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Hi Fattymom, congratulations on your finding a most suitable school for your child. YauMum, nice meeting you here.
Although it may be a bit late, as an elementary school parent, I still would like to share my thoughts, observation and experience here for other parents' reference. My child came from another international kindie and I'm new to ICS.
No, ICS is not like a lot other international schools. The main difference of ICS is its emphasis on discipline, bible learning and character and spiritual development of a child. Children have bible lessons (also language arts & math) every day. For those who don't believe in God, they might find it too heavy or even a waste of time. But what's wrong with children learning to love each other, be thankful and willing to help the less fortunate? What's wrong with having good discipline? A friend told me that her 9 year old kid, going to another IS, couldn't hear the teacher when her classmates kept talking in class. To me, good discipline also means respect as you respect the teacher and other kids' learning opportunity. If the definition of an international school is being free to do whatever you want to do, having no homework or pressure and having a diverse mix of children from different countries, ICS may not fit perfectly.
Let me elaborate here. About discipline, there's a chart in every class for the children to see how well they're behaving that day. If you behave well, you'll be praised. If you show disruptive behaviour, you may be sent to the Principal's office for a chat. Older kids even need to sign a declaration (that they won't smoke, take drugs, etc.).
About homework, my daughter hardly had any homework at all during the first term of P1. Starting this term, the teacher groups the children according to their reading ability and assigns books to them to bring home to read. She has one reading and journal writing assignment once a week.That's about it. Once in a while, there're simple projects to do. Up to this moment, I don't see any pressure at all. But in higher grades, there will be more homework and quizzes. The situation should be quite similar in other ISs.
From my observation, the children at ICS are mostly Asian (although according to their nationalities, 34% are locals and 40% are American or Canadian). While these children speak English to each other, some of them may not be native English speakers. It appears to me that some children in the lower grades may not have developed a native accent. In contrast, my daughter's kindie classmates who go to another IS with a high percentage of westerners have developed a strong British accent in very short time.
Sending kids out for additional lessons is a personal decision. I don't think any particular school would ask their students to attend lessons outside school. ICS doesn't and I don't find it necessary. After just three months in school, my daughter can read and write quite independently by sounding out the words although she didn't learn writing at all in her kindie. She's already reading chapter books.
So far, I'm pleased with the school and how she's changing my daughter. My daughter has learnt to be loving and thankful. A few days ago, she wrote a card to our maid to thank her for taking care of her. Although it was only a card, my maid told me that she was really touched and almost cried when my daughter gave her the card. My daughter also remembers to offer money at chapel time. The money goes to help the children in the orphanage.
There's good communication between school and parents. The teacher keeps the parents informed of what's going on in class. She sends home a newsletter once a week to tell you what the children will be learning in the following week. Besides, the children bring home worksheets (classwork) almost every day so that you'll know what they're doing in class.
I'm also pleased with the way the schedule is planned. To help children wean off their nap and to adjust to full-day school, P1 children have a half-hour nap time after lunch. They have their own cot to lie down to relax. In the second term when the children are well-adjusted, the nap time is lifted.
About lunch, you can either bring your own lunch or order from the school. For school lunch, there're 2 choices, usually one is asian and the other western dishes. The meal includes a snack and a drink as well at $26 per day. The food is prepared on site and so is hot and fresh.
No school is perfect. ICS doesn't seem to be exceptionally strong or outstanding in any aspect (Some schools are famous for their academic results, outstanding musical or sports achievement, winning international competitions, etc.). Besides, in P1, there're only 2 Putonghua sessions per cycle which I find too few. Hopefully, at the end of the year if we opt for the Chinese literacy stream (vs Chinese as a foreign language), the amount of Putonghua lessons will increase. There have also been a lot of fundraising and celebration activities going on because of the new school building which keep teachers, parents and students busy. So there's “extra” work to do.
From time to time, we've seen parents arguing in this forum about which school is better than which. To me, there is no one best school but a school that best meets our needs. I'm happy that we are part of the ICS family. Wonderful facilities, caring teachers and great students.
Thank you for reading my lengthy sharing and I hope all of you would find the most suitable school for your children.
[ 本文章最後由 Sandrine 於 08-2-26 14:01 編輯 ] |
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發表於 08-2-13 15:30
