Expat Advice on Local School Options

[local lad]

Geez....didn't realise that the staff of that school has an attitude. I was thinking along the proximity of the school but this sort of attitude is definitely uncalled for. However, I don't understand why I get to see a lot of expat kids attending that school. Anyway, there are plenty of local schools but the problem could be the distance.

Hope you manage to find a suitable one like SMS , boffenl and some of the expat partents did.

[boffenl]

Sorry to hear about the bad experience at River Valley! I was lucky I guess--the three local/neighborhood schools I visited were so happy to show me around (maybe since they all have relatively new building?). It pays to shop around--either for an International School or a local school option. Pei Tong is a great, quiet neighborhood school. We chose it for that reason--plus, it's wicked close to our flat!

Shop around, and VISIT as many schools as you can. I recently went to the Methodist Girls School near Clementi and was very impressed. But they have a significant waiting list since their "old girls" network is pretty established.

Good luck everyone!

[Huggan]

Hi, I have my daughter in P3 at Pei Tong Primary. We have a family wedding in the UK in September and I don't know if the school allows the students to take time off to go to it? Does anyone know? I know that in NZ (where we're from) the school used to be particular about taking leave outside school holidays but I don't yet know the local system.
I'm aware the Boffenl also has a child going to this school but am not able to reply directly to their messages. Do you have an email address that you could message me?
Any other replies to this query would be appreciated.
cheers
javascript:emoticon(':D')

[sundaymorningstaple]

Huggan, you can do so now. Your PM function should have activated with your last post. - moderator

[muitrang]

Hi all,
We moved here on Oct 2008. My older son started local school for primary2 last year, now he is in primary3 at Gan Eng Seng. It was a nightmare when we first moved here looking for a school for my son. Since we moved here in October which is almost the end of the school year, and school register for 2009 already closed. But with lots of help from my husband co-worker, finally Gan Eng Seng called us to take my son for a test to see if he could qualify to attend and he got in! He is doing fine in school in academically and socially. We are American/Asian couple and only a few foreign kids are in his school.
This year we just enrolled my younger son for Primary 1 at Queenstown Primary school. He couldn’t get in Gang eng Seng because we are not citizen or PR, so we were still have to follow ”

[boffenl]

Huggan, just sent you a PM with my e-mail address. Do you happen to have the e-mail address of the new principal at PTPS? I have been corresponding with my daughter's Mandarin teacher (yep, finally thinking about getting an exemption) but would like to go and introduce myself to the new principal. Seems he's young and very forward thinking! After their last forward thinking principal retired (and I was heartbroken) I can't wait to see how this guy works out!

My question--if I get an exemption for Mandarin, can my daughter still attend the Mandarin classes or does she have to go to the Library during that time?

Good for me to question once in awhile too!

[Bocat32]

Hi folks

We're Scottish/Senegalese (an unusual mix I know!!) We've now been in Singapore for 16 months. My son had just turned 4 when we arrived and has been attending a local kindergarten ever since - where he will finish K2 at the end of this year.

He's the only expat in his kindergarten and I'm glad to say he's never once found this a challenge (apart from the Mandarin!)

I've been looking at the MoE website on and off for about 6 months and each time I come away more baffled than before! As he will be due to start Primary 1 in January 2011 I really need to get my finger out and get on with the school search!

We live in the Yishun/Sembawang area - can anyone recommend any of the schools around here?

I'm going to do what boffenl recommends and try and arrange to visit some of the schools most local to us but do things like the 1km rule apply to expats anyway? I thought expats came (almost) at the bottom of a very long list of criteria.

At the moment we will be in Singapore til October 2011 but my husband is keen for it to be more long term and I think given how much we love it here its likely that, if its possible, we will stay in Singapore and therefore finding the right education for our two kids (now aged 5 and 2) is really important.

We are not considering the International Schools at all. I have tried to make the experience for all the family as Singaporean as possible. I didn't want to move to another country/culture and then not experience any of it!

Anyway, any advice or school recommendations would be most welcome. (I've already picked up quite a lot of info from this thread already - so thanks to everyone for their input).

[Bocat32]

Hi folks

We're Scottish/Senegalese (an unusual mix I know!!) We've now been in Singapore for 16 months. My son had just turned 4 when we arrived and has been attending a local kindergarten ever since - where he will finish K2 at the end of this year.

He's the only expat in his kindergarten and I'm glad to say he's never once found this a challenge (apart from the Mandarin!)

I've been looking at the MoE website on and off for about 6 months and each time I come away more baffled than before! As he will be due to start Primary 1 in January 2011 I really need to get my finger out and get on with the school search!

We live in the Yishun/Sembawang area - can anyone recommend any of the schools around here?

I'm going to do what boffenl recommends and try and arrange to visit some of the schools most local to us but do things like the 1km rule apply to expats anyway? I thought expats came (almost) at the bottom of a very long list of criteria.

At the moment we will be in Singapore til October 2011 but my husband is keen for it to be more long term and I think given how much we love it here its likely that, if its possible, we will stay in Singapore and therefore finding the right education for our two kids (now aged 5 and 2) is really important.

We are not considering the International Schools at all. I have tried to make the experience for all the family as Singaporean as possible. I didn't want to move to another country/culture and then not experience any of it!

Anyway, any advice or school recommendations would be most welcome. (I've already picked up quite a lot of info from this thread already - so thanks to everyone for their input).

[Bocat32]

Hi folks

We're Scottish/Senegalese (an unusual mix I know!!) We've now been in Singapore for 16 months. My son had just turned 4 when we arrived and has been attending a local kindergarten ever since - where he will finish K2 at the end of this year.

He's the only expat in his kindergarten and I'm glad to say he's never once found this a challenge (apart from the Mandarin!)

I've been looking at the MoE website on and off for about 6 months and each time I come away more baffled than before! As he will be due to start Primary 1 in January 2011 I really need to get my finger out and get on with the school search!

We live in the Yishun/Sembawang area - can anyone recommend any of the schools around here?

I'm going to do what boffenl recommends and try and arrange to visit some of the schools most local to us but do things like the 1km rule apply to expats anyway? I thought expats came (almost) at the bottom of a very long list of criteria.

At the moment we will be in Singapore til October 2011 but my husband is keen for it to be more long term and I think given how much we love it here its likely that, if its possible, we will stay in Singapore and therefore finding the right education for our two kids (now aged 5 and 2) is really important.

We are not considering the International Schools at all. I have tried to make the experience for all the family as Singaporean as possible. I didn't want to move to another country/culture and then not experience any of it!

Anyway, any advice or school recommendations would be most welcome. (I've already picked up quite a lot of info from this thread already - so thanks to everyone for their input).

[road.not.taken]

I didn't want to move to another country/culture and then not experience any of it!

So the expats with their kids in International Schools aren't supposed to spout their 'stereotyped' cliches concerning local schools, but this kind of broad stroke is OK? No, nada nope.

Make the best decision on schools for your children based on what's right for your family but please... stop thinking that those of us that are less enchanted by the local system and have the means to take advantage of the excellent International Schools here are somehow cocooning our children from all things Singaporean. We have lived here for years and years and I can tell you we have 'experienced' more of it than most people can only dream of.

[Bocat32]

Apologies road not taken - that was not my intention. It is not the only reason we have chosen to send our kids to local schools.

I can see many reasons why people choose the International Schools but there are many expats who come here and don't even consider the local school system.

I am merely looking for some information and honestly did not intend to offend anyone.

[road.not.taken]

I know and I'm sure you didn't mean any offense, I am just soooooo tired of the militant, we're-more-Singaporean-than-you and we're the real expats attitude that you come across a lot on this board.

You're right, there are many expats who come here and don't consider the local system. I am one of them, as are each and everyone of my friends (Singaporeans as well!). On the flipside, there are of course many expats who don't look at International Schools, but Tanglin, SAS, Lycee Francais, the German school and Hollandse school ~ they all still enroll the biggest percentage of their countryman living in Singapore, so the majority of Western expats still stick with their home country school. To read this board you would think no one still sends their kids to International Schools, but the numbers don't bear that out and it's a dangerous assumption to make.

I've never met a soul who chose an international school here to shield them from the cultural experience that is Singapore (unless you consider caning a cultural experience). There are 54 countries represented at my kids' school. They have friends of every religion, socio-economic background, color and nationality. They have Singaporean teachers, Singaporean friends, eat Singaporean food in the cafeteria, take field trips within Singapore. The good international schools embrace Singapore, not ignore it.

That's all, let's just keep ALL the sterotypes in check, fair enough?

[Bocat32]

Now I've had time to re-read your post and mine - I'm not actually sure what I'm apologising for.

I didn't say that other people shouldn't use International Schools - merely that using local schools was part of our intention to give our children as wide an exposure to the place they are living as possible.

Thanks for reminding me why I don't normally use this forum.

I've read some of your other posts on here and its nice to know you find your fun having a go at lots of people - not just me.

[road.not.taken]

Now I've had time to re-read your post and mine - I'm not actually sure what I'm apologising for.

I didn't say that other people shouldn't use International Schools - merely that using local schools was part of our intention to give our children as wide an exposure to the place they are living as possible.

Thanks for reminding me why I don't normally use this forum.

I've read some of your other posts on here and its nice to know you find your fun having a go at lots of people - not just me.

Well, I hope it would be for this:

We are not considering the International Schools at all. I have tried to make the experience for all the family as Singaporean as possible. I didn't want to move to another country/culture and then not experience any of it!

and the insinuation that those of us who do send our kids to international schools are Singapore-phobic. I'm not having a 'go.' I'm simply stating that those of us who chose another path do so for a variety of reasons, and not always the paranoid sounding one you mentioned.

In regards to my other posts, well 3000+ would be a lot to wade through ~ but if snap decisions are your forte, then there you go !

[boffenl]

Glad to see RNT is back again--wondering when the local school option would bug the crap out of you! I am shaking with outrage right now and can barely type.

It IS a choice--you choose to send your kid to an American school thereby negating the Singapore experience by having teachers who are American, an American curricula, American textbooks and on-campus food that is OVERWHELMINGLY American. PLEASE do not try to dissuade any of us into thinking SAS is a "Singapore" experience--it is NOT. But that is your CHOICE--not good or bad, but a choice!

I choose to send my daughter to a Singapore school with multicultural students, teachers and administrators so she can learn what it is to be a minority. I did not move my family to Singapore so she could have an American educational experience. As an educator I see the flipside to both systems and consider myself lucky to be able to give my daughter the education she is receiving in a Singapore public school.

Shame on you for making me feel bad for not spending $300,000 on her primary education at SAS. Shame RNT!