DSA 2024

[bbbay]

slmkhoo\" post_id=\"2133924\" time=\"1715817821\" user_id=\"28674:

A good coach in any field, be it sports, music, art, language etc, can often spot the underlying skills and talent even in untried and untrained youngsters. Among my circle, in general, those good in one sport will also have skills that translate well to other sports, even if they haven't had any training. Like high athleticism, hand-eye coordination, overall fitness, competitiveness, etc. Similarly with music, dance, tech, mind games etc. It takes an experienced and broad-minded coach to recognise the underlying skills needed in untrained individuals, though.

For discussion sake: possess potential does not always translate to achievement.

If this is indeed the case, I would think DSA is also about spotting potentials too. Hmm… make sense.

[sharonkhoo]

bbbay\" post_id=\"2133925\" time=\"1715818255\" user_id=\"175278:

For discussion sake: possess potential does not always translate to achievement.

If this is indeed the case, I would think DSA is also about spotting potentials too. Hmm… make sense.

That is what it should be - looking for talent, not just what has been achieved by age 11! Not all kids have opportunities to be trained when in Pr school, and it would be foolish (as well as inequitable) to narrow talent spotting to only those who already have had the opportunities, especially for rarer sports like golf, or fencing, say.

As for the other qualities that lead to achievement, like grit and willingness to put in the hours on top of academics - that's where the interviews and other assessments come in. If the child is talented but disinterested, or unable to cope with the rest of the students (will likely lead to mental/emotional issues), there's little point in forcing the issue.

[floppy]

bbbay\" post_id=\"2133920\" time=\"1715813946\" user_id=\"175278:

How do DSA selectors know the applicants are also talented in the counter offered talent area too? The applicants have also achieved awards in that counter offered area too? Or big talents can be spotted by just observing the applicants’ behaviours? I am intrigued by it and want to learn something.

Earlier a parent shared an example of applied for hurdle DSA and was offered javelin instead. Both are athletic but focus on different part of the body. How do the selectors know that child can throw very well too?

Sports science.

Physical attributes are important considerations in sports. Typically, measurements will be taken from the DSA candidates, example height, weight, arm’s length, reach (from a standing position / jump), reaction speed etc and will form an important part of the overall assessment. The technical skills and actual skills are over hyped but generally not really that important during DSA (unless he / she is clearly a class above the rest). It’s impossible or not realistic to get a vertically challenged candidate to add 10cm to his / her height within the next year but it’s possible to pick up basic skills over a short period of time (unless totally no ball sense or positional sense).

Hence, in the case of a sprinter, not unusual for them to do hurdling, long jump, triple jump. If the kid has strong forearms, javelin is also possible.

[sharonkhoo]

floppy\" post_id=\"2133927\" time=\"1715819928\" user_id=\"97579:

Sports science.

Physical attributes are important considerations in sports. Typically, measurements will be taken from the DSA candidates, example height, weight, arm’s length, reach (from a standing position / jump), reaction speed etc and will form an important part of the overall assessment. The technical skills and actual skills are over hyped but generally not really that important during DSA. It’s impossible or not realistic to get a vertically challenged candidate to add 10cm to his / her height within the next year but it’s possible to pick up basic skills over a short period of time (unless totally no ball sense or positional sense).

Hence, in the case of a sprinter, not unusual for them to do hurdling, long jump, triple jump. If the kid has strong forearms, javelin is also possible.

Applies to dance, music etc too. Body shape, innate musicality, coordination, size of hands (for instrument playing) etc can be measured or discerned in untrained youth too. E.g., many band/orchestra players only pick up their instruments in sec school. Most pr school kids, if they learn an instrument at all, only learn piano or violin.

[bbbay]

So far I think all of us have been thinking in term of achievements when it comes to deciding DSA applications. Maybe we should also look at how to discover our children potentials and also how to let the schools notice them in our child too.

[sharonkhoo]

bbbay\" post_id=\"2133929\" time=\"1715820269\" user_id=\"175278:

So far I think all of us have been thinking in term of achievements when it comes to deciding DSA applications. Maybe we should also look at how to discover our children potentials and also how to let the schools notice them in our child too.

That can be a challenge if the school is looking for \"ready-made\" performers/competitors. Depends a lot on the selection panel.

This is not DSA, but symptomatic: Even in my child's IP school, when she asked to join some CCAs mid-stream (returned to Sg in sec 2), some teachers looked at her lack of experience and rejected her outright without even an interview. Only one teacher interviewed her, talked to her about her interests etc, asked about what she had done (little bits here and there in her previous tiny school) and agreed to take her on based on whatever it was she saw. She might not have been the most talented, but I saw her pull her weight in several \"backstage\" roles over the years in that CCA.

[bbbay]

To identity schools that are known to, on top of recognising ready talents with achievements to show, also have been accepting DSA applicants with potentials but no achievements yet? Any idea which are the schools? These will be the schools that have been counter offering talent domain different from the one the applicant applied for.

[bbbay]

I emailed the few popular DSA schools , asking for their comments on parents’ concerns whether DSA student can cope with the rigorous curriculum , if there is a big gap between the student’s PSLE AL score and the school’s COP. And these are the replies from 2 of them. Reason I am sharing, so that parents can have some idea about these schools’ thoughts on this matter. They have seen many DSA students so their thoughts should be a good reflection of the situation. Or they could be official/standard reply



The decision to apply via DSA-Sec is a choice the applicant and her parents have to make after considering all factors. While she may be very able in her talent area, you also need to consider what is a ‘best fit’ choice for her knowing that the academic curriculum in <school> is for high ability learners. The PSLE-posted students will have a minimum of AL x (based on last year’s cut-off score). Thus, your daughter will need to be able to cope with the rigours of a challenging curriculum that is meant to stretch our students. It is advisable that your daughter is able to cope well with the curriculum and other school activities as we do not wish for her self-esteem to be negatively impacted when she is unable to cope.

If you feel that your daughter might not thrive in such a challenging environment, it might be better for her to apply to another school that offers the same DSA talent area. A secondary school which offers the GCE O level curriculum might be more manageable as the curriculum is familiar to you and you will be able to better support her. In this way, she may be better able to cope with doing well in her talent area as well as her overall school curriculum.

You know your daughter best.

Thanks & regards,
<1 of the top 4 schools> Admissions

—————

The panel members will review and assess all applications carefully based on their primary school results, achievements in talent areas, along with their performance in the DSA selection tests, trials, auditions, and interviews.


Best Regards,
<1 of the top 4 schools> Admissions

[phtthp]

bbbay\" post_id=\"2133958\" time=\"1715855678\" user_id=\"175278:

I emailed the few popular DSA schools , asking for their comments on parents’ concerns whether DSA student can cope with the rigorous curriculum , if there is a big gap between the student’s PSLE AL score and the school’s COP. And these are the replies from 2 of them. Reason I am sharing, so that parents can have some idea about these schools’ thoughts on this matter. They have seen many DSA students so their thoughts should be a good reflection of the situation. Or they could be official/standard reply


The decision to apply via DSA-Sec is a choice the applicant and her parents have to make after considering all factors. While she may be very able in her talent area, you also need to consider what is a ‘best fit’ choice for her knowing that the academic curriculum in RGS is for high ability learners. The PSLE-posted students will have a minimum of AL 6 (based on last year’s cut-off score). Thus, your daughter will need to be able to cope with the rigours of a challenging curriculum that is meant to stretch our students. It is advisable that your daughter is able to cope well with the curriculum and other school activities as we do not wish for her self-esteem to be negatively impacted when she is unable to cope.

If you feel that your daughter might not thrive in such a challenging environment, it might be better for her to apply to another school that offers the same DSA talent area. A secondary school which offers the GCE O level curriculum might be more manageable as the curriculum is familiar to you and you will be able to better support her. In this way, she may be better able to cope with doing well in her talent area as well as her overall school curriculum.

You know your daughter best.

Thanks & regards,
RGS Admissions

—————

The panel members will review and assess all applications carefully based on their primary school results, achievements in talent areas, along with their performance in the DSA selection tests, trials, auditions, and interviews.


Best Regards,
RI Admissions

To be honest,

if you (a P6 student) have been consistently scoring MORE than, or exceeded

AL 13 points,

in your 4 PSLE subjects,

from (P4 to P6) primary school years consistently,

you shouldn't be applying DSA into RGS nor RI. You will be better off in the long run, to apply for DSA in some other Secondary schools, instead.

Although on paper, the black & white says even if you do score AL 20 (in PSLE), you still can qualify for IP schools, via the acceptance of the DSA contract offer.

[iRabbit]

Nothing personal here but I feel that it’s not nice to share a school’s email reply verbatim in a public forum.


Nothing wrong if we paraphrase the reply and share though. No offence to anyone please.