YMCA Int'l Kindergarten (TST)

alunsweeney

各位有心為小朋友申請is的家長，有沒有都報了ymca (tst) 呢?

學費是$4680 (包snack、書) ，沒有雜費(除了書包及校服)。

那名秘書說waiting list多到滿天飛，你們有沒有什麼意見。

1)老師素質 - 一班有3個老師
2)學生素質 - 日本、亞洲、及香港人為主
3)學校與家長的聯繫情況 - 只依賴communcation book足夠嗎?

thank You.

myjasmine

My girl is now studying in YMCA.  There are 3 teachers in her class, actually the nos of teachers depend on the numbers of students in a class.  Some are bigger classes while some are smaller classes. One teacher is an American, one is indian and the other one is a Chinese, i guess.  They are all very caring and loving.
Most of the students are English speaking and there are lots of Japanese and Indian and i feel the English standard of the students are quite good.
Communication Book is the official communication between the school and the parents.  But if you have any questions, you can talk to them anytime and they are all good teachers.  So i do not think communication is a problem there.  They will also try to discuss with you if they found any problem with your kid at school.
In conclusion, i found this is a good school.  My daughter studied in Kingston before and i like the teachers in YMCA more.  The only drawback is i found the classroom and the school area are pretty small, but the supporting facilities e.g. gym, podium playground and swimming pool are perfect!

Onsen

Right!  You can't beat the big swimming pool and the gym, together with their regular professional trainers.  

If you are thinking of joining a Caucasians majority kindergarten, then this is not for you because most of the kids are Indians, HK locals, Japanese and others.  However, all the kids speak good English.

In terms of the precentage of students going to ESF and other ISs, I heard that some do go to Quarry Back ESF and SJS.  No idea the exact number though.  If you do qualify for Catagory 1, you have nothing to fear by going to YMCA.  However, if you belong to Cat. 2, then you should choose ESF's kindergartens for safer bet.

There is only one Caucasian head teacher at YMCA.  However, that may be enough for just a few classes.

Good luck!

mirrorng

alunsweeney

各位有心為小朋友申請is的家長，有沒有都報了ymca (tst) 呢?
Yes, I did & registered.

學費是$4680 (包snack、書) ，沒有雜費(除了書包及校服)。
school bag $90, uniform $110/set

那名秘書說waiting list多到滿天飛，你們有沒有什麼意見。
I think other kinders had the same situation cause most parents applied for at least 3 schools.

1)老師素質 - 一班有3個老師
They're caring & nice, my son attend the Pre-K & cried for the first week. I saw a teacher stay w/ him at all time & watched the view through the window together so to relax him. They also help my son to quit the diaper & since then, he even didn't need the diaper at the nap time.

2)學生素質 - 日本、亞洲、及香港人為主
They do showed the class photos at the reception area & I did the counting: 50%> Chinese (I couldn't defined the Korean name w/ the Chinese one cause they're similar), others are Japanese, Indian & Western...etc

3)學校與家長的聯繫情況 - 只依賴communcation book足夠嗎?
Other than the communication book, u r welcome to talk to the class teacher as I always do. They're being nice & patient to listen & answer to u. They also call me when my son's sick leave for 3 days.

thank You
U r welcome

[ 本帖最後由 mirrorng 於 09-3-3 18:54 編輯 ]

Onsen

To correct previous mistake:  YMCA has 100% success rate in gainning acceptance to Renaissance College for its students.  This is extraordinary provided the keen competition for ESF's space this year.  That means if RC or other similar ESF are your objective, then YMCA would be a good bet.

yyto

What is the difference between Anfield & YMCA?  Which one has a higher chance to get into ESF?

原帖由 Onsen 於 09-3-4 22:25 發表
To correct previous mistake:  YMCA has 100% success rate in gainning acceptance to Renaissance College for its students.  This is extraordinary provided the keen competition for ESF's space this year. ...

alunsweeney

Jasmine

1) 校內的紀律問題如何?

2) 小朋友一個星期學普通話一次，他/她願意學嗎?

3) k1/k2才開始學jolly phonics嗎?

4) 學校的宗教意識如何?

5) 小朋友的英文水平你滿意嗎?

謝

原帖由 myjasmine 於 09-3-2 19:34 發表
My girl is now studying in YMCA.  There are 3 teachers in her class, actually the nos of teachers depend on the numbers of students in a class.  Some are bigger classes while some are smaller classes. ...

myjasmine

1) 校內的紀律問題如何?

I found the kids are well behaved there.

2) 小朋友一個星期學普通話一次，他/她願意學嗎?

Do not expect too much.  Just something like 15 or 30 mins.  As far as i understand, the teacher will sing or tell story, so i do not think there is much for them to learn, just better than none.

3) k1/k2才開始學jolly phonics嗎?

K1 and the progress is not bad.

4) 學校的宗教意識如何?

They have bible telling and they will pray before snack.  The school also always encourage helping others and charity.

5) 小朋友的英文水平你滿意嗎?

absoultely yes.

Onsen

I have no idea about Anfield so that I have no comment on it.  For YMCA, I think almost all kids would register for ESF regular schools and RC and DC.  In case one fail ESF, there is still a back up of RC or DC.  (RC and DC must accept over 70% of HKID card holders.)  If they stressed only about the acceptance rate for RC, without mentioning about the regular ESF schools, then the failure rate for ESF schools must be pretty high.  However, some do get into QBS because of sibling connection though.  

In reality, competition at ESF schools is getting tougher and tougher.  I read from expatbaby site that many native English speaking families didn't even getting the chance for interview.  Some native speakers even got turned down after the interview.  

Some comments from Expatbaby site:

"Bearing in mind we fall into Category 1 and did not get an interview - does anyone know of any Category 2 getting interviews with Bradbury?"

"Just saw a friend in the supermarket. Her son also did not get an interview at Bradbury. Both parents are US citizens."

"I see QBS school bus every morning, and inside the bus, the students are almost HK kids. It is true that in ESF, there are so many HK students. I do not know why."

"Hi, I am a mother of 4 year old kid who unfortunatelly failed the interview..., and the teachers all say that my kid is fluent in English,"

The situation is getting scary.  If I were you, I would ask the school about the number of kids got accepted at the regular ESF, RC or DC and other similar international schools.

[ 本帖最後由 Onsen 於 09-3-6 11:23 編輯 ]

yyto

Thanks for the detailed info!

原帖由 Onsen 於 09-3-5 23:18 發表
I have no idea about Anfield so that I have no comment on it.  For YMCA, I think almost all kids would register for ESF regular schools and RC and DC.  In case one fail ESF, there is still a back up o ...

alunsweeney

有沒有小朋友在YMCA Int'l Kindergarten讀了3年書再轉去直資?

alunsweeney

YMCA - kid: teacher ratio

15 人/class in K1 (3班)

15 – 25 人/class in K2 (2班)

15-20 人 /class in K3 (1班)

有沒有2009的ymca的家長可以傾下?

happybilly

We have decided to let our girl go to the pre-K class this year even though we got offer for other more popular local kindies.

Can anyone share their experience with the pre-K class? What do you think of their teaching and the progress of your child after attending the pre-K?

Is it guaranteed entry to K1 for their pre-K students?

Why do you choose ESF schools for primary sch? How are they different to International schools apart from the tuition fees?

Sorry, I have so many Q's...thank you in advance!!

oooray

原帖由 happybilly 於 09-4-2 10:13 發表
We have decided to let our girl go to the pre-K class this year even though we got offer for other more popular local kindies.

Can anyone share their experience with the pre-K class? What do you thi ...

Before u make (even u have made) the decision of going to any (real) Int'l Kindergarten, u need to think about the coming 14-17 years of your journey; that will be totally different from what you will experience if u are choosing local stream.
That is a big project (beyond $$$).
Read more threads in this forum you will find a lot of information...
Good Luck!

happybilly

ooray, did your child attend YMCA or other international kindergarten?

can you share your experience of int'l vs. local schools?

many thanks!

oooray

原帖由 happybilly 於 09-4-2 15:08 發表
ooray, did your child attend YMCA or other international kindergarten?

can you share your experience of int'l vs. local schools?

many thanks!

my daughter was in YMCA playgroup only then switch to another IS coz (personally feeling) its premise does not like a school.
Experience in IS & Local? i have quite a lot. Your question is too broad. I can share for 3 days and 3 nights long. Please specify your question(s).

happybilly

How about the teachers at YMCA? Are they professional and caring? When I visited the school, the teachers seem very friendly. However, there isn't much discussion on the web about it so would appreciate your first-hand comments!

My major concern on int'l schools is the student's discipline as I have heard many stories of their students' bad behaviours and their carefree approach. eg. is it true that the teachers would not do anything if students do not do homework or worst if they are being bullied/beaten by other students at school?

原帖由 oooray 於 09-4-2 23:02 發表

my daughter was in YMCA playgroup only then switch to another IS coz (personally feeling) its premise does not like a school.
Experience in IS & Local? i have quite a lot. Your question is too broad. ...

oooray

原帖由 happybilly 於 09-4-3 16:00 發表
How about the teachers at YMCA? Are they professional and caring? When I visited the school, the teachers seem very friendly. However, there isn't much discussion on the web about it so would apprecia ...

YMCA teachers: comments are good amongst BK parents if you don't mind "color" - Indian Teachers ratio were high when my daughter were in the playgroup (my first hand comment may be "expired" already!)
Regarding your concern in Discipline, as one of IS fans, I will never agree what u heard can be simply categorized by IS & non-IS students. Such things do happen from band 1 to band 5 (band 3 now) amongst local schools; and do happen in IS.
No school can guarantee no such things will happen except "no school"

mabel_leung

Dear All

May I know if I prefer to let my child to local school, thus YMCA still a good choice for me?  Does YMCA offer Cantonese/Putonghua stream in Pre-K?

My child had been offered a place in Pre-K, I am wondering whether I should put him in YMCA as I would like to apply local primary school like Ying Wa, SFA for him.

Thank you very much for sharing.

Williamhero2009

I assure you this is one of the best. Teachers there are truely classified as caring, patient. My girl studied there before. Then, we have to move to TP and we sent her to Hong Lok Yuen International. As you may know the majority in HLY are foeigners, they always think my girl's english standard is fine given that bot my wife and I are not native engilsh speaker. Besides, even my girl left school for 6 months, her previous teacher at YMCA still gave us a call asking her progress in other school. What more you can ask for? I fully appreciate those lovely teachers in YMCA.