KCIS & ISF, which one should I choose?

panala

My daughter is now attending KCIS Reception and she was accepted by ISF for Foundation Year in 2011/12.
She is happy and doing well in KCIS now.  I also  heard that the the school had a quite good IB result last year. Thus, we have to reconsider again whether to let her attend ISF or not.  It may not be so easy to return to KCIS later as it is becoming more and more popular.

Any advice?

Thanks in advance.

babyvince

Thanks Panala and kfy.  Glad to hear that the interview was a relaxed one.  Would you mind if I pm you for more info about the school later on, perhaps after the school term starts?  I do not know any ISF parents but would like to hear more comments about the school from existing parents.  My kid is only 2.5 yrs old so I have more than one year to prepare him (and myself) for the interview.

panala

Agree with you and that's why it's hard to decide whether to leave KCIS or not.  But no doubt, I will recommend KCIS to others.

原帖由 moca 於 11-4-1 22:03 發表
I would like to say, KCIS is doing their education work with their heart and a passion for teaching. Not like most international schools where money is the main issue and more important than anything  ...

moca

I would like to say, KCIS is doing their education work with their heart and a passion for teaching. Not like most international schools where money is the main issue and more important than anything else, that’s why KCIS does not have a five star facility. If they requested parents to pay a debenture, I won’t have a doubt they would able to provide better facilities. Remember you get what you pay. Most important is my child learns well and plays happily at KCIS.

panala

My answer is the same as kfy.

kfy

We do not have the capital notes.

There were two stages of interviews for Foundation Year admission. The first round was a group interview for the kids. I remembered there were around 5 kids per group interviewed by at least two teachers (one Mandarin and one English speaking) . It was like a playgroup session. My kid recalled there were activities such as storytelling, drawing, puzzle, and some games. The atmosphere should be quite relax.   
The 2nd round was a parent child meeting.

babyvince

Hi Panala and kfy

Congratutions!  ISF is one of my target schools.  However there is not much information from the existing ISF parents that could be found here.  Would you mind sharing with us how the interview conducted for the foundation class?  Have you guys bought the capital notes?

panala

Then our children maybe classmates.  Nice to meet you.

原帖由 kfy 於 11-3-24 07:46 發表


Glad to hear that !
I have also sent back the confirmation form to ISF yesterday.

kfy

原帖由 panala 於 11-3-23 14:51 發表
Thank you for all valuable opinions.  After our visit to ISF last Saturday and further discussion with my husband, most probably we will accept ISF's offer this week.

Glad to hear that !
I have also sent back the confirmation form to ISF yesterday.

cowmoon

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[ 本帖最後由 cowmoon 於 11-3-24 07:41 編輯 ]

annie40

Good and Congratulations!  My very best friend works there.  She's  a teacher extraordinaire.  Feel free to ask me questions if needed.

annie

panala

annie40,

Got it, but don't know why I cannot reply your message.

Thank you for your advice.

原帖由 annie40 於 11-3-18 14:47 發表
Panala,

I've emailed you the school informations.

annie

panala

Thank you for all valuable opinions.  After our visit to ISF last Saturday and further discussion with my husband, most probably we will accept ISF's offer this week.

kfy

Panala

I have done more research on ISF, including asking friends for referrals to previous or existing ISF parents. Comments I heard are pretty good. It's not saying that ISF is a perfect school, but a school that can match my needs. I think ISF is like an experimental type of school wishing to find their own way.

On the other hand, I have a friend who even bought ISF's capital note so that her kid will have a higher chance to get in. Of course it's only a matter of personal choice.  

For choosing between KCIS and ISF, I cannot give any comment as I have not done any research on KCIS. Just heard in this thread that KCIS should be a very good school too. I just think that if both schools are very same and can't say which one is superior, why bother change ?

My case is rather simple. I only applied for CIS and ISF. Unless I hear good news from CIS, which is very unlikely, I do not need to struggle.

annie40

Panala,

I've emailed you the school informations.

annie

原帖由 panala 於 11-3-18 01:23 發表
I’m interested in ISF for a number of years already.  From its information or other promotional materials, it’s really an ideal school for me.  Therefore, I want to put my kids in ISF.  

Since then ...

JarJarBin

I also has some to share about KCIS.  My son has studies in KCIS from K1 up to now (P2).  I also think that KCIS is not a famous school and worry about it's academic result in secondary school since it didn't post the details of its result.  It tells a total % of A*-C of IGCE only.  Actually, C grade is only a pass grade in IGCE.  It is really nothing.  It would be better if it can tell how many students got A, B & C separatly.  Not just a total number.  And also, the student number is too small to tell the average performance.

On the other hand, I heard some parents chating on the X'mas show in KCIS.  Their children are transferred from ISF and Marynoll.  I don't know if ISF good or not.  I just want to tell what I heard.

annie40

Hi Panala,

Why not consider CIS?   It's a renowned school.   

annie

原帖由 panala 於 11-3-18 01:23 發表
I’m interested in ISF for a number of years already.  From its information or other promotional materials, it’s really an ideal school for me.  Therefore, I want to put my kids in ISF.  

Since then ...

bigears

Oh, one more thing, last year they said two of their students got admitted to Oxford Uni.  I think their academic result is getting better.

My only complain about the school is their campus, quite old....

bigears

Panala, I shared the same feelings with you.  My daughter is now studying at K1 and like you and your husband, my husband and myself also just think KCIS was so-so and have applied for K2 in other international schools.  Now we also thinking may be we should let her stay in KCIS as she is very happy at school and said she would like to go to KCIS no matter day or night.  

Also my daughter is very troublesome (not willing to join the group, always stay at the reading corner to read books, not answering any questions of the teacher, doesn't want to follow rountine) at class and the school referred us to see a developmental psy who has then given a lot of recommendations to the school.  We thought the school would not take those recommendations but it turns out that the school is very supportive and our daughter has made great improvements lately.  I also started to love the schools and thinking may be we should let her stay.

From learning perspective, just one week after she has been at KCIS, she started to sing a lot of Mandarin songs and now can speak simple sentence in Mandarin (Her mother tounge is English) and could recognise some Chinese characters.