krex:

Hi sembgal,


Tks for the feedback. I'm contemplating between Rosyth and Holy Innocent. I prefer the latter as it's in between my house and my IL's - just 10 mins drive from home and 5 mins drive from my IL's. I have a younger one in pre school still and her school is opp my IL's place. So makes sense logistically to send my #1 to Holy Innocent. However, I know my chances are higher in Rosyth since daddy is alumni. How early does your friend's child take the school bus? I'm also worried my #1 will not have enough sleep.

You also mentioned your friend's child improved grades after tuition. You mean Rosyth doesn't do much teaching and relies on parents to send their kids for tuition for grades to be gd?

Hi Krex, I was in a similar situation as you when I registered my dd in 2012. I had a choice between Rosyth and another popular school which is nearer to my home. In the end, I chose Rosyth.

I had some regrets initially as the school bus came over at 11:30am as the school regulated arrival time for school bus is 12 noon. So morning was a mad rush as I have younger kids too. That's why I'm praying for single session in 2015.

However, in P1, I noticed that not only did the students had minimal homework, Rosyth's papers were not as tough as those from the other 'branded' schools. 99% of the questions in the test papers was based on what was being taught in class. The mean average for all 3 subjects was between 85-90+ for their level. My dd enjoyed learning in school. Of course, things might be different at higher levels but at least she had a smooth transition from kindy to P1 without tuition.

My friend's son, who is my dd's age, is in HI. I saw his papers. The Math paper was much tougher than Rosyth's, much to my friend's surprise. Several of the questions were not being covered in the activity books. According to my friend, the P1 SA1 mean score for Math was 60+. Of course, this might be one-off case. But I think if you have a chance, you should try to get both schools' papers and do a comparison. This may help you to make an educated choice.

Blessedwife:

Hi Pummanuel


Thanks for sharing. You are blessed to have boy/girl twin
Just a question I thought we are supposed to try before ovulation ? Should try on 10 / 12 / 14 / 16 day if menses is 28 day cycle ?

Also due to our age sometimes we might not even ovulate am I correct?

Sorry so many questions :oops:

Hi Blessedwife, sorry I missed your reply. Yes we should be trying before ovulation. My gynae recommends Clearblue ovulation kit that produces a smiling face on the 2 best days to get pregnant. The logic behind the kit is written on the leaflet in the box. At our age, we should still be ovulating unless there is some condition. You can try getting the ovulation kit first and if you have any concerns, visit your gynae and work out a plan with him/her.

Blessedwife:

Hi all mummies


My post may be off topic sorry but can I find out from the triplets or twin
Mummies did you conceive your babies naturally or thru Ivf or etc?

I am a twin myself but am not so lucky to conceive twins

I have a 6 year old boy and now then I thought of having another bb but not easy as age is catching up! In my mid thirties now ...

Hi Blessedwife

I'm in my mid thirties and a SAHM too. I have a 6 yo girl and a pair of 1 yo girl-boy twins. I tried to conceive when my eldest was 2 yo and it took me nearly 3 years to succeed. It took me this long partly coz the husband was based overseas and the daughter started preschool here so we could only 'work' on #2 when he's back every 2 months. When he changed his job and relocated back to Singapore, we thought we would succeed within a few months but that didn't materialise too. Finally after we tweaked his travelling schedule, it worked. The husband's work requires 40% travelling. He used to travel before my ovulation, coming home 2-3 days before it. But we changed that to a week after my ovulation. And 2 months later, I conceived my twins naturally. No family history of twins and no medical interference.

Aloysiusbb:

will take a long time before balloting start?

if we are successfully get in we still have to wait for all the numbers is called?

The balloting exercise started at 9am promptly for my case. The school VP took around 5 minutes to explain the procedure. There were around 60 vacancies and by 9:20 or so, the balloting was over. The forms were given out after all the numbers were called. However, if you need to rush to work, you can leave first and wait for the school to send the form to you.

pqy:

How the balloting carry on? Computerized or manually. How to ensure our child name was  in the lists for balloting. Thanks

Hi pqy, with effect from this year, the balloting process has been standardised across all schools in Singapore by MOE. The balloting apparatus is also provided by MOE, ie the lottery cage.

There will be a board with all the names of the children eligible for balloting listed. A number is assigned to each child. When you reach the room designated for balloting, the school's staff will tell you to look for your child's name and note down the number given.

On the table in the room, you will see trays of ping pong balls, arranged in numerical sequence. When balloting starts, the staff will pick up ball number 1 (number printed on the ball) and read the corresponding child's name from a list. Then the staff will drop it into the cage. The staff will proceed with ball number 2 etc until all the balls are dropped into the cage. Then the staff will do a 'thorough' shuffle. This will be the only shuffle. After that, the staff will start the balloting by rotating the cage. When the first ball appears, the staff will read the number. No name will be mentioned. Meanwhile, another staff will place a thumb tack against the name on the board mentioned in the 2nd para. When it is down to the last 5 vacancies, the school will announce only 5 more balls to be drawn. After the last ball is drawn, the staff will request parents to refer to the board for confirmation. Parents whose children are balloted in will have to stay back to get a copy of the registration form which we filled in on registration day. The form will be signed and stamped with 'Registered'. For the school I registered with under Phase 2B, the orientation date was stated too.

chl72:

pummanuel:

Hi does anyone have the contact for the school bus operator?

6288298

Hi chl72, thanks for the number. Is there one number missing?

Hi does anyone have the contact for the school bus operator?

sksp:

How many actually fighting for the 58 vacancy in today's balloting? Moe said 83 registered but all 83 within 1km?

61 applicants within 1km vied for the 58 vacancies. The other applicants were outside 1km. This is the first time that there was balloting within 1km for Phase 2B, joining the ranks of TN, AT and KH.

wendy2006:

Time to worry for me. I do not know how to guide my child's education.

Hi Wendy, my daughter's first language is Mandarin as my husband and I believe in inculcating our values through our mother tongue and she spent her first 3 years in China where my husband was working.

When she entered playgroup in Singapore, her teacher told her to sit down on the first day of school. She stared blankly at her teacher who had to resort to sign language. After 1 year, her daily interactions with her English teacher and dominantly english-speaking classmates helped to improve her English but there was still a big gap.

I spent some time finding a good method to teach her. Finally I stumbled upon Tamarind's blog and I adapted her method to Letterland phonics, which is the phonics system my daughter's preschool is using. (I didn't turn to external enrichment classes as very few conduct their reading classes using Letterland.) After a year, my daughter can read chapter books under my guidance and all those princessy, fairy tales on her own.

I think enabling her to read is a big leap forward. With reading, it helps to improve her grasp and feel of the English language. It makes it easier to teach her grammar, sentence structure and vocabulary. I bought assessment books for her to do but realised it's too dry for her after a few exercises. Instead, I encourage her to draw and write things that happened around her. Through her writings, in addition to reading, she will be able to pick up the technical aspects of the English language. Also, if she just learnt a new phrase or word from her reading, I will try to incorporate it in our daily lives so that it becomes her 'permanent vocabulary'.

My daughter used to see me as 'Mama' only. If I tried to correct her in her languages or Maths, she would brush me aside as I'm not her teacher. After a year + of coaching, she sees me as her 'Mama' and 'Teacher' too. It makes coaching much easier as I've earned her trust in my teaching.

Of course, I've nothing against enrichment classes as many parents are working and their working hours can be very demanding. However, as Tamarind pointed out, revision and coaching will still have to be conducted at home. My daughter's classmate attends 3 academic enrichment classes and his mother told me she will make her son do his homework/revision everyday from 8 to 9. Her son also showed great improvements after some time.

It's a matter of choice and I think whichever route we take, we will still have to coach our children at home given their young age. Coaching can be stressful. I had my hair pulling, books throwing period too. However, coaching also allows us to understand our child better, and in a way understand ourselves better too. In due time, we will find a method that suits our child.

hquek:

lil_jade:

Hi Tamarind,


With regards to 四五快读, can it be re-used? Was thinking after my #1 go through it, can #2 use it? Or are there worksheets etc so that it's better to get a new one?

Many thanks!

hi lil_jade,

Taking the liberty to answer. This series of books are read only (no activity to colour/write), there are flash cards behind that you can cut out so kids can 'play' with those. definitely can reuse.

I cut out those cards and put them in different ziploc bags - not confident I can put them back according to the book level.

I did that too. I bought small ziploc bags from a provision shop (the kind that sells pots, cups, bowls, etc). As the size is alike the ones we get from our doctor for our tablets, so the 四五快读 cards fit snugly into the bags, 1 bag for 1 lesson. I think Tamarind does that too.

For each book, there will be 10 packs which can be stored in a small tupperware. Likewise, you can also pack more than 1 book (ie 10 packs) in one box. I will label my packs 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and the container Book 1 & 2, etc. So whenever I need to travel, I just bring one pack along and when I go home, I can put it back to where it belongs.