Trapwithin:

E3:

Hope I am not too late in sharing this...


Below is a list of tips from my dd's teacher today for writing composition:

1. Break your paragraphs by picture
2. Write in past tense only!
3. Have a meaningful concluding paragraph
4. Don't start/end with a question
5. Use adjectives/ adverbs to describe your character/ action
6. Restrict to 2 dialogues
7. Don't end with dialogue
8. Don't begin with outdoor setting if it's indoor setting
9. Use linking words to connect ideas
10. No contractions (except in dialogues)
11. No excessive use of punctuation eg. Ahhhh!!!

All the best for Paper 1 tomorrow!!

This year P1 will also start to write comp instead of just structure writing.
PhPPS standard moving upwards every year.

well, almost quarrel with my dd's mummy regarding this issue. dd was taught in her creative writing class to SHOW and not to TELL in her writing. for eg. instead of \"it was a sunny day.\", my dd will write \"the sun shore brightly and fleecy white clouds floated in the sky.\"

However, her EL teacher seems not to like her style and her mummy getting panic. but you can't change that overnight and it will confuse her further which is right and which is wrong. I believe her teacher still wants to see safe writing which is boring. Anyway, i asked dd to stick to her style and well, the most she will lose 1 or 2 marks...but for long term, that is the direction to follow and i would prefer she starts early...

Jennifer:

VbusyMum:

then are we better off sending our middle abilities kid to a school with lower standard so that they can make it to the top class in that school and be taught by the school best teachers....???

That's what I hv bn thinking too.

If my boy does not make it to any of the top four classes next year, I am very likely going to apply at BPPS since it is within walking distance, better time spent instead of travelling by bus

Even if BPPS puts him in a non top class, it is ok with me since the situation is likely to be the same in PH. Only difference is we would hv more time (instead of wasting time travelling to n from esp when the traffic condition will only get worse with the flyover construction, widening of road n digging tunnel for the MRT line.)

But my boy is unwilling to change sch :roll:

The same neighbour also thinking of putting her 3rd child with BPPS and not PH even though this child will be under phase 1.

Personally, i don't think transfering school is a good solution unless the kid is totally cannot manage the school work himself. No matter where you go, ultimately the kid will still be taking the same examination. Rather than wasting time putting the kid in an unknown environment (actually no school will guarantee you that your kid will get a good and committed teacher, it still depends on your luck), it might be better to find ways to help the kid in those areas that he is weak in.

Let assume that you have a 1000cc car. You know that it can't match the power of Ferrari. If you try very hard to match the speed of that red car, your engine will catch fire one day. However, if you are the mechanic, you work on your car, upgrade the components day-by-day, work on your kid's weakness day-by-day, even your kid can't match the power of the red car in the competition, but i believe your upgraded 1000cc car will be able to match the power of a BMW 7series....Teacher is there to impart knowledge but the kid's attitude toward learning and parents involvement are equally important. Correct me if i am wrong.

janet_lee88:

Jennifer:

[quote=\"VbusyMum\"]then are we better off sending our middle abilities kid to a school with lower standard so that they can make it to the top class in that school and be taught by the school best teachers....???

That's what I hv bn thinking too.

If my boy does not make it to any of the top four classes next year, I am very likely going to apply at BPPS since it is within walking distance, better time spent instead of travelling by bus.
Even if BPPS puts him in a non top class, it is ok with me since the situation is likely to be the same in PH. But my boy is unwilling to change sch :roll:

The same neighbour also thinking of putting her 3rd child with BPPS and not PH even though this child will be under phase 1.

Last yr, I thought of transferring my son to a school with affiliated sec school. The stress of staying in Pei Hwa is very high, esp so on me when he tends to be bochap. Here I am, planning revision time-table and he is like 'ok, do bcos you told me to' kind of attitude. Really can die.[/quote]Hi Janet, P5 is an important year and maybe you can try telling your boy it is not too late to start now....if he is in HU, i believe doing well in PSLE is within reach. Pushing him too hard might not be effective...well, you may try to know his weakness and guide him through step-by-step, probably you will see result much faster as compared to putting pressure on him to study, it may just backfire...

E3:

php:

let me share this...one day, a boy showed his SA1 result to his father. His father was very delighted because the boy scored 80-90 marks for all his papers. As an ex-PH student, he happily assumed that his kid would fall into the top few positions in class. But that happy moment only last for a couple of minutes.....he found out from his son that majority of the class scored above 90 marks....he began to PANIC....he compared his son's result with his which was 30 yrs ago.....


i always told my dd to just focus on her school work and try her very best. it doesn't matter where she is going to land as long as she put in an effort. she can slowly climb up the learning ladder with the right pace and one day she will definitely reach the top of the ladder.

Something I learnt...Time and tide wait for no man in PHPPS... hehe...don't let yourself be thrown into a viscious cycle....no offence...

Reading your posts, you mentioned your dd has no problems going to top 3 classes...so I guess she is one who can relax, relax and still do well?

PHPPS is fast paced, everything goes past in a twinkling of an eye. I could still remember my dd applying for P1, balloting and all, now she's in P2...and before you know it...I'll be a very anxious parent preparing a child for PSLE...

E3, there is no standard way of teaching kids...my dd needs to learn from the hard way... the IRON-TEETH type...during the first 2 terms, she was simply bo-chap.. unwilling to learn spelling and ting xue, the most she would look through the list ONCE and she would tell you she already knew all the words. As her parent, i was worried but she would come back in most occasions with all correct answers and 1-2 times that she got only 1 mistake which was acceptable to me. Her SA1 was ok, 70/75 (eng), 93/100 (maths) and 49.5/50 (ch). I knew that she could do better than that but i was waiting for an opportunity to push her. During T3, i noticed there was a change in her attitude. She became more diligent and obedient. I was waiting for her to tell me something. One fine day during the start of T4, she told me this...\"daddy, i didn't know what is schooling all about during the first 2 terms but now i understand. last time, i was not disciplined, i didn't hand up my homework on time, i didn't greet teachers...etc...but i have changed during T3. i try to be self-discipline, i do my homework (well, she still forgot sometime), i greet my teachers...and next, so-and-so scored 100 marks in maths during sa1, i will beat him in sa2 but i asked her how since 100 marks is the max...she replied she will go for 100 marks but hoping so-and-so makes a careless mistake in his paper...OMG.....As her parent, i chose PH for her and it is my responsibility to guide her through during her stay in PH. I wanted her to realise herself the environment she is in and the competition she is facing. Luckily, she WOKE UP after 2 terms of study and definitely i have an easier job now...I let her carry on with her own pace, push her abit if i feel she needs it.....To me, she needs to build a good and solid foundation during her P1/P2 and as parents, our job will be easier when she comes to upper primary...

IJJ:

dyh:

during my son's yr, 280/300 could only get into Gr2. :lol:

Even at P2, with 279/300 could not get into Ch3.

well, i think it will be getting more difficult year after year as more bright kids will choose PH as first choice....like PH P1 registration, now P2B also ballot liao...next year will be balloting for P2B within 1-2km, the following year will be balloting for P2B with 1km...

E3:

The standard of the cohort can be quite subjective. My dd's class had the opportunity to try out 2008 and 2009 P2 SA2 Math exam papers. From my analysis of the questions, 2008 paper was more challenging. So, if the cohort for that year did not do as well, does that mean they are weaker? For parents with kids doing that Math paper, and not scoring well, does that imply that their kids are weak in Math? On the other hand, 2009 paper was easier and many kids could possibly do well, will it also result in parents getting complacent?


I believe the overall scores for the P2s for these two years will vary. Let's just take the cut-off marks for each class with a pinch of salt.

A couple of months back, a discussion was made that half the p5 cohort flunk SA1 Math, does that mean the cohort is weak or the exam was too tough?

Thus, I believe in building a strong basic foundation, especially in the lower primary, and be ready and equipped before every exam, so as to cushion the shock of an extremely tough paper. It's better than to swallow a bitter pill.

I believe they purposely set tough papers from P5 onward. the standard of papers in PH is normally 10% above national standard...So if the kid scores 60 marks in prelim, then 70 marks should be within reach during PSLE.

markfch:

Trapwithin:

[quote=\"markfch\"]Then my ds no chance for top 3 classes liao, cos he makes tons of careless mistakes/take short cuts answering qns when not supervised. Still the happy-go-lucky kind.

You still have chance. For your DS, P1 has not even started yet.
Practice made perfect .. so practice more

Haha, you don't know my son. To date he can still start a sentence with small caps and give one word ans to open ended qns when unsupervised. And if I reprimand him, he'll retort 'if you so clever, you do it yourself.' :roll:

Of course every parent would want their kids to go to the best class, but if the std of the top 3 classes is so high, perhaps I should be more realistic and lower my expectation a bit. Just try my best and accept the outcome.[/quote]let me share this...one day, a boy showed his SA1 result to his father. His father was very delighted because the boy scored 80-90 marks for all his papers. As an ex-PH student, he happily assumed that his kid would fall into the top few positions in class. But that happy moment only last for a couple of minutes.....he found out from his son that majority of the class scored above 90 marks....he began to PANIC....he compared his son's result with his which was 30 yrs ago.....

i always told my dd to just focus on her school work and try her very best. it doesn't matter where she is going to land as long as she put in an effort. she can slowly climb up the learning ladder with the right pace and one day she will definitely reach the top of the ladder.

markfch:

php:

markfch, how do u find the cw class? i found that dd was not getting the min 1hr per wk cw exposure as promised by the centre.

Sorry php, what is cw class? Do you mean the TAS class?

yes..

comfy:

S6169:

[quote=\"Jennifer\"]
Any idea how many CH3 pupils passed the screening test?

My boy's FT carried out lessons as usual. Only 3 pupils in the class are going for the selection test next week.

7 pupils in Ho3 will go for the next round of test. Heard that top2 classes of Nan Hua , 50 pupils were selected for the next round.

I heard that 3/4 of CH3 are going for the selection test. :!:
Wonder how many in FA3 are going ?[/quote]The no will definitely be higher in GEP schools because the teachers know the format of the paper and the depth of knowledge to be tested very well as compare to non-GEP schools.

markfch:

E3:

近朱者赤近墨者黑

Ditto E3 :celebrate:

markfch, how do u find the cw class? i found that dd was not getting the min 1hr per wk cw exposure as promised by the centre.