Heidi Actually: November 2010

I had registred Kasyfi in a school ages ago not realising that by 2 yrs old Nawi would also be able to go to school too. The thing is, Kasyfi's school that I had already registered him under only accepts students at the age of 3. The new regulation that kids only allowed to be schooled at age 3 and above really got me confused....?!?!?

So here I am searching like crazy for a school to sign Nawi up. The other thing now is, to sign Nawi up for a school hoping to get him in by next year is in fact a little bit too late, I should have dome it when or before he was even born!! I was actually set on putting him in school when he turns three...(due to that blasted regulation)!! So of course I was relaxing about it.

So over here there are only a few schools that accept kids at the age of 2. So far I have visited three of these places.

The first school I visited was Jerudong International School (JIS). I like to refer to this school as the 'School of All Schools'. Since this was the first destination I visited naturally I just fell in love with it coz I was majorly impressed with all the facilities they had over there. I also managed to speak to a few of the secondary students over there and they made it quite clear that they enjoy the school a lot. They're also currently building their Art Department, or watever they call it, and for those who know me, Art is a big deal for me, so of course the unfinished building was already sparkling with stars around it in my eyes!!! The library, oh the library, y'could just sit there and live there....so homey and cute with all the little tiny chairs for kids. It really makes you wana pick up a book and read all day long. Football fields that go on and on...sure the boys wold love running on that field....my imagination already going. I was also highly impressed with the school trip they made to Tanzania , or where ever it was they went...the pictures looked fab. As you might be able to tell, I was soo nuts about the whole campus that I can't even remember details, all I remember is how I was feeling when I toured the place...which was completely in awe....! And then of course the 'awe' feeling came to a halt when I saw the fees, and then in my head was .... "right, I shall speak with my husband about this one..." hahhaha.. but in my mind was actually, "what's there to discuss, this place is awsome!! I would have loved to come to this place..!"

Went home that night, discussed with Sam and his arument was: "So the campus looks great, they have everything. But will our son who's only in Kindergarten be using all those facilities at this stage??"
I thought about it and thought...y'have a point....BUT WHO CARES....its a cool place to be..!! and HELL YEAH they'll be using the facilities" heheh
Then he says, 'It's really expensive just for kindergarten education"
Then I say, "Early years is the most important stage of education... The idea is to give the best education in Kindy and primary so that their basic foundation is strong.." (get it??) Makes perfect sense to me.
Then he says, "Then how come students in other schools can still score good marks anyway, not necessary that the have to go to places like JIS"
Then I said, "hhhmmm... yea y'have a point... I dunno how they can score..?? but we are concerned about our son.." sudah atuu... last last its about our son..not other kids getting great marks in govt schools... ;P obviously I jus wanted Kasyfi and Nawi in JIS..in love sudah kan..hehhe!! So this was like me closing my ears and shutting my eyes to watever Sam wanted me to understand.

So he said, go visit more schools...see the other alternatives dulu... Then I thought..okaaaaay, but i knw i wont find anything comparable...

So the next few days I made a visit to ISB, another school here where Nawi can start school at age 2. This place I was slightly familiar with, my sister and I used to go to this school way in the 80s... yea, a lot has changed since then. Eventhough it was one of the best schools back then, the teachers are all different now and so I was still uncertain about how things were taught there. Anyway, i had to find out. So I walk in... and then tour the place. Walking around the school instantly brings back memories and takes me back to when life was all about fun and games and none of this 'responsibility' crap we have now.
I notice the library looks far more lively than it was before. Now has colours everywhere!! Cool. Slightly smaller scale than JIS but hey, let's not be biased. I visit their music room, yea they have instruments...good good..I visit the computer room...spoke to the teacher...I was already quite impressed with the display of work hanging on the walls and while the teacher was explaining to me what it is they do there my mind was already wondering..obviously i would not make a good student...angan angan...but i did catch him saying that they teach computer to the kids and they operate it themselves, and that's when i thought to myself....wow, good luck teaching kasyfi 'the destroyer' how to operate computers properly!! hehehhe..really!! sometimes i feel i need a taser gun handy just incase Kasyfi gets over enthusiastic ...!!! :p Overall, slightly smaller than JIS but I kinda love it still..maybe I am a bit biased coz it was my beloved school in the past but there was some kind of good feeling I was getting from the kindy section. Dunno about the secondary bit though...guess i wont worry about that till the time comes!!
Lots of things I was impressed with in ISB.... again I did my mini interview which I feel was one of the biggest reasons why I feel ISB is quite perfect too...the girls I spoke to and asked about the school really spoke well. I actually felt like I was speaking with mature adults when I know they were secondary students. I instantly imagined Kasyfi and Nawi speaking that way in secondary level and i thought...YES...check.

The reason why I pick students randomly and talk with them is because:
1) eventhough the school may be nice and the teachers appear wonderful, its the students that we have to evaluate and see how they progress
2) if the school is crap, the kids WILL tell you, they won't sugar coat things
3) of course, if the students do say they love the place then rest assured it is actually a good school ;)

I moved on to visit Joyful Kids Montessori School. Wrong day to visit coz they were having their Consert at a different venue so I missed them. But I did speak to whoever was there and only managed to get a leaflet that was more helpful than the 'people'. But I can't say much, all the teachers were out. Inda pa lah..I take it as a sign.

The other place I visited was Fun2Learn. This is not really a school but more like a tutorial place where they focus mainly on reading and writing. Kids can start by age 2 also. I think there are 4 teachers in charge and only a few kids, which I like. Apparently, according to the teacher, some parents even opt to send their kids there in KG1 and KG2 to get their reading strong and only register them into regualr school for KG3. I went into the class with Kasyfi for a quick visit. Before we went in we were waiting outside and Kasyfi asked for his milk bottle....sekali when we were brought into the classes he was surprised to see all those kids in there...he pulled out his bottle from his mouth, grabbed my wrist and shoved his bottle into my palm and quickly let go of his bottle...!! I almost laughed my face off...but for his sake I controlled myself...hahahha..

I have yet to visit Yayasan School, Stella, PGGMB, PDS and Al-Falah (or watever ycall it).
Al-Falah ani I am also quite interested because i spoke with one of kasyfi's cousins who is in that school and he 's only about 4-5 yrs old and he was telling how much he likes his school and describes his teachers as "baik, mana pemarah.." hehehhe sweet huh??

Stella, I have a niece in that school and she showed me clips of tehir end of year concert, kids crying coz they didnt wana leave....the grades they got for PSR, pretty good! im impressed!! and in the video clip she showed me there was a video of the teachers giving their congratulatory messages to the students and yea it was kinda sweet, i felt like they really do care for the children and their future. The students reactions to the teachers messages were really happy too so I think yess....Stella is up on my list too as one of the great schools to be in.

After the few visits I've made and talking and talking with other mothers and kids I find that there are always good stories and bad stories. Comments are endless. So in conclusion, i feel probably kids are all different, and schools are all different. The best thing is to just put the kids in school where you as the parent feel best, and then just see how they do. Watch them carefully, if they seem happy and chatty..then congrats they are happy..but if they dont wana get up for school and simply look down... dont think, just change school...haha.. :p yea that's the plan..