GSIS vs KCIS

Pianokc

I thought this game was over and done with for my daughter and I.

Ok, like to hear from parents of both schools.

GSIS and KCIS- which one would you choose for your child?

Factors important to me:

1) Academic - high achievements
2) Discipline
3) Location (GSIS being on the Peak, and then 2 years later, we have to go Wan Chai if we choose GSIS).
4) School hours- terribly early for GSIS, but half day only, and KCIS is 9am-3:20pm.
5) Putonghua level- KCIS by far beats GSIS.

GSIS= the reputation
KCIS= strong putonghua programme

Please help me!

tamm

Thanks for the information - what about the writing part?  Was it a group interview?

eaymom

I wasn't sure what questions they ask because my daughter wasn't able to retell what exactly she did in the assessment.

It was somewhere along the line of reading a book, finding out what was wrong in the sentences, describe what's happened in a picture and what she thinks will happen next, counting from 1 to 100 by 2s, 5s, 10s, etc.,

Based on what I heard, it's basically something a 5yr should be able to do.  If the child had gone through preschool or kindergarten, these would be something they already learned.

原帖由 tamm 於 09-11-26 11:07 發表
Hi

Can you share with me what questions they will ask during the GSIS P1 interview?  What's the format?  My child is scheduled to have the interview early next year.  In terms of writing, what will  ...

tamm

Hi

Can you share with me what questions they will ask during the GSIS P1 interview?  What's the format?  My child is scheduled to have the interview early next year.  In terms of writing, what will they ask a 5-year-old child to write?

Thanks a lot!

cari

Ruby1219 & eaymom,

Thank you for all the nice advices.  I will take my child to meet more strangers so she will be more used to the environment of meeting strangers and prep her in a positive way like Ruby1219 before the assessment.  Wish me luck.

cari

原帖由 Ruby1219 於 09-11-16 21:18 發表
Yes I agree with eaymom that you should take it easy, yourself and your daughter. Don't give her any pressure. Tell her that you and she would go have a look and chat with the teachers to see if shes  ...

Ruby1219

Yes I agree with eaymom that you should take it easy, yourself and your daughter. Don't give her any pressure. Tell her that you and she would go have a look and chat with the teachers to see if shes like the school.  Tell her that the teachers will talk and play with her in a nice & fun way. Plan and tell her that you will reward her with a treat or a gift after the visit (not an interview or assessment). And tell her something good about the school to make her like the school.
I told my son that GSIS is a very good and high standard school the night before the assessment, so that he (and I) won't be too upset if he fails. While, he was so happy when he got the offer and he was ready to join the school without too missing his previous school.

Good luck !

Ruby1219

My son joined English playgroup since he was 18 months old. And then he joined Anfield's prep-programme when he was 2.5years old and then Anfield's K.1-2.  He did not need our company since prep-programme. He was born in March, maybe that's why he was  more mature and calm. I think you can bring your kid out of home more and let her meet more strangers.

eaymom

We didn't apply for Kindergarten because they only had one K2 class and all of the spaces were occupied by students promoted from K1 (we were latecomers and we missed K1).  They didn't have any spaces for new students.   So we applied for Year 1 and my daughter was assessed when she was nearly 5 years old earlier this year.  She's now in Year 1.

原帖由 cari 於 09-11-16 16:04 發表
Eaymom,

Thank you for your reply.  You are so lucky that your daughter was accepted by GSIS.  My daughter is going to Woodland too so that mean she is under good hands.  We have applied for the 3 yea ...

cari

Eaymom,

Thank you for your reply.  You are so lucky that your daughter was accepted by GSIS.  My daughter is going to Woodland too so that mean she is under good hands.  We have applied for the 3 year old class, what would be age appropiate for a 3 year old for reading and writing?  My daughter does not know how to write or read yet.  

Cari

原帖由 eaymom 於 09-11-15 23:44 發表
Cari,

There is not much you can do when it comes to personality.  My little girl was extremely shy too.  She's not the active nor the outspoken type which we all believed what GSIS was looking for.   ...

eaymom

Cari,

There is not much you can do when it comes to personality.  My little girl was extremely shy too.  She's not the active nor the outspoken type which we all believed what GSIS was looking for.  When we went for the assessment, we treated it more or less an experience.  We didn't expect to get in.

As for whether we prepared her for the interview, no, we didn't at all.  We are the lazy parents type who send their child to international school just to avoid heavy homeworks

The only thing I would say is that she speaks english at native level and she was a confident reader and writer(age appropriate) by the time she was assessed.  And she learned most of that from her preschool (Woodland).  We didn't hire a private tutor nor teach her anything at home.

Don't worry too much about the admission.  Try not to put too much pressure on your little one.  I think that was the best thing we have done with ours.  

eaymom

[ 本帖最後由 eaymom 於 09-11-15 23:45 編輯 ]

cari

Wisekid, Ruby,

Thank you for your advice.  My daughter is attending Woodland now.  She can speak good English but like Ruby said may not be the same as native speaker.  But she is shy and sometimes not willing to talk to others.  What activities do your kids go so they are more outgoing and willing to talk to the teacher during interview?

Chole

Thank you wisekid2007!

My hubby & I went to the Open Afternoon today and tour around.  The student guides told us that around 10% will leave GSIS to go to boarding school but most will stay and go to uni direct.  Good!  We are very pleased with the environment as well as the atmosphere.  I love the art room in particular (art is my kid's favourite).  

We dropped the application form too.  Hope my kid could have the privilege to get in.

Thanks again!

Chole

Dear parents,

May I pick your brains?  

Ultimately I want my kids to go to UK university but would love them to leave as late as possible.  I see many local kids leaving at Form 3.  To me, I consider them very young.

Do you think that going to an international school will help?  Of course I have thousands of reasons to apply for GSIS but wonder if there is another one to convince my husband who didn't quite enjoy his boarding school life.

Appreicate your input.  Thank you!

Ruby1219

Hi Cari,

Same as wisekid, I did not 'prepare' my son to enter GSIS. We applied for the school when my son was in Y3, and I got the call for assessment just the day before, so actually we couldn't prepare. I think wisekid is right, you better put your kid into a real international kindergarten. My son studied in international pre-school, kindy and then primary school. Therefore he can fluently and confidently speaks in English, although I think his accent and grammar might not be as perfect as the caucasians.
Unlike local school, you can't prepare for international schools' admission assessments. But as long as your kid is willing to speak up and can speak proficiently in English, there should be no probem I think, for Year 1 assessment which little paper test will be conducted.

Ruby

cari

For the parents who have kids studying at GSIS, can you share you experience of how you prepare your kids in order to get into the school?  I know that fluency in English is very important.  I let my daughter to go to English preschool now but I do not think her English is as good as native speaker.  What did your kids do in order to be better in English?

cari