[Bukit Panjang/Bukit Timah/Hillview] Preschools

[Atan]

Hi Socks,


I only heard about the Catholic Kindy after my son entered BPMC. Acc to an 'old' resident of hillview (whom I met at playgd sometime ago), it is a v popular kindergarten in the Upp Bt Timah area, which accept kids for K1 & k2 only. I drove there one day and felt that it was so out of this world, like 'sound of music'kind of scenery. I have not checked further and am also curious what this chuch kindy offer

[jedamum]

Atan:

it is not run based on sheer profits and w lots of TLC, so I have been v happy with the kindergarten.

when i did the registration early this afternoon, Mrs Yang was attentive enough to offer a few toy cars to occupy my 6yr old while i fill in the form. i do hope that that kind of 'extra-mile' thoughts are extended to the teaching staff as well.
Looking forward to my younger boy starting PreN in Term 3 next year.

[babysz]

minchia:

Hi, I'm a teacher too and the school that i'll be transferring to next year is also along bt timah, nearer newton. so i need recommendations for a child care that opens as early as 6.45am so that i can drop my kid off before i reach school around 7.10-7.15am.


any recommendations so far??? the child care can be anywhere along upper bt timah all the way to newton..... I stay around dairy farm estate

thanks in advance

min

Sorry I was away for a while. One of my teaching friends sends her children to Agape Little Uni so that she can reach school around 7.10-7.15am. I don't have any feedback from her about this cc but maybe you want to check it out: http://www.agapelittleuni.com/ourprogrammes.htm
Hope it is not too late for you? As for me, I heard from my girl's teacher (she specialised in doing enrichment programmes in a few pre-schools) that Faith Montessori at Bukit Timah is her best bet. Since I am unable to fit their timing I will be getting a trustworthy nanny to look after my girl.

[minchia]

dear babysz,


Hi, well, not late, still scouting around, for agape little uni in one north? they are not on the way for me to get to work on time… so cant consider. FAITH mont is a good choice but then, they only open at 7.30 am…so i’ll have to strike that out. thanks for sharing though

[minchia]

Dear Gmum,


I drove past kiddie winkie, the colourful rainbow building, looks big and nice. and its pretty near my work place. i’ve checked the rates its 720 for a full day childcare and seems reasonable. care to share more with me regarding the trs, the curriculum and most importantly, do they open earlier than 7am?? how much are the uniforms?

min

[socks]

Hi Atan!


Thanks for the feedback. I went to recce Canossian Convent Kindy. This is what I found out. The environment is really spacious, on the hill top, lots of greens. Because of that , they don’t use air con in the class rooms. Equipped with 2 canteens, one indoor and one outdoor. Its more playbased. When i asked about teh curriculum. the lady (administrator??) couldn’t provide me with much info. Doesn’t seem as structured as St Jo. Spelling in K2. And they have lots of enrichment prorammes at additional cost.

[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.