教育王國

標題: SIS收左亞囡啦！YEAH！ [打印本頁]

作者: Riesling 時間: 11-1-30 18:38 標題: SIS收左亞囡啦！YEAH！

I just can't hold my happiness, my gal just had an interview 10 days ago and I've got the admission letter today for the PYP 1, soooooo happy! I know there are lots of interviewees this year as Chinese becomes more and more important and people know more about SIS recently..but don't know how may kids compete for 1 place..... no matter what, this is a big relieve for me as I've just applied for 2 schools only!!!!
Thx god!

作者: DiamondHill 時間: 11-1-31 10:19

Congratulations !

My daughter got P1 addmission, I'm happy too.

作者: ikerberg 時間: 11-1-31 21:34

Yeah!  Congratulations!

My son also gets accepted.  We are all soooooooo happy about this!

Yes, competition is keen this year.  On the day of the interview, the waiting room was just overflooded with hundreds (if not thousands) of well-mannered, fluent English speaking and smart-looking kids.

We thought the chance for my son's success was just 50/50 and now he gets accepted, we are all relieved cos' there is no need for any more interview for primary school and secondary school, thanks to the through-train arrangement of SIS.

We completely trust SIS could provide top-class education on English and Chinese (Mandarin)!

作者: do123alex 時間: 11-1-31 22:02

I am still struggling.
While the school is strong at academic result and famous for Mandarin and English, it lacks a good mix of nationality of students, most students are local HK, or from mainland china if not from Singapore or Malaysia, this is different from other int'l school that has balance of students from various countries that would provide multi-cultural learning environment.

And more concern me is the way of teaching, is that spoon feeding, with homeworks and tests? If that is the case, any difference from a local school.

作者: Riesling 時間: 11-1-31 23:20

Hi do123alex,
I think you haven't done sufficient fact finding at the moment, that's why you are struggling. If you spend some time to explore more about the school, you may have different prospective. However, if you totally dislike the east meet west approach, SIS may not be a choice for you!

作者: Riesling 時間: 11-1-31 23:23 標題: 回復 3# ikerberg 的帖子

I feel the same as you! Btw, do you know how many classes are there in PY1, is it 4 classes? and do you know how many kids compete for a place this year?

Cheers...

作者: ikerberg 時間: 11-2-1 05:45

Re: Do123:

Why bother it is a white cat or a black cat so long as it can catch mice?  When you assess if a system is successful, you have to see its "products".

In April 2010, I paid a visit to SIS's open house and was awe-struck by the students' ability in speaking plain native Mandarin in "Mandarin Story Telling" performance, as well as in students' presentation using native tongue of English and self-made Powerpoint by students at SIS Primary School.

During our visits, all students we met are smiling, confident and well-mannered.  We just wanted our kid be one of them every time we visited SIS.

==============================
Re: Riesling

During my visits to SIS, I got informed there are 5 PY1 classes, each 20 students, i.e. totally 100 would get accepted.

The visiting guide told me that Singaporean composition would be around 40%, and some advantage would be granted for those having elder siblings studying there.  But in the past years, some candidates with elder siblings studying there were not accepted, because of comparatively inferior performance in the interview.

So, my "guesstimation" is that there would be around 30-40 seats for open competition, i.e. for those without any connections.

Also from my "guessitmation" on that day, there would be around 400  candidates.  Deducting that around 70 candidates with "connection", the number of candidates competing for the 30-40 seats would be around 300.

Bear in mind that SIS intentionally (I guess) set the application fee at HK$2500 non-refundable in order to screen out all those without genuine sincerity of letting their children study there, e.g. those who would want to let their kids to have more interview experience or to test their kids' ability.....

So, all those participating in the interview theoretically would be well prepared and with a will to win this game.

So, I guess it would be around 40 / 300 chance for the selection.  But, if you also attended the interview that day, you would surely be 'surprised' by the high quality of all those kids attending the interview.

So, at the very beginning, though I had confidence in my boy's ability, I still had much reservation as to whether he could be successfully selected.

Now that we have got the offer, I feel very thankful that our plan to move to the HK Island a few years ago, looking for a dream school and all our efforts in equipping our kids with sound English ability for the interview have reaped a great harvest!

Hope to see you soon some time later in SIS.

[ 本帖最後由 ikerberg 於 11-2-2 04:22 編輯 ]

作者: Riesling 時間: 11-2-2 00:16

Hi ikerberg,
Oh, I didn't know there was an open house in Apr! I would go to visit for sure if I know that, but very glad to hear what you described on that day, those are exactly the reasons why I choose SIS as one of my TWO school applications!! haha, I feel I was very brave that I just applied for TWO schools only! I just got the school bus routes today as we now have to think about where should we move to, the housing in HK Island is much expensive and less spacious than where am I living now, this is the only downside......

Anyway, congratulation to you too! See if our kids will be in the same class! :D

作者: mrs.hamster 時間: 11-2-6 16:38 標題: 回復 1# Riesling 的帖子

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作者: ikerberg 時間: 11-2-8 22:09

Mrs. Hamster,

My son's case: PY1 will start in August 2011

We applied at around early Sept 2010; school tour arranged by SIS in the same month.

Interview arranged in Jan 2011.

Result received before Chinese New Year.

Pls try to see if SIS will arrange Open House in April 2011...

We visited SIS Open House in April 2010 and were greatly surprised by the excellence of the students' ability in Mandarin and English, their good manner, as well as their sunny, smiling happy faces...

[ 本帖最後由 ikerberg 於 11-2-9 17:57 編輯 ]

作者: mrs.hamster 時間: 11-2-9 15:25

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作者: yoyobb 時間: 11-2-9 16:24

BIG Congratulations !

作者: ikerberg 時間: 11-2-9 18:16

Mrs. Hamster,

After visiting SIS's Open House in April 2010, I dropped all other "lovers" because there was only one - THE ONE in my eyes --- SIS.

I knew very well that the interview would be conducted in Eng or Mandarin, and of cos' we are a HK family and won't choose Mandarin.  I therefore determined to let my son study in Small World Christian School starting from Sept 2010 in PM to equip him with the Eng ability for the interview, and to remain in Rhenish Mission School in AM ---- just in case he was not selected by SIS, we still would have options of going to the IS or traditional streams....

Before studying in Small World, my son could only speak Eng words / phrases, not complete sentences.  However, after studying for 2 months in SW, my son started to speak complete sentences.

On an afternoon in late Oct 2010, i.e. about 2 months after studying in SW, I played with my son in the Peak's playground.  There were some birds and there was some bread in my son's hand.  He suddenly said "Daddy, let's drop the bread and let the birds eat it."

I was totally awe-struck by his super great improvement in Eng after studying in SW.  It tells how important a language environment is to a child's learning of languages.

Considering SIS would use only Eng / Mandarin from PY1 and seeing the students' awesome Eng / Mandarin / IT competence during the Open House, I and my wife then started to fall in love with SIS.  No other schools could lure us away...

About the interview,  my son is not a native speaker and according to my observation, about 60-70 % of those attending the interview were native Eng speakers.  Therefore, you may say my son would suffer some disadvantage if only language speaking skill was assessed.  However, thanks to the training in SW, my son could fully understand conversational Eng and express himself quite well in Eng.  Overall speaking, I guess my son would be "average" among all those candidates in terms of spoken English.

Since we could not witness how the interview was conducted, I had to rely on my son telling me what had happened during the 30 mins of interview.

He said - the teacher would say "Circle, triangle, circle, triangle, then what's next?"

According to my son, he could answer :Circle.

Another 'test', according to the decriptions" of my son would be like--- The teacher would ask the candidates -- a group of 4 or 5 to throw a dice on its six faces were figures like -- square / star / triangle .... and if the face shows star... the kid would be required to put 'something' onto 'somehwere' with a star....

So, overall speaking, so long as the kid could communicate in Eng, I think it would be OK... and from the games, you would note that SIS would assess a kid's logical sense / IQ / or maybe motivation to participate etc...

So, I think what made my son stand out and selected would not be his spoken English (which was average), but his logical sense etc.....

Hope the above information could help!

[ 本帖最後由 ikerberg 於 11-2-9 20:07 編輯 ]

作者: mrs.hamster 時間: 11-2-10 22:09

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作者: ikerberg 時間: 11-2-11 04:20

Mrs Hamster,

Rhenish Mission School is a local school located just next to HKU...

Small World definitely is a very good school providing excellent English speaking / learning environment...

"Starters" at Wanchai maybe another choice.....my son took some short courses / play group during the summer 2010 and we also saw his improvement....

Good luck... Keeping exploring SIS!

作者: Oinky 時間: 11-2-11 06:42

hi ikerberg,

are you gonna consider attending SIS together with Rhenish? As I heard that Rhenish has quite a difficult curriculum.

hmm...cos I am having a similar situation. though very happy that SIS accepted my kid.

作者: ikerberg 時間: 11-2-11 15:41

Oinky,

Since I completely trust SIS's curriculum and anyway, he doen't need to compete for a good primary school and then a good secondary school, I will try to let him go to just SIS.

In fact, there is also practical problem since SIS's PY1's time = 1200 - 1500, so it is quite impossible to let my son stay in Rhenish ..... get off school at 1100 am??

[ 本帖最後由 ikerberg 於 11-2-12 04:15 編輯 ]

作者: Ocean419 時間: 11-2-11 16:46

Big congrats to you with children who will be starting at SIS this coming fall. I surely hope that I will be in your situation a couple of years from now. M boy is just over a year old now and I have just started looking int pre-nusery for him who will start pn in sept 2012. Dear successful parents, could you please suggest some good pn schools that are along the hk island mtr, will provide a loving and nuturing environment and set him on the right track for SIS? Many thanks~

作者: mrs.hamster 時間: 11-2-11 21:34

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作者: Oinky 時間: 11-2-11 22:03 標題: 回復 17# ikerberg 的帖子

thanks for your sharing ~

作者: ikerberg 時間: 11-2-12 04:35

Ocean419:

(For K1 before SIS)
If you have determined to go for the IS Stream, Small World Christian School definitely is a good choice and should be enough... but if you have not yet determined whether to go for IS / traditional stream, it is suggested you should let your kid study one more good traditional school in AM, eg. Rhenish, SKH or St. Paul etc.  I believe doing this (not as what many others say) is not torturing your kid, but to grasp the best time for language learning to develop bilingual foundation for him/her.  Arranging the traditional school in AM is better cos' such schools consume more mental energy of the kid.  Small World at PM is just fun and kind of playing and doing interesting singing and art work, so less demanding on mental effort.  According to my son's experience, he settled himself perfectly OK by going to two schools in the past half year.  He loves both schools.

(For PN)
My son attended WISELY at Caine Road, the school was good at his time, but now many experienced teachers have left, so not sure if quality could be mantained.
For my little twins (now 1.5 years), I have chosen Rosary Hill at Wanchai and fortunately they were both accepted.  According to some experienced kindergarten teachers in HK Island, Rosary Hill's PN is excellent.  I went to the school on the interview day and the school environment and infrastructure were excellent.  The quality of caring and teaching is yet to comment...

Mrs. Hamster, sorry that I have not done any 'research'  on the Kowloon side.  Maybe you can start a new post to invite comments.

Okiny - welcome, welcome!

[ 本帖最後由 ikerberg 於 11-2-12 04:38 編輯 ]

作者: piglet123 時間: 11-2-12 19:02

is it too late to apply now?

作者: ikerberg 時間: 11-2-12 19:25

you mean for PY1 starting from Aug 2011?

If yes, I suppose all interviews have been concluded.

作者: rococo 時間: 11-2-12 21:56

Hi ikerberg

Thanks very much for your sharing and big congrats to you. Did you mention the kid is attending two kindergartens on the application form? Or did you just mention one?

Many thanks.

Rococo

原帖由 ikerberg 於 11-2-12 19:25 發表
you mean for PY1 starting from Aug 2011?

If yes, I suppose all interviews have been concluded.

作者: Ocean419 時間: 11-2-12 23:31

Ikerberg thanks sp much for your quick and thorough reply. And yes I have decided that IS is the way to go for my boy and I won't even consider the local stream. It is not that some $100k a year for the next 15 or so years is no big deal to us but I just really have no trust in the hk govt.'s attitude towards education for our next generation. Together me and my husband have studied and worked in 4 countries and we have never seen anything as messed up as the hk system. I believe that IS is the bst way to go especially when i think about 20 or 30 years from now those who will do well and the kind of skills that they will have gained from their education.

Btw, did you look into esf kinder for you first child and now for your twins? Will that provide a smooth transition with IS and also keep the door open to esf primary?n

原帖由 ikerberg 於 11-2-12 04:35 發表
Ocean419:

(For K1 before SIS)
If you have determined to go for the IS Stream, Small World Christian School definitely is a good choice and should be enough... but if you have not yet determined whet ...

作者: ikerberg 時間: 11-2-13 04:07

Rococo,

Thanks!

I did mention my son attending two kinders on the form. Why?
During my visit to SIS, a guide (supposed to be mainly responsible for enrollment of new students) told me something after my skillful questioning during 'leisure chat' and I try to quote what she said as follows :

"The competition for PY1's seats have been very keen in the past years.  Even some applicants with elder siblings studying there failed the interview.  The parents were just too relaxed to prepare for the interview.  Many parents now let their kids study a Chinese kinder and an English kinder so as to prepare for the interview"

So from what she said, I suppose showing you have let your kid study 2 kinders for better preparation of the interview is a PLUS)
In fact, for the interview, since I can't afford to lose, I did the first (and should be the last) portfolio for my son and in which I mentioned the purpose of letting my son study in one Chi kinder and one Eng kinder was to equip him with the bilingual foundation for smoother transition to SIS.

Ocean419:

The main reasons why I went for SIS instead of ESF:
(1) SIS Kinder has nearly 100% guarantee to get to SIS primary and secondary (except under very special circumstances). So, SIS is - "One take OK".  Haven't you heard of many sad stories about ESF primaries refused ESF kinder students? If the kid is really refused, what should the parents do?  Go for another IS? Traditional?  SIS? --- it would be too late if by then you decide to go for SIS since the seats for P1 of SIS are almost all reserved for SIS Kinder and if there are seats, Singaporeans are of top priority.  So, the best timing for entering SIS is PY1 -- definitely!

(2) We are local HK ppl, Non-Cat 1.  So, very difficult to get in ESF kinder/primary (regardless of the ability of my kid)

(3) Those ESF schools with better Chi education are located mostly at Kowloon or Shatin--- too far away for my familiy.  I heard of some ESF schools with bully / discipline problems, esp. those at HK Island.

(4) I have many colleagues having kids studying in ESF, I have been learning many of hearsay stories about ESF in the past 5 years and know quite well its strengths and weaknesses.  Compared to SIS, I won't say which one is stronger here, cos' I don't want to arouse endless debates in the forum.  But, I well understand the difference between the two and I know what education for my son I am looking for...

Since your kid is still small, I suggest you contrast the two by seeing it with your own eyes, i.e. to visit the schools, e.g. Open House/ Open Day etc.
and choose what is most suitable for your kid.

Good luck!

[ 本帖最後由 ikerberg 於 11-2-13 04:22 編輯 ]

作者: Ocean419 時間: 11-2-13 22:10

wow you must have a very energetic girl who can handle a full day of school at the very young age. Does she still need a nap during the day and how do you fit that into her schedule with both kinder am and pm sessions?

The reason I am thinking about esf kinder for my boy is because I want him to build a very solid english foundation so that he will feel comfortable doing interviews at the IS.  Based on my research (please correct me if I am wrong since I have only started researching on schools in HK for less than a month), ESF kinder k1 starts at age of 3 while CIS and SIS start at 4, and ISF starts at 5.  This means that I can have him spend 1 year at ESF first then transfer him to the IS of my dream......what a rosy picture I am painting here@@  Btw, did you also consider the other IS such as CIS, ISF and GSIS?  Or you only had your mind on SIS?

You are right that there is no guarantee on ESF p1 admission, and I am not sure if my boy will be considered cat 1 or cat 2.  We are english speaking family and my husband is also bilingual in Mandarin.  We have no intention to go out of our way to teach him cantonese, but for sure Mandarin training will start soon for him.

Are there any other international kinder you could recommend, small world is not really convenient for us although I will consider moving if my boy gets admitted by one of the IS mentioned above.

Once again congrats to your daughter and your family for such achievement.

原帖由 ikerberg 於 11-2-13 04:07 發表
Rococo,

Thanks!

I did mention my son attending two kinders on the form. Why?
During my visit to SIS, a guide (supposed to be mainly responsible for enrollment of new students) told me something a ...

作者: ikerberg 時間: 11-2-14 05:18

Ocean 419,

My eldest kid is a boy, not a gal and yes, he is very energetic, ultra-energetic --- you may say.

About the problem of taking a nap in PM... before starting two schools, yes, he sometimes still had to take a nap.  But, we tested if he could skip the nap by putting him to AM school followed by a two-hour English playgroup for 1-2 months last year.  We observed he could smoothly delay his nap time until after the playgroup.  The truth is for now, he doesnt have to sleep in day time and he sleeps at about 9 PM till 7 am peacefully and calmly almost every night.  We should believe human's possessing ability and flexibility to make adaptations...

Yes, I think you have got a smart plan in mind by putting your boy to ESF kinder which starts at 3.  Why not?  If you have advantage in the 'categorization' of ESF..

You may try ESF 'K1' (aged 3) and see if you would change to SIS PY1 (aged 4) or other IS...

Words of mouth for CIS, HKIS and GSIS are good, but I think they fall outside of my scope of consideration since I have to consider the budget of placing 3 kids to attend IS at the same time..... the figures of going to either of the 3 would be sky-high....

And, without having conducted indepth research on them, I have questions about the Chi. education such schools could provide..... My dream school is the one which could provide excellent education on both Eng and Chi (Mandarin).

For you, there are plenty of choices ahead, I just encourage you to search the links of such schools on the web and pay attention to the dates of Open Day for the schools.  Through which, you could judge from what you actually observe...

Best luck!
(Don't expect my dialogue with you would be like the one with an old friend...anyway, nice to meet you here!)

[ 本帖最後由 ikerberg 於 11-2-14 05:28 編輯 ]

作者: Ocean419 時間: 11-2-14 21:23 標題: 回復 1# ikerberg 的帖子

oh sorry for getting confused with your son and another parent's girl in this thread.  And once again thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I am planning on enrolling my son in 2-3 playgroups for a total of 3-4 lessons per week.  By this fall I will begin the pn application.  I don't have a concrete list of pn schools but the key point will be to train up his english so that he can nail the esf kinder interview next year, then move onto the IS interview the following year.  Before moving to HK, parenting seemed so easy but now being one in reality it is by far the most difficult task and this is just the beginning!

Anyway, it has been a pleasure talking to you on this forum and yes it is great to find so much common language with stranger~  Please keep me posted with your son's experience with SIS and hope your twins can follow the same path.

作者: ikerberg 時間: 11-2-15 09:44

Good to know that you already have such a smart plan in mind!

I believe the picture for HK's education need not be so 'bleak' .... good schools are still there...the point is whether one could identify those and choose the most suitable for their kids.

I think studying in HK is an advantage because HK is such an 'East-meets-West' society with freedom and quick flow of technology and knowledge. So, I really prefer keeping my kids in HK, letting them study in the school we like, rather than sending them overseas at such a young age...

[ 本帖最後由 ikerberg 於 11-2-15 09:45 編輯 ]

作者: Riesling 時間: 11-2-19 11:52 標題: 回覆 10# ikerberg 的文章

Hi ikerberg and all,

Sorry that it's been a long time I didn't log in and just read some many replies here, good to know more about the school! Btw, just know that it is about 1000 applicants for the 100 places! Everyone said this is very competitive this year than before!

作者: ikerberg 時間: 11-2-19 18:19

Riesling,

Oh.. You heard that there were 1000 applicants? Do you mind to tell me from what source you got the information?

作者: Riesling 時間: 11-2-19 23:19 標題: 回覆 32# ikerberg 的文章

Hi ikerberg,

I heard it from one of the current student's parent, should be true!

:)

作者: Oinky 時間: 11-2-20 01:06

sorry for being ignorant, but apart from the $ diff, what is the difference between corporate and personal debenture?

作者: ikerberg 時間: 11-2-22 10:29

As a kind of fringe benefit, some companies would buy debentures for their staff, esp. those coming from overseas, for the purpose of using it in IS schools. The staff themselves do not have to buy it themselves in such case.

So, if you are not lucky enough to work in such companies, you ve got to buy personal debentures.

作者: ikerberg 時間: 11-2-23 15:38

I registered for my son yesterday. Have you all done the same already?

作者: getsmart 時間: 11-2-24 00:41 標題: 回覆 36# ikerberg 的文章

Not yet. Still thinking.

作者: ikerberg 時間: 11-2-24 02:50

when is the scheduled date of registration in your case?

作者: SiuSam 時間: 11-3-31 12:16

Hi, ikerbert

May I know how old to start PY1? 5 yr-old?

Should apply for PY1 when a kid is 4 yr-old?

When did ur son start both school? is it too hard for such young kid?

Thanks

原帖由 ikerberg 於 11-2-8 22:09 發表
Mrs. Hamster,

My son's case: PY1 will start in August 2011

We applied at around early Sept 2010; school tour arranged by SIS in the same month.

Interview arranged in Jan 2011.

Result received befo ...

作者: ikerberg 時間: 11-3-31 18:12

Siu Sum,

PY1 = K2 = 4 years old

Application shall start about one year before school admission, i.e. for example in my son's case, when my son just started K1 in Sept 2010, I started to file the application and interview was conducted in Feb 2011.

My son started two kinders in K1.  Whether it will be difficult depends on the kid.  But, as I noted in my son case, he got adapted very quickly.

Pls note that on 9 April, SIS will hold an "Open House".  I highly recommend you to go and see it by yourself to assess if SIS would be suitable for your kid.  We will go there again even though my son has been accepted and registered.

Best luck,

ikerberG

作者: piglet123 時間: 11-7-20 22:07

i got called today and my daughter also got in!! Very last minute!!

作者: mama530 時間: 11-7-21 11:35

piglet 123,

Welcome welcome!
School will start on 22 Aug, my son will be in PY1:)

作者: piglet123 時間: 11-7-21 22:42

Nice to meet you mama530... any advice/ preparation for the new term??

作者: mama530 時間: 11-7-28 12:47

piglet 123,

冇咩特別要準備喎,之前學校 send 了一個很詳盡的e-mail 給我們家長,入面很清楚解釋有關訂校服、校車、學校假期等安排,跟住做就可以了~

另外,我就開始同個仔"思想教育"一下咁囉,話俾佢聽新學校有咩有咩玩,等佢可以對新學校生活好期待咁,同埋我同佢講定到時學校只會講英文同普通話,亦解釋俾佢聽就算聽唔明普通話都唔使驚,好快可以學識(因為仔仔的普通話只懂得很少)等佢有心理準備~

很高興認識你, 以後保持聯絡,有咩互相提醒一下呀

作者: kenkao 時間: 11-7-31 12:47

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作者: fishh322 時間: 11-7-31 18:43

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作者: piglet123 時間: 11-8-2 14:41

Thanks all!!

Any SIS parents plan to keep up their child in learning traditional chinese while studying simplified chinese in SIS??

作者: suzanlai 時間: 11-8-7 19:35

is this P1 or elementary? anyone can tell the details of the interview?

作者: lamtsuiyee 時間: 11-8-8 16:47

Piglet,
No need to worry or do any preparation. Just send your kid there. They will enjoy the school very much. We didn't let our kid learning traditional Chinese. You just pick anythings happening in our daily life and talk to them then they will learn too. (e.g menu in restaurant or signage) Hope your kid enjoy too.

原帖由 piglet123 於 11-8-2 14:41 發表
Thanks all!!

Any SIS parents plan to keep up their child in learning traditional chinese while studying simplified chinese in SIS??

作者: piglet123 時間: 11-8-9 00:12

Thanks. Sounds like your kid is enjoying SIS. Which class is he/she in?? I hope my child will enjoy it too!!:D

作者: spain 時間: 11-12-12 16:57

Dear SIS parents, could you please advise the initial cost to register with SIS?? e.g. debenture, school fee, misc...

thanks!!

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