Lai:

CactusInDesert:

[quote=\"ThinkingLoft\"]DD is attending P1 at Henry Park next year. To date, I have yet received any formal reply from the school bus operator - KAL T&T with regards to the arrangement for the new year. Am wondering if I have been missed out or other parents having the same experiences. Appreciate your sharing and any advice. Tried calling but nobody pick up.

You are not alone. We recd an SMS to contact the bus driver directly but all calls and SMS go unanswered. Called the numbers listed at HPPS website also no one answering the call. 3 more working days and the school will start. Don't understand why ask us to contact the driver and list the contact numbers on website but nobody is answering the calls. Really surprise with such service. Rather worry abt the service of this one and only bus operator we have to rely upon.

Me too, email no reply, phone calls unanswered...
Then suddenly got an SMS. Replied and voila, received call from driver the next day... which was yesterday .[/quote]I also finally managed to get through (which was yesterday). They told me that they did not receive my form (almost fainted). But anyway, bus owner called me back almost immediately after I sms my details to them.

However, I am really shocked that despite the fact that I stay 10 min drive away from the school, the pick-up time is 11:30am and this is on a Wednesday when the official report time is 1:15pm. They said that they need to be at the school by 12pm to pick up the morning session, hence the early pick-up time. So from 12pm to 1:15pm, my DD just wait in the hall? What a waste of time!

DD is attending P1 at Henry Park next year. To date, I have yet received any formal reply from the school bus operator - KAL T&T with regards to the arrangement for the new year. Am wondering if I have been missed out or other parents having the same experiences. Appreciate your sharing and any advice. Tried calling but nobody pick up.

My DD will be starting P1 in 2013. Do you have any classes that can prepare P1 children for Maths Olympaid type of questions?

PianoDaddy:

kathyh:

I think the most suitable one the one having special chemistry with ur child, is the best one

Hi Kathyh,
Does your child have chemistry with the teacher? How's the experience so far?

I find it kind of hard to quantify this, as chemistry is very subjective, and you never know until the child starts lessons with the teacher. Do you get to choose teachers in NAFA, or are there trial classes?

Maybe I should rephrase my question... does the same teacher follow through with a student from the lower grades all the way to the higher grades, or do they re-assign teachers for higher grade students?

Based on my experience, there is no trial class offered at NAFA. We also did not get to choose the teachers, they were assigned to us. However, it was mentioned at the orientation that we are allowed to request for ONE change of teacher but good reasons must be provided. My daughter started at grade 2 level with NAFA and we were told that the same teacher would follow her through all the way til diploma.

Having said that, I do notice that the younger teachers seem to take more prep students. I think it's because there tend to be a much higher number of prep and grade 1 students, compared to the higher grade. For example this year, there are like 20 grade 1 students but only 8 grade 2 students.

Hope this helps.

kathyh:

Even I can afford it for choice no. 3, I doubt if it is worth doing that . After all piano is just a hobby, very few of our kids will make it as life career

I think that's precisely the point. If the teacher is talking about developing Puzzle's DD as a performing pianist, someone who performs on the piano for a career, then yes I can understand the need for a grand piano at home. But if it's just a hobby, then, a bit excessive.

I cannot believe that EVERY student at NAFA at diploma level owns a grand.

waiyean:

ThinkingLoft:

Masterclasses are held every 5 weeks. All students have to participate in the masterclasses. The size of each class depends on the size of the cohort. Typically the prep and Grade 1 classes will have bigger sizes and the numbers become smaller the higher the grades.

Hi ThinkingLoft, thanks for sharing.

Which grade is your DD doing, and how many are there in her class?
How many pieces does each child play in each masterclass, and what are the selections? Is it mostly exam pieces, or other pieces selected by teachers?

You mentioned that the experience in the masterclass is quite positive. What about the usual weekly classes? Is it equally positive, or are there big differences between teachers and principal?

Sorry for so many questions, but I am contemplating sending my DD to NAFA next year, and was wondering if that is the best place for her to be in.

DD is doing Grade 2. For Grade 2 there are 7 in her class. Interestingly enough, out of 7, 5 are new students including DD who were accepted into NAFA only after the May audition this year.

Number of pieces played at masterclass depends on the child. The teacher will be the one to make the call. As the focus of the first masterclass is on tone quality, the basic is at least one piece of technique piece (i.e. either Hanon or Czerny). Some children also played one piece from the G2 exam repertoire.

So far the experience at NAFA has been a positive one for both DD and myself. However, I cannot vouch for other teachers but the one we got is very nice. No screaming, yelling or scolding and on top of what she teaches, she also recommends various recordings, concerts for DD to attend to help motivate DD's interest in music.

As for whether to join NAFA or not I think will really depend on what it is you want for your child. NAFA made it very clear from day 1 that their objective is to develop the child ready for performance and competition. Therefore, their focus from day 1 is technique, technique and technique. They feel that without the right technique foundation, children will not be able to tackle the higher grade pieces for example sonatas. Besides technical pieces and exam pieces, children do not get exposed to other pieces. In addition, little training in aural and sight-reading as well.

For me, DD's previous teacher was very good in terms of exposing her to different genres of music. She will also spend time to talk a little about music history, the story behind different composers, and even the story behind the pieces that she asked DD to play. Previous teacher was also very into interpretation and expression. We both love the previous teacher.

Thus, for me, joining NAFA is to expose DD to some technique training which was a bit lacking when with the previous teacher. And I must say, I could see huge improvement in DD's finger strength and finger posture within the very short period of time with NAFA. We are not decided whether we would continue with NAFA or go back to previous teacher. I think it will depend on how things go. But not matter what, I am quite confident that the 20 weeks (minimum commitment is 1 term which is 20 weeks) experience will be a beneficial and positive experience for DD. But one warning is that technique practice can be very dry and boring for young children. So you have to judge for yourself whether your child can take this kind of dry repetitive training or would it kill your child's interest in music/piano altogether.

waiyean:

kathyh:

NAFA parents: how is the recent Masterclass going?

How often are masterclasses held in NAFA, and do all students participate? How big is each class?

Masterclasses are held every 5 weeks. All students have to participate in the masterclasses. The size of each class depends on the size of the cohort. Typically the prep and Grade 1 classes will have bigger sizes and the numbers become smaller the higher the grades.

kathyh:

NAFA parents: how is the recent Masterclass going?

DD went through her first masterclass. The whole experience was much better than what we anticipated (given all the horror stories we have heard before). Overall the principal was very positive in the way she gave comments. I also like the way she actually invited the children (mostly 6 years old) to reflect on their own playing, whether they are satisfied with their own performance, if yes, which parts, if no, which parts.

Hi, I do have a piano at home. It’s a China made one called Nottingham, cost me about $3.5k, considered very cheap. Didn’t want to invest in an expensive piano cause wasn’t sure if DD would persevere. She is 6 this year and will be taking her Grade 3 this year. So also thinking of upgrading the piano at home.


You should check out the forum postings under "All About Buying Pianos". Very good information provided.

laughingcat:

ThinkingLoft:

2) For cooking, I set aside a particular day for ingredients preparation and for that morning, I will try to do all the washing, cutting up of ingredients, marinate, etc for the whole week and pack them up in ziplock bags. So when I cook, it's like having pre-packed ingredients and it saves a lot of time. And because I focus on doing that thing for one morning per week, you can do volume processing.

Hi Thinkingloft,

Can you explain in detail how do you go about preparing the ingredient for that particular day? Do you mean the preparation of 1 week ingredients are to be done on 1 particular day? Can share your secret?

First you have to know what you are going to cook for the whole week. I literally have a menu for the week. Then you look across and see what are the common ingredients you need, eg. garlic, chop enough garlic for the whole week; or carrots, cut enough pieces for the whole week & dun be so particular. No need some cubes, some slices, etc. Just try to make all the same. And so on and so forth. So each time you cook, you just use part of the ingredients and then put back into fridge.

Ingredients might not be the most fresh but it sure beats having to do preparation before cooking. It also gives you a lot more time flexibility.