any comment about ISF

Sonaming

any comment about ISF? any JM's child study in ISF?

caa

Top school fees

hahasun1973

ISF is ok. Although school fees is above hk$100k/year, it is still a non-profit institution.

HKTHK

回復 Sonaming 的帖子

What would you like to know?

MrsChikChik

my dream school, but too expensive, OMG.

kellyfan

Apart from high tuition fees, I so far didnt see any negative comments on ISF. I would like to know more about it too.... I don't see parents of ISF suggesting their kids going extra tuition classes (vs otherIS may still take Chinese/ eng/math tuition)... Seems to be a good one...

HKTHK

回復 kellyfan 的帖子

If you search this board, there are plenty of negative comments about ISF though I am not sure how many are from actual or ex-parents.  As for tutorials, it really depends.  I have heard of some who get tutorials in almost all subjects though I think that is the minority.  The children I personally know get few, if any, tutorials.  The most common tutorials i am aware of are the non-Chinese families getting a Chinese tutor.  This is very common and probably advisable given the level of Chinese.  As for other subjects, while it is not technically an IS, there are no exams, scores or rankings.  So what good does tutorial do?

kellyfan

原帖由 HKTHK 於 13-09-25 發表
回復 kellyfan 的帖子

If you search this board, there are plenty of negative comments about ISF thou ...

Thank you for comments... I didn't search into details yet in desktop version.. Thx for sharing.. I am also interested in cais, though its in kln... It's acceptable to have tutorial in Chinese Lang but of cos for other subjects would seem burdensome to the kids... Hope can make a right juice at the end.. Is ur kid already in is and so far so good? Thx

HKTHK

回復 kellyfan 的帖子

Yes, so far it meets our expectations and we have no large issues with the school

kellyfan

原帖由 HKTHK 於 13-09-25 發表
回復 kellyfan 的帖子

Yes, so far it meets our expectations and we have no large issues with the sch ...

Good for you and your kids.. It is not easy to meet own expectations...

musicien

原帖由 HKTHK 於 13-09-25 發表
回復 kellyfan 的帖子

Yes, so far it meets our expectations and we have no large issues with the sch ...

May I know the standard of orchestras in isf? Thx!

cecilau

musicien 發表於 13-9-27 14:15
May I know the standard of orchestras in isf? Thx!

Don't expect too much on Primary's orchestra.

elock

Here are some points worth noting for potential ISF parents: (a) homework now, starting from Foundation Year, is already much tougher than before; (b) extra Chinese tutorial is common especially if one is non fluent in Mandarin; (c) non suitable school for working parents with long and fixed working hours; (d) a school standing between local school and international school; (e) not a well rounded school, concentrating mostly on academic; (f) lots of emails every week from the school.
Personally, I think this school should not be considered as part of international schools in Hong Kong.  Having a non-working parent is really critical for good monitor and progress of your kid's schoolwork.  Afterall, does it sound like typical famous local school?

HKTHK

回復 elock 的帖子

What do you think parents need to do and spend time on to monitor?  Most of the families I know have stay at home Moms though I am interested to know why you think it is necessary.

chemtutor

can train your kid to be independent

musicien

原帖由 elock 於 13-09-28 發表
Here are some points worth noting for potential ISF parents: (a) homework now, starting from Foundat ...

I like the school v much. I'm ready to take some leaves to engage in their activities but I'm a working mom! My son failed last yr in fy but I'll try again this year. Really want to know more abt the hw standard a d if they can be trained to finish most by themselves ! Thx!

elock

HKTHK, the workload for homework lies between local school and international school.  In fact in the school website, it does show the average homework time for each year.  However, this time it mentions excludes reading time and revision time.
So, imagine you get home by 7pm after work and you need your kid to be in bed around 8:30pm.  How much time will you have to take care of the homework.  Yes, you can train the kid to do the homework, but then if the kid needs to correct the homework upon you checking, it does keep you and the kid in a frustrating mode because you know you still need to do reading and revision with him/her within the time constraint.
Many parents do find it lack of time for extra-curriculum activities on weekdays.
So, do not think the kids studying in this school can be as free or lay back as other international schools.
In summary, having a non-working parent is strongly required.

HKTHK

回復 elock 的帖子

Not sure what grade your child is in and what the homeroom teacher is saying but all the teachers that we have been in contact with ask parents not to correct the home works.  Rationale as i understand it is that the homework would allow the teacher to assess what the child actually learned in school.  We might sometimes enquire if they have finished their works but we would never check to see if they are correct.  As for reading, we fixed the 30 mins before sleep to be reading time and always try to start at 8pm.  We normally run a little late though we actually consider it quite an enjoyable time since the whole family sit together to read.
We have afterschooling activities on three weekdays and those can be a little more hectic.

kfy

I think all depend on the parents' attitude and expectations.

In my kid's class there are some stay at home moms and some working moms. Some parents decided to hire tutors because the moms prefer spending time to chit chat or play with their kids rather than checking their homework. I do not hire a tutor myself even though I am a working mom.

I seldom check my daughter's homework but I do the revisions on dictations and assessments with her very closely. I want to make sure that she really learns and understand well enough.  My friend with kids in another class do not do revision with her kids at all and she thinks that kids must be independent and she does not want to push them too much.

However, no matter whether you get 80 or 90 marks in assessments, the final grade will be pretty much similar as the teachers also assess the students by class observations and student works. There is no ranking as well.

After all, there is no best school but the school most suitable to the family.
ISF suits us because I am very busy myself and my daughter is already quite occupied with her after school activities (piano, ball games, and ballet lessons... )
Now I just need to make sure that she completes her homework neatly and do revisions for dictation and assessments promptly. Then I am pretty confident that she is on track academically. I do not need to let her attend additional tutorials or buy supplementary exercises. In fact I spend more time accompanying her piano practice than homework or revision.

elock

I am not sure what grade your kid is in now.  But for sure, the demand for present grade 1 homework is tougher than previous years according to parents with kids in lower and higher grades.
As for working parents, imaging the time you need each night for dining with your kid, browsing the schoolwork and reading.  Time is really tight, especially if you cannot get home early after work.
I am sure this is a good school if you have the time for your kid and academic is the only thing you really care.
This is simply my personal viewpoint.  I just want the potential ISF parents to have a more diverse view of the school.