Any info about ICS kindie???

luluonthemoon

My child will take an interview in ICS next week and I would like to ask for any information about ICS kindergarten, such as students ratio, teachers, and what they're teaching. Although I've browsed their website, I'm soooo keen for direct opinions from ICS moms! Thanks a lot for your sharing!!

kkws

My kid study R2.  He studied K1 at Creative Primary School Kindergarten in Oxford Street.  
He likes to go to ICS and he enjoys his time with his classmates.  His listening improves a lot.  Languages other than English are not encouraged in class.  His classmates include Korean, Japanese, American and Chinese from HK & mainland China.

Teacher teaches them a lot of things and once went to field trip nearby.  She likes to show parents what she teaches and we felt her passion.

Parents are welcomed to celebrate their child’s birthday.  In fact many parents did.  I went to celebrate my son’s birthday some time ago and found his classmates (especially boys) are active.

Biblical teaching is dominant.  My son knows stories & songs about Adam, Noah, Moses, Joseph, Abraham & Jesus.  ICS stress on reading and handwriting for R2 is simple.

A survey form was distributed to all parents regarding supplementary Chinese lessons.  It seems ICS is thinking of adding Chinese lesson on the class.

I am satisfied with ICS.  But you can browse other adverse comment here about this school some time ago.

luluonthemoon

Thank you so much, kkws!! This is what I really would like to know.

It's good to know that they seem to have a mixture
of different nationalities and emphasize English, since we want her to improve her English first to facilitate the entrance of international primary schools.
But the notion of their adding Chinese actually surprises me a bit. Well, that may be how the trend goes these days...

Do they offer the parents the chance to visit the class from time to time? Their emphasis of  parents' involvement has really attracted me so far. From your comment, the teacher of your son has built a good relationship with the parents. Do you see this is common to the other teachers?

Biblical teaching! This could sound good or not in some sense... To tell the truth, since none of us is christian, we're a bit concerned about "too much" bible staff. And they say the children are supposed to memorize the verse in R1 class. Do they actually assess the children for this? Like testing them if they have really learned it by heart?? How about the songs they sing in the class? Do they teach the regular nursery songs like "wheels on the bus"? Do they also teach the children hymns?

I've seen some comments looking at ICS from the other side, and that's what's made me want to know a lot more about it. Your comment has really helped me so far. Thank you!!!

kkws

So far we had two parent-teacher meetings in the classroom.  The class teacher is happy to show us all around the classroom.
I don't know if the good relationship between children and teachers are common or not.
I don't see my son will memorise the bible verse.  I remembered there was no bible knowledge required or tested in my son's interview with The Principle last year.
Regarding the traditional songs, I don't know if children sing these songs in the class.  I did not see the lyrics at the teaching materials that are available to all parents at the ICS intranet.  Hymn is a must and my son learnt almost a hymn a week.  In fact, my son has already known these traditional songs before he goes to ICS as we bought a box of 4 VCDs all about these songs, even though he is not very familiar.  
I think singing is common in the class as Christianity is a singing religion.  My son's teacher likes singing to encourage children only speaking in English in the class and explains to them that is why your parents send them to ICS.

hangkeelong

Dear kkws,

Is your child take the school bus? If yes, is the service good?

kkws

I have no idea because my son is a walker, not bus rider.

luluonthemoon

kkws, thanks a lot for your comment again! That was really encouraging. I hope the would-be teacher of my daughter is also as passionate and caring as your son's.
Actually, a part of my image toward the school is kinda "snobbish" as someone mentioned in the separate thread. But now I really want to give it a try with my daughter.

hangkeelong, is your child going to take an interview as well? Or already accepted? My daughter is suppose to take a school bus since we live in Ma On Shan and I'm concerned how long it really takes to and from the school. I'd better ask them next week at the interview....

hangkeelong

我仔仔兩歲半, 上年十月報名讀K1, 但現在還未有通知 interview. 我非常擔心, 查詢過, 話要等電話, 你小朋友 interview 未? 難唔難?

Ruby1219

My son is now in K.2 and had passed the interview of ICS for Pre-Grade 1. We submitted the form in mid of last year and got the interview in Jan this year. I guess my son has a little priority as he has been studying in international school since playgroup to kindergarten.
For the pre-Grade 1 interview, it's one on one and he has to be interviewed by two persons, one man (seems is their principal) and one woman, both are foreigners. My son said they asked him quite a lot of questions including colors, shapes and even simple maths. I guess, since the interview is one on one and with foreigners, the kid must be proficient in English and not shy.

That's all I know. Hope it helps.

Ruby

luluonthemoon

My daughter just finished the interview 2 days ago and we haven't heard from them yet about the result. For R1 interview, it's also similar to what Ruby1219's son had, but no math knowledges. They did allow one of the parents to go into the room with another pair of a child and a parent. 2 foreigners took charge of each child and my daughter talked to the principal. She let my child play with some puzzles in different shapes, colors, and animals. Then she asked my child to pick the right one by asking "can you show me the circle?", "what shape is this?"
Then, they let both children draw with crayons. Seems that they want to see if the child knows basic English words, how long and how well the child can focus on one thing and follow the simple instructions and questions. At last the principal read one story to them....the other teacher looked at both about how they behaved and reacted to the story and the questions. Luckily, my child has attended a nursery and is used to listening to stories. She made a lot of responses and the principal said "good job!" But, according to the coordinator, their morning class is almost full at the moment, 'cause lot of the siblings have already enrolled (I knew that they had done the interviews for the siblings in Jan. and started the interviews in Feb. for newcomers). To my daughter, it's impossible to stay in the afternoon class as she's been an early bird since birth and needs some nap in the early afternoon... So they said they would file the request for a possbile arrangement and let us know. I hope everything goes well..... otherwise, we have to think again from the scratch!!!

hangkeelong, your child hasn't got any news yet, has he? (Sorry, I do lack the understanding of written Chinese...)
You can try calling them how they have proccessed your application. But if he goes for R1, please note that their morning class is full......

God bless all the children!!  

Ruby1219

According to our experience, we got the confirmation for admission very quickly. We had the interview on Thursday and got the letter on Saturday. But I think your case is special as you requested the am class.
Actually, we'd already paid the reservation fee, which is quite expensive. But we would probably choose Phoenix if my son got the place.

Ruby

hangkeelong

I phoned to the school today. The coodinator said there is only a few seats in pm class. They may choose the children who has siblings studying in this school first. They perfer English speaking children. Since my son has no siblings, English is not his first language, he born in August,2002 (they like the elder one), he put into the waiting list. She said I have to know the interview need $1000. She didn't want me to waste money. I told her my son can speak English quite well. She said you may have the interview if you like. The group interview will be held on next Monday, with 2 children. I accepted the interview. But I'm not happy with that. It seemed that I beg for the interview. I had a school visit last year. I asked the principal if I and my son can not speak English well, is it good to study in international school? She said it is OK. Lot of their students' parents can't speak English well. The students can't speak English well too. But after a few months, children can speak fleunt English. I don't know I should go to the interview or not. I don't want to waste my money too. However, I really like this school.

Ruby1219

Hangkeelong,

I think if you really like this school and $1,000 is not really expensive to you, plus, if you are confident in your son to pass the interview, I think you should take it.

Just my two cents.

Ruby

luluonthemoon

Thanks God! (I really mean it now   )
I phoned them to find out the result and they said she's accepted in the am class! I didn't ask any further questions about how they have squeezed my child in there, but anyway it's a big load off my mind.

hangkeelong, I do agree with Ruby1219. If you and your child are still keen for the school, you should go for it. $1000 is expensive in a sense, but it must mean something else if you really want it for your loved one. For us, we haven't thought about any other school than ICS, so we decided to shed this amount and give a try. As Ruby1219 said, if you think that your son will cope with it, just give him a chance. For R1, they let you stay with your son right next to him, so he should be alright.  :wink:

Ruby1219, so your son's not gonna come to ICS? Has he accepted to Phoenix yet? Well, since my girl attends a nursery in BoxHill, I pass the construction site of a new Phoenix school everyday. But I just can't seem to imagine that they will finish the constuction by next year. I've heard that the new school will open in 2006, right? Mind if I ask why? Because Phoenix throws more time at Chinese class?

CherylMum

Re: Any info about ICS kindie???

[ 本帖最後由 CherylMum 於 09-11-6 10:42 編輯 ]

Lemonate

Luluonthemoon ,

Congratulation !  It is difficult to get a seat in ICS, I sent my application (for P.1) in Oct last year and was still waiting for their call for interview.
I have read the discussion in these 2 days and had a question.  Is it the parent need to pay HK$1,000 when the school interview the child ?  Could the money be refund or deductible from the school fee if the child get accepted by the school.  What is the purpose of paying HK$1,000 ?  It is really expensive.

Since my daughter is not study in an international kindi., we are in the waiting list.  Nevertheless, I call the school today, they said they may still have places and may call us for interview after Easter holiday.  I am confident with my daughter's english level but she is quite shy and need some time to warm up.  She may just answer question with single word but not full sentences.  Would it necessary to be very fluent to be accepted by the school ?

Thanks for your advice.

Ruby1219

luluonthemoon,

First, congratulations !

To answer your questions :
My son will have the interview at Phoenix next Tuesday. I think if he got admitted, we'll pay the reservation fee anyway (it's 'just' $1,200, much cheaper than ICS). While, both my husband and I prefer Phoenix to ICS due to few reasons :
1) IB system of Phoenix
2) Chinese emphasis
3) New campus, which i think it's very sure to be ready by 2006. while, ICS is supposed to have a new campus but it's still unknown when will it be completed. and, frankly I'm quite concerned with their current campus in the shopping mall.

Cheers,
Ruby

hangkeelong

Dear Ruby and Luluontemoon,
Thank you for your adviceThe interview was deferred to next thusday. Mrs Li said it might only one child interview. That may be better to my son. He need to warm up and he is shy too. I will bring my son to the interview. Let she know that poor English Mum can teach a son good English. Yes, $1000 will not be refunded . My son has studied in 迦南
for 2 weeks. I chose it because it is  near my house. In the first 3 days, Mom can stay with the baby. I stay there and find the teacher is not professional. They don't know how to handle a cryiny baby. They only said I will call your parent, if no more crying. the baby stopped and the teacher put him back to the chair. the baby cried again, and the teacher help him to wear the school bag and said, You are wearing the bag now, can go home. But the teacher pull the baby to eat the 茶點. I think it is not a good way to teach the student. Moreover, The size of the class make me surprise. About 40 people in the classroom. They have 3-4 teachers in a class. I don't like it. Moreover, the third day I go with my son. My son was playing very happy. He didn't want to leave. The teacher said you have to gohome now. I said why, My baby is playing very well. School set this policy is to ensure student have enough time to adapt. Now, my son loves to go to school, he doesn't want to leave. Finally, the in charge talk to me and said that this is the policy of the school. Sorry,. Then I ask what will you do in the following time. She told me that may be some topic. If parent is here, it mayu make some disturbance to the children. So, we have to leave. As I am a nurse, I know that we can do anything to the patient who has no relative in ward. I guess they are not professional enough to let parent go inside. I like ICS, because they encourage parent to participate in the class. That is very impressed. And I hope  the children and teacher ratio is low. Congrulation. LULuonthemoon. you find a good school.

luluonthemoon

Hi, everyone! Thanks a lot for sharing.  

CherylMum, What a coincidence. Glad to know that you're sharing the same path with us. Hope I can help with what I've got here.
To your questions, we found BoxHill late last year. We just happened to know it that close to us by their flyer. At first, I wasn't sure that they were really "international" and decided to give them a buzz to make a visit. Then, I just got impressed with the clean and neat settings and lively staff. I handed in the application on the next day. So my girl hasn't attended the nursery from the start, last Sep. Now, it's only been a few months. We had looked for a purely English-speaking school for my daughter, since she only has very little knowledge of Chinese (Cantonese). To tell the truth, I am Japanese and have spoken to my child in Japanese. My husband, who is Chinese, has stuck with her in English. So, BoxHill is kinda only choice for us in this area, 'cause we don't want her to travel far from home at this very young age. For the teachers in BoxHill, I really like them a lot! Though there're not many native English speaking teachers, the classroom teachers are quite efficient in terms of the command of English. In the nursery, they also have 2 assistants for totally 20 kids. This is really a good ratio. Not only the teachers but the school staff are mostly down-to-earth to the parents. For my daughter's teacher, she welcomes the inquiries of every nook and cranny about my child and she emphasizes the natural learning environment. She said, "I don't want to push them to learn. To draw the right answer is not the purpose with the children at this age." And I do agree with her. After what a few months, my child has learned a lot, especially, about the social skill. Now, she's happy with the fact that she's got friends and teachers at school and loves to go there. Although her English still leaves a lot to be desired, the school has made her try speaking much more outside the school. And they teach a lot of songs!! She keeps singing with lots of gestures all the time.
When I see other children at the class, they're also quite friendly and lively to call other kids' names each other. I think they really do carry a good atmosphere so far. But, last but not the least, if you seek for a purely English environment, it may not please you to the max. They do have 15min. Cantonese class daily and 15 min. mandrin class on Mon/Wed/Fri. and some assistants use Cantonese to the kids outside the classrooms.
Have you ever come and seen the school? If you really think about this school, call them and take a look first for yourself. They'll welcome your child to play in the playarea and show you around.  

Lemonate, The reason is my child has applied for R1 class. I must say, the nature of the interview should be much easier than that of P1 entry. In fact, my daughter didn't always responded with the right answers. But they would like to see the social skills of the child at this age as well, while P1 interview may target more of the preciseness. Also, according to the previous Ruby1219's comment, the child has to go into the room by him/herself. You may need your child to prepare for this circumstance as you're not around to break the ice.
For $1000 fee!!! Yes, this is expensive, but unfortunately, it's a pure interview fee and non-refundable or non-transferable..... But we thought that the total fee of ICS is not very high for their educational standard...., then we decided to shed this off in the end.

Ruby1219, Thank you!     And I do wish all the best for your son on the interview next week!
I do understand that you prefer Phoenix over their stronger quality. Seems that they're working out in a full swing to gain a higher ground. For your information, ICS new school is supposed to open in 2007 in ShekMun. You can see the construction site next to the expressway at the back of ShekMun station.
In terms of a primary school, ICS is going to be our second choice.... Since I'm Japanese, we want her to go to JIS in TaiPo to pick up more Japanese outside home. Their English Section (it's just like any other international schools) has impressed us sooooo much and second language class in Japanese just fits our needs. Their cosy environment, great facilities and good mixture of nationalities really took us there. And they also started working out to implement IB system in a few years. As they did clearly say that the school accepts the English-speaking children (not the children who want to learn English), we have paid more attention on her English improvement.
But I must say, living in this area seems quite convenient, actually, if you look for an international school.

Sorry! It's now tremendously long..... Anyway, it's so nice to share things with you all.          

CherylMum

Re: Any info about ICS kindie???

[ 本帖最後由 CherylMum 於 09-11-6 10:43 編輯 ]