[Bukit Merah] Primary Schools

[astroboy]

Hi Brightlight,


Like you, my gal will also be enrolling for Pri 1 next year. I missed out on the parent volunteer so has to try Phase 2C.

You should have short-listed the schools by now and spend the next few mths finding out more abt these schools. Before you can come out with the list, many criteria will go thru your mind like near/far, mixed/single sex, reputation, achievements, school affliation, strengths and facilities of the school. There’re no right or wrong answers, just go with your heart.

Once you have worked out the list, the next thing is to see how many vacancies are left for Phase 2C for each of these schools (wait for MOE announcement in Teletext). Forget abt the more popular schools like Nanyang or Singapore Chinese Girls’ Primary School as all places will be snapped up before reaching Phase 2C.

Last year was the dragon year cohort so registration was red hot. Hope this year is a little kinder to us!

To increase your chance in the short-listed school, make sure your choice school is near to your home (the distance factor) so that you’ll have first bite of the apple. If you select the school which has a high number of vacancies, then your chance will be better. If not, then pray hard!. If still cannot get in, then there’s Phase 3. At the end of the day, be glad that your child has a school to go to even if its not the parent choice.

[brightlight]

Thanks Astroboy.


Roughly when MOE will announce on the vacancies? Sorry if my query sounds silly, I’m just a singapore PR. Kindly bear with me.

BTW this is a very informative forum site for a parent like me. Big thanks to all the forumers. Keep up your good work.

Rgds,
bb

[ChiefKiasu]

brightlight:

Thanks Astroboy.


Roughly when MOE will announce on the vacancies? Sorry if my query sounds silly, I'm just a singapore PR. Kindly bear with me.

BTW this is a very informative forum site for a parent like me. Big thanks to all the forumers. Keep up your good work.

Rgds,
bb

The Ministry of Education (MoE) will be announcing this info by mid-May 2008, according to this MUST-VISIT http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/admissions/primary-one-registration/.

[astroboy]

Yup, ChiefKiasu points to the right spot –> the MOE webpage or Teletext for latest numbers.


Which are your preferred schools you intend to enrol your kid? Maybe we could share and then decide for ourselves.

My shortlisted schools are:

Group A (70% interest) - based on my new house address as they are nearer
i) CHIJ Kellock
ii) Gan Eng Seng
iii) Zhangde Primary School

Group B (30% interest) - based on my current house address
i) Fairfiled Methodist
ii) Henry Park
iii) Queenstown Pri

Group C (200% interest if have vacany)
i) Raffles Girls
ii) Nanyang Primary

Astroboy is "chin chai"and contended with any schools in Group A and B. Group C is long shot and is included to make me feel good that daddy has done the best he can and if anyone is to blame, blame it on the government!! for creating this self-made registration monster called "MOE".

[brightlight]

Hi,


My choice of schools would be

1. CHIJ Kellock
2. Radin Mas
3. River Valley

[ChiefKiasu]

brightlight:

Hi,


My choice of schools would be

1. CHIJ Kellock
2. Radin Mas
3. River Valley

Good choice, though I feel you should at least drop by Zhangde for a quick look before you dismiss it. New schools are hungrier, and Zhangde has already won a award.

[brightlight]

Thanks for suggesting Zhangde. I will consider it as well.

[astroboy]

1) Just sharing some statements from my mails with CHIJ (Kellock) with Brightlight –> They will only accept parent volunteers after our children are in their school and not before and there will be no OPEN House before the Pri 1 registration. Not really encouraging signals though. Also their website is not very informative…some pages have been under construction since June 2007? Hope they improve in these areas.


2) Tks to Bishan Mom for the articles on last year’s balloting results. Really good info. Got a few questions.

i) Let’s use CHIJ (Kellock) 2007 results - It says that for Phase 2C, the school will conduct balloting for children outside 2km. Does this mean all vacancies were taken-up at Phase 2C "less than 2km"?

ii) Let’s use Fairfield Methodist 2007 results - It says balloting will be conducted for children living within 1km. Does this mean that all vacancies were taken-up at Phase 2B?

Comparing CHIJ and Fairfield, the chances of getting into CHIJ is higher than Fairfiled as vacancies were still available up to Phase 2C, right?

iii) I can’t find some schools in the Phase 2B/C balloting. Example is Zhangde. What does this mean? All vacancies taken up b4 it even reach Phase 2B?

This Pri 1 registration is like writing a thesis. The more I know, the more I want to know.

[titank]

Hi All, :lol:


I'm now doing research on the following Pri Sch as I'm also staying Redhill Area. For intake in 2010. My most importnat concern where it has to be a morning session & best there is a after school care centre located in the vinicity of the school. My selected choice as follow:

(i) Fairfield Methodist
(ii) Queenstown
(iii) New Town
(iv) River Valley
(v) Radin Mas
(vi) Zhang De
(vii) Gan Eng Seng

So do volunteer as a Grassroot Leader or School is better?
How can we dertermine the percentage of Chinese, Malays & Indians in the school?

[ChiefKiasu]

That's a pretty comprehensive list you have selected :). Here's the research:


(i) http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/school/fairfield-methodist-primary-school
Mixed, single-session. Started to get good progress in PSLE since 2004, and did very well last year in 2007. Good mix of sports, aesthetics and academia.

(ii) http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/school/queenstown-primary-school
Mixed, single-session. Good performance in PSLE last year (finally :)). Strong focus on court-based sports and aesthetics.

(iii) http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/school/new-town-primary-school
Mixed, single-session. Did very well in PSLE in 2004 and 2007. Strong emphasis on sports and aesthetics. Seems to have quite a bit of focus on creative writing with its good performance in such competitions.

(iv) http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/school/river-valley-primary-school
Mixed, double-session. Excellent performance in PSLE in 2006 and 2007. Good emphasis on character development and aesthetics.

(v) http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/school/radin-mas-primary-school
Mixed, double-session. Good performance in PSLE in 2000 and last year in 2007. Good support for uniformed groups and cultural dances.

(vi) http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/school/zhangde-primary-school
Mixed, double-session. Good emphasis in character development and aesthetics. Average PSLE performance.

(vii) http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/school/gan-eng-seng-primary-school
Mixed, double-session. Strong focus on aesthetics with a brass band, choir, and traditional dances. Average PSLE performance.

You will get a better chance of getting the morning session in single-session schools. For double session schools, usually P1-P2 are in the afternoon while P3-P6 morning.

titank:

So do volunteer as a Grassroot Leader or School is better?

Grassroot more permanent and demanding. School is limited to a couple of years. You decide.

titank:

How can we dertermine the percentage of Chinese, Malays & Indians in the school?

Other than Radin Mas, all the other schools should have a pretty normal balance of races in Singapore. You will have to call up the school individually to find out more.