CHIJ Toa Payoh Secondary

[Quintessential Mum]

As far as I understand, most of the sec4 teachers are very good. My dd1 mentioned teachers in most classes are doing extra.

As for finishing syllabus late. Which class is this? Not that I know of. They are off next week, and is on schedule.

According to my friends, they completed the syllabus just before prelims whilst other schools - mission schools completed it before the Jun hols! Officially, Sec 4 who are taking O levels have completed their schooling as of 1st Oct. That is why most students in other schools are on study leave already, fyi.

The reason they are still having lessons is because the teachers want the students to maintain the momentum of working, giving them lots of practice papers, going thru certain topics that the students are weak in, etc. Even for next week's break, the students are encouraged to go back to school as per normal and study there. Why? Because if they study at home, they will most likely wake up late, have leisure breakfast and will not accomplish much. Like I mentioned, if the students are willing to work hard, the teachers are willing to help. My dds' teachers are also teaching other classes, so not only she got the good ones. The school is doing its best, let us parents not paint it in such negative light, especially in front of our dds. This will have an impact on their perception of the school and teachers and thus affect their attitude and learning.[/quote]

Of course, that is what they will tell the students. You can't expect them to say we are lagging behind and need to catch up so you have to come to school! It is just PR. Do you know that other schools have more than one prelim exam - i think that Cat High has 3 prelim exams actually and still manage to provide all the support and practice papers etc and complete their schooling by 1st Oct? Well, "best" is really subjective as it depends on the individual. What may be best for you may not be for me. As for your point that the students are not able to study independently and as such have to come to school daily to do so, that is truly alarming! The school should have instilled the spirit of independent learning and time management from day one and not that of reliance on others. It is better to teach them to fish than to keep giving them the fish. Having said that, you appear to be contented with the standards/performance of the school and i am happy for you. To each its own.

[janet88]

Hi Quintessential Mum,
I have a son who's in P4 this year...can still coach him in his school work with CL and EL outsourced...so I'm the backup. Most prob when he goes to P6 or Sec 1, I will be hands off since it's getting tougher every year...and focus will be on daughter in P1/2.

[Quintessential Mum]

Hi Quintessential Mum,
I have a son who's in P4 this year...can still coach him in his school work with CL and EL outsourced...so I'm the backup. Most prob when he goes to P6 or Sec 1, I will be hands off since it's getting tougher every year...and focus will be on daughter in P1/2.

Yup - primary school still manageable but it is important to build a strong foundation for maths and science as they build on it further in sec school. So if you have a shaky foundation, it will be difficult to grasp the more complex concepts later on. I am hands off too coz i think that they should learn to be independent and let me know if they have a problem with a subject or topic. Spoon feeding will not enable them in future. I have some friends that actually get 2 tutors for each subject for their kids and some even arrange for tuition for their kids who are in university! I am adverse to tuition unless the child is really weak and needs to get the fundamentals right. If so, i would make sure that you get the best and most effective tutor to lay a good foundation. If teachers are fairly competent, at least teaching the right concepts, students that are above average and average who are willing to work hard would not need tuition.

[Ca3kids]

You are very fortunate to have encountered all the very good sec 4 teachers. I understand that a few can be considered good and experienced but the rest of them are just not up to par. Some parents who have kids at Sec 4 level told me that the teachers are quite slow and even completed the syllabus quite late compared to other schools. They said that they are lagging behind and that is why they students still have to attend school for an additional 2 weeks. Other students in schools like SJI, SCGS, Cat High etc stopped attending school from Oct 4 and are on study leave. In actual fact, they should ensure that they have good teachers at every level esp from Sec 1 to build a strong foundation. It is a tad bit too late to start teaching well only in Sec 4 if you ask me!

As far as I understand, most of the sec4 teachers are very good. My dd1 mentioned teachers in most classes are doing extra.

As for finishing syllabus late. Which class is this? Not that I know of. They are off next week, and is on schedule. The reason they are still having lessons is because the teachers want the students to maintain the momentum of working, giving them lots of practice papers, going thru certain topics that the students are weak in, etc. Even for next week's break, the students are encouraged to go back to school as per normal and study there. Why? Because if they study at home, they will most likely wake up late, have leisure breakfast and will not accomplish much. Like I mentioned, if the students are willing to work hard, the teachers are willing to help. My dds' teachers are also teaching other classes, so not only she got the good ones. The school is doing its best, let us parents not paint it in such negative light, especially in front of our dds. This will have an impact on their perception of the school and teachers and thus affect their attitude and learning.

Momof4

Fully agreed with you. I think we should always try to think, behave and speak positively especially in front of our kids as not to influence them and make their life miserable or behave negatively especially after we decided to be with the school. Else they won't have good time in the school as their "studyload" already so heavy.....

As one of my friend here (whom I always appreciated and grateful for her great advice) told me that its human nature that tend to talk negative and complain more than talking positive words and comprehen others.

I didn't tell my DD about much of the negative side that I heard in here as I want her to have a positive and happy mindset when she attend the school esp the new school with new environment/people.

But I do mentioned to her that "DD, every school will have negative comment or views but if once you decided to go that school, you must try your best to make use of the resources and concentrate on study to bring out your potential and make your school proud of you. One must be mature and smart enough to differentiate who are the good or bad company to join as we parents cannot stick with you whole life. You must decide what type of comments are useful or useless to you. Its you who are responsible for your future and decision, not parents. This also applies even more when you step into society - the adult world ! We can only be there to guide and provide our best resources to you."

She agreed but I don't know how much she really can keep in mind and do it but I believe we have to be there to guide them in positive attitude and thinking.

Kids sometimes will come back to complain about the school is boring, teacher strict, stress, classmates naughty.....etc. What we can do is lend our ears to them, comfort them but at the same time explain to them why people behave or act that way, their intention etc and we must gave them correct value and attitude...Easy to say than done.

I have no experience dealing with teenager as my 12 years old DD is my eldest and I still have 2 younger ones to handle. I still have a lot to learn from experienced parents here and I had learnt alot indeed.

I cross my fingers and hope that teenagers can listen to us like what they did when they are younger. Just a cent of my thought...

[janet88]

Hi Ca3kids,
My older one is a boy in P4...younger one is going to P1 IJ next year. Although I've a little experience of what primary school is, I still have a long way to go and would need mummies here to guide.

Son will tell me what has happened in school everyday...must accompany him while he takes his lunch...his naughty classmates, what they have done...basically clean my ears before he comes home.

Lower primary is very impt bcos that's the foundation. Will apply the same thing to daughter since older one is going to P5 and should learn to be more independent. From time to time, I do check his homework diary.
Don't know what to expect from my daughter whose character is so different from son.

[momof4]

Cs3kids,

Ya, the power of the mind. Kids are easily influenced. And teenagers are definitely more difficult to manage these days. I am still learning, slowly but surely. Parents' attitude and outlook does have a big impact on the children. This I learnt from experience.

[Ca3kids]

Hi Ca3kids,
My older one is a boy in P4...younger one is going to P1 IJ next year. Although I've a little experience of what primary school is, I still have a long way to go and would need mummies here to guide.

Son will tell me what has happened in school everyday...must accompany him while he takes his lunch...his naughty classmates, what they have done...basically clean my ears before he comes home.

Lower primary is very impt bcos that's the foundation. Will apply the same thing to daughter since older one is going to P5 and should learn to be more independent. From time to time, I do check his homework diary.
Don't know what to expect from my daughter whose character is so different from son.

Hi Janet_lee88

I am also learning daily how to handle kids. Besides the eldest P6 girl who had just finished PSLE, I also have a pair of twins (a boy and a girl) who are P3 this year......

Son and daughters have different characters to handle and also attitude. Girls may be more obedient in a way but more to be worried about when they becane teenager. For homework, I only check homework for P3 sometime, not every single homework. I told them is their responsibility for the homework and exam. Let alone P6.

[momof4]

According to my friends, they completed the syllabus just before prelims whilst other schools - mission schools completed it before the Jun hols! Officially, Sec 4 who are taking O levels have completed their schooling as of 1st Oct. That is why most students in other schools are on study leave already, fyi.

Of course, that is what they will tell the students. You can't expect them to say we are lagging behind and need to catch up so you have to come to school! It is just PR. Do you know that other schools have more than one prelim exam - i think that Cat High has 3 prelim exams actually and still manage to provide all the support and practice papers etc and complete their schooling by 1st Oct? Well, "best" is really subjective as it depends on the individual. What may be best for you may not be for me. As for your point that the students are not able to study independently and as such have to come to school daily to do so, that is truly alarming! The school should have instilled the spirit of independent learning and time management from day one and not that of reliance on others. It is better to teach them to fish than to keep giving them the fish. Having said that, you appear to be contented with the standards/performance of the school and i am happy for you. To each its own.

IC. What about this school? Has it always been only 1 week break the previous years or only this year? I thot that was the plan. Anyway, I don't mind that my dd is going to school. I think it's more productive, and the teachers are there to guide them. They are certainly kept very busy. But there are some students who have not been attending classes, preferring to study at home. That is ok too, according to her teacher, just let the teacher know in advance.

I really do not want to compare this school with other schools, especially those 'good schools'. This school has a lot of average students, so more has to be done, and takes a longer time too. So PR talk or not does not matter to me. As long as my dd believes that the school is doing this for her own good, can motivate her, i'm happy.

Am i contented and happy? 2 years ago, I was very negative. How come her class got the lousiest teachers in school (it's true), P so hands off, etc. What happened? I started thinking. In her class of average students, those with PSLE score of between 220 and 240, 2 of her classmates managed to get into the top 10 in sec2 sa1 and sa2. Surpassing the star plus classes! How did they do it? Same lousy teachers, same without tuition. Something is definitely not right. That jolted me up. I realized that it has a lot to do with mindset and attitude. I started to be more proactive, and sound more positive. My dd noticed the change immediately. I was more like supporting and encouraging her, than trying to blame the school, teacher and her. She became more confident, and channelled her energy to try harder. Her maths was extremely weak then, she didn't learn anything those 2 years. Her teacher actually told her not to take A maths because she won't be able to cope. Well, in sec3, she started taking tuition for A maths only. Her maths teacher knew and mentioned that those girls from her class are weak in maths, not because they are not good, but because they had lousy teacher. And this teacher reinforced what were taught in lower sec and encouraged them to do better. Because the teacher believed in them and not scolding them for always getting low marks, the whole group started working very hard, spending 5 hours on maths every day. Now they are very strong in the 2 maths. This also inspired her to work hard on other subjects too. You see the power of the mind? They must feel good. Then the attitude, behavior and character will change for the better.

Why does the school have such lousy teachers? I think it's happening in every school, probably independent ones too. But the school has to give the best teachers to star plus classes, to bring them to new heights. Next, it is the weakest classes. These classes have a smaller teacher student ratio, and they need more guidance. That left the the average classes. These classes will get the leftover teachers. Haha, the school didn't tell me this, it's from my dds' observation. It is something beyond our control, so we work on areas that we can control.

[Quintessential Mum]

According to my friends, they completed the syllabus just before prelims whilst other schools - mission schools completed it before the Jun hols! Officially, Sec 4 who are taking O levels have completed their schooling as of 1st Oct. That is why most students in other schools are on study leave already, fyi.

Of course, that is what they will tell the students. You can't expect them to say we are lagging behind and need to catch up so you have to come to school! It is just PR. Do you know that other schools have more than one prelim exam - i think that Cat High has 3 prelim exams actually and still manage to provide all the support and practice papers etc and complete their schooling by 1st Oct? Well, "best" is really subjective as it depends on the individual. What may be best for you may not be for me. As for your point that the students are not able to study independently and as such have to come to school daily to do so, that is truly alarming! The school should have instilled the spirit of independent learning and time management from day one and not that of reliance on others. It is better to teach them to fish than to keep giving them the fish. Having said that, you appear to be contented with the standards/performance of the school and i am happy for you. To each its own.

IC. What about this school? Has it always been only 1 week break the previous years or only this year? I thot that was the plan. Anyway, I don't mind that my dd is going to school. I think it's more productive, and the teachers are there to guide them. They are certainly kept very busy. But there are some students who have not been attending classes, preferring to study at home. That is ok too, according to her teacher, just let the teacher know in advance.

I really do not want to compare this school with other schools, especially those 'good schools'. This school has a lot of average students, so more has to be done, and takes a longer time too. So PR talk or not does not matter to me. As long as my dd believes that the school is doing this for her own good, can motivate her, i'm happy.

Am i contented and happy? 2 years ago, I was very negative. How come her class got the lousiest teachers in school (it's true), P so hands off, etc. What happened? I started thinking. In her class of average students, those with PSLE score of between 220 and 240, 2 of her classmates managed to get into the top 10 in sec2 sa1 and sa2. Surpassing the star plus classes! How did they do it? Same lousy teachers, same without tuition. Something is definitely not right. That jolted me up. I realized that it has a lot to do with mindset and attitude. I started to be more proactive, and sound more positive. My dd noticed the change immediately. I was more like supporting and encouraging her, than trying to blame the school, teacher and her. She became more confident, and channelled her energy to try harder. Her maths was extremely weak then, she didn't learn anything those 2 years. Her teacher actually told her not to take A maths because she won't be able to cope. Well, in sec3, she started taking tuition for A maths only. Her maths teacher knew and mentioned that those girls from her class are weak in maths, not because they are not good, but because they had lousy teacher. And this teacher reinforced what were taught in lower sec and encouraged them to do better. Because the teacher believed in them and not scolding them for always getting low marks, the whole group started working very hard, spending 5 hours on maths every day. Now they are very strong in the 2 maths. This also inspired her to work hard on other subjects too. You see the power of the mind? They must feel good. Then the attitude, behavior and character will change for the better.

Why does the school have such lousy teachers? I think it's happening in every school, probably independent ones too. But the school has to give the best teachers to star plus classes, to bring them to new heights. Next, it is the weakest classes. These classes have a smaller teacher student ratio, and they need more guidance. That left the the average classes. These classes will get the leftover teachers. Haha, the school didn't tell me this, it's from my dds' observation. It is something beyond our control, so we work on areas that we can control.

Thanks for sharing! It is good to know that you and your DD have had such an enlighthening and rewarding learning journey. You should consider running for the school board/PV committee as you and your DD have a lot of positive experiences in the school and reaped benefits from the school system. In this way, you can share your good experiences for the benefit of the other students that may have not experienced it. Good Luck to your DD for her upcoming O levels!

[Quintessential Mum]

4. L1r5. The compulsory one is Eng. The rest can be from the MT, 2 maths, 3 sciences, and humanities subjects.

Your understanding is incorrect. L1 refers to Language and R5 is 5 other relevant subjects. It should be as follows:

L1 –EL or HMT

R1 –Humanities

R2 –Mathematics/Science

R3 –Humanities/Mathematics/Science

R4 & R5 –Any other GCE “O”level subjects