Hwa Chong Institution (High School)

[sausage]

[

Very disappointed. Had expected a lot more from a school like HCI.[/quote]

I share the worries of all parents too when our children are out by themselves… but what do we expect the school to do ? Send SMSs to inform parents of the delay or send an apology to sec 1 parents in ISP the next day for messing up their plans ? I waited for my DS for 2+ hours in the open car park too but delays and hiccup not expected during a wet weather + sporting event in the jammed pack Chua Cho Kang areas + MRT line construction work nearby etc ? Who knows the schools and their seniors may be working hard to plan for alternatives for them ? I heard the whole event ended 1030pm.

May be the school should have done better is to learn a few tips from the partner school opposite on how to manage parents’ expectation.

TGIF

[ApronMama]

ks2011:

I don't understand why taking a train by himself is so dangerous for your ds. My dd from RGS also had to attend such an activity and took a bus and then train back home. The school had only arranged one-way transport to the venue.


She followed a group of girls back to the MRT. Let them learn. Taking bus and train in Singapore is perfectly safe.

I also remember my ds chose to come back on his own directly from CCK by public transport last year as it is more direct than going back to school. Probably most sec 1 are still in their early stage of taking public transport, but very soon they may tell you they do not want you to fetch (may be paisay liao) and they can come back on their own. So it is good to teach and orientate them how to take public transport earlier, before sec 1 begin, the kids learn very fast.

[wonderm]

sausage:

[

Very disappointed. Had expected a lot more from a school like HCI.

I share the worries of all parents too when our children are out by themselves… but what do we expect the school to do ? Send SMSs to inform parents of the delay or send an apology to sec 1 parents in ISP the next day for messing up their plans ? I waited for my DS for 2+ hours in the open car park too but delays and hiccup not expected during a wet weather + sporting event in the jammed pack Chua Cho Kang areas + MRT line construction work nearby etc ? Who knows the schools and their seniors may be working hard to plan for alternatives for them ? I heard the whole event ended 1030pm.

May be the school should have done better is to learn a few tips from the partner school opposite on how to manage parents’ expectation.

TGIF[/quote]

My ds also opted to take the school transport back to HCI. However, due to the delay caused by bad weather, he had to come back on his own and reached home after 10pm. I read from the ST next day that the sports event only ended about 9pm. My ds also rarely takes public transport, but he managed to get to the MRT with his friends and changed bus on his own. We are so proud of him and think it was a good experience for him.

[hci_2011]

deleted.

[wiimum]

sausage:

[

Very disappointed. Had expected a lot more from a school like HCI.

I share the worries of all parents too when our children are out by themselves… but what do we expect the school to do ? Send SMSs to inform parents of the delay or send an apology to sec 1 parents in ISP the next day for messing up their plans ? I waited for my DS for 2+ hours in the open car park too but delays and hiccup not expected during a wet weather + sporting event in the jammed pack Chua Cho Kang areas + MRT line construction work nearby etc ? Who knows the schools and their seniors may be working hard to plan for alternatives for them ? I heard the whole event ended 1030pm.

May be the school should have done better is to learn a few tips from the partner school opposite on how to manage parents’ expectation.

TGIF[/quote]


I think for Sec 1s, parents tend to worry more , and be more \"kan cheong\" and it is made worse if you were waiting at the open carpark for hours. I know because I was like that.

However, I have learnt over the years, it is best to just let it be, let them sort it out. If you can afford to wait, then wait. If not, let him take a bus back. If he still hasn't learnt the way, ask him to find out. There are going to be a lot more events that require them to travel to other venues all over Singapore. Worst case, take/share a taxi.

There have been many occasions that my son would arrive home past 10 or 11pm because of school activities. I just make sure I could reach him via SMS and let me know a rough estimate of his arrival time. I must say I have gotten used to it.

However, I might react differently if it had been my daughter.

[Otah]

wiimum:

sausage:

[

Very disappointed. Had expected a lot more from a school like HCI.

I share the worries of all parents too when our children are out by themselves… but what do we expect the school to do ? Send SMSs to inform parents of the delay or send an apology to sec 1 parents in ISP the next day for messing up their plans ? I waited for my DS for 2+ hours in the open car park too but delays and hiccup not expected during a wet weather + sporting event in the jammed pack Chua Cho Kang areas + MRT line construction work nearby etc ? Who knows the schools and their seniors may be working hard to plan for alternatives for them ? I heard the whole event ended 1030pm.

May be the school should have done better is to learn a few tips from the partner school opposite on how to manage parents’ expectation.

TGIF

I think for Sec 1s, parents tend to worry more , and be more \"kan cheong\" and it is made worse if you were waiting at the open carpark for hours. I know because I was like that.

However, I have learnt over the years, it is best to just let it be, let them sort it out. If you can afford to wait, then wait. If not, let him take a bus back. If he still hasn't learnt the way, ask him to find out. There are going to be a lot more events that require them to travel to other venues all over Singapore. Worst case, take/share a taxi.

There have been many occasions that my son would arrive home past 10 or 11pm because of school activities. I just make sure I could reach him via SMS and let me know a rough estimate of his arrival time. I must say I have gotten used to it.

However, I might react differently if it had been my daughter. :-)[/quote]
:goodpost: same here... this is exactly what it is like. For once my boy activity ended so late that he think might have missed the last bus so he decided to take another route and still manage to get home .... yes, we always make it a point that he keep us informed of his whereabout or we will call him. Parents need adjustment too with the kids growing.

[Needlotsofhelp]

sausage:

[

Very disappointed. Had expected a lot more from a school like HCI.

I share the worries of all parents too when our children are out by themselves… but what do we expect the school to do ? Send SMSs to inform parents of the delay or send an apology to sec 1 parents in ISP the next day for messing up their plans ? I waited for my DS for 2+ hours in the open car park too but delays and hiccup not expected during a wet weather + sporting event in the jammed pack Chua Cho Kang areas + MRT line construction work nearby etc ? Who knows the schools and their seniors may be working hard to plan for alternatives for them ? I heard the whole event ended 1030pm.

May be the school should have done better is to learn a few tips from the partner school opposite on how to manage parents’ expectation.

TGIF[/quote]

I don't think it's about managing parents expectations. Whether the school apologise, it's up to them, that's not my point. My point is, this is not the first time the school participate in this event. Have they learned from past experiences ? Where is the proper planning, contingency planning, comms channels? At the very least, some things the organiser could have done: bus number, hp contact of driver/supervisor, hp contact of organiser in case of emergency, bad weather program plan, alternatives routes with directions on printed map etc.

I'm happy for you that you can wait for more than 2hrs patiently. But not everyone has this luxury. My DS can go back on his own too, and I know he can do it no problem. But we cannot assume all boys can do it yet. Being good forgiving parents is no excuse for bad planning and execution.

[mum42]

looking4Tutor:

Lion_king:

Hi Otah


I agree that they have grown up and they have to learn to be independent. However, this event supposed to be a compulsory event & we, parents r totally unawared of the last- minute changes. From our perceptive, the school should have the responsibilty to make sure that they sent the boys back to school, if not we should be notified. The truth is no one knows what will happen. What if there's a case of mishap that happen to your son? Will u still be proud of him coming back by himself? Do u think it will be much too late to point finger at either sides? Do u think the school will be responsible? Dun let it happen as 'Prevention is better than cure'. Address to the problem now, dun procrastinate !!

Why don't you just go to the school office and clarify the matter, rather than off loading your ill-feeling against the school in a public forum for days?

Lion King n needlotsofhelp, I understand yr worry ,as I have gone thru d same situation when DS was in lower sec but I personally think this is part n parcel of secondary sch life. I can safely said RI , Cedar , Spore Sport Sch and those attended the event also met with d same problems.this is d 1st time in history this events was delayed till late evening caused by d bad weather as reported by ST, so what do you expect from the organizer ? We r talking about coordinating the whole sec one boys,participants, teachers n bus drivers .

And as more events will follow so are you going to stop yr boy from joining ? All these events are usually plan by the CCA excos and seniors , PLS give them some credit ! They have to put in so much time n effort on top of their sch work n projects and EXAMS. Pls remember yr DS will be senior too n might be one to plan n organize so if something similar happen , how would u feel when other parents do not appreciate or give support to him or his group but keep putting them down? In yr work have u not have any bad experience? Ask yr boys don they feel proud for their school to sweep all the title gold n overall champion ?

And last thing if HCI is the v first choice both of you have chosen for yr boys don't you think you should give the school more support rather than condemning it? Lion King like you posted \"prevention is better than cure\" then you should not worry yr boy being \"hated\" n dont procrastinate about giving constructive feedback . There is always two side of the story so give the sch a chance to answer yr feedback .

I am sorry if I have offended anyone in this post .

[matadorepy]

Lion_king:

Emelyn:

[quote=\"mum.com\"]


We were unsure of the route to CCK stadium so we replied our need to let him take the school bus. To be frank he has not taken any public transport b4. We r intending to let him learn to be more responsible prior teaching him to be independent; 'cause him always losing things, belongings in school. We were actually not keen to let him go for such event, firstly it'd be pretty late. Secondly, there're tons of incomplete homework & I believe that the teachers will pile them with homework even on that 'compulsory' event. None did we know that the there would be such a crop-up!!!! The parents were not informed. We were waiting in the school open- carpark. My navive son thought that he would be able to catch the public transport so as to be in School in time thus he lied to his dad that he was on
The school bus despite trying hard to search the way to the school... He thought it'll take him 10 minutes to reach HC when he was at Jurong East MRT station. It'd cause all these unnecessary alarm yet the school seemed to ignore these problems incurred. No apology was made; & it seemed like no parents had raised this concerns of safety to the School. I'm quite disappointed with the management.

[/quote]Must let the Kid opportunity to grow up , to learn how to handle situations, how to keep their cool and sort themselves out of trouble ... parent must not be over-protective at the expense of letting their child grow up normally learning .. Don't rob them of the view that the \"world\" is ever so nice .. you can be caught walking in the sunshine and the rain crashing down suddenly came out of no where .. you ask the sky why why ???

[hci_2011]

mum42:

looking4Tutor:

[quote=\"Lion_king\"]Hi Otah


I agree that they have grown up and they have to learn to be independent. However, this event supposed to be a compulsory event & we, parents r totally unawared of the last- minute changes. From our perceptive, the school should have the responsibilty to make sure that they sent the boys back to school, if not we should be notified. The truth is no one knows what will happen. What if there's a case of mishap that happen to your son? Will u still be proud of him coming back by himself? Do u think it will be much too late to point finger at either sides? Do u think the school will be responsible? Dun let it happen as 'Prevention is better than cure'. Address to the problem now, dun procrastinate !!

Why don't you just go to the school office and clarify the matter, rather than off loading your ill-feeling against the school in a public forum for days?[/quote




Lion King n needlotsofhelp, I understand yr worry ,as I have gone thru d same situation when DS was in lower sec but I personally think this is part n parcel of secondary sch life. I can safely said RI , Cedar , Spore Sport Sch and those attended the event also met with d same problems.this is d 1st time in history this events was delayed till late evening caused by d bad weather as reported by ST, so what do you expect from the organizer ? We r talking about coordinating the whole sec one boys,participants, teachers n bus drivers .

And as more events will follow so are you going to stop yr boy from joining ? All these events are usually plan by the CCA excos and seniors , PLS give them some credit ! They have to put in so much time n effort on top of their sch work n projects and EXAMS. Pls remember yr DS will be senior too n might be one to plan n organize so if something similar happen , how would u feel when other parents do not appreciate or give support to him or his group but keep putting them down? In yr work have u not have any bad experience? Ask yr boys don they feel proud for their school to sweep all the title gold n overall champion ?

And last thing if HCI is the v first choice both of you have chosen for yr boys don't you think you should give the school more support rather than condemning it? Lion King like you posted \"prevention is better than cure\" then you should not worry yr boy being \"hated\" n dont procrastinate about giving constructive feedback . There is always two side of the story so give the sch a chance to answer yr feedback .

I am sorry if I have offended anyone in this post .

[/quote] :goodpost: mum42, I fully agree with u!