[Bedok/Katong/Marine Parade/Siglap] Preschools
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Hello Parents,
I have been reading the posts and they have been very informative.
Some bad reviews on kinderland academy. My 28-mth is attending kinderland siglap and is falling sick all the time.
Any comments or feedback abt this CC? i didn’t do much research at that time. Juz enrolled her there as the place seems ok and it is near my parent’s place. But now, i am having 2nd thoughts as I find there are so many kids in the school…and only 8 teachers. Many chinese nationals too…not sure whether it is good for her.
thanks -
santorini:
Hi SantoriniHello Parents,
I have been reading the posts and they have been very informative.
Some bad reviews on kinderland academy. My 28-mth is attending kinderland siglap and is falling sick all the time.
Any comments or feedback abt this CC? i didn't do much research at that time. Juz enrolled her there as the place seems ok and it is near my parent's place. But now, i am having 2nd thoughts as I find there are so many kids in the school...and only 8 teachers. Many chinese nationals too...not sure whether it is good for her.
thanks
How long has your daughter been at the CC ? It is common for kids to fall sick frequently once they start CC/ Preschool as the kids mingle freely & this is the time their body is building up immunity.
As for Chinese nationals - what are they there for? As in.. I presume they are all teachers? If so, shouldn't that be good? Chinese enrichment Schools like Tien Hsia employ 100% chinese nationals to teach... looking at how \"successful\" they are ... i thought having Chinese nationals to teach chinese is an \"in\" thing these days.... a while ago , my son attended Julia Gabriel Bilinggual Playclub -his chinese teachers are from China too.
Apart from the \"concerns\" you hv listed, do u have any other concerns abt the school? If not, then should be ok.... dun worry kids falling sick often means they are building up immunity....of cos so long as it is the usual runny nose , cough...think shouldn't be a problem... How's the school like in terms of HFMD cases? Did u ask them? But of course, most recently the spotlight is on H1N1 - so u may wish to check w them if they have any cases... if nothing of these sort, then should be ok ...dun worry
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Hi Ying ying,
thanks for your feedback.
Coincidentally, I got a call at 7pm from the school that they have 1 case of H1N1. The kid had fever on Saturday. so meaning the kid should be contagious earlier than that. Just hope no other cases. I will keep my gal at home for the next few days.
For HFMD, they had abt 5 in May this year. I practically did not send my gal to school for the whole month. I was quite upset with that episode as when I picked her up in the late afternoon, i even chatted with the teachers and no one informed me. I was still "new" then as my gal at that time started CC only abt 3 weeks. Hence, I was not informed that I have to check her school bag for letters. I normally do not unzip the front pocket of her schoolbag. That night at 11pm, i happened to unzip it and found a letter informing me that there is a case of HFMD from her class. I was so upset and next day called up the school how come they did not call to inform me? What if i did not read the letter? The teacher who took my call was telling me that they do not have a norm of calling and it is the parent’s responsibility to check for letters in the school bag. I told her I can play my part in checking her bag since now I know their practice. But HFMD is SERIOUS…shdn’t they call every parent to inform? The next day I started to receive updates via phonecall. And a few days later, the VP called me to apologise on that matter saying they mishandled the case (she was overseas then) and said they had meetings and ensure it will not happen again. Well… that was really a scare.
Anyhow, my gal was down with fever, cough, running nose, fever, fever, cough, running nose…never seem to stop. She was fine during the 1st 2 mths…but now, it has never stop. she was in fact hospitalized in early august due to prolong fever and early stages of pneumonia. Seeing that she has to take so many kinds of antibiotics all the time… makes me really upset.
Can i ask whether the fully aircon environment is the culprit? Bcoz i am thinking whether I should look for a non aircon environment.
Btw, she has started CC for coming 6 mths. I have another baby at home so when she is sick, the bb will be sick…it is really tough to handle 2 sick kids with no helper.
As for the chinese nationals, I am rather concern as the ratio of the chinese teachers are more than the english speaking ones. I respect the chinese teachers, however, it became questionable to me when they outnumbered the english speaking ones… -
Hi Santorini
Hope you are coping fine w 2 kids at home now (since u mentioned u r keeping your daughter away from school - which, in my opinion is a good decision to make)
First of all , i better clarify that i m no expert in child-minding skills (haha) Just thought i could share some thoughts w you
After reading your post, i also agree the school kinda mishandled the HFMD episode - well i guess they might be right in that it is not their practice to call every parent (esp if they are a large CC) but they should at least keep parents informed of any \"communicative booklet/leaflet\" that they stuffed inside the bag - afterall not every parent check their children's schoolbag - some parents (ie myself) are sometimes so busy - our maids become the ones who \"pack & unpack\" schoolbag ... and not every maid will know the communication leaflet holds important information.
As for H1N1 case, well, it seems that they now are calling every parent (i assume? & i hope they are not calling just u becos u hv complained before) . Was it your sole decision to keep your child at home or the school remains shut for this period?
I have a friend ( i better not mention the CC here) whose child is in another CC has H1N1 confirmed case. The CC remains shut for 10 days as a precautionary measure. I am not sure what the \"protocol\" is like for H1N1 - it seems some schools will \"auto-shut\" while some schools remains open ...
I can understand your stress level with your princess falling sick almost every other week - my friend's daughter also falls sick every now & then but i think she is in another kinderland ... is kinderland siglap fully air-con? Is it the landed property type ? I thought they use fan? no ? I thought only kinderland Marine Parade is fully aircon which was the reason why i didn't put my son there (initially wanted to but when i see it is fully aircon in an old building ; my mind started to question the ventilation - hahhaha)
You hv no helper at home? wOw i salute mums who can make do without domestic help - i cannot hahaha... Are you a homemaker or working mum ?
As for Chinese nationals - wOw it outnumbers the english teachers? If its me, i will just take it that I've enrolled my child in a \"Tien Hsia\" CC hahaha... Are you Chinese? I am chinese but regrettably an english-speaking chinese ie my chinese standard is less than ideal so i wouldn't mind putting my child in a chinese -speaking environment so he won't find the language too foreign but to each his own ... and yes it does sound a little strange if the CC has more chinese nationals than local english teachers..... perhaps maybe the CC is trying to \"rebrand\" itself into a Chinese CC .. u know just like a Chinese Kindergarten ? -
hi ying ying,
is your boy in full day CC as well? do you mind to share which CC does he goes to? is it good?
Unfortunately, the school remains open. They told me they will be calling all parents to inform. But they will propose to those parents whose kids are having any flu-like symptoms to stop sending their kids to school. I honestly would have preferred they close the school for 10 days.
erm… i am a full time working mum…with regularly late night conference calls with USA somemore. Very taxing for me. My mum is alone looking after both kids whenever my gal cannot go to CC. Extremely tough on her since my boy is extremely naughty. My gal is also not any better.
I am not sure whether they are turning into a "Mandarin CC". I think i will perhaps slowly look around for a non-aircon CC. If i find something nice and with a slot, I may just transfer her.
Do you have any to recommend in the east?
Btw, her CC is fully aircon in a bungalow. -
santorini:
Hi santorinihi ying ying,
is your boy in full day CC as well? do you mind to share which CC does he goes to? is it good?
Unfortunately, the school remains open. They told me they will be calling all parents to inform. But they will propose to those parents whose kids are having any flu-like symptoms to stop sending their kids to school. I honestly would have preferred they close the school for 10 days.
erm... i am a full time working mum...with regularly late night conference calls with USA somemore. Very taxing for me. My mum is alone looking after both kids whenever my gal cannot go to CC. Extremely tough on her since my boy is extremely naughty. My gal is also not any better.
I am not sure whether they are turning into a \"Mandarin CC\". I think i will perhaps slowly look around for a non-aircon CC. If i find something nice and with a slot, I may just transfer her.
Do you have any to recommend in the east?
Btw, her CC is fully aircon in a bungalow.
Haha .. I'm afraid I can't help you on CC selection ...cos I also do not know which one is good .... you will be surprised .... hehe ... my son is not in any CC nor \"formal preschool\" yet hahahaha... he attends weekly Julia Gabriel but stopped recently.... he is 3 this year .... but he will be attending nursery next year for sure
Your child is in full-day CC or half-day CC ? -
hi ying ying,
she is in full day cc coz no one can look after her and i work full time. hiaz…
which nursery r u sending ur boy to? -
santorini:
Hi Santorinihi ying ying,
she is in full day cc coz no one can look after her and i work full time. hiaz....
which nursery r u sending ur boy to?
Sori for late reply - was busy ...
How's your daughter getting along ? hope the H1N1 scare has blown over in her CC.
I'll be sending my son to Bethesda Kindy next year (recommended by frens & neighbours ... i also read some pretty gd reviews here) so i hope it will be the \"right choice\" cos my son turns 4 next year ... and he really hasn't been to any formal school ... so keeping my fingers' crossed. -
Hi
Are you talking about the Kinderland Franchise, Learninghill Siglap?
I guess I might be of help here cos i am a fellow parent at the same school I enrolled my son into the school when he was 3 and this year, he is in the nursery class.. so he has been there for about a year and a half already...
It is actually normal for children to fall sick when they start to attend pre-school.. my son who has never seen a doctor in his life kept falling sick..once every month for close to 6 mths before he got used to it and I have been feeding him a healthy dose of health foods since he was born!
So dun worry about it.. they will sort of out grow tat phase.. even though I must agree it is very annoying... I find that as long as they can still jump and run, it will be ok...
But with regards to the H1N1 case, it is not true that they will merely throw a letter into your school bag,. In my experience, they will usually call whenever something happens to ANY kid in school.. not just the kids in the same class especially if related to HFMD and H1N1 and they always do DAILY updates by phone when such things happen. Do you know which teacher said that to you? I think you can feedback to the principal, Eunice. PS: It is the parent's responsibility to check the bag though.. cos tat is written in the parent's handbook tat we receive when we send our child in..
Just fyi, the school won the award for the best franchise of the year at the FLA awards... and has been winning many awards for the many years it has been around..
The large number of chinese internationals as chinese teachers were hired not only because it made business sense to hire highly qualified teachers at a lower cost but also because of many parent's preference for teachers from china who teach good chinese pronunciation.... but I am not sure if they outweigh the number of english teachers... from wat i see.. the ratio is abt half half.. it could be tat when you come and pick up your child, only the chinese teachers are left as most of the time, the chinese teachers will be the ones working longer hours or working the late shifts.
For me, when i started looking for a CC.. the teachers were of utmost importance to me... I visited a few but still chose to send my son there cos i find the teachers were really caring which is more important to me than anything else....
Actually, my mum was formerly working there and has been teaching there for a good 15 years as a chinese teacher and through her, I find it a very safe environment as I am aware of how the owner, Mrs Janet Ho has very high standards of the school... and I guess being an 'insider', I would have the most news about wat's bad in the school.. and to be honest, I really am impressed with the school and cannot find alot to complain about
Maybe I have a biased view.. but I like the school and the way they run the school.. come nov 6 at school concert, you will see for yourself how much they believe in their children and how much they can help our children develop themselves...
The school is not stingy and doesnt cut corners to save cost as it is important to them to uphold their high standards... I could go on and on about them...
I would say if you are not happy with them.. you can still go shop around and find another CC.. chances are, your kid will still fall sick... and i have heard many story of parents going back again to the school.... and just FYI, after the K2 class leaves this year, there is no need for them to recruit any more children because they are already totally filled with another 6 on waiting list.... if you do decide to leave and come back again though, you might have to go on waiting list...
I hope tat helps.. if you need more info, you can email me at verityy@yahoo.com
PS: My son's name is Ace and he is in Strawberry Kids.. wat is your child's name? I presume she is in Juz kids?
PPS: I feed my son health foods to up his immune system and so most of the time, he is just down with runny nose or cough which recovers in a short while, if you are keen , I could send you more infoabout the natural health foods tat i feed him to boost his immunity.. i think tat could help your child too as I have many frens giving their kid this food.. and it seems to realy help not just keep them healthy but also keep them alert and smart toosantorini:
Hi Ying ying,
thanks for your feedback.
Coincidentally, I got a call at 7pm from the school that they have 1 case of H1N1. The kid had fever on Saturday. so meaning the kid should be contagious earlier than that. Just hope no other cases. I will keep my gal at home for the next few days.
For HFMD, they had abt 5 in May this year. I practically did not send my gal to school for the whole month. I was quite upset with that episode as when I picked her up in the late afternoon, i even chatted with the teachers and no one informed me. I was still \"new\" then as my gal at that time started CC only abt 3 weeks. Hence, I was not informed that I have to check her school bag for letters. I normally do not unzip the front pocket of her schoolbag. That night at 11pm, i happened to unzip it and found a letter informing me that there is a case of HFMD from her class. I was so upset and next day called up the school how come they did not call to inform me? What if i did not read the letter? The teacher who took my call was telling me that they do not have a norm of calling and it is the parent's responsibility to check for letters in the school bag. I told her I can play my part in checking her bag since now I know their practice. But HFMD is SERIOUS....shdn't they call every parent to inform? The next day I started to receive updates via phonecall. And a few days later, the VP called me to apologise on that matter saying they mishandled the case (she was overseas then) and said they had meetings and ensure it will not happen again. Well.... that was really a scare.
Anyhow, my gal was down with fever, cough, running nose, fever, fever, cough, running nose...never seem to stop. She was fine during the 1st 2 mths...but now, it has never stop. she was in fact hospitalized in early august due to prolong fever and early stages of pneumonia. Seeing that she has to take so many kinds of antibiotics all the time... makes me really upset.
Can i ask whether the fully aircon environment is the culprit? Bcoz i am thinking whether I should look for a non aircon environment.
Btw, she has started CC for coming 6 mths. I have another baby at home so when she is sick, the bb will be sick..it is really tough to handle 2 sick kids with no helper.
As for the chinese nationals, I am rather concern as the ratio of the chinese teachers are more than the english speaking ones. I respect the chinese teachers, however, it became questionable to me when they outnumbered the english speaking ones... -
Hi verityy,
wow! it is great to finally find a parent whose child is also in the same school. And thanks for sharing your view of the school. I actually spoke to Mrs Ho as I plan to stop my gal from school for 1 month, hoping that she will regain back her normal immunity. But I brought her in today as Mrs Ho told me to let her attend the full dress rehearsal as well as the concert this friday as my gal, despite missing almost the entire month of lessons in October, already knows what to do...well, so i sent her in this morning eventhough she still has some cough. Hope she doesn't get infected with another virus or bacteria just by being in school today! really praying very hard.
As for the chinese teachers, there are 5 in total. And the english speaking ones (excluding mrs ho), there are 4. I have met all of them as i normally hang around to chit chat in the morning or when i pick her up if i have the time. Also to kpo abit u see... thats why i was saying the chinese teachers outweigh the english ones. But this it NOT the reason why i am worried and looking for other CC....its the AIRCON and the fact that my child is falling sick non stop since July. She started in April. It is not once a month.... this round, she went back to school for only 3 days...... down with high fever again.... the flu virus became laryngitis. My 12 mth son is now infected...starting to cough
and i Have to postpone his vaccination again. I just ran to the PD this lunch break for my boy. Last week, ran to PD twice for my gal. I am really tired. and my work is severely affected.
I visited 1 CC (also in a bungalow setting) last friday with my hb. It is non-aircon. I am extremely impressed with what the principal told me about this SINGLE policy - she does not feed any medicine which parents will bring in unless there is a doctor's letter certifying the kid is fit for school but still require medication. Could be sensitive nose etc. SHe will also not accept students with very serious and phelgmy cough or with running nose. SHe will quarantine them in the office and call the parents to pick the kids up. Some parents cannot accept such policy so she will set parent's expectation before they sign up. When we visited ( i was there for almost 2 hours), i did not see or hear a single child coughing or with running nose. But their earliest vacancy is only mid Feb/Mar next year Other than that, why both hb and myself are having 2nd thoughts is that when we look at the teachers, we felt rather \"sian\".....abit auntie auntie type...also the curriculum is definitely not as interesting as kinderland. So I wonder is it becoz Kinderland teachers are in uniform? that's why i have a better impression? hahahaha...but Justkids teachers are very young perhaps that's why i feel they are more lively and energetic...that's why i was impressed?
Since they have no vacancy, my hb prefers not to change my gal... we wanna wait and see whether her health will improve after this 1 month break.
Oh, for the H1N1 case, I received a phone call as well. I was referring to the HFMD case in May. Qie Lau Si called me up a few days later to apologize and admitted that they mishandled the case coz both Mrs Ho and herself were overseas during hte period...blah blah blah...said their protocol was to CALL up each parent as well. They did not call me at all u see. And I spoke to the teachers in the evening the day before. ANyway, the episode is over and fair enuff, they called me up when they had the H1N1.
I am happy with her form teacher in Justkids 1 and other things. My only concern is her Health. COz I see kids with mucous. FOr eg, during her 1st day, I accompanied her. Another kid in Justkids 2, with mucous dripping, used his spoon, scooped his food and pour it in my gal's bowl. The teachers did not see it. I saw it. I had to ask for a change for a new bowl of food. It is common when I send my child in to see parents bringing in a big bag of medication to get the teachers to feed. No questions asked...just filled up a form and the teachers will feed. I always hear kids with lots of phelgm coughing and running around...or those sneezing with a lot of mucous. And I wonder will aircon make the spread of all these illnesses easier?
I also like the school in all other aspects EXCEPT this sick children and medication issue. So it is very tough for me to really change the school coz i like the place as well.... now I just hope my gal's health and immune system will get better.....
yes I am very interested in the health food..... i will drop u an email. thank you
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