The Odyssey Creative Learning Centre

[izu]

Great place…great facilities…some great teachers.


Fantastic place for toddlers. Great compared to quite a number of cc I went to.

Of course, you do need to bear with the administration since it is still a new centre.

Will recommend.

[wm1234]

Thanks izu.

Is your girl still studying there? Is she happy going to school? I heard the turnover of teachers is high. Is it true?

[izu]

My child is very happy there. There for more than a year. Made many good Friends and she can call them by their names. The parents are really nice too. A very international place and focus on learn through play. Also, implement project work at very young age. Love the art programmes too. Of course, please note that the curriculum is for 2.5 hrs only and delivered in 70% EL and 30% CL. Ultimately this is a cc. Unsure if children are effectively prepared for P1 curriculum since they need to strike a balance between the international vs local students.


Yes, high turnover of teachers but i guess this is normal for a newly set up school. It should stablise soon. There shall always be such administration teething issues due to fast expansion & since there are bottomline to be met (like all new startups). Fees for newbies at S$1,800 before subsidy & GST (if remembered correctly). Renovation already started to build more classrooms.

It really depends on what you as a parent is looking for. For now as long as my child is happy, I shall be happy to leave child there due to proximity to our place.

Of course, if situation does not improve, then it is likely that we as parents shall seek alternative for the sake of our children. Otherwise, no other cc in Spore are as great in terms of facilities.

[wm1234]

I will enrol my kid next year, as the principal told me there will only be vacancies next year. I am also impressed by the facilities there. The only concern is I probably have to send my kid to chinese enrichment class.

izu, does your daughter fall sick easily after she joins the school?

[izu]

Yes, likely there are many withdrawals by end of the year. Official answer is due to international students transfering to international schools. I have friends with kids at the tots class moving their kids to another cc/kindergarten end of year. Again, this is normal as most parents living in this area would have queue up for other renowned schools and may get confirmation for Jan 2012 enrolment. Of course, Parents usually move their kids when they find their needs/expectations not met.


Yes, was ill for the first three months. Afterwards, better. This is normal for kids going to school initially.

I could only say just bear with the high teacher turnover. I believe this will stabilise as the school moves away from most of the new-startup teething issues.

All the best.

[izu]

wm1234

You may wish to read this link too:

http://sgpreschools.blogspot.com/2008/11/odyssey-creative-learning-centre.html

[wm1234]

izu,

Thanks very much for your reply. I really appreciate it.
I have also read the unfavourable comments in blogspot you listed here, so I am concerned.

I understand it is impossible to find a perfect preschool to make all the parents happy. I just want to leave my kid to a place that is safe and my kid is happy, so I can go to work with peace in mind.

Of course if the curriculum is good and can prepare her for P1, it will be fantastic. But it may be too early to talk about preparation for P1 for a 2-year-old kid. The creative idea and the social skill they acquire in the preschool, at least to me, are also important for her development.

[dardar63]

hi

my daughter has been there since last year. She started at 20 months and is now in the nursery 1 class. it's a very nice and loving environment. Teachers are very loving and caring. There has been some turnover no doubt with the teachers and admin staff unfortunately. But we hope things will stabilize in time and hopefully soon. But in the \"upper\" classes, there is no turnover, the N2 to K2 teachers have been around since the start of odyssey and my daughter's teachers have remained the same since beginning of the year.

Curriculum wise, honestly we all say we want them to enjoy and be in a loving environment and that being most important. But deep down we know that we are all very worried and concerned. The approach in Odyssey is very different from other schools (except maybe Eton) whereby it's porject based learning. Every term there is a project and they work on that. And most topics are very inline with the environment, since we are a green school. As a parent you need to have a mindset ready to accept this kind of system whereby there are no worksheets, spelling or homework. Of cos we say we shouldn't pressurize kids so young, but at K2 level when you see your friends kids practicing worksheets of writing and learning their spellings you would somehow be affected. Also there will be NO teaching of hanyupinyin at all in the school. So you need to learn that as an enrichment outside of the school. So if you believe enough into the system then you will have no problems about the curriculum

[Aris starlite]

Hi all,


I am thinking to send my boy to Odyssey @Wilkinson next year Jan 2013. However, I am concerned if the cirriculum for its tots class till K2 prepares them for Primary 1? Cos we are locals...

Also, I am considering Lorna Winston@ Eastcoast. Any feedback?

Many thanks

[huatsup]

HI all,


I would also love to hear from parents in the East Coast area regarding Odyssey, as compared to Lorna Whiston.