the estate.

The wife, who is in her 60s, pointed out that the centre will be next to First Toa Payoh Primary school.

"While it is good to help children from troubled families, I hope they will not set a bad example for others," said the woman who declined to be named.

Another resident who gave her name as Miss Tay, 54, was neutral about the move but said some parents may worry.

One parent with three young kids told us that he did not have any problems with the move.

"We should not deprive the children of such facilities," said the self-employed man who gave his name as Mr Soh, 39.

"They deserve a second chance."

Hi Bebe and Princesseze,


I was also very concerned about my child taking the school bus alone before school started in Jan this year, especially since she was born at the end of the year, and hence one of the youngest in her Pre-N class. However, after attending the 3-day orientation at the beginning of the year, I derived a lot of comfort after seeing how organized the school and the school buses are. The school bus auntie would carefully bring each child down from the school bus and hand them over to the teachers one by one. In the rare instance where teachers are absent at the front gate, the school bus auntie will personally bring the child to her class teacher in the school compound before she leaves. All the children have to wear a name tag that indicates his/her name, class, school bus number etc. During school dismissal, the teachers will bring the children to queue at the respective school bus numbers, and the school bus auntie will count the number of children to make sure every child is around before she brings them up the school bus.

Princesseze, personally I think it's better for your child to start taking the school bus from day 1 rather than you driving him there during the 1st week. This is because your child will be confused by the change after the 1st week and wonders why is it that mummy is no longer driving him there and he has to take the school bus; this will make him even more resistant towards the school bus. You could consider taking the school bus with him for 1-2 days (which was what I did during orientation), after which tell him that the school bus doesn't allow adults to board so he has to go on his own. After he boards the school bus on his own, you may wish to drive to school to peek to see how he's getting along. Your boy will most definitely cry but children adapt very quickly, especially since there are a lot of fun things to do in school. My child stopped crying in school after 3 days, and stopped crying prior to boarding the school bus after 1 week. It's tough to see them cry, but after a short while, when they know that they have to go to school no matter what, they will stop crying.

Try to adjust your boy’s sleeping/napping hours before he starts school e.g. restricting his afternoon nap to only 1h (so that he sleeps longer hours at night), pushing back his bedtime at night so that he wakes up later in the morning e.g. 8-9am instead of 7am or earlier. By waking up later in the morning, he should be able to stay awake until he reaches home at 3pm+.


The school buses will reach the school early as they need to fetch the students who are in the am session home after dropping the children in the pm session. The children in the pm session will gather at the assembly area when they arrive, where teachers will lead them in singing etc.

Hi dolliepollie,


Wow, you were on the waitlist since 2011? Why didn't you go for the public registration in Feb 2012? I went to register during the public registration and from what I heard from the teachers, you normally get a place if you register during public registration. If you fail to register during public registration, most likely you would end up on the waitlist.

The pre-n and nursery teachers are very patient and good with children. I'm sure your kids will love going to school!

dolliepollie:

Hi daddies and mummies,


most likely my two kids will be joining MMK in feb or mar for PM session.
DS in Nursery and DD in Pre Nursery.

any feedback on homework or teaching?

My DD just joined Pre-N (PM session too) this month. No \"homework\" so far, but I'm pleased with the teaching. DD comes home singing new songs every few days, and I have seen significant improvements in her linguistic skills e.g. forming longer sentences etc. After a few days of crying initially, she is now happy and looks forward to going to the school everyday.

The teachers make effort to communicate with you via the school note book very regularly e.g. when your child falls while at the playground, when your child has mild diarrhea etc. DD's form teacher even called me once to inform me that my child fell from a chair while in class. There are also regular letters from the school.

How come you are only joining in Feb/Mar?