Dover Court

[Makingthemove]

Hello Mrs R,

I asked this on a forum (can't remember if it was this one or another) as I am in the same boat re: driving, and was told that there are two condos nearby - Heritage View and Dover Parkview, that are possibly walkable. HV, apparently, might have a back gate to make it even quicker.

However apparently the main concerns about walking are the humidity - it really does get uncomfortable, so I've been told. I had a theory in my head that a morning trot to school wouldn't be a problem as we've been to SE Asia lots of times and cope with the heat quite well, but it's the stickiness that's the problem - and I have to remember that these were all holidays, and if I'm rushing along to school with a small boy hanging off my arm it might all get a bit, well, sweaty...

So the school bus is the other option, and there are lots of threads about this (do a search using top right-hand box) - I'm apprehensive about this simply because we've never done it before, but I am also told that it's a key point of the day for the smalls, where friendships are formed and a lot of the social stuff goes on. Not to mention making life easy for us.

I've got a provisional place on the bus for him and hope to make a go of it. School bus journey will also, apparently, dictate where we live since the closest condos do not necessarily make the shortest time on the bus. This is all to come, once husband gets out there (June) and starts making proper arrangements - but the condo we choose will definitely tie in with the bus route, I think.

Of course I'm only spouting what others have said, being still in the UK, and all of this has been gleaned from obsessive combing of forums; am by no means a horse with a big mouth (just a big mouth).

Anyway now I'm rambling; see you out there.

MTM

[mrs.r]

Hi MTM,

Thanks for that, I will check those places out. I think deep down I know that it will be too humid and a pain to walk as I will have a buggy, 1 year old , micro-scooter and 5 year old (who will probably complaining about the heat) in tow It would be nice to have it as an option but we will see.

I have only been through Singapore in transit and I am not great at map reading but hopefully after I have been out there, distances etc will become easier to gauge.

Isn't it funny, we also have olympics tickets but looks like we wont be able to use them! My daughters school breaks up mid July and the plan is to come out a week or so later to acclimatise. I can't remember the first day of term but it definitely cuts short her summer break.

I am rubbish at this forum thing but am trying to navigate it to find out what I think I would like and might be useful to know in advance. The one thing I did notice is that some people arguing on posts, yikes! I hope I don't get on anyones wrong side

Thanks again.

[Andream]

Hi Mrs R and MTM

We are intending to use the school bus although I've been looking for the previous threads like you suggested MTM and I don't seem to be able to find any - I'm obviously doing something wrong in the search bit! I'm just a bit worried about the early start - at the moment we wander down the hill to school at 8.50 am. I think Dover Court start at 8.30 so I would imagine its going to be anywhere from 7.30 onwards for a pick up. I shall have another go at finding some more bus threads.

We are flying out on the 29th April to do a reccy and my husband has drawn up a list of 10 condos we want to look at all varying in distance from school between 3km to 10 km. Its really difficult to judge sitting thousands of miles away looking at a street map on google maps! Hopefully once we're there we can make a more informed decision. Our cunundrum is that my husband will be working out at the aerospace park at Seletar which is in the north and Dover Court is way over in the south west so we need to find a happy balance.

We have been researching condos around Holland Village, Bukit Timah and around the Newton/Novena area. If that helps at all.

[Makingthemove]

No, you're not doing it wrong it's a bit more laborious than I thought, this specific subject, and I think I was thinking of another forum, although I did manage to find this fairly easily:

http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/ftopic ... +court+bus

I'm sure there are other results to be found if you've got all night to roll up your sleeve and fish about. I'll PM you what little info I found elsewhere, shall I?

[Makingthemove]

Oh, and, er, this one, created by (cough) me (blush):

http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/ftopic ... highlight=

[mrs.r]

Yeah, so hard to know what's what really!
I can't get my head around the distances, I think it's an hour or so from one side of the island to the other. I had a look on some bus route planner (I can't remember what it was called) and some of the journeys seemed to take a long time in relevance to the distance. I think I found the same on Google maps when doing driving routes, possibly because of one-way systems?
My little one starts school at 08:30 here so we usually leave at 08:00 but it's hard work getting out the door on time.

Oh well, lots to learn. I would love to hear how you get on after your visit.

[Hackerwill]

Just to say that my 3 boys (Year 5, Year2 & Year 1) all started at Dover Court today. Very nervous initially but a great success. Extremely warm teachers and friendly, welcoming kids.
We are delighted & the kids can't wait for tomorrow.

[Makingthemove]

Whoo! Great news, well done them, and you. See you in late August.

[Hackerwill]

Thanks
The school bus system looks extremely efficient and cheerful. Each one has a woman looking after the kids and they are greater by the headmistress and various teachers.
Two random children came up to welcome my boys and offer help.
They even shared their snacks, because we forgot them...failure

[Makingthemove]

Aww.. lovely! Can't wait to get out there, it all sounds perfect. Am really pleased to get some feedback, thanks so much for taking time to post. See you there - I suppose in Aug/Sep your middle one will be in Y3 with my son?

[Andream]

Hi Hackerwill

Was really great to see your post - I think there were quite a few of us who probably gave a huge sigh of relief after reading it! Was so good to hear that your boys had such a positive first day at Dover Court.

[twinkletoes0711]

Hi all,

We have been in Singapore for 3 years now and my 2 kids are at Dover Court and have loved it since day one.
Just picking up on a few questions from here -I'll offer up my experiences. When we first moved I also wanted to live close to the school so that we could walk there. We moved into Heritage View, which is about a 10 min walk away. Nice condo but lots of students from a nearby business school so be prepared for a lot of stunning Europeans teetering around in their bikinis! Some noise problems from student parties etc but generally ok. The walk to the school seems short but believe me in the humidity here it seems much longer! Also sods law seemed to dictate that at 2:45 the skies would darken and it would throw it down just in time for pick up! It is a good way to be able to meet other Mums though although most kids take the school bus.
On to the school bus. We currently live about a 20 min drive from the school but unfortunately we are the first pick up so get collected at 7:15!!! It really depends if you are lucky enough to be at the end of the route as to what time pick up will be. I would suggest when you are considering condos that you ring up the bus company and they can give you an idea of pick up times. Each bus has what they call a "bus auntie" who basically keeps discipline on the bus. The bus costs about $500 per term per child and extra if they opt for after school activities.
If I had to do it all again I would probably opt for the school bus and choose a condo based on other factors. If anyone has any other questions feel free to ask!
Oh and for those who say they will miss having a car - believe me, once you've seen the standards of driving here you'll be pleased you don't have one!

[Makingthemove]

Hey Twinkle, thanks for the thoughts.

Hmm, hope there are other ways of meeting new mums, because I think I'm sold on school bus route.

Re: condos, it's all very confusing, bus company were hazy on timings for condos but then I was hazy on which one I was considering. I think we will wait until we've seen some and narrowed down our choice and then present the bus co with our list and ask about timings. I think the condo will be the defining factor but the times will have a lot to do with our choice.

Really good to hear another positive review of the school, seems like 95 per cent of them are upbeat. Can't wait to get out there and get stuck in

[RainyDaysandMondays]

Hello all, my 2 kids will start in August as well. I've signed up especially after reading Hackerwill's and twinkletoes' posts. Thanks in particular to twinkletoes, for mentioning Heritage View because it is/was on our shortlist due to its proximity to the school. But after reading your post, I'm not sure if I like it now though. Was hoping for a condominium that is popular with families. I don't mind walking them to school. We're still considering the school bus option.

Just a couple of questions for twinkletoes:
Is there a particular location that is popular with Dover Court parents?
How do mums organize playdates if most of the children are on the bus?

Thanks in advance!

[Makingthemove]

Hello RD&M,

What years will your two be going into?

It sounds like there are enough of us starting fresh at Dover Court to make up a whole newbie group, am sure we can get together before they all start.

In terms of sorting out playdates from what I've read you need to liaise with the bus service so that they know where your child is going, if not home. But I only know this from extensive reading around the subject (for extensive read "obsessive", hoping I calm down a bit once I'm out there!).

I had my eyes pinned to Heritage Court & Dover Parkview too, but aside from the negative feedback re: studenty noise I'm also reading a lot about humidity & heat when it comes to walking, and also thinking that my son might also prefer the bus. I think he'll be a bit freaked about it to begin with but will soon settle into the idea of it being a key social bit of the day. I hope!

Anyway, welcome on board and no doubt see you over there. When do you move?