[Bukit Panjang/Bukit Timah/Hillview] Preschools

[luckymum]

Hi parents,


I just joined this forum. Currently, looking for a kindergarten for my son in the area of Bukit pajang or Bukit Batok.

I called up Bukit Pajang Methodist Church kindergarten and all seats are taken up (sadly) and is put on waiting list.

I am also looking at Canossian Convent Kindergarten located at Bukit Batok area. Anyone has experience on this??? Can share with me?

Appreciate that, thanks!

[toffee]

ChiefKiasu:

j_popo:

...the website not working leh...

http://www.spring-montessori.com/

Hellloo! I am so undecided between Spring Montessori in Bukit Timah Shopping Centre and the learning ladder at Highgate (Bt timah). So I would really appreciate some comments from experienced parents on either school.

Both schools seem to have nice and caring teachers. However, Spring Montessori is just occupying a very small premise and it is not MOE approved. Does this matter really? Another thing which I don’t quite like is the kids have to use the public toilet outside the school area. But I have to say the teachers look very caring and I quite like the Montessori style.

Learning ladder on the other had has proper school facilities like playground and toilets (although the school looks rather old) and it has an expat English teacher. School fees are also higher ($600+ after subsidy for just ½ day program).

Any advice mummies/daddies?? :roll:

[babysz]

toffee:

ChiefKiasu:

[quote=\"j_popo\"]...the website not working leh...

http://www.spring-montessori.com/

Hellloo! I am so undecided between Spring Montessori in Bukit Timah Shopping Centre and the learning ladder at Highgate (Bt timah). So I would really appreciate some comments from experienced parents on either school.

Both schools seem to have nice and caring teachers. However, Spring Montessori is just occupying a very small premise and it is not MOE approved. Does this matter really? Another thing which I don’t quite like is the kids have to use the public toilet outside the school area. But I have to say the teachers look very caring and I quite like the Montessori style.

Learning ladder on the other had has proper school facilities like playground and toilets (although the school looks rather old) and it has an expat English teacher. School fees are also higher ($600+ after subsidy for just ½ day program).

Any advice mummies/daddies?? :roll:[/quote]Hi Toffee,

I am equally curious about Learning Ladder - was considering this cc for my dd at one time. I visited the school and was impressed with the way a little child played Chinese chess with her teacher. But I didn't find any good reviews about this cc from anywhere so far, some less favorable feedback was given about the expat teachers but since I cannot verify I won't take it at face value anyway. Still keen, but I plan to KIV this for a while.

My dd is a student in Spring Montessori so maybe I can help a little in my own understanding about this kindergarten:

About your first point, I must say that I was equally concerned about the hardware aspect of this kindy before signing up my dd. Especially the part about children using public toilets. Worth careful weighing the pros and cons before you sign up. But you may also take heart that throughout the period dd was there, never had a child ever been left to go to the toilet alone. This is more than what some big kindergartens do -in many cases the children went themselves, some even messed up the toilets making it dirty for others to use. In fact, the teachers in Spring Montessori monitored the kids, sterilised the toilet and used their own toilet seats every time a child needed to go to the toilet. For my dd, I knew that she was always carried in arms whenever she went - there was no contact with the toilet seat at all. I don't get any benefits by saying good things about this kindy and I am trying to be objective here......but I can't help wanting to say good things about my kiddy's school :oops: . Or in this case, soon to be ex-school. Feel very sad when I don't share about what I know they do. You know, I sincerely feel that, yes, there are other good schools around, I am sure, but you won't be wrong choosing this one.

If I am not wrong, schools without approval from MOE should not be operating and recruiting students at all. Exceptions are perhaps only for special schools like Kumon. There may also be exceptions for schools with less than 10 students. I didn't check but I think they would have MOE's Approval in Principle for running a kindergarten. This seems to be the term schools used, I tried to get more information from Googles but only found this term used in another school: http://www.eis.edu.sg/english/article.php?story=20080730104312432 Maybe you want to further confirm with them on this?

Whatever your choice, I wish you the best in finding a good school.

[babysz]

Hi, it's me again. I just called Spring Montessori and spoke to the principal. She would like to assure you that their school is approved by MOE. I have found the MOE's link to approved private schools:


http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/private-schools/school-list/

Hope this helps in your decision making.

[toffee]

hi babysz,


Thank you for your positive feedback on Spring Montessori. Good to know that another mummy shares my concerns abt the toileting aspect. In fact, when i visited the school, i saw the chinese teacher bringing the children to the public toilet and she told me the children are encouraged to squat instead of using the sit-down toilet for hygiene reasons. that got me worried as i'm not sure if my 2yo dd would be able to squat and pee. on top of that, i saw the teacher carrying the child with one hand and pushing the tap with the other hand to allow the child to wash her hands. that was when i wished the school had proper toileting facilities and those small low sinks meant for kids to use. plus i was told the chinese teacher would bring a small group of children to another rented unit for mandarin class - it just seems odd to me that it doesnt hv the proper facilities of a preschool. But the teachers do seem to be very caring and commited, which is why i am still considering this school

It's also more reassuring to now know that Spring is MOE registered - thanks for taking the effort to find out for me. How did you manage to get the principal? i have been trying to call the school to ask abt school bus services but no one is answering the phone. In your opinion, do you think this school is good enough to prepare the children for P1? Do you hv any comments on the teachers?

understand from your previous post that you are due to return to teach in 2009. Have you found a childcare for your dd? unfortunately, there's hardly any feedback on learning ladder at bt timah. most seems to be on schoolhouse by the bay. but what put me off during my visit to learning ladder was i saw 3 young kids (they were from the 2-3yo grp) glued to the pc and playing games. i was told it's the holiday programs so things are a bit free flow. but i certainly wont want my child to be stuck to the pc without much supervision. the redeeming factor i thought was the expat teacher (although i did not get to meet her - she was on mc that day) and it would be good for dd to learn english from a native. :lol:

Cheers, toffee

[babysz]

Hi Toffee,


Glad you find the info useful . I've checked the telephone number of the school: 64691072. As the school is now having holidays I am worried that you may not get them through the normal number, perhaps you want to call the owner; she used to be the Chinese teacher in the former kindy: 96856419. She is conversant in both English and Chinese.

They said that the current premise is only meant as a temporary measure. They were formally in a landed property but rocketing rental cost during the past one year forced their former school to close down - as you may already know that their fees are considered very low for a Montessori set up. The teachers relocated the children together with the materials (including big outdoor see saws and other stuff) to Bukit Timah Shopping Centre. Their usual outdoor sessions are still carried out though now it is on a piece of open space downstairs. They are still looking around for their greener pasture, literally, :lol: when rents becomes more affordable. For dd, the relatively small space is fine because of her age and personality; large compounds would be frigthening and stressful for her. The reason for renting another unit to carry out Chinese lessons is because the number of students expanded faster than their expectations and so they rented another unit; the MOE has strict regulations governing the amount of space for each child but the school decided to rent another unit rather than just meeting the ratio laid down by MOE. :lol:

About whether they prepare the children well for primary one, it seems like they have done a good job in this aspect even though the majority of the children are not locals. Of the more than ten children there, I know of three who have older siblings in local schools. All the three children are doing well in school. Recently the children had a end of term concert which fell on the day where most schools had their prize giving ceremony- so I got to know from the the mothers (who explained that the reason for their coming late was because they had to attend their older childrens' prize giving ceremony): The one in Nanyang Primary, a school which does not reveal class or level positions, got a High Achiever Award, the one in Raffles Girls Primary got the third position in the whole level, and the third one did not seem to have attended a prize giving ceremony though I know she was always doing well in her school.

Statistcally that makes at least 63% of their graduates outstanding students in local primary schools. :lol: :mrgreen: Jokes aside, I think doing well in primary schools may involve a lot of factors and getting into a good kindy is just one of them.

As for my 2009, I have invited my old nanny to help look after my kids, but of course there are a lot more things waiting for us to work out. Still, it solves the most pressing problem at the moment

[elmomo]

Hi,


anyone got any comments of the two childcare centres in Bukit Panjang? Tks.

[elmomo]

Hi,


Anyone got any comments on :

1. YMCA childcare centre at Bukit Panjang (near Jelapang)

2. Citikids Edventure at Fajar.

tks.

[allseasons]

I am thinking of sending my sons to Canossian Convent Kindergarten. It is located at Jalan Merbok… My eldest son will join K1 and my youngest one will join Pre-N. Any feedback / info from parents here with his / her child studying there? Many thanks in advance…

[JHJC]

[Moderator's note: Topics merged.]


Hi anyone out there could comment on this 2 centres? I am looking at their infant care.
Thank you!