I was once told by the fridge repair guy that the brand does not matter, only the make - i.e. where it was manufactured. E.g. each brand has different models made from different countries. His advice was to choose those made in Japan or Germany. He said fridges made in e.g. Malaysia or Thailand tend to break down easily.

Thanks zac's mum for sharing this.


Reading this story brought back so many bittersweet memories of my journey with my older girl!
I also started out trying to be a chill mum of a happy-go-lucky girl in P1 and ended up being a helicopter mum going through PSLE, N-levels, O-levels and now A-levels. So stressful!
Bridgette's story also reminded me of so many caring and patient teachers/tutors who supported my girl and helped us navigate through the school system. And her psychiatrist's comments about how the meds would “lift the fog” from her son’s mind was so touche - I remembered how (after taking the meds for a week), my girl came home from school one day and said to me: \"Mummy, now I know what is going on in class today.\" I cannot forget how shocked I was to realise that she must have been in a \"fog\" all those years.

It is a meaningful read.

Jerome Dumbo\" post_id=\"1907682\" time=\"1556096652\" user_id=\"169446:[quote=\"Jerome Dumbo\" post_id=1907682 time=1556096652 user_id=169446]
both ranked and unranked athletes means they have represented ed at the national school levels?[/quote]

Yes. That means, the school does not automatically choose the top players who are already ranked at the previous Nationals. For e.g. there is a trial session for track and field.

janet88\" post_id=\"1901228\" time=\"1551762426\" user_id=\"12950:

the worse is when teachers see NA students as incapable of going further.
I'm ok kids take a longer time if they are slow...but when students are demoralised because of the teachers' attitude towards them, it hurts their self-esteem badly.

Totally agree! :goodpost:

Having gone through the NA route with my older kid during her secondary school days, it broke our hearts to hear my girl come home and repeat some of the demoralising comments made by the teachers & VP during her 5 years there.

To summarise, they kept pressuring the girls to leave school after N-levels.

To discourage the girls from continuing on to take O-levels, the teachers often make comments like \"Aiyah, surely fail\", \"you girls can't do as well as the express girls\", \"O-level exams too difficult\", \"your N-level grades will drop by 2 grades in O-level\", \"how can you do O-levels? The gap is too big\" and many more demoralising comments.

I understand that N-level students don't receive the same resources as the Express girls - but I was shocked to find that the school only planned for 9 lab lessons (chemistry) for the Sec 5 O-level class, especially when the girls only had a handful of lab lessons the previous 4 years. A few were afraid of lighting the bunsen burner!

Why can't the school give these kids a chance to try and prove themselves? Why write them off so early?

We've read about success stories in the newspapers of kids who - despite the system / family circumstances - remain in the education system, worked hard, believed in themselves & proved that they can succeed academically too.

Yes, some kids do need more time for their studies, but I personally feel that the streaming has gotten so out of hand over last decade that 40% of our kids are streamed down every year. Our kids don't need more boulders thrown at them every time they try to get back up.

Hi C1 Parents,


See you all this Wednesday at the C1 Parents Welcome Nite! We will get to meet our kids’ civics tutors & watch our kids perform at the dance competition!

bboomer71:

Hello,


May I know if the smtp research paper replaces Project Work? Also, is the idea for the research paper student-initiated or mentor-initiated?

Grateful if anyone can cast light on the questions! Thank you!

Hi bboomer71,

Yes, the smtp research paper replaces project work. The topics chosen will be from a given list and the final choice of the project will depend on the student's academic grades at mid-year.

newkeynesian:

I have a question. Hopefully, someone can enlighten me.


At the end of Year 3 in SMTP a boy gets more than MSG 3, what is going to happen?

TIA.

If after the re-exams, MSG is more than 3, then he goes to the O-level class. If MSG is less than 3 but more than 2, he goes to the IP class. If MSG less than 2, he remains in SMTP.

queensotong:

Thank you very much.


Looks like there is really a lot to be done. Is there anything parent can do to help?

Just remind him that time management is key to managing his commitments to studies, CCA, project work, personal time, etc. Give him moral support.

queensotong:

Hi.


DS is in 3S this year and he said that he will be busy.

Can any senior enlighten me what challenge he will be facing?

Thank you.

As your DS is in a SMTP class, he will be busy with a research-based Science project which may involve lab work, as well as overseas trip if he is working with other students overseas. More lessons catered for project work will also be factored into his timetable. In addition, if your DS takes part in science / maths competitions, he may also need to factor preparation time into his schedule.

On a personal note, my son enjoyed working with his US partners in the project, as well as his trip to Virginia and learnt a lot about working across different time zones via skype.

Atan:

Hi All, DS going Y5 next yr, so joining this Gp :boogie: .

Hi Atan,

Same here. My DS is going on C1 and has just signed up for the lectures.

See all C1 parents on 16 January at 6.30pm, JC Auditorium, for the Parents Talk on Subject Combination.