Modern Motessori, Sengkang

[cyan]

Tzaz,

Ur hubby didn't specify AM session? If yes then shld be cfm. Mayb we can meet up this oct, when we go in for purchasing of their school u!

I live ard fernvale thus st anne's too far; tho DD had been in MMI before (along same stretch), I just dont like the travelling dist. Our area got pat's scholhouse meh? They are very ex right?

 

[tzac]

hi cyan,

He should have specify...Have not called the school yet so will wait till Oct and see how. Yup, we should be able to meet each other on that day

is your dd attending any playgroup now?

There is a Pat's schoolhouse at Lim Ah Pin, that is, along serangoon road but its true, the fees are every expensive.

 

[sk123]

Cyan, so which school are u sending your kid to ?

I have bad experience with SKMCC, they like to include extra charges to the school fees, without leaving a choice to us. They always say for ease of administration, we shall add such & such to next term school fees, that's it. When I called them, they say it's just couple of dollars, this is the only support that they asking from parents. But they didn't ask, they assume we agree.

 

[cyan]

Oh gosh, sk123, something unpleasant to hear about SKMCC... I have enrolled my gal with them liao! Does this always happen? So your child out of SKMCC already?

 

[cyan]

tzac,

My DD not attending any playgrp at the moment. Did consider tumble tots but recently I got to work PT, so can't go for it...

 

[tzac]

hi cyan,

nice to hear from you again....Oh no...something unpleasant on SKMCC.....I too have enrolled my dd and already gotten the letter from them to do the registration early nov. Hv you gotten the letter yet?

I too heard from another parent tat all field outings are at additional costs. Even if i pulling my dd out, i dun think they will do any refund....:-(

I am considering pat's schoolhouse as juz learnt tat they do provide 'childcare' like services during the sch holidays which is a bonus to working parent like me

 

[cyan]

Yes tzac, I have gotten the letter too.

The admin did inform me dat we need to top up (like $10) for all outings, so I am prepared for it. But for other areas, I do hope they dont come up with last minute funny things. -_-"

Lim Ah Pin road not as near as SKMCC, but the CC services sounds good. Additional charges I supposed?

Btw, ur DD's taking the school bus or u have helper bringin her to school?

 

[tzac]

hello cyan,

did not check with Pat in details on the CC services but assume that it should be the same monthly sch fees that we paid. I will be going down to take a look at the sch tomolo...

am still thinking whether to take the sch bus or not as she still seem young to take a sch bus. mayb for a start will have my parents do the sending. how abt yourself?

 

[missylan]

Hi all,
I was looking for a school for my coming 3 yrs old. So far, I reckon 3 schools, though all under childcare system and half day childcare program.

First one was Pat's School at Lim Ah Pin then Cambridge CDC (Xavier's Lane) and Character Montessori. My first choice was Pat's($700+) due to many good reviews BUT after visiting the school and much struggle, I give Pat's up. The school, walkway, outdoor playground is too rundown. The classroom is warm and felt not well ventilated. Temperature of the classroom is an issue to me cos my son got eczema.

Cambridge CDC is cheap, $350 per mth, 12 students to 1 teacher! How to can 1 teacher be controlling a class of toddlers? Environment is nice though.

I decided on Character Montessori($625) cos got quite a good feeling. Feels comfortable, near my place, new school...

 

[janeybb]

missylan,

i withdraw my kid from CM after less than a week.

Basically the school is comfortable if you visit it first few times, but once the lesson starts, it can be quite chaotic. IF you are letting your kid take lunch there, i think better consider, the food they serve is quite miserable. I saw what they ate for lunch and i took my dear son back home to feed instead.

And my kid fall sick in less than a week after attending the lessons and he was sick for more than 2 weeks from flu/cough and fever. So i pulled him out since its 3 weeks already....i spend nearly a month of school fees in this way. You must be prepared that they start falling sick very often if you enrol into childcare environment and it could end up making you more busy and kid might be affected or spend time at home to get back in good shape.

If you have visit during weekend, saturday when they are open for viewing, do pay a visit on weekdays too

See how they manage the class.

Another thing i noticed is, the teaching staffs might not be as good as i thought, in terms of monterssori trained teachers and many are from china.

If you are a sahm like myself, probably you want to wait till your kid is at nursery age and send to kindergarten instead so they can proceed to k1, k2. Kid immunity usually gets better when they are older. Also, kindergarten environment could be better than those childcare based school.

Just to share what i been through

 

[winnie_the_pooh_mummy]

hi mommies, can u share your experience on Cambridge CCC? how abt Montessori? which is better?

 

[plsrelax]

Hi Parents,

Just want to share with any parent who is considering to enroll their child into this center and hope that it serves as a useful reference when making their decision. It should also be to those parents who is wondering whether is it cost effective to send your child into MMI Sengkang.

Background: My child enrolled into their class for 1 year and since there are quite a few ups and downs during the stay there.

Positive Feedback
1) Condusive learning facilities with a large compound with multiple classrooms
2) Free swimming classes (although not every week due to weather and HFMD outbreaks)
3) English speaking environment with well mannered teachers and kids
4) Structured Programme (every school has that but how much its executed? we don't know.)

Negative Feedback
1) Ever changing teachers (most popular feedback) - This is the most serious issue among all the complaints. My child has to constantly adapt to new teachers and their style. The routines are broken and she has to re-learnt. My child's good habbits are not reinforce, bad habbits are not monitored. Learning hampered as there is a lack of continuity. Good teachers keep leaving, bad teachers keep staying or coming. In one year, she has around 5-7 teachers, i lost count.
2) Frequent HFMD outbreaks - Maybe because there are more students in the school as compare to a childcare center. Lucky my child did not contract it. There is one particular day when my child is the only student in the class. My child missed the HFMD, but frequently contract stomach flu. I know its usual for a child to contract this social disease but to contract it once every 2 weeks is in my opinion too frequent. Maybe my child is weak.
3) Montessori lessons not strongly emphasize. 1 to 2 hours a day but after trying to manage the students there is very little time left to demonstrate a Montessori activity to the child. Most of the time they just play with the materials after a quick demonstration. That's what my child says.
4) Apart from the expensive fees, everything is chargeable and at a rate I consider very high. I just spent more around $100 to pay for the costume which cannot be reuse, for the tickets and for the recorded video. They do not allow parents to bring video recorder into the concert. Where is the prudency? I really do not wish my child to grow up spending money on stuff that she does not need or for one time usage.
When the school brings them for an excursion, it will cost more than $10 each when there isn't any entrance fee required. They say its for lunch, but isn't that included in the fees? The school bus is $80/month when my child stays around 300m away.
4) Did not enforce good eating habits. My child is picky but I feel that the teachers should continue to encourage the child and not just give up on them. Another example of the consequences of the frequent change of teachers. Also, the birthday parties are so regular such that my child is frequently snacking and giving up her staple meals. Nowadays I really hate children birthday parties. I think as a parent with child in a childcare center, we should be more sensitive in distributing snacks and goodies bag when celebrating their child birthdays. I know that we want them to enjoy themselves with a party but I always believe that without the cakes, sweets and snacks, there can still be a party. Its because we make birthday cakes a norm that the child has an expectation of it.

I sincerely hope that this really will be an useful information for you and your child when selecting a childcare center which is so important to the child progress.

 

[bbtrooper]

my dd is from juro west ex branch for 2 months, no structured learning as no teaching they just leave them there along to play with the montessori stuff w/o any guidance. i happen to noe as i decide to fetch my sis's dd home earlier than usual and no counter staff at the reception, i go to my neice's class just next door and observe this ....sigh.....pay so much....nothing done. a couple of times fetch my my niece home , the diaper soaking wet, especially since last week, i heard change to another teacher, miss ng.

i happen to noe another mummy wif dd in same same complained that her dd pooed very long a the shit hardened and got smell yet this new teacher never change diaper for her dd. however, she did comment her son's teacher from another level ok. so maybe depend on luck see which teacher u get bah.....

 

[absolutwild]

i sent my 2 year old son to carpe diem at punggol (half day) from jan till nov. dont know why he simply refused to go to school starting from oct.he was ok at first though. so we kind of pulled him out of it since its school holiday (hehe). i do agree that the teachers english is not that great cos you can spot mistakes from the letters handed out to parents! oh ya! he contracted HFMD twice!

my son is turning 3 this month and i am now looking for another childcare for him around this area too (full day). checked out schoolhouse by the garden at serangoon this morning. anyone has feedback on this school?

 

[winnie_the_pooh_mummy]

hi, if u are looking at sgn area, there's cambridge at poh huat road, treasure box at parry ave and cherie hearts at jansen road and MMI at Kovan. we have gone down to these places to take a look recently and found them not so suitable. good luck in your search! (we understand what u are going thro! )

 

[skmum]

My experience with MMI (SK) wasn't that fantastic. Personally, I think they are overpriced, protray a better image than what they actually do. I withdrew my child ard Sept and todate, I have not recieved the refund. Based on the things the teachers share withme, I think they didn't take very good care of my child. heh.

 

[sharon818]

Any mums with kids in MMI Jurong West Ext?The new one at the sport complex? My children are there and hope to have some sharing with other mums with children there.

 

[reina_tan]

Hi,

Anyone can share their experience with My Little Cottage.

 

[mouseonhouse]

Hi Mummies!

I am a FTWM in Sengkang and has two kids. 2yrs and 3 yrs. It can be quite stressful at times especially when there's so much to handle. It's nice to see so many sharing and informative mummies here!

 

[littlefly]

Hi Mummies

I wonder if they have improved over last year ?

Recently I saw MMI Sengkang is on enrollment drive at Compasspoint.

 

[ethel]

mummies that hv sent their kids to SK meth kindy,
can u share yr feedback on the school?
was looking to enrol my son there next yr for K1
thks

 

[cyan]

Hi ep (ethel),

My elder gal has been with SKMCC (SK Meth Children Center) since nursery. I am overall pleased with the school environment, principal and their teachers. Their principal is a sporting one and engages herself (like running together, etc) with the children during sports day. She is also always around to mingle with the children like standing at the entrance to receive children and will be around them during their snack times. Their teachers are nice and honest, be it positive or negative, they'll tell me frankly on how my gal is behaving/performing in school.

They have quite a few field trips in a year and yes, like fellow mommies mentioned, each time, we are required to pay some fees (like $5, $10 or $20 - to watch a children musical) but it is justifiable, they will indicate what the fees are for, like bus transport, entrance fees etc.

Teachers being nice usually, are stern at the right times too. Recently, my gal did not complete her Math homework as told and her Math teacher called me to discuss; she had wanted to keep my gal back in school for 15 minutes for her to complete her work properly for she wants to make it a point that homework as given is their responsibility and they have to do it properly. But end up my gal completed (she left out some coloring) before she needed to stay back. I am rather pleased with her concerns, I too agree that homework is a child's responsibility, I will help to check through but to do as told, it is on the child's part.

Have u gone in to check out for registration? I recently saw a notice on the sch gate; think it states that K1 and K2 sessions are full already?

 

[ethel]

cyan
yes i called them and they say its full .
i dun mind to be on wait list..
will prob book myself in nativity first.. just in case i cant find any kindy for him next yr.
i wen to skmc tdy.. they had excursion.. my boys are also in a methodist kindy now..
thks for yr indo.. as long as some parents are happy with the sch.. i guess its shld be gd!

 

[cyan]

Yes, they went for the "Bear and Chicken Get Ready For School" musical today!

 

[linx]

mommies...

been reading thru this thread

thanks for all the nice info.. Mine is a 2008 borned bb .... Confused to select any school for her as all the school got filled up so fast....

is Nativity good ?

 

[stephz]

Happen to see this thread, so just want to pen down my 2 cents worth. My gal is in there and today is the 4th day she has not been to school and there wasn't any word of concern from the school.

I've voiced out about my displeasure on last week's incident on the Temporary Holding Place and titled "Can't believe she's a teacher". And that was in fact shouldn't become a big issue in the first place.

I'm contemplating whether to withdraw her.

 

[ceron]

I'm looking for Kinderland School Uniform for boy age 4 or 5. Need them before April 2011. Contact me directly at 90023236 if you are letting go!

 

[ethel]

this school has no waiting list and is full to the brim..

 

[adelynn13]

Hi, Need reviews urgently for the following:

1) Character Montessori @ AMK
2) White Lodge
3) Greentree Montessori Children Hub @ Yishun

Anyone got kids attending school there? Wana know if the curriculum/teacher is gd?

 

[polarix]

Hi,

I'm thinking to enroll my gal to SKMCC (SK Methodist Children Center) for nursery. I understand that the principle was changed. Is this new principle good? And, how about the teachers there?

Thks.