odyssey, pat's schoolhouse or little skool nuerseries???

[tigerlily2010]

Hi
we are looking at preschools for our 20 months old son, he is so ready for it...

I had a look and shortlisted the following:

odyssey @ alexandra
pat's schoolhouse @ jubilee park
little skool @ kent vale

Are any better??
Thanks in advance for all your advise!!

[BigSis]

Personally I'd be put off by any educational establishment that sees fit to spell its own name wrong, so that's 'Little Skool' out!

[autumn-baby]

We have our child enrolled in Odyssey and we are very disappointed with the place:
-the staff turn over is incredibly high, we have seen three different principals and within two years probably about more than 15 teachers
-the managment doesnt care about the customers (children, parents), money is all that counts
the curriculum is quiet fun and ok but with all the teacher changes and adjusments it is just not worth it
- there is no continuity, no stability and no communication between managment and parents
other parents have pulled out their children and this place is going to close at 1. of December and going to turn into pat s schoolhouse
- it is way to expensive for what they offer and with all the problems they have I would not even recommend the one at 4th avenue

[tigerlily2010]

thanks autumn-baby...i am really concerned and finding a school for my son i prooving very frustrating and he is only 2!

I rolled out learning vision since i didnt like the premises and it took me almost a week to manage to schedule a visit at pat's schoolhouse on the bases that the child might have a place only by next june...wuah!!

Maybe it's cause we live in the west coast and therefore we have only few options but we are not going anywhere at the moment

[Scruffycat]

Hi tigerlily, I've just stumbled across your post while researching for something else, not sure if you've found your answer, but thought I put in my two cents anyway...

My son (4 yrs) is currently in pat's schoolhouse. I think it's ok but nothing special. It's a big chain and also more about money-making, it feels more like a business than a school. For my younger one, at 18 months old, I started him in his brother's school but really hated it, so now I've put him in Playdays Playschool,and have been very happy since. The school is very far from us but for me it's worth the drive. It's close to you though if you're in the west. Google them and give them a call. They're perfect for little ones, and they only take kids up to 4.5 years old.

[jennifer lynn roger]

Hi Autumn-baby,
I can't agree with you more. My girl joined the school (Odyssey at Alexandra) at the time the first principal was there. It was great and we (parents) really enjoyed the relationship the principal had built with us. She was sincere, humble and most importantly knowledgeable, and really went all the way to make my girl's transition from home to school a very smooth experience.
Sadly, the principal was "transfered" (or so as the staff at the centre told us). Things were not the same from then on. Staff turnover was terrible and the school became very commercialized.
We eventually withdrew our girl from the school 2 months later and joined Mindchamps at Tanglin. Mindchamps is ok but we still missed the kind of rapport and relationship the first principal of Odyssey shared with us.

[nny]

Hi,
I was very disappointed when I visited Odyssey School at Forth Ave.
The school is new (opened in April 2010) and looks very nice, lots of nature, clean and bright.
BUT it seems that the management does not care much about newcomers (maybe they don't need to? which might be on the long run a bit overconfident). I really did not feel welcomed with my daughter.
Also, more important, the teachers- student ratio of 1:4 sounds nice, but in case of my daughter (18 months old) there are 2 classes with each 18 kids at that age (total of 36 kids!!!) with several teachers or teachers assistants.

The curriculum sounds ok, as it does with all the other preschools in Singapore.
Well, it was just a visit, but disappointing.

[tigerlily2010]

i just bump into this thread again and i thought i'd give an update on my experience.
we eventually decided to send our child to the Odyssey in fourth avenue, he has been going there for the past 6 months and he absolutely loves it.
The curriculum is fun and they have many creative activities which are perfect for him.
Touching wood, so far we had no teacher turn over and the principal is polite and attentive to the childrens need.

On a negative note, the administration is not as good as. You have to push and and ask many times before things get done and sometimes the notifications of events are done very late, giving very little time for people who work to get organized and join the exhibition, excursion.....
Mybe this is due to the fact that they are running at full capacity?!
Also I think if you are looking for an accademical curriculum, this is not the place for you either, the school is more based on art, creativity and play.

Our child is very young so at this stage this school fullfill our needs and we are happy with it however on a long run we might have to look for something more structured

Hope this helps