教育王國

標題: KCIS同SWCK大家會簡邊間呀? [打印本頁]

作者: crystalpui 時間: 11-8-12 12:17 標題: KCIS同SWCK大家會簡邊間呀?

我幫我女報左呢2間
邊間好D呀?

作者: bigears 時間: 11-8-12 14:37

I face the same situation a year ago. Both SWCK and KCIS admitted my daughter. Eventually I chose to put her in KCIS because it teaches Chinese and it's a through train school. I am rather scared by going through the whole application process for Primary 1 again....
Nonetheless, SWCK is also a very good school, teachers are caring. I have friends whose two kids studied there and were then admitted to SIS. The school also have very good relationship with ESF Bradbury.

作者: crystalpui 時間: 11-8-12 15:04

請問你小朋友係幾多月出世的呢?

作者: bigears 時間: 11-8-14 23:54

July, why ask?

作者: crystalpui 時間: 11-8-15 00:46

我小朋友都係7月出世因為SWCK係計月份的, 即係年頭個D開始收, 唔讀有位先叫下半年個D
所以我睇下我女有冇機會入
KCIS同SWCK我都好想我女入到
SWCK仲要係基~督教....同我地既信仰一樣

作者: bigears 時間: 11-8-17 11:18

My experience is you kept on calling the admission office of SWCS (I forgot the name of the lady), show your commitment and sincerity and she is very helpful.

作者: crystalpui 時間: 11-8-17 11:43

其實邊間收先我就會俾我女讀邊間
上帝會幫我女安排
以你既exp, 邊間會收先呢?

作者: elsiewky 時間: 11-8-20 09:25

I also like KCIS because it teaches Chinese and it's a through train school. No worry to Primary & Secondary School.

作者: reneeleung 時間: 11-8-20 12:04

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作者: crystalpui 時間: 11-8-22 10:46

reneeleung
ryan好似讀緊swck, 想問下swck有冇中文學呀?
同學仔係唔係外國人多呀

作者: reneeleung 時間: 11-8-25 13:11

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作者: bigears 時間: 11-8-25 17:35

原帖由 crystalpui 於 11-8-17 11:43 發表
其實邊間收先我就會俾我女讀邊間
上帝會幫我女安排
以你既exp, 邊間會收先呢?

In my case, I received the admission call or letter from SWCK first. A few months later, also received KCIS's admission letter.

作者: crystalpui 時間: 11-8-26 11:16

原帖由 bigears 於 11-8-25 17:35 發表

In my case, I received the admission call or letter from SWCK first. A few months later, also received KCIS's admission letter.

thanks for the info, do you rememeber when did they call you? which month?
KCIS said they will call for interview on next year Jan or Feb which depends on the waiting no. of my kid.

thanks!

作者: crystalpui 時間: 11-8-26 11:17

原帖由 reneeleung 於 11-8-25 13:11 發表
Oh yes. My two kids are studying in SWCK.
1 or 2 Chinese lesson per week.

As we are cantonese speaking family, Ryan and Ronny can speak prefect Cantonese. I dont worry abt their Chinese language dev ...

咁你係家有冇教小朋友寫中文呀?

作者: bigears 時間: 11-9-2 12:11

原帖由 crystalpui 於 11-8-26 11:16 發表

thanks for the info, do you rememeber when did they call you? which month?
KCIS said they will call for interview on next year Jan or Feb which depends on the waiting no. of my kid.

thanks!

It's actually I called them around Feb/Mar and they offered my girl a place. But I learnt that theynow got interview..... quite a different practice..

作者: reneeleung 時間: 11-9-6 14:49

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作者: crystalpui 時間: 11-9-8 10:35

THANKS ALL

作者: elmostoney 時間: 11-9-13 20:39

my daughter is in upper k3 at SWCK, effectively year 1 in IS. They have hired an ex-ESF year 1 teacher to teach the class. When and if she starts in the new SWCK primary school in sept 2012, she will be in year 2.

I don't quite know how the curriculum runs yet. there will be a briefing later this month. However, I can tell you that there is close to no Chinese. There is half hour everyday, but the Chinese teacher speaks English most of the time. I do Chinese tutoring at home with my daughter at home mostly, and thank goodness, she is doing OK, if not exceptional. Not on par with some tough LS, but she can recognize close to 300 characters and can write about 20+. So if you go to SWCK, you must do a lot of work with your child at home in order not to lose out on the Chinese.

[ 本帖最後由 elmostoney 於 11-9-13 20:41 編輯 ]

作者: babeBBDoll 時間: 11-9-13 23:09

我想問下 SWCK 小學係邊架 ?
thx

作者: reneeleung 時間: 11-9-14 01:13

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作者: reneeleung 時間: 11-9-14 01:16

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作者: elmostoney 時間: 11-9-14 09:43

they have PE class.  Last time they told me they have hired multi-sports to come and do PE.  My daughter was asked to wear sports shoes by the teacher on PE day.  Music - I am not so sure.  I did ask about it, but have to clarify this point when I have a chance.  Parent's meeting on 9/20.

My daughter tells me they do a LOT of reading in school.  They teach phonics, do a bit of writing the letters and numbers.  Unlike in kindergarten, the teacher would ask the kids to do the writing more seriously.  In the kindergarten classroom, they have a lot of toys and teaching tools.  In the primary classroom, every tool/toy they have is more constructive.  My daughter said it's less fun (because more learning, less play and singing), but she still loves school.  She claims that since going to school for 2 weeks, she has started reading more words instead of looking at pictures in a book.  I don't know how true that is as I haven't talked to the teacher (Ms. Roper) and I haven't tested her.

For Year 1, I am not asking much.  14 kids in a class.  I don't think it matters so much whether the day is structured by subjects.  To me, it is more a transition into primary school since Year 1 in IS is essentially just K3 and she is only 5 years old!  My concern is the direction of the school - which I will ask in more details later. I don't think she will have a problem in reading.  She is probably in good hands.  However, since the school's curriculum is unclear at this point, I am doing my back up as well.  I have applied to a few other schools, and she is doing Enopi math as well.  She was previously in a Montessori centre for 3 years and has learned the concepts (not on paper) of addition, subtraction, division and multiplication, so I don't want 3 years to go to waste.  I will see how this year runs and how well the school can explain the curriculum to us.  If my daughter gets into another school of our choice and SWCK Year 1 and curriculum is not to our satisfaction, then we will transfer her in 9/2012.  Of course, if she loses out on her interviews at other schools, we will hv no choice but to stay in SWCK.

作者: baby8 時間: 11-9-14 23:04

Small World Christian Kindergarten

作者: Ocean419 時間: 11-9-16 10:35

What primary school will you let your children go onto? My son was born in 2010 so I will start to think about his k1 path this time next year and SWCK is on top of my list, especially his birthday is in January so chance of getting accepted is very high. However, since the school is relatively weak in both spoken and written chinese, there aren't many primary choices left except for esf and international, am I right?

I have also applied to KCIS and will really have to face the same question if my son is accepted to their K1.

原帖由 reneeleung 於 11-9-14 01:16 發表
Hi,

I am also SWCK mom. Can u update us how your kid school life. I have thousand of question marks about SWCK upper K3 curriculum and the learning process of the kids. Coz there no such as PE, Arts ...

作者: zachmama 時間: 11-9-19 12:29

原帖由 elmostoney 於 11-9-14 09:43 發表
they have PE class. Last time they told me they have hired multi-sports to come and do PE. My daughter was asked to wear sports shoes by the teacher on PE day. Music - I am not so sure. I did ask ...

Hello Elmostoney,

I'm an ex-SWCK mom, and my son has just left and joined ESF P1 this September. I'm still very interested in keeping an open mind about SWCK's primary school, seeing that my son, tho he likes his new school alot, still prefers going back to SWCK when given the choice. He just loves it so so much there. So please if you don't mind, I would be most grateful indeed if you could share something after your parents day on 20/9. Whilst I have no doubt about the teachers' hearts and passion to students, like you I will be concerned with the school's directions and curriculum, as afterall it is still a school which is an important learning centre for our kids. SWCK has been running for over 20 years and has an established path, but the primary school is still a new venture. With a clear vision and direction and good leadership, I might still give ICA the vote of confidence, but short of that parents won't have much choice!! Without parents who have "inside" information and first hand knowledge, at best we can only rely on info on website, which as we all know, might not be reflective of reality. Therefore I sincerely hope you would be able to share some info here.

Many thanks in advance.

作者: elmostoney 時間: 11-9-20 12:29

hi everybody, just back from coffee morning with ms gail and the class teacher, ms roper.  altogether parents of 10 of the 14 kids attended.  the meeting lasted 1hr 10 minutes.

my husband and I have doubts about the school before.  We never question the love and caring aspect, but this meeting really reinforced it.  We are worried about the academic aspect and the future of the school - in what direction will it go along the way?  In this competitive age, nobody wants to be left behind.

In terms of academics:

1.  English - seems they have a wonderful program in place.  Very interactive, a lot of games, balanced with reading and allowing the child to progress at individual pace.  I have no hesitation that children will have a great time learning.

2.  Chinese - at present, the direction of the program is unclear as far as I can see.  Although Ms. Gail seems keen to do a more comprehensive program than ESF primary (a friend of mine whose kids just started Y1 in Bradbury said that kids there are supposed to hv learned 300 characters by Y6 - pitifully close to nothing!)  They will divide the kids into 2 different levels and will employ 2  Mandarin teachers for an expected size of 110 kids when the school moves to the new campus next year.

3.  Math - uses the same program as CIS, Peak ESF and Australian IS.

4.  PE - for now, twice a week by multi-sport.  I don't know about next year at the new campus.

5.  will have some iPads coming in soon to test out incorporating it into classroom learning.

6.  needless to say, as a christian school expect to have many religious aspects.

7.  encourage parent participation - e.g. wrapping up all the new library books, laminating teaching materials, coming in to read to the kids, etc.  not a must of course.  ESF has something similar, from what i hv heard.

8.  new school will tentatively start with 5 classes - 2  Y1, 2 Y2, and 1 Y3, but if responses are overwhelming, they will consider opening more classes, though there may be a limit.  Right now, planning for 22 kids/ class.

9.  During the first 2 weeks of school, ms roper has spent time assessing the kids and grouping them based on their English and Math ability.  Kids are taught in groups for reading and math - which is a plus.

As a new school, there are still many issues requiring fine-tuning.  However, after the meeting, my husband becomes very positive about the school.  Initially, we regard SWCK primary as a transition, but we may decide to stay on.  I think parents who choose IS, at least most of them, simply don't like the crazy LS system.  I don't need my daughter to be a mathematician or a writer.  I want her to learn the necessary academic skills, develop a passion for learning and love of school, and hopefully blossom into a caring person who is loving, confident, and happy.  Seeing the team who works behind the primary school instills confidence in us.  They are people who are passionate about what they do.  They care about the kids as a person, not just about their grades.

As for Chinese, we hv a private tutor who comes regularly to our home.  After our discussion with her, all I can say is that the child may not fare much better by having Mandarin classes in most schools than having a qualified private tutor.  The HK education system does not recognize mainland China qualification, so we are left with mandarin teachers who are locals and learned to speak mandarin only as a 3rd language (after English).  As we all know, written Chinese standard in LS have also declined over the years.  So we are left with Chinese teachers who are probably of lower standards than 2 or 3 decades ago and who have to teach in putonghua - which they are struggling to learn themselves.

作者: zachmama 時間: 11-9-21 17:08

Dear Elmostoney,

Thank you so much for your generous and informative sharing. This has given me much confidence in ICA. Like you, whilst I view academic important in this competitive age, most of all I want my kid to develop a passion for learning and become a loving, caring, happy, confident and responsible person. My son is a "special" (I know each child is special and unique in his/her own way, but i hope you get what I mean) boy yet SWCK has embraced him wholeheartedly for who he is, that's why he felt he belongs there. I would hope he can continue to grow and be nurtured in such a loving environment, which from what I gather from you, can also be found in ICA. Soaking in that environment, hope he will grow up to be an all-loving, faithful and responsible young man. Not saying he won't get that in his present school, but SWCK/ICA just gives me that little more confidence in being able to achieve it.

You have also given me a pointer that I should consider hiring a private tutor to boost up my son's Chinese!! Thank you!!

Wishing you all the best in your little girl's primary school plans too!!

作者: elmostoney 時間: 11-9-22 09:51

Anybody who decides to send her child to SWCK primary should keep in mind that, as a new school, there are so many glitches and as a parent, may find it frustrating. At the meeting, I brought up the point about regular reporting to parents. As they are still getting the curriculum together, I am not hopeful to see any report anytime soon. If my daughter doesn't tell me (she tells me some, but not all), I wouldn't know what they do in school.

I sent a message to Ms Roper yesterday about the Chinese class. My daughter finds it EXTREMELY boring because her level of Chinese is much higher. They are still teaching strokes, connecting dots, and more than half the time, the pth teachers speaks in English! I am hoping that the teacher would let her bring in a bit of her own Chinese work to do in class, but they wouldn't allow it, saying that there are a few other kids who can also write some characters already. So I am trying to lobby the pth teacher to separate the class into 2 groups with a group that can do some writing while the rest of the class can continue to connect the dots, write out strokes. I will see how my effort goes.

作者: elmostoney 時間: 11-9-23 11:26

del del del

[ 本帖最後由 elmostoney 於 11-11-3 15:15 編輯 ]

作者: Littleho 時間: 11-9-23 12:34

Some international schools do stream students with different Chinese abilities/background into different classes. Some international schools have strong commitments in teaching Chinese language, making it the second most important subject. If you think Chinese is one of your key priorities, you should consider other school. Chinese is a far more difficult language than English. Kids usually prefer English than Chinese even when they are exposed the same amount of time.

原帖由 elmostoney 於 11-9-23 11:26 發表
對於學校的中文課程, 我有點失望. 當然一早知道他們只會將中文當作第二語言來教, 但校長說她明白中文的重要性, 所以亦會在IS的範圍內加強.

我問了班主任, 如果英文和數學會因為學生的能力分組教授, 那可否讓女兒帶 ...

作者: JarJarBin 時間: 11-9-23 13:25

I read your message about the Chinese homework in IS. Some ISs really emphasis more in this area. My son is P3 from this Sep. His Chinese homework makes me no time to review his maths and english everynight. He always leave his Chinese homework until I come back to do with him e.g. writing words, worksheets, read a artical and answer questions becasue he doesn't have the ability to do the chinese homework by himself. He has dictation everyweek. The dictation is couple sentences. I really cannot imagine the suitation if he studies in local school instead of IS. The homework is much much more than that.

作者: crystalpui 時間: 11-9-23 14:33 標題: 回覆 29# elmostoney 的文章

可能老師覺得kinder小朋友仲細....
不過中文都好緊要,
唔可以只學好英文

作者: reneeleung 時間: 11-9-23 18:39

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作者: eneresnat 時間: 11-9-28 21:28

What about the school fee of Island Christian Academy? Will it be very expensive and will there be debentures/maintenance fee, etc.?

作者: elmostoney 時間: 11-9-30 20:37

I am not so familiar with IPC.  I only know that from what I have heard, IB may not be the best way for kids below secondary.  IPC is more structured than IB - that's all I know.  I think young kids require more guidance, so in this sense, IPC is probably better.

As for school fees, debentures, etc.  I haven't heard anything about debentures so far.  Our present school fees are $6700/month (all fees included already).  I have no idea if it will go up when the school moves to the new campus.  If you don't mind it being a new school, student/teacher ratio is better than ESF.  I think ESF is $7000+ now with 30 kids in a class.  ICA will have 22 kids/class.

I am going to hand in the lucky draw form for LS next Monday, and I have applied for ONE direct subsidy school.  I hv also applied to Victoria, SIS, and ESF, and am considering KCIS.  BUT every school has its drawback.  IMHO, IB for primary school kids is a joke unless the school itself is heavily involved in a standard curriculum.  There is too much freedom - for the teacher.  So different teachers teaching the same subject to the same grade level can have ridiculously varied material and demands.  Lazy teachers may teacher very little and give minimal guidance to the kids in projects.  Also, I agree that with very young kids, they don't even have the foundation down in reading, writing and doing their own research.  So a program that relies heavy-handedly on the kids themselves will just spell disaster for parents. I think IB is good - for kids in upper secondary - so that they can prepare for university.  I just don't understand the fad for primary school aged kids.  That's why I don't like most IB IS - perhaps with the exception of SIS as SIS is probably more structured.

Another point to promote SWCK/ICA is its relatively smaller class size.  My only hesitation is it being such a new school that I don't know where it is heading.  Honestly, I don't feel that we, as parents, are given much information concerning the progress of the class.  A lot of ICA is still in the making and the wonderful people involved are VERY busy, so I suspect they will give us a more comprehensive overview many months later.  At the present, they are still talking to the architects about renovation.

作者: reneeleung 時間: 11-10-4 15:39

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作者: elmostoney 時間: 11-10-7 16:52

I went to ESF head office to hand in the supporting documents for year 1 a few days ago, and I was abhorred by the mindless spending of the back office of an educational organization. They rented a WHOLE floor of a state-of-the-art "intelligent" building in Quarry Bay. The reception is about the size of 1 1/2 to perhaps, even 2 standard-sized classrooms. They hire 2 not-so-helpful non-native receptionists who apparently don't have much to do. Gosh, what do they think they are doing?

After witnessing ESF's spending habits, I have many ????. Since the government is withdrawing is subsidy gradually, ESF will have not choice but to raise its fees. Without subsidy, it will certainly be past $10,000 mark. Then why go to an ESF primary? Their schools are small, old, and rundown. I live near one and have relatives whose kids went there. They have 30 kids in a class. If I pay $10000, there are a lot of choices out there.

作者: crystalpui 時間: 11-10-7 17:06

esf以前係我target school
但睇返d news
佢令我有d失望
好似好commerical咁
咩都係錢行先.....

作者: elmostoney 時間: 11-10-10 10:27

a bit of update. My daughter started writing chinese during the last week or two. They seem to be writing 1 character each day. I will keep asking to clarify. I didn't ask everyday, but on the days I asked last week, she wrote 人, 大 and四. she rarely has work sent home, so I don't really know what they have done. She takes the school bus - which means I don't really meet much with the teacher. I will probably go and pick her up at least once this month so I can talk to the teacher more.

As for learning Chinese, for anyone who goes to an IS and wants to reinforce the Chinese part, I highly recommend 基礎漢字五百．I started my daughter last year when she was 4.5. She has read about 350 characters to date, but has probably forgotten about 15%. She started to learn writing Chinese strokes after CNY this year and began to do more character writing only when she turned 5. It is good if you start early. My younger son saw my daughter reading and he wanted to do it as well. We just started after CNY with him and he has done almost 250 characters. He will be 4 at the end of this year and I expect that he will finish all 500 by the easter to June next year. He is a better learner than my daughter so he actually picks it up quite fast and retains much more. He only reads about 10 to 15 minutes of Chinese each day and still has lots of time to play.

[ 本帖最後由 elmostoney 於 11-11-3 15:17 編輯 ]

作者: crystalpui 時間: 11-10-10 10:52

有少少野想問about swck
swck係唔係冇secondary?
佢唔係行IB的,
如果讀完PRIMARY轉去其他IB SCHOOL
會唔會跟唔上?
另唔讀IB, 係唔係就考唔到LOCAL 大學呢?
謝謝

作者: elmostoney 時間: 11-10-10 12:41

SWCK does not have a secondary.

IB is irrelevant to local university intake. In fact, even if the school is not IB, you can still apply to overseas and local universities. The ONLY official advantage that IB gives a child when applying to university is that - SOME universities allow exemption to SOME subjects if the student is in an IB program for Year 11 and 12. Being in an IB program before Year 11 does not give a student any OFFICIAL advantage, at least not at the present. IB involves a lot of projects and exploratory work, so if a student is in the system early on, she may become more adept. My question is - is it necessary to start at primary school? If the child doesn't even have the skills to do research on her own, write essays and think creatively and critically on her own, what's the point? To answer your question, whether a student will not be able to catch up with an IB secondary if she was not in an IB primary, my FEELING is that, it's irrelevant. Most IS encourage their students to explore, to think creatively and critically. All have projects. Even many LS are running down the same path. A school that is labelled IB only means they get the official stamp from the IB organization, and their are additional criteria to become IB - e.g. pay the expensive annual fees and the initial audit, some language constraint, etc.

作者: crystalpui 時間: 11-10-10 12:50

多謝你的回覆
請問你知唔知NIS有冇意思攪secondary?
你小朋友係nis讀完後
打算升邊間secondary?
會唔會冇學校收呢?

作者: eneresnat 時間: 11-10-10 17:45 標題: 回復 39# elmostoney 的帖子

elmostoney:

May I ask if SWCK teaches traditional or simplified Chinese characters? I'll probably enrol my son next year, so I'd like to know more about its programme. Apart from Chinese (I know we can't expect much), do they teach other subjects well? Is it a mix of traditional and montessouri? Thanks.

作者: elmostoney 時間: 11-10-10 21:54

daughter at SWCK, not NIS.  SWCK has intention to start secondary, but I wouldn't count on it.  Apparently, primary must be running smoothly before they start something else.  Finding another site is also a problem.

SWCK teaches simplified Chinese, but I teach my girl traditional at home.  So far there is no conflict because their pace is slower.

My daughter actually joined SWCK for the last term of kindergarten, so I don't know much of what they did at the junior year.  Don't expect a lot of academics at SWCK kindergarten section.  They use some Montessori tools, but they are NOT montessori.  My daughter has been in a mont school for 3 years and my son is still in one, so I know.  (and I just LOVE montessori) They do some theme based activities, writing letters during the last year in kindergarten. I remember my daughter coming home and telling me about space and astronauts last term, and I was surprised she knew so much.

Of course, now my daughter's curriculum is richer because they are preparing her to go on to year 2 next Sept in the new school.  She does have English, math and Chinese.  Math is simple - still counting, but to bigger numbers.

作者: elmostoney 時間: 11-10-10 21:58

crystal pui, I cannot think so far ahead about secondary at this point. I have some consideration, but it is not my foremost concern. I know my daughter's character, and I think enrolling her in a school that suits her is more important. It is a bit more touchy with her. with my son, I think he can deal with many different types of schools, but call my crazy, I want to send him to a Montessori primary (and there is only one with no secondary also). I honestly think it will bring out the best in him. Montessori is even more IB than IB, and it came into existence far earlier than IB. At this point, I feel that Montessori can help my son to achieve his best, and at his best, he can get into any secondary, i.e. if he doesn't change.

作者: elmostoney 時間: 11-10-10 22:04

crystal, I think you should choose a school based on what you are comfortable (homework load, academic standard, IB or not, facilities, etc). If a through train is important to you, then you should choose a through train school that best suits your child. If your concern is whether the school suits yr child regardless of through train, that's another scenario. If you find a through train school that you like, suits your child, and it takes your child, then congratulations!

作者: crystalpui 時間: 11-10-11 12:41

原帖由 elmostoney 於 11-10-10 22:04 發表
crystal, I think you should choose a school based on what you are comfortable (homework load, academic standard, IB or not, facilities, etc). If a through train is important to you, then you should c ...

謝謝你既回覆
我個人來講
唔好太多功課, 又一條龍就係我心水
始終小學都仲係細
唔雖要谷得咁行
小朋友冇晒童年, 唔係我想要既野

我將我女選校問題交俾上帝
如果kcis收先, 就讀kcis
swck收先, 就讀swck
如果2間都唔收, 就冇辦法........

作者: mycjc 時間: 11-10-12 17:45 標題: 回復 45# elmostoney 的帖子

Hi Elmostoney,

Hi, I have a 21 months old son and he is currently attending Montessori classes. I also believe in Montessori education and wanted to send my boy to a Montessori kinder.
However, my husband has alot of hesitation in going for this path.
We have not yet decided if we should choose LS or IS for our son yet. But in your opinion, if we send our son to a Montessori Kinder and then choose LS Primary school, will he has difficulty catching up?
May I know which Montessori school your daughter attended? Why did you change to SWCK?

作者: elmostoney 時間: 11-10-12 18:17

mycjc,

mine is a sad story.  I wanted my daughter to go to montessori primary.  She was at Best Concept before.  I even forfeited going to a normal kinder for K1 so she could stay.  K2, i started feeling the need to enroll her in a regular kinder to have normal school life.  So I did something that I never thought I would do - I enrolled her in 2 schools!  3 days in Mont (including Saturday morning) and 5 days at a regular kindy.  I didn't like the kindy and I still preferred Mont, plus the Mont teacher she had at that time was WONDERFUL, so I quit after 1.5 months and she continued to go to the Mont center 5 days a week.  I tried to get her into IMS and was accepted, but they wanted her to do full day class and she was only 4.5 yo.  I didn't want to and declined the offer, making excuses that probably hurt our chance in future admission.  I applied to IMS again early this year.  Perhaps the competition was too keen or perhaps they didn't like the fact that we applied before and didn't take the seat (and the excuse I made before), they didn't take her.  At that time, (January 2011), I put her in SWCK.  She instantly fell in love with the school within a week. (unlike the other kindy - she never really liked it for the 1.5months she went there) By then, she was almost 5.  I have always aimed to send her to an IS which has good Chinese if she doesn't go to a Montessori school - so not many choices now.  My first choice was still Montessori, but she didn't get into the Mont school or the IS of our choice.  That's how we end up in SWCK for upper K3 (or year 1).

Montessori people will tell you everyone fits in the Montessori way of teaching, but from my experience, it's not true.  Only during the short time in upper K3 did I find out that she LOVES to learn with a group.  She has more motivation if she sees all her peers are doing the same thing (although slightly varied progress).  In a Montessori environment, theoretically, every child can move at his own pace.  If the child is not very self-motivated, it may not suit him.  My son is the complete opposite, and he is thriving in Montessori.

Can a true Montessori child adjust to LS primary if he/she has only been to a Mont school all his kindy life?  Frankly, I can't tell you.  It really depends on the child's character.  Some are more adaptable and some are not.  Everybody is different.  I think some kids can adapt, but it doesn't mean they are happy, right?  how many kids can be happy if it's homework, tests, and criticism from parents and teacher all the time?  Is it necessary to learn by so much drilling and tests?  I suggest you read a book about Norwegian education.  If you believe in it, then the answer is "no." Then next thing is, is private schools/IS within your budget?

作者: elmostoney 時間: 11-10-12 18:21

BTW, which montessori does your son go to?

作者: mycjc 時間: 11-10-12 19:11

my son went to ICMS for 1 term (3 months). Recently he transferred to Best Concept and he is attending 5 days per week.

i really admire your dedication in Montessori edcuation as it is rather risky in forfeiting regular K1 just to stay in BC. Afterall BC is not a registered school!

We are just a normal family so those prestigious IS are out of the question. Our targeted schools are ESF or CAIS. But I know the chances are very slim. That's why I don't want to risk sending my kid to a Montessori school if I am not confident that he can get into IS.

I have friends with kids in SWCK and they loved it but we live in Kowloon side so it's quite far to travel all the way to midlevels.

作者: zj 時間: 11-10-12 23:49

Hi, elmostoney,

想問一下的有些關於 montessori class. 我小朋友在 Best Concept 細仔班讀了九個月. 因 K1 (Int'l Kindy) 開學我沒有再給她升大仔班. 想在十二月, 她足三歲再開始上大仔班. 其實一星期上兩天或三天的分別大嗎? thanks.

我都想過讓她讀 IMS, 完成 Casa 之後再轉返去 IS Year 2/3. 但因居住地區 & 擔心函接問題放棄了. 所以現在只好選擇 am Best Concept (2 or 3 days) + pm Int'l Kindy (5 days). 但這樣 Best Concept 只可以上到 4 yrs 9 mths.

我看這 post 才知道 SWCK 有 primary school. 亦很高興你找到孩子喜歡的學校.

作者: elmostoney 時間: 11-10-13 11:31

ha, my son is in ICMS now because he didn't get into IMS.  Same case - last year when I took my daughter to IMS for an interview, I brought my son along.  He was just an onlooker.  However, when the principal saw him, immediately she said that she would take him right away (我個仔係好定同專注力好好).  We said we wanted to apply later.  When we applied earlier this year, they didn't take him.  He is at an age that I also feel the pressure to enroll him in a regular kindy + there were a lot of changes at BC during the last year.

其實之前因為BC有某d問題同好多複雜原因, 我個仔係細仔班時去過ICMS一個星期, 個陣時佢係剛剛兩歲, 當時我覺得佢地個toddler program有好多不足之處, 返左一星期, 我forfeit所有deposit退學返BC, 因為當時bc細仔班個老師教得我個仔好好.  大仔班我未知ICMS點, 但係我個仔係受教, 而且BC比佢training非常之好, 所以我覺得老師會鍾意比時間教佢. 七月時我帶阿仔去ICMS面試, 本來要in 兩個鐘, ms kelly唔洗一個鐘就比我地走, quote ms kelly嘅說話, 我個仔係一個montessori child.

對montessori嘅信念係因為我都相信我個仔, 我覺得佢性格適合, 學野快上手, 程度好自然考物野學校個chance都大d. 我個女就不嬲唔專注, 所以就算上montessori咁耐, 都有少少拉牛上樹嘅感覺.  Montessori唔係仙丹, 唔可以改造一個人性格, 只能幫下佢.

至於一星期上幾多日先好, 我真係唔知點答. 以前嘅maria montessori, 又或台灣嘅montessori school, 都係全日, 係到四點幾至六點, 一星期五日. 我當時同我個女嘅大仔班老師傾, 佢話香港得半日, 其實唔係咁好, 所以最好返五日, 我個女係返左兩年五日先轉三日架.  但係如果你返兩間學校, 根本冇可能返五日, 呢個就係現實. 我覺得返兩日同三日, 分別未必大, 或者你可以同老師傾下.

其實我都係一個關口, small world收左阿仔今年九月入學(我係四月先apply), 我推左, 因為我知道有sibling priority, 就算我將來先申請, 收嘅機會都幾大.  我打算再apply ims, 因為我嘅最終目標都係入佢地嘅primary school, 當然同時間我都申請左其他IS, 不過我個仔而家係ICMS又讀得好開心.  佢好慢熱, 最初係學校唔講野, 老師問我, 佢係屋企係咪都係咁, 當然唔係啦! 而家? 老師問我工人, 我地係屋企係咪有教佢phonics, 點解佢英文 (佢係指拼讀字)咁好, 所以老師都花多d心機落佢到.

[ 本帖最後由 elmostoney 於 11-11-3 17:43 編輯 ]

作者: Ocean419 時間: 11-10-13 13:46 標題: 回復 4# elmostoney 的帖子

Hi elmostoney, I have tried getting hold of best concept for 6 months now. Their website is under construction, phone is never answered, faxed them the application form 3 times but nobody ever called back... Are they still in business? Can u pm me a number which I can actually get in touch with someone there? Thanks.

作者: mycjc 時間: 11-10-13 16:32

我都同意ICMS的Toddler Prgram有不足之處. 其實我覺得佢地唔係太Montessori. 初初頭兩個月佢老師都OK, 但到Sep個兩個老師都transfer到main campus教pre-casa. 換來的幾位新老師經驗不足, circle time時又control唔到d小朋友, 搞到好混亂. 好彩咁啱之前waitlist的Best Concept有位所以transfer咗過去. 你小朋友讀邊個campus呀? 你意思係咪之前BC好好果個老師已經走咗喇? So far, 我覺得BC都OK.
聽d老師俾你囝囝的comment, 如果佢地都咁一致覺得佢係一個Montessori child, 咁真係可以放膽go for this path. In case有問題都有SWCK做back up.
但點解你咁aim for IMS呢? ICMS的Pre-casa 和 casa唔好咩? 我有friend的小朋友讀過Casa De Bambini都話ok喎

作者: mycjc 時間: 11-10-13 16:33

原帖由 Ocean419 於 11-10-13 13:46 發表
Hi elmostoney, I have tried getting hold of best concept for 6 months now. Their website is under construction, phone is never answered, faxed them the application form 3 times but nobody ever called ...

I called their TST centre at 2111 8903 and always have someone answer the call

作者: elmostoney 時間: 11-10-13 17:20

mycjc, because IMS has primary school, and IMS doesn't. My son was in toddler program at BC 18m ~ 2y8m, then he moved up to casa and stayed until 3.5 yo. We took a month off in August before he started at ICMS casa. Casa is offered in their main campus only.

My son's toddler teacher at BC was Ms. Ellen (also my daughter's teacher). She left in the fall of 2010, right after my son moved up to BC casa. The casa teacher we had was 宥語 who was a toddler teacher at BC before. She holds qualifications in both 0~3 and 3~6. Unfortunately she also left in april/may this year. I know Ms. Lina a bit and the Indian teacher took over my kids' class. They were with her for 3 months until we decided to go. I don't know the Indian teacher long enough to give any comment. She doesn't seem to be very experienced, but she really makes an effort.

作者: elmostoney 時間: 11-10-13 17:24

I really think BC's toddler program is probably one of the best in HK - solely from the fact that they don't allow adults to go in. The kids don't really learn as much when an adult fuss over them, and the teacher will rely on the parent/helper to help with the class. BC is very hands-on because their teacher really does EVERYTHING with the child.

作者: mycjc 時間: 11-10-13 19:02

i also read from a few comments that Ms Elleen is very caring. It's sad that she left BC already.
My son is in Kln Tong campus and the teacher is Ms. Lisa (mandarin speaker). She is also very nice. There's another ms Annie (or Amy?) but I don't know her very well.
Is your son's teacher in ICMS Ms Elise & Ms. Rei? They both were my son's toddler's program teachers. My son loves Ms. Elise very much but unfortunately she was transferred to main campus this Sep.

作者: eneresnat 時間: 11-10-14 10:03 標題: 回復 44# elmostoney 的帖子

elmostoney:

SWCK does encourage kids to read story books, right? I do wish that my son can start off with a good reading habit (I read to him at home but I hope there's an environment at school also).
If your daughter moves on to SWCK primary, how will you help her keep up her Chinese? I really like SWCK but I also wish that my son can read and write in Chinese in the future, so I wanna see if there's anything I can do to supplement their syllabus.

作者: elmostoney 時間: 11-10-14 22:22

As I mentioned before, I use the program 基礎漢字五百. It works for my kids. I read once daily with them. As my daughter is 5+already, I started her on writing. We are opting for one character/day for 10 to 12 times. I also have a private Mandarin tutor who comes in and teaches her Chinese twice a week. My daughter can understand most Mandarin and can converse to a reasonable degree. She learns all her reading in Mandarin as well. She has read 350 characters, but has probably forgotten about 15 to 20%. She can write about 30 characters now. She can read simple "I can read" beginning Chinese story books by herself. Her Chinese level cannot be compared to some very tough local kindy (like 根德園), but is probably on par with some easier local kindy. No bad, imho. The most important thing is dedication by the parent, unless you hire a tutor who comes in 4 to 5 times a week to do the job.

As with most IS, SWCK does encourage reading very much. I think you don't have to worry about that. We also encourage our kids to read at home. My kids can easily read on their own (mostly pictures only) for 1/2 hr to 1 hr at a time. If somebody reads to them, they can easily sit and listen for 1+ hour.

作者: eneresnat 時間: 11-10-17 09:45

Thanks, elmostoney. I also bought 基礎漢字五百 and I like the way it teaches Chinese characters. Hope it works for my boy also (he's still very small now).

作者: elmostoney 時間: 11-11-3 19:57

now that 2 months have passed since school started, I have more info to share.

1.  Chinese - 1/2 hr a day, mostly in Chinese.  They started doing strokes in Sept and are now writing characters.  They also teach putonghua pinyin (phonics) and daughter comes home singing phonics song.  Compared to some IS, I agree that their Chinese program is more intensive.  In fact, I am quite surprised that they learn so much.  However, as a Chinese parent, you may still want to supplement at home.

2.  English - wow! I am getting little books to review phonics with daughter at home!  Teacher already teaches the basics, but books are sent home regularly and parents are asked to review with their kids.

3.  Math - we just started on Mathaletics.  I haven't had time to look into it yet.

4.  Daughter said that they started a garden planting grapes(?), tomatoes and corn.  Kids are asked to take care of the plants. Quite wonderful in a concrete filled HK.

5. They have music class every Thursday and get to play some instruments (triangles, bells,some type of woodwind/flute, xylophone, drums, etc.).  Daughter enjoys it very much.

6.  Seems not to have any fixed art class.  I do see some simple crafts coming back sometimes, but not on a regular basis.

7.  hv outdoor playground time everyday.

an update on our school search progress.  At this point, we have decided to forget about LS completely.  We didn't even go to the interview.  It's really not our cup of tea.  I also dropped her Enopi class.  I think she needs more time to play instead of sitting down to do pages and pages of math homework.  Since most kids seem to require some tutorial after school no matter where they go, I have decided to do it for Chinese and stick to IS.

At this point, SWCK seems to fit her quite well.  The teacher is very caring.  She noticed a certain problem of my daughter's and brought it up, urging us to do a follow up.

作者: eneresnat 時間: 11-11-4 11:45

Thanks elmostoney for your sharing. The program sounds quite good, especially the gardening part.

作者: reneeleung 時間: 11-11-7 10:54

提示: 作者被禁止或刪除內容自動屏蔽

作者: elmostoney 時間: 11-11-7 12:37

Ms Gail is sitting in as NIS primary's principal. As I recall, she said her background before joining SWCK is actually with primary school - not kindergarten. Any new schools would probably be chaotic at the start, but hopefully, by starting small (with 5 classes) and Ms. Gail's experience, ICA will manage better than most upstart.

As for CYMCA's involvement, from what I understand, they only provide the site and won't be involved in managing the school. Again, I will have to clarify this point.

作者: WingBB-222 時間: 11-11-12 04:15

As per SWCK, CYMCA will not interfere in the curriculum of ICA. They are just partnership, but GCE(SWCK) will hold 100% autonomy of running the school.

作者: Nath 時間: 11-11-17 18:26

原帖由 elmostoney 於 11-10-13 11:31 發表
ha, my son is in ICMS now because he didn't get into IMS. Same case - last year when I took my daughter to IMS for an interview, I brought my son along. He was just an onlooker. However, when the p ...

剛剛見到妳地呢個topic, 先至知道原來大家既小朋友都係返緊ICMS.....我個仔之前返佢地既Toddler Playgroup, 啱啱就開始返Pre-casa.....仔仔返左一個星期多已經適應左....我地都好鍾意Montessori既理念, 亦見到佢返左6個月playgroup 既成果, 依家佢講d英文生字既發音準確, 記得好多字既phonics 發音, 專注力都好左, 不過佢本身係一個坐唔定既人, 我有d擔心佢依家返Pre Casa 時太自由, 樣樣野玩一陣就唔玩.......

雖然我都有考慮過比佢讀IMS既小學, 但都擔心中文程度差, 同埋又擔心太自由會令我地好難管敎佢讀書

[ 本帖最後由 Nath 於 11-11-17 18:28 編輯 ]

作者: elmostoney 時間: 11-11-17 20:03

我地早幾日已離開ICMS, give up兩個月deposit, 返返去best concept啦.

ims中文程度係is中好好, 唔洗擔心. 我建議你去一次school tour就會明白.

作者: Nath 時間: 11-11-19 21:04 標題: 回復 69# elmostoney 的帖子

many thanks for your advice.

歡迎光臨教育王國 (/)