Kingston vs IMS

aspirant99

Got Kingston PM offer and IMS AM offer, for Pre-Nursery. Any suggestions on which one to choose? Many thanks!

jolalee

Welcome to my world! (and i in yours) I'm choosing between IMS & another school which hopefully will give us a confirmation very soon. When are your deadlines to make a decision?

Apologies i'm not as familiar with Kingston and tried to find info online, does Kingston has a secondary section? It is mainly primary, is it?

If it is just kindie+primary vs. kindie+primary, then you must ask yourself which curriculum do you believe in more. Personally i love montessori way over PYP, as PYP is known to be academically weak. Both systems rely heavily on how the teacher guide the students, so having close communication with your class teacher is quite vital in both cases (and the luck of having good teachers).

Regarding Montessori, i have had my concerns with whether upper primary works in a Montessori setting, and if the students will have adaptation issues going from Montessori to a mainstream secondary school. After much research, talking to teachers and school visit to their primary section, i found that IMS does a great job on helping their students transition to mainstream secondary schools. They have their ways to ensure the students cover everything they need to learn on a week to week basis, so that the entire syllabus is covered. Their mandarin program is also amazingly effective. As you probably know, IMS has students graduating into some top IS in HK, especially those with a strong Chinese curriculum.

However, 8 years down the line i can foresee that the international secondary school competition is even more fierce than now, and many LS parents will be prepared to fight by then. If you can find a school with a secondary department, i'd say you go for it. That's the advice i'd give myself although it'd be hard to tear away from Montessori. My son has been in a Montessori school since age 1 and it has benefited him tremendously.  


If you are just looking at the present and might 'jump ship' in the future, then i'd say Montessori in terms of both knowledge & character building, unless he/she is especially shy or have concentration issues. (Since Montessori is very much 'work on your own', very shy kids may not learn sufficient social skills although his/her etiquette will be impeccable. Kids who cannot hold still to focus on their work may not benefit as much in the short run, but in the long run they will learn to concentrate better in a Montessori setting-- my son is that case)

Mrspasta

I got am offer but super big baby

ivywhchan

Thanks Jolalee.  I also exactly has the same concern as yours - whether it is difficult for my son to transfer to mainstream secondary schools or even of IB schools.  However, this is a rather long term thing and I try to tell myself ig my son can fiy into the Montessori environment, he will develop into a good person and that's the most I want him to be.

My other concern is that he is not very good at concentration.  He has been in  Montessori playgroup 3 times a week, 2 hours everytime since he was 18 months (he is now 21 months).  Sometimes he can works on the Montessori toys for over 30 minutes but most of the time, he just walk around the room or touch the toy for 5 months then he will lose interest.  I have been trying to find a way to develop his concentration skill.  I believe this probably a matter of time and when he gets older, he may be able to work on the toys for longer.  Can you share your experience?  

Seperately, do you know if all the kindergarten students in IMS has a direct admission to its primary school?
Many thanks!

sharons

在找資料多瞭解IMS 時無意中發現此舊文，想問問大家睇法

http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/news/art/20140225/18636835

Garfield_cats

May I know if you directly apply for Kingston PG or Pre-nursery?  How long do u have to wait？ thanks.

aspirant99

We applied Kingston playgroup when our baby 4 months old. And got PN interview one year later.

jolalee

aspirant99 發表於 14-3-15 01:38
We applied Kingston playgroup when our baby 4 months old. And got PN interview one year later.

Aspiran, has your child ever been in a Montessori setting? Do you practice the Montessori methods at home? How you view Montessori should great determine how you choose your school as well.

jolalee

ivywhchan 發表於 14-3-14 14:11
Thanks Jolalee.  I also exactly has the same concern as yours ...

"whether it is difficult for my son to transfer to mainstream secondary schools or even of IB schools."
From what i see, IMS do help the kids transition. How the kids do after they move on, that's something i'd love to know as well. I think IMS will post a vid up on their website soon on testimonials from the alumni. I look forward to seeing it.

"if my son can fit into the Montessori environment, he will develop into a good person and that's the most I want him to be."
Me too. Of course we cannot be too idealistic, but the training can definitely help with concentration, self-initiation & inner-understandings. However, we need to be realistic too, as 8-10 years down the line, the IS competition at the secondary level will be unimaginable. If you can find a fairly good through-train school, stick to it... (although i'm still struggling)

"My other concern is that he is not very good at concentration... Sometimes he can works on the Montessori toys for over 30 minutes but most of the time, he just walk around the room or touch the toy for 5 months then he will lose interest..."
Over 30 minutes? That's pretty amazing already. Before age 2, expect the kids to just bum around. It's more getting used to the environment than anything else. Once they reach Casa (at K1 level) you will see the huge difference.
"I believe this probably a matter of time and when he gets older, he may be able to work on the toys for longer."
You are absolutely correct. In my case, with my son diagnosed with sensory integration issues, a bit of occupational therapy help assist him in neural development and calm down better, but most kids grow out of it anyway :)

"do you know if all the kindergarten students in IMS has a direct admission to its primary school?"
Yes they do. The teachers (guides) work with all students and help them fulfill all requirements. Montessori do not set a benchmark and get rid of all kids who doesn't meet their standards. Not at this level, at least.

jolalee

sharons 發表於 14-3-14 14:32
在找資料多瞭解IMS 時無意中發現此舊文，想問問大家睇法

http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/news/art/201402 ...

Sharon, thanks for sharing. This is indeed alarming and must take into consideration when considering this school.
Having the basic teaching licenses is the bottom line but it doesn't ensure that person is a good teacher; but the school covering certain facts from the parents, that's what's worrying.

ivywhchan

Thanks jolalee for sharing

aspirant99

Jolalee,
Thanks very much for sharing!
My daughter has never been in Montesorri before and she is currently in Victoria Playgroup.
She is quick and very smart, can speak long sentences at age of 1yr and 10 months. She is a bit shy when facing strangers but in her playgroup class, she is totally fine interacting with teachers and classmates.

elmostoney

aspirant99

I imagine Kingston is a regular kindy vs. IMS (montessori) is something completely different.  #1 question is - are you familiar with Montessori?  If you are not, you will find that Montessori practice is very different from your expectations, and therefore, may not be to your liking.  If you already know Montessori, then you can ask yourself what is THE most important to YOU - type of schooling, through-train, student mix, or even how much your child will benefit from different settings.  An open-ended question as such is very difficult to answer if we don't know your preference.  

When my husband and I were choosing a school for our kids, we used to list down the pros and cons of each school and discuss which points were the most important to us.  Perhaps you could start from here.

jolalee

aspirant99 發表於 14-3-19 15:35
Jolalee,
Thanks very much for sharing!
My daughter has never been in Montesorri before and she is c ...

Your daughter and my son are similar, that they both spoke in full sentences before age 2. I guess the difference is that my child warms up quickly, and sometimes naughty as boys are. His behaviour has improved a lot ever since he started going to class on his own though, thanks to his strict Montessori teacher whom i deeply appreciate.

If you are not familiar with Montessori, then you definitely need to do more research and visitation. It is very different from main stream international kindergartens, something even some of my expat friends do not comprehend. The learning process in Montessori is quite organic, so it is may not suit parents who expect a more uniform curriculum.

I totally agree with Elmostoney. List out your main criteria first. ie. For us, #1 is a through-train school with strong enough academic without beating the love of learning out of children; #2 character building in terms of fairness/merciful/humility; #3 sufficient mandarin for him to read newspaper & write paragraphs in Chinese by primary graduation. Every family is different so i suggest you think hard what is important for your family and write them down.

You can then check how well each school fit your list. If in doubt, post your criteria out and we can see how they fit in accordance what the general public know about each school. All the best!

ivywhchan

Just finished interview in IMS.  My son did not perform well. In fact, i wanted to step out the moment he went in the school.  I guess now is probably not up to me to choose which school to put my son in but in fact which school he is able to get in....

aspirant99

Thanks Elmontony and Jolalee, very helpful suggestions.
We buy-in the methodology of Montessori, we just wonder the real outcome of students who has gone through this training. Are they happy with it? Did they learn the way of learning (better than IB and local)? Are they social and outgoing? Did they get basic discipline training?
And specifically for IMS kindergarten, where the graduates leave for other than IMS primary? We are targeting top IS like CIS, HKIS, SIS and CDNIS, and we just wonder will it have better chance than Kingston.

elmostoney

ivywhchan, it was a hard lesson that I had to swallow.  I was looking at my target school(s) and learned the hard way that competition is FIERCE for most IS.  So it's not up to you or what you like.  It's up to the school.  Even for aspirant99, I suggest that you look into a few more options in the future when you plan for primary or secondary.  Since your kids are younger than mine, they will face more intense competition from mainland Chinese.

I have been going to the open house at IMS primary regularly or taking my kids there for interviews, etc. -- well, at least once a year when they were still in Wanchai.  The last time that I went was in 2012.  My last visit yielded a great surprise.  I have never seen IMS with so many mainland Chinese parents at their open house before.  So you can imagine what goes on with the hotter IS. The last time I heard, schools such as CIS (reception) prefers to take Chinese students with a strong command of Mandarin - not even English - because they have enough of those applicants.  There are just too many local and foreign applicants who speak good English.

I am not familiar with Kingston.  Is it an IS? What is the ratio of foreign students vs. local?  IMS is very international in its student body.  I cannot say where their primary graduates go.  Secondary IS don't take students based on primary affiliation.  Admission is solely based on admission test results or other abilities (or donation - for certain IS - if the amount is significant.)  Each child's performance is different.  I have heard of IMS graduates going to CIS, RC, etc.  I guess it depends on an individual's ability and the number of vacancies available.  If you want to find out, I suggest that you call IMS directly.

elmostoney

即使montessori, 也一樣有hea 的學生.  其實小朋友學成點, 好睇佢自己.  個人認為 montessori training下, 小朋友的discipline其實更好, 因為佢地更自由, 要係自由中守法, 其實比有人成日監管住更難, 而我覺得montessori小朋友學會守規則同尊重別人係發自內心, 一般本地學校就係靠罸靠嚇, 所以你去school visit IMS小學, 可能會覺得佢地好散漫, 但我覺得訓練小朋友自發性自覺性嘅得著比有人控制住, 到一冇人睇住就失控高出幾班.

其實social同outgoing呢樣野, 都係個別小朋友唔同, 物野學校都會有怕羞d嘅人, 又會有d outgoing d嘅人, 不過如你個小朋友係好怕羞, 好似我個咁, 我唔建議讀.  我個細仔學術同行為係好夾montessori, 佢4歲已可專注坐係到做個半小時一樣工作, 連老師都話好少呢個age小朋友咁, 而且佢數學理解好好 (montessori 強項. 佢到而家math都好好), 但佢太怕羞, 唔同同學傾計, 就算碰到面都好似唔識咁, 所以我諗左好耐, 決定佢唔可以咁落去, 所以先轉左佢出來.

至於學習方式比ib或local, 其實都係個句, 先多了解montessori, 你就可以作比較.  每個人喜好不同, 所以一言難盡.  諗得montessori 嘅人, 根本就唔會buy local school.  Montessori  其實比 IB 更活.

elmostoney

至於IB嘛, 我對小朋友太IB唔buy. I just think that it's crazy.  I know some IB primary schools put a lot of emphasis on projects such that parents have to help.  The subject matter and the research skills required are completely out of bounds for a Y1/Y2 child.  So what's the point?  Parents doing the hw?  Parents learning?  I just find it ridiculous.  Sorry, I completely disagree with the IB fad for primary, especially for kids under 10.  Kids will learn to read and write, do their own research when the time comes, but not during the early primary years.  

jolalee

ivywhchan 發表於 14-3-20 14:13
Just finished interview in IMS.  My son did not perform well. In fact, i wanted to step out the mome ...

Ivy, may i know how old is your child right now? Is she around 2, trying for casa (K1) in IMS?
If that's the case, i'd like to share my personal experience:

My son is currently 3 years old, so a year ago we tried both CDNIS & IMS (and ESF) for K1 or equivalent. Unfortunately, he failed all interviews except ESF (ESF is more a lottery, and we got in after being wait listed forever) The main reason why he failed the interviews were because he was sick right before the interviews, so he was not in the mood to listen to the teachers, plus i didn't prepare he well enough.

This year, i made sure he remained healthy throughout Jan-mid March (although he still had a mild flu going into the IMS's interview), plus i told him what he was supposed to do within the interview (listen to the teacher etc.) He had 3 interviews and received offers from all 3 schools (for K2/K1 or equivalent; he is Nov born so some schools accept him as K2, some as K1). My point is, yes, often it is up to the school to pick the kids in HK, but at the same time, DO NOT GIVE UP!! Experiences you gained this year will be your ammunition next year. It is not an easy battle, but keep at it and your child will find a good school that fits her/him.