SIS收左亞囡啦！YEAH！

ikerberg

Ocean419:

(For K1 before SIS)
If you have determined to go for the IS Stream, Small World Christian School definitely is a good choice and should be enough... but if you have not yet determined whether to go for IS / traditional stream, it is suggested you should let your kid study one more good traditional school in AM, eg. Rhenish, SKH or St. Paul etc.  I believe doing this (not as what many others say) is not torturing your kid, but to grasp the best time for language learning to develop bilingual foundation for him/her.  Arranging the traditional school in AM is better cos' such schools consume more mental energy of the kid.  Small World at PM is just fun and kind of playing and doing interesting singing and art work, so less demanding on mental effort.  According to my son's experience, he settled himself perfectly OK by going to two schools in the past half year.  He loves both schools.

(For PN)
My son attended WISELY at Caine Road, the school was good at his time, but now many experienced teachers have left, so not sure if quality could be mantained.  
For my little twins (now 1.5 years), I have chosen Rosary Hill at Wanchai and fortunately they were both accepted.  According to some experienced kindergarten teachers in HK Island, Rosary Hill's PN is excellent.  I went to the school on the interview day and the school environment and infrastructure were excellent.  The quality of caring and teaching is yet to comment...

Mrs. Hamster, sorry that I have not done any 'research'  on the Kowloon side.  Maybe you can start a new post to invite comments.

Okiny - welcome, welcome!

[ 本帖最後由 ikerberg 於 11-2-12 04:38 編輯 ]

piglet123

is it too late to apply now?

ikerberg

you mean for PY1 starting from Aug 2011?

If yes, I suppose all interviews have been concluded.

rococo

Hi ikerberg

Thanks very much for your sharing and big congrats to you.  Did you mention the kid is attending two kindergartens on the application form?  Or did you just mention one?  

Many thanks.

Rococo

原帖由 ikerberg 於 11-2-12 19:25 發表
you mean for PY1 starting from Aug 2011?

If yes, I suppose all interviews have been concluded.

Ocean419

Ikerberg thanks sp much for your quick and thorough reply.  And yes I have decided that IS is the way to go for my boy and I won't even consider the local stream.  It is not that some $100k a year for the next 15 or so years is no big deal to us but I just really have no trust in the hk govt.'s attitude towards education for our next generation.  Together me and my husband have studied and worked in 4 countries and we have never seen anything as messed up as the hk system.  I believe that IS is the bst way to go especially when i think about 20 or 30 years from now those who will do well and the kind of skills that they will have gained from their education.  

Btw, did you look into esf kinder for you first child and now for your twins?  Will that provide a smooth transition with IS and also keep the door open to esf primary?n

原帖由 ikerberg 於 11-2-12 04:35 發表
Ocean419:

(For K1 before SIS)
If you have determined to go for the IS Stream, Small World Christian School definitely is a good choice and should be enough... but if you have not yet determined whet ...

ikerberg

Rococo,

Thanks!  

I did mention my son attending two kinders on the form. Why?
During my visit to SIS, a guide (supposed to be mainly responsible for enrollment of new students) told me something after my skillful questioning during 'leisure chat' and I try to quote what she said as follows :

"The competition for PY1's seats have been very keen in the past years.  Even some applicants with elder siblings studying there failed the interview.  The parents were just too relaxed to prepare for the interview.  Many parents now let their kids study a Chinese kinder and an English kinder so as to prepare for the interview"

So from what she said, I suppose showing you have let your kid study 2 kinders for better preparation of the interview is a PLUS)
In fact, for the interview, since I can't afford to lose, I did the first (and should be the last) portfolio for my son and in which I mentioned the purpose of letting my son study in one Chi kinder and one Eng kinder was to equip him with the bilingual foundation for smoother transition to SIS.

Ocean419:

The main reasons why I went for SIS instead of ESF:
(1) SIS Kinder has nearly 100% guarantee to get to SIS primary and secondary (except under very special circumstances). So, SIS is - "One take OK".  Haven't you heard of many sad stories about ESF primaries refused ESF kinder students? If the kid is really refused, what should the parents do?  Go for another IS? Traditional?  SIS? --- it would be too late if by then you decide to go for SIS since the seats for P1 of SIS are almost all reserved for SIS Kinder and if there are seats, Singaporeans are of top priority.  So, the best timing for entering SIS is PY1 -- definitely!

(2) We are local HK ppl, Non-Cat 1.  So, very difficult to get in ESF kinder/primary (regardless of the ability of my kid)

(3) Those ESF schools with better Chi education are located mostly at Kowloon or Shatin--- too far away for my familiy.  I heard of some ESF schools with bully / discipline problems, esp. those at HK Island.

(4) I have many colleagues having kids studying in ESF, I have been learning many of hearsay stories about ESF in the past 5 years and know quite well its strengths and weaknesses.  Compared to SIS, I won't say which one is stronger here, cos' I don't want to arouse endless debates in the forum.  But, I well understand the difference between the two and I know what education for my son I am looking for...

Since your kid is still small, I suggest you contrast the two by seeing it with your own eyes, i.e. to visit the schools, e.g. Open House/ Open Day etc.
and choose what is most suitable for your kid.

Good luck!

[ 本帖最後由 ikerberg 於 11-2-13 04:22 編輯 ]

Ocean419

wow you must have a very energetic girl who can handle a full day of school at the very young age. Does she still need a nap during the day and how do you fit that into her schedule with both kinder am and pm sessions?

The reason I am thinking about esf kinder for my boy is because I want him to build a very solid english foundation so that he will feel comfortable doing interviews at the IS.  Based on my research (please correct me if I am wrong since I have only started researching on schools in HK for less than a month), ESF kinder k1 starts at age of 3 while CIS and SIS start at 4, and ISF starts at 5.  This means that I can have him spend 1 year at ESF first then transfer him to the IS of my dream......what a rosy picture I am painting here@@  Btw, did you also consider the other IS such as CIS, ISF and GSIS?  Or you only had your mind on SIS?  

You are right that there is no guarantee on ESF p1 admission, and I am not sure if my boy will be considered cat 1 or cat 2.  We are english speaking family and my husband is also bilingual in Mandarin.  We have no intention to go out of our way to teach him cantonese, but for sure Mandarin training will start soon for him.  

Are there any other international kinder you could recommend, small world is not really convenient for us although I will consider moving if my boy gets admitted by one of the IS mentioned above.  

Once again congrats to your daughter and your family for such achievement.

原帖由 ikerberg 於 11-2-13 04:07 發表
Rococo,

Thanks!  

I did mention my son attending two kinders on the form. Why?
During my visit to SIS, a guide (supposed to be mainly responsible for enrollment of new students) told me something a ...

ikerberg

Ocean 419,

My eldest kid is a boy, not a gal and yes, he is very energetic, ultra-energetic --- you may say.

About the problem of taking a nap in PM... before starting two schools, yes, he sometimes still had to take a nap.  But, we tested if he could skip the nap by putting him to AM school followed by a two-hour English playgroup for 1-2 months last year.  We observed he could smoothly delay his nap time until after the playgroup.  The truth is for now, he doesnt have to sleep in day time and he sleeps at about 9 PM till 7 am peacefully and calmly almost every night.  We should believe human's possessing ability and flexibility to make adaptations...

Yes, I think you have got a smart plan in mind by putting your boy to ESF kinder which starts at 3.  Why not?  If you have advantage in the 'categorization' of ESF..

You may try ESF 'K1' (aged 3) and see if you would change to SIS PY1 (aged 4) or other IS...

Words of mouth for CIS, HKIS and GSIS are good, but I think they fall outside of my scope of consideration since I have to consider the budget of placing 3 kids to attend IS at the same time..... the figures of going to either of the 3 would be sky-high....

And, without having conducted indepth research on them, I have questions about the Chi. education such schools could provide..... My dream school is the one which could provide excellent education on both Eng and Chi (Mandarin).

For you, there are plenty of choices ahead, I just encourage you to search the links of such schools on the web and pay attention to the dates of Open Day for the schools.  Through which, you could judge from what you actually observe...

Best luck!
(Don't expect my dialogue with you would be like the one with an old friend...anyway, nice to meet you here!)

[ 本帖最後由 ikerberg 於 11-2-14 05:28 編輯 ]

Ocean419

oh sorry for getting confused with your son and another parent's girl in this thread.  And once again thanks for sharing your thoughts.  

I am planning on enrolling my son in 2-3 playgroups for a total of 3-4 lessons per week.  By this fall I will begin the pn application.  I don't have a concrete list of pn schools but the key point will be to train up his english so that he can nail the esf kinder interview next year, then move onto the IS interview the following year.  Before moving to HK, parenting seemed so easy but now being one in reality it is by far the most difficult task and this is just the beginning!  

Anyway, it has been a pleasure talking to you on this forum and yes it is great to find so much common language with stranger~  Please keep me posted with your son's experience with SIS and hope your twins can follow the same path.

ikerberg

Good to know that you already have such a smart plan in mind!

I believe the picture for HK's education need not be so 'bleak' .... good schools are still there...the point is whether one could identify those and choose the most suitable for their kids.

I think studying in HK is an advantage because HK is such an 'East-meets-West' society with freedom and quick flow of technology and knowledge.  So, I really prefer keeping my kids in HK, letting them study in the school we like, rather than sending them overseas at such a young age...

[ 本帖最後由 ikerberg 於 11-2-15 09:45 編輯 ]

Riesling

Hi ikerberg and all,

Sorry that it's been a long time I didn't log in and just read some many replies here, good to know more about the school! Btw, just know that it is about 1000 applicants for the 100 places! Everyone said this is very competitive this year than before!

ikerberg

Riesling,

Oh.. You heard that there were 1000 applicants?  Do you mind to tell me from what source you got the information?

Riesling

Hi ikerberg,

I heard it from one of the current student's parent, should be true!

:)

Oinky

sorry for being ignorant, but apart from the $ diff, what is the difference between corporate and personal debenture?

ikerberg

As a kind of fringe benefit, some companies would buy debentures for their staff, esp. those coming from overseas, for the purpose of using it in IS schools.   The staff themselves do not have to buy it themselves in such case.

So, if you are not lucky enough to work in such companies, you ve got to buy personal debentures.

ikerberg

I registered for my son yesterday.  Have you all done the same already?

getsmart

Not yet. Still thinking.

ikerberg

when is the scheduled date of registration in your case?

SiuSam

Hi, ikerbert

May I know how old to start PY1? 5 yr-old?

Should apply for PY1 when a kid is 4 yr-old?

When did ur son start both school? is it too hard for such young kid?

Thanks

原帖由 ikerberg 於 11-2-8 22:09 發表
Mrs. Hamster,

My son's case: PY1 will start in August 2011

We applied at around early Sept 2010; school tour arranged by SIS in the same month.

Interview arranged in Jan 2011.

Result received befo ...

ikerberg

Siu Sum,

PY1 = K2 = 4 years old

Application shall start about one year before school admission, i.e. for example in my son's case, when my son just started K1 in Sept 2010, I started to file the application and interview was conducted in Feb 2011.  

My son started two kinders in K1.  Whether it will be difficult depends on the kid.  But, as I noted in my son case, he got adapted very quickly.  

Pls note that on 9 April, SIS will hold an "Open House".  I highly recommend you to go and see it by yourself to assess if SIS would be suitable for your kid.  We will go there again even though my son has been accepted and registered.

Best luck,

ikerberG