Hello Parents,

My dd scored AL6 (EN-1, MA-1, SC-1, CN-3). She was minimally stressed and only does Chinese tuition throughout her primary studies but still consistently scores top marks except for Chinese Orals. Her father wants her to place RGS (COP 4-6) as her top choice, knowing she will be balloted for the spot. But my daughter would rather put MGS IP (COP 4-6).

To my understanding, there’s no point putting either school as a second choice as she wil definitely go into a tie breaker and lose out due to the selection order.

My dd is a responsible, self-driven, but low-key type of personality, and feels RGS will be full of driven, competitive, extroverted kids. We also live 10 mins away from MGS and 50 mins away from RGS, which makes MGS easier to reach. She has classmates and dance team friends in MGS as well.

But I’m wondering isn’t MGS known for being too conservative and narrow-minded? RGS is known for encouraging discussion and debates? How do these qualities carry over into university, work, and at home? Appreciate if someone can give some perspective as my husband and I never studied in Singapore.

Thanks!

pinkybear:

Hi Lovewonder


Sure. My older dd attended Etonhouse since she was 18mths old.
The teachers were very dedicated. I would say she was well taken care.
They did toilet training, taught her manners, taught how to ride a
tricycle, bicycle, etc, etc.

I did visit a few other preschools, but I couldnt find one to replace Eton.
So I will stick with Etonhouse. : )

Dear Pinkybear and other mums,

I have heard that Etonhouse Orchard (moving to Thomson) is offering a significantly different approach versus Etonhouse Newton / Bukit Timah as they target International Schools versus Local Schools.

My question is, which Eton branch did you choose and can you confirm if the difference in approach is true? I have visited these branches but none would directly confirm the above. (I only heard this feedback from one of my neighbors.)

My husband wants us to sign up in their new Thomson campus because its very big and nice, and quite close to our place. He says he also likes how all the kids are happy and confident. I am just worried about whether my dd / ds will learn enough for a local P1.

Thanks! :idea:

Please PM if anyone can give a Bishan branch referral :please:

My 2012 dd has been offered a place in Halifax for incoming N1, starting 2014. The new campus will be on Thomson Road (beside SJII) and we are fine with the new location.


I need advice (and reassurance) that we are choosing the right school. We also have a slot reserved in Marymount Kindergarten, and the fees there are about half of CH. Many Marymount parents have shared positive feedback about the school.

Is CH Halifax truly a good school in terms of preparing kids for P1? Does it offer the same drama/arts workshops and teachers as in JG? Do the children learn to speak in \"proper\" English and Chinese? Do they teach basic reading/writing/numbers before K2? I have read many strong positive feedback about their K2 programme, but i havent seen any posts that specifically comment about N1 to K1. Appreciate other mums feedback please!?! :please:

Gatopreto - Suggest to visit Grassroots on a regular school day and around 9-11 am. You’ll be able to see and assess all three centers better. Ultimately its really a matter of personal preference.

I didnt like this LV branch because it felt very, very cramped and noisy. Unlike restaurant assessments, many experts actually recommend smaller class sizes and more quiet envt for preschool aged kids. My nephew is doing well in LV Biopololis but there are less kids in that center.

Yes, but this LV branch is very, very packed.

wyou:

Hi all!

Any recommendation for private coach for beginner? I'm staying in Thomson area. Thank you very much!

Hello Wyou! In case you got any recommendations, perhaps you can fwd to me as well. I am looking for a private coach for my p1 boy. We are around the same area and i'm willing to share coach, but max 2 children only. My son has been in a group class for at least a year but his strokes havent improved.

bleurose:

Hi mummies, I am new here. Am desperate as my girl is still not able to read since N1 and she's from Brighton Montessori ( which is suppose to be one of the better schools around). She's almost half way through K1 and she being unable to read, I have doubts in the school. Need to move her to a new school that could enhance her academic before time run out. Please advice any schools in Jurong or even 7 Clementi. (I am even looking at BRMCK)

She just started Mind champs read and write, in JG for Speech and drama, heguru too. Reading seems to be a major problem for English and Chinese.

Oh my.... Can you provide more details regarding your experience with Brighton Montessori as its one of the childcare i'm considering for my 18 month?

Regarding your reading concerns, especially as you seem to have already tried many programs, is she showing confusion even with basic phonics sounds and blending c-v-c words? Is she puzzled with basic chinese characters? Has any of her teachers advised or given reason for you to worry? Because there are three things to consider here:

1- she is absolutely normal but just taking her time to blossom
2- she needs a different kind of learning environment, possibly not montessori (?)
3- she needs specialist support like maybe eyeglasses or dyslexia help

Just to share - My elder boy is primary one and is one of the best in reading in his grade level today. I sent him to an international & relaxed type preschool for his nursery to kindergarten close to our old home. I was very worried bec he could only do basic abc / phonetic sounds in early K1 but his teachers told me it was normal among his peers. They instead emphasized focusing on encouraging self-confidence, explorations, higher order thinking, frequent conversations, and daily story book times at home. I decided to trust them and by late-K1 / early-K2, i noticed he was just picking things up super duper fast on his own. Its like a light switch just got switched on and he was suddenly reading bigger words and longer books. He zipped thru the Oxford series. In primary one, he is enjoying reading but too fast that i tell him to slow down instead as i worry if he can process the implications of what he's reading, ie newspapers and Bible. He and his buddies regularly trade chapter books as they have something like a mini-bookclub which i highly encourage as their books are more age appropriate. Oh, but his handwriting is still absolutely awful but his teacher says his motor skills will eventually catch up as he's one of the younger kids in his cohort. Young kids sometimes just need to follow their own devt pace, accdg to her.

There's a new Character in Bishan area, close to J8. I visited but seems the directress there is not very knowledgeable. Punggol branch sent their experienced teacher to help her learn, but only temporary arrangement. She's more like a business franchiser than an educator, in my opinion only.


Can i ask reneehong why you specifically like Character? I notice there are many montessori options in the area like Brighton (grassroots), Modern Montessori (thomson), Totsville (thomson & bishan st 22) and others. My dd is 19 months now and i am still not sure which montessori to choose. :idea:

I’m also exploring both childcares in Grassroots, no experience other than my visits and what i’m heard through forums and other parents. But I can share my observations here from my two visits this year:


- Principal - Pat’s principal is definitely much better than Brighton’s. Elise is very experienced, patient, professional, clear & concise about what Pat’s offers, accomodating, and has excellent communication skills. Brighton’s principal is at a lower league than Elise, so much so that I didnt even bother remembering her name anymore. She couldnt even talk about what makes them montessori other than having some montessori tools.

- Program - Brighton’s is supposed to be Montessori, but frankly I think they arent incorporating enough Montessori elements. Teachers are not International Montessori accredited or trained, Too much structure (similar to normal childcare), and no mixed age exposure. I left there wondering why they even put Montessori to their name if they werent going to apply Montessori?

- Teachers - Now this is where the tables are completely turned. On the two instances that I visited, I noticed that Pat’s had a ratio of 1 good teacher for every 2 so-so teachers. Meaning, one teacher in each class would be highly competent, passionate, lively, and smiling. What you would expect from Pat’s! But the other two would be so-so in the sense that they would look either bored or sometimes even irritated at the kids. The second visit is truly quite sad as I even witnessed two of these so-so teachers yank the kids by their arms to drag them to the toilet for diaper changing. Now if that had happened to my elder boy, we’d have a lawsuit on our hands as he has whats called a loose shoulder. He eventually outgrew it but then that kind of yanking would definitely have brought him to the ER. Brighton’s teachers were happier and seemed more patient and encouraging overall. They do have much less kids registered versus Pat’s so this does account for the lower stress levels on the teachers, in my opinion.

Net, we decided not to proceed with either center. I know its impossible to have perfection, but the concerns we found were simply show stoppers for us esp for the monthly fees both childcares demand.