One strategic step closer to HKIS, CIS, AISHK, CDNIS & ICS

jolalee

I'm planning to apply the above schools for my currently 2 years old son who will be attending K1 equivalent this coming August. He has several options, but mainly i'm struggling between:

1. The Montessori system [DMS Discovery Bay]
2. The ESF system [ESF Tsing Yi]

I wonder which school can better prepare him for the reception application / interview (both in terms of the schools' reputation and the actually learning)? Any comment or suggestion is deeply appreciated. Thank you in advance!

jolalee

hkparent 發表於 13-2-23 07:45
ESF. You should also submit applications to the named schools immediately. 2 years old is already a  ...

Thank you, hkparent. Would explain in which ways ESF is a better option than Montessori? Is it the reputation or education? Would ESF Tsing Yi be penalized over other ESF kindies?

Instead of "I'm planning to apply" I should have put "I'm planning to and have applied for the schools listed above". I've submitted for AISHK. HKIS/CIS/ICS will accept my submissions only starting this August, and I've applied for pre-reception for CDNIS this year (but given my son came out with a train which the teacher was desperately looking for, I think he failed, so i'm preparing to apply for reception this coming Autumn). Thank you for your reminder though! :)

jolalee

...but ESF primary schools are not on my target list here... if it is, i'd definitely go for any ESF kindie for having the final year of P1 interview priority. ESF does have better reputation for academic results for their secondary schools, but from what i heard the top IB score students are usually smart kids transferred over from other IS or LS. [parents please correct me with figures if what i heard is wrong]...

From what i learned, PYP and MYP are a bit shaky and depends on the teacher a lot. Personally i'd prefer any of the schools for primary year listed above instead.

Anyhow, back on the topic. Would an ESF kindie education or Montessori kindie education help better prepare a child for a top through-train IS interview? and which school type have a better reputation amongst the schools i listed on the topic? Much appreciated if there are feedback from parents who know kids or have their own in any of the above schools. thx!

jolalee

回復 Shrimpiggy 的帖子

Thank you Shrimpiggy for your detailed analysis of each school, especially HKIS & CIS, which I know less about. Do you know what their interviews are like and what they're looking for in a child? (or is it purely on connections & backgrounds?)

We do fit the bill for most schools I'm applying for, but I'm wondering which school I should choose for my son next year, ESF or Montessori, based on my target schools....

I know ESF is a great system to fall back on (many of my friends regret not applying for ESF in the first place), but they are enquiry/play based, so he might fall behind for the more academic IS interviews. Personally I love Montessori but would those IS view it as fringe or unconventional education and take impression points off from him? (or that he'd not fit into mainstream IS interview settings). I'm quite confused as for which one to choose for next year and possibly for his entire Kindie education....

jolalee

lui 發表於 13-2-23 15:19
Your quote of ESF that many high IB scores winners coming from other IS and LS applies to CIS as wel ...

Yes, that's my dilemma too. Seem like the high schools with top IB scores simply have a good intake of good students from elsewheres... I wonder which International primary schools have a relatively more solid foundation (but not as crazy as the LS)....?

jolalee

Thanks Shrimpiggy for all your info. We've applied / will apply to each school according to their set application schedule. I don't think my son did that well on his CDNIS interview last month, so we'll try again next year. Parents can apply for AISHK 2 years prior to their admission age, starting from January each year. Since they're on the Auzzie calendar, it's best to check the individual child's class age on their website or just call them to confirm, which was what we did. (in case anyone else reading this would like to apply for AISHK).

You're right that there are two distinctive types of schools here: HKIS & CIS are mainly academic and they are my husband's top choice. CDNIS, AISHK & ICS are more well rounded and those are my target schools. Actually, I do think my boy is more like his dad and will do better at his choice of schools, but I really want to round up his characters more. Anyhow in HK it's not up to the parents so I'll take whichever he can get into ;)

Did your kids apply to any of the schools above beside ESF?

jolalee

I agree to shadelayer here and that's why I'm picking IS over LS all the way through. I've done primary schools in both Hong Kong and overseas, so I've seen the pros and cons from both sides personally.

Anyhow we're going off topic here again, maybe it's my fault in choosing a wrong title. Between ESF & Montessori schools, which one should I put my child in if my aim is the listed schools on the title?

jolalee

md23 發表於 13-2-25 08:35
Montessori school without a doubt.

Let me play devil's advocate here (since I lean towards Montessori myself):
- Montessori is great academically, but lacks in-class group interaction compared with other Int'l Kindies.

- In the early education circle, I wonder how Montessori is viewed? I know at least one teacher who does not like the Montessori system, and another story where a child was penalized for reading out the letter sound instead of the letter name upon the teacher testing the child on the alphabets during an interview at a school I listed.[fyi Montessori teaches the letter sound instead of the letter names to help the children learn to read faster] I think Montessori kids are viewed as too individualistic?

- The Montessori school my son attends does not have primary affliation. The only one that has (IMS) is impossible to get into and I think my son failed the application this year. So what are my options when P1 application comes along?

- The ESF 2013-14 K1 class, on the other hand, still has ESF P1 interview priority, so it is at the moment still a great system to fall back on, in case the target schools listed above do not accept him.


May I know why you'd pick Montessori? And what are your kids' education paths?

jolalee

21Ckid 發表於 13-2-25 00:05
If you need to ask about IB scores, you care about academics and good university placement and i am  ...

Thank you 21Ckid! Your initial post seemed counterproductive but upon further explaining yourself, I now understand you're just being objective and see where you're coming from. It's true we often kid ourselves on what we really want and i think you saw through the loopholes. At the end of the day we cannot have our cake and eat it too. Between topping scores, going into Oxbridge/Ivy league and having a happier lifestyle with a better-rounded personality, i'd still choose the later. However my husband might think otherwise, so it's best to really talk it through before we proceed with planning our child's education future.

jolalee

回復 foolish.mom 的帖子

I'd say from personal experience that 'experience' has nothing to do with it when it comes to extreme academic pressures. I came from a traditional good school in Hong Kong when our family emigrated to Canada during my primary years. What motivated me to study hard during high school was the encouragement i got in junior high years, not the pressure cooker messages i came from back home. When the going gets tough, I find that kids who grew up in Canada often did better than we chinese did, and they had never experienced the pressure we had in Hong Kong. At the end of the day, it's the emotional support, motivation and inner strengths that counts.
Personally i'd choose the path you choose too. Yes, high school is all about marks and doing things to get into a good University, but after one graduates from schools and face the actual reality at a work place, what we learn throughout life truly kicks in.

jolalee

回復 jeff76916 的帖子

My experience could be faculty specific, perhaps dealing with creative problem solving issues. In University, i had teamed up with both chinese and non-chinese students. We all worked around the clock needing to come up with creative ideas or solutions and presenting them through precise professional methods.

While the chinese teams are usually very hard working (often more so then other teams), when working with them we often ended up copying off each other because we cannot come up with the solutions (I'm often the one being copied off from, but as a Chinese, i don't mind). In an innovation based subject, that just wouldn't cut it. When i work with the other guys, we all must bring to the table substantial solutions, and they often do that with heavy metal or clubbing music blasting in the background. They are often very hands on whereas we chinese students are just paper and numbers people.

I think it's the same with some other occupations as well. My husband  grew up in Auz since kindie age, and when i asked him about the performance of his colleagues who grew up and studied in HK (to prove why i'd choose IS for our son), he too would shake his head and say they often just copy off other articles and can seldom come up with good solutions themselves.

There are a lot of little things we learn while we were growing up. Although they don't seem relevant at primary or high school age, they do come back to be useful in the long run.

jolalee

md23 發表於 13-2-25 16:43
ESF (both in kindergarten and elementary school), in my opinion, simply does not challenge kids eno ...

Sorry md23, that there's been a flutter of activities that i missed responding to your post until now. I agree with your analysis and given that i value early education immensely, your opinion rings true. Your view on sending children to boarding schools too early as well as your reason for choosing IS is very similar to how i think as well, so i believe we're on the same page.

It'd be hard to let go of a safety rope though. I just hope the Montessori education will be strong enough to put him in a good primary school when the time comes... I do hear that at K3 some kids are doing multiplications (of course, given this is montessori, it all depends on the individual child).

jolalee

I started this thread simply to seek advice on whether a Montessori system or an ESF system would better prepare my child for the application of the captioned schools. I think a comparison between LS & IS is way beyond the subject here, as all the schools in discussion are IS based.

21Ckid kindly raised the point that if academic is the main concern (through reading between the lines and noticed that i was academic focused), then there is an alternative path which would yield higher high school scores. Whether we'd like to follow it in exchange of other aspects we also value is our own choices. I thank 21Ckid for pointing that out, although we both stick to the IS system in the end.

It is good to see different points of views, and thank everyone for giving their advice on how I should go about my son's education. In the end we all walk our own paths and make our own decisions, but it's good to hear different voices and widen each of our own perspectives. That's the whole idea of coming to an education forum.

May I suggest that interested parties open up another thread on LS vs. IS, and continue the discussion there. I am sure there are other parents who'd be interested to discuss this (including myself), and in the end we'll all learn from it.

jolalee

回復 21Ckid 的帖子

Are you referring to CDNIS? Yes, I'm Canadian so my son has Cdn passport. They only accept application starting in October prior to the  year of entry anyway, so i don't think app date matters.

jolalee

I don't even know you can do that, but anyhow, I don't think the date of application matters for CDNIS, as long as it's before the deadline (Oct 31 prior to the year of entry). For some schools such as GSIS, app date matters, but not CDNIS.

jolalee

回復 21Ckid 的帖子

Thank you 21Ckid, your info has always been helpful.
Regarding "100+ had been assessed as pass and 40 seat offered with rest on waitng list", is this information related to this year's application? (for the 2013-14 pre-reception class) I did hear from another parent who looked at the application chart that there are about 340 (or 380, i forgot) children on the interview list this year. They told you that 100+ had been assessed as pass? Will the school inform us if they pass or not when the time comes? (or i guess those who pass will be accepted or be put on the waiting list). What will the school do with the students who passed but does not have a seat this year? Is your child waiting for a pre-reception spot this year?

jolalee

回復 pppwong 的帖子

FYI starting from this year CDNIS will not be interviewing any child without a Canadian passport (they've sent me a letter about it since i applied last year). It's due to the shear amount of applicants. Since Canadian passport holders has priority, and there are too many qualified kids with Cdn passports sufficient to exceed placement availability, i guess they've decided that realistically there's no point interviewing those without it. This is what they wrote on their website regarding admission:
http://www.cdnis.edu.hk/admissions/admission-procedures-policy.html

[p=20, null, left]SELECTION CRITERIA FOR ADMISSIONS ASSESSMENT
Due to an overwhelming number of applications received, priority for an admissions assessment will be based on academic/school performance* and the following criteria. Those who fulfill one or more of the following will receive an assessment interview as long as all available documentation is submitted on or before the application deadline:

• Children of staff
• Siblings of students enrolled at CDNIS
• Applicants who are nominees under the [size=1.2em]Capital Debenture programme
• Applicants who passed the admissions assessment and were placed on the waiting list of the preceding school year
• Applicants who hold Canadian citizenship/Canadian passport (please provide a copy of citizenship certificate or passport with application)
• Children of alumni
• Former CDNIS students who left the school and are returning to Hong Kong
• Applicants whose families are relocating to Hong Kong who have not yet secured a school place
  

I guess the exception might be if you teach there or have other 'historic' connections...

jolalee

For pre-reception there's only 2 classes of 20 = 40 seats available.
Yes it is quite impossible to get one, even if your child interviewed well.

For reception they've increased it to 6 classes of 20 = 120 seats, but
given 40 kids goes from pre-reception to reception, 80 new seats are available. This is the most massive kindie intake.

For the preparatory level there are 5 classes of 25 = 125 seats, so it's only 5 additional places, and i'm guessing it's only there for the expat Cdn who transfers to HK suddenly...

jolalee

回復 pppwong 的帖子

Given that priority for an admissions assessment is given to those listed, and given the number of applicants with a Canadian passport now exceeds the number of space available for assessment, the chance of getting assessed without a Cdn passport is really slim. Never hurt to try, but the application fee is not cheap. Best to call to find out.

jolalee

The debenture has nothing to do with the interview. One may only obtain one after admission acceptance, i believe... (please correct me if i misunderstood the system)