Question about IS in HK, pls advise

kimmama

Dear IS parents,

my son is now 20ths and will start his 2-yr-old pre-n school in coming Aug 09 in Deborah Kinder (IS) (teach by foreigner), and we'll get him into KV (one of the traditional local kinder at KLN tong, cantonese as a first language) from his K1-K3 so as to train him to be a bit more disciplined and his learning habit.  

Providing that he is holding a canadian citizenship and with the edu. background as stated in the above, does any of the EFS (i.e. QBS) would accept him for yr.1 after the kinder life at KV?

Frankly, i don't have much info about the IS in HK and don't even know how it runs with what EFS, HKIS, RC...etc. i just know that there are school called QBS which is under EFS. so.. please kindly advise with lots of thanks.

besides, could anyone let me know how much would it cost in an IS school for a Yr1 per mth pls..

thanks

Pianokc

kimmama,

WOW, you are going the exact same path as I did.

We are Canadians. My kids went to IS preschool, both are now in KV. Now daughter is going to KCIS in Sept. We got accepted by a few local schools, and a few IS, but I picked KCIS as the best choice.

Younger one is K1 now in KV. Thinking what to do because to me, KV is no longer the same as before. (I am from KV myself too, went to DGS...)


PM me if you want to chat more.

If you want to go ESF, better to go to St Cat's not KV. ESF gives priority to present students with siblings, and those who cannot access local school system. Not based on your passport nationality.

BTW, how do you know you will get into KV, it's VERY competitive for KV and St Cat's. I know so many kids even with siblings IN KV and St Cat's this upcoming sept, didn't get accepted.

[ 本帖最後由 Pianokc 於 09-4-15 22:50 編輯 ]

janetlo

Pls check PM.

popolung

With a Canadian Passport "may" only give you a chance for you to state your kid as foreigner. But if your kid is not Native English speaker, you will be Cat 2 of Outsider which is the lowest rank.

Even if you are Cat 1, but outsider, even if you can get a chance for interview, if your kid English is not good enough, ESF will not take it.

Can't get the best parts of both worlds, you have to make up your own mind when your kid is in kinder, not from primary school. Some parents may put their kids in IS for AM & Local for PM, but I think is too tough for 3-4 years old kid, and may mix up the language development of your kid too.

What is Cat 1 / Cat 2, please take a look at here:

http://www.esf.edu.hk/index.aspx?nodeID=1039&langNo=1

[ 本帖最後由 popolung 於 09-4-16 01:34 編輯 ]

kimmama

Thanks for all of the info.!

Dear Pianokc,
It's so great to hear from you as we r actually hving the same route.  but still, havn't made up my mind whether to let my son go for the IS school.  so, may i have your further advise?  as your girl is now at KV, is it real hard to get a place from the IS school for Yr1? or it really depends on her interview performance?  would those IS schools take preference for KVs' kid as KV is one of the "Brand" kinder in local.  

besides, i'm not sure whether KV will take my son, but i do have some advantage on the admission becoz of some reason behind. but still, not 100% sure about it. may god bless.. =)

Dear Janetlo and popolung,

thx both of u for such informative info., if putting my son into an IS kinder is such important to get into the IS Primary, do u guys think Abacus International Kindergarten is one of the good choice?  would this kinder get higher priority than the local kinder?  and, does anybody know about this kinder located at ClearwaterBay? i jsut cant' find any infomation from the web about this school. (e.g. school fee, application, reqrirement, etc.)... no website at all.

besides, i guess i would not be one of the parents who choose to let their kid studying both am in IS and pm in the local one... that's really too crazy for a little kid which is totally beyond my main purpose of letting him enjoy his childhood.. and now that's y i am deciding to spend abt $6000 a mth in the IS school becoz of not having the "duck feeding" enviornment and to keep a "Happy" family by not yelling on him everynite & wkend becoz of his exams/quizs/dictations marks are only 80 but still ranking at the bottom among his class.

oh gosh, pls excuse me, it's already drove me crazy but jsut telling the truth of today's edu environment in HK.

but the most truth is... 6000 per mth is real expensive to me........ sigh

[ 本帖最後由 kimmama 於 09-4-16 16:47 編輯 ]

popolung

They do have a website, so as parent you need to do some homework for your kid:

http://www.esf.org.hk/esf_kindergarten/index.htm#

http://www.esf.edu.hk/index.aspx?nodeID=965&langNo=1


Admission: http://www.esf.org.hk/esf_kindergarten/admissions/application.htm

Fee: $5100 (ESF freeze the fee for next year too)

http://www.esf.org.hk/esf_kindergarten/admissions/tuition.htm

My daughter is now studying in Abacus and will go to CWBS in coming Aug. A very good kinder, and your kid will love it, so much fun, garden is so beautiful, air is so fresh (since they are in CWB rural area). Teachers are very nice.

In ESF Kinder it will certainly give your kid priority for interview (not admission) for ESF Primary school.

So put your kid in IS in the morning, have some extra lessons for fun (like music, singing, etc). Then teach Chinese by yourselves at night, this is what I am doing now. Originally want to hire someone to teach her Chinese, but I think I rather rely on myself.

Good Luck.

原帖由 kimmama 於 09-4-16 16:41 發表
Dear Janetlo and popolung,

thx both of u for such informative info., if putting my son into an IS kinder is such important to get into the IS Primary, do u guys think Abacus International Kindergarten is one of the good choice?  would this kinder get higher priority than the local kinder?  and, does anybody know about this kinder located at ClearwaterBay? i jsut cant' find any infomation from the web about this school. (e.g. school fee, application, reqrirement, etc.)... no website at all.

besides, i guess i would not be one of the parents who choose to let their kid studying both am in IS and pm in the local one... that's really too crazy for a little kid which is totally beyond my main purpose of letting him enjoy his childhood.. and now that's y i am deciding to spend abt $6000 a mth in the IS school becoz of not having the "duck feeding" enviornment and to keep a "Happy" family by not yelling on him everynite & wkend becoz of his exams/quizs/dictations marks are only 80 but still ranking at the bottom among his class.

oh gosh, pls excuse me, it's already drove me crazy but jsut telling the truth of today's edu environment in HK.

but the most truth is... 6000 per mth is real expensive to me........ sigh

[ 本帖最後由 popolung 於 09-4-17 02:13 編輯 ]

田心

hi Popolung,

I've a question.  ESF Kinder is one of my targeted IS kinder for my son.  I have read lots of advises from you that husband and I speak English at home with my little boy (only 7 mths).  Since, we need to work, my mother is the one who looks after bb and she speaks cantonese to bb (who should be the only one, since I have requested the other family members to speak English with the little one).  

Will it be a big problem for him to develop his language skills in English?

popolung

原帖由 田心 於 09-4-17 17:12 發表
hi Popolung,

I've a question.  ESF Kinder is one of my targeted IS kinder for my son.  I have read lots of advises from you that husband and I speak English at home with my little boy (only 7 mths).  ...

I think you can't prevent this situation happen. So buy some English learning DVD (like Disney, BBC, etc, but a bit expensive), and subscribe to NOW TV Playhouse Disney Channel, ask your mom to give these to her to watch and read during free time. Then when parents come back you can talk to your baby in Chinese. Once 1 year old you can send her to English playground, then English PN class, English Kinder (ESF the best for ESF primary)...... but keep soak her in complete Eng environment until the interview is over..... this is what I did now. Add oil!

[ 本帖最後由 popolung 於 09-4-18 01:47 編輯 ]

super8

To uphold a near complete English environment is to keep a Cat 1 situation for ESF application?

Or just want to improve the fluency level of spoken English of the kid?

Cat 2 kid is really no hope or very dim hope in getting into ESF primary?

How abt DC or RC for Cat 2 kids?

If really that hard....shall I simply give up the hope to get into the IS stream and let my girl who is 2 and can speak and understand Man, Eng, Can back to the mainstream?

Thanks for sharing.

原帖由 popolung 於 09-4-18 01:45 發表


I think you can't prevent this situation happen. So buy some English learning DVD (like Disney, BBC, etc, but a bit expensive), and subscribe to NOW TV Playhouse Disney Channel, ask your mom to give ...

popolung

原帖由 super8 於 09-4-20 00:10 發表
To uphold a near complete English environment is to keep a Cat 1 situation for ESF application?

Or just want to improve the fluency level of spoken English of the kid?

Cat 2 kid is really no hope or very dim hope in getting into ESF primary?

How abt DC or RC for Cat 2 kids?

If really that hard....shall I simply give up the hope to get into the IS stream and let my girl who is 2 and can speak and understand Man, Eng, Can back to the mainstream?

Thanks for sharing...

I think me or Oooray or other moms had said many times here, if you want to get into ESF primiary, try to put your kid in ESF Kinder, no matter where you lived (since they have 4 kinder anyway) and no matter what Cat you are, so your kid will have higher chance to have interview in ESF primary school.

With a chance to interview, successful or not still depends on your kid's English capability, so this is why you need to soak your kid in complete English Environment. Normal ESF or ESF PIS (RC / DC) will be the same, no difference.

Good Luck. You should plan now. And don't try to switch from IS to local or vice versa. Otherwise the one who suffered will  be your kid, and then the whole family.....

super8

thanks~~

But if I cant get into the ESF Kinder, and my girl is a Cat 2 kid, still have good chance to get into ESF or RC?

Or, if then, better to stay in local stream?

Thanks again.

原帖由 popolung 於 09-4-20 00:17 發表


I think me or Oooray or other moms had said many times here, if you want to get into ESF primiary, try to put your kid in ESF Kinder, no matter where you lived (since they have 4 kinder anyway) and  ...

popolung

原帖由 super8 於 09-4-20 00:20 發表
thanks~~

But if I cant get into the ESF Kinder, and my girl is a Cat 2 kid, still have good chance to get into ESF or RC?

Or, if then, better to stay in local stream?

Thanks again.

If you are Cat 2 but study in ESF kinder, you will still have higher chance than those Cat who are not in ESF kinder, for interview only again.

Stay in local or not if your own choice. It is about whether you want your kid to go for IS or local, not ESF only.

super8

I'm just afraid if my girl cannot get into ESF kinder and stay with other int'l kinder K2, and then cannot get a place in IS......even though I'd like her to stay in this stream...but the competition is real keen...

anyway, thanks popolung for your advice.

原帖由 popolung 於 09-4-20 00:35 發表


If you are Cat 2 but study in ESF kinder, you will still have higher chance than those Cat who are not in ESF kinder, for interview only again.

Stay in local or not if your own choice. It is about  ...

popolung

原帖由 super8 於 09-4-20 02:20 發表
I'm just afraid if my girl cannot get into ESF kinder and stay with other int'l kinder K2, and then cannot get a place in IS......even though I'd like her to stay in this stream...but the competition  ...

Today I go back to ESF kinder and see a lot of new students are in after the Easter Break, for Y1 & Y2. So you can see so many parents are thinking in advance to put their children in once ESF kinder has a place. Anyway good luck.

If you want to get in ESF, you have to try anyway. Can get in or not is out of anyone control, but at least should try our best.