penguinsix
Registered User
Visited ESF Hillside the other day. I'm currently torn between an afternoon slot that has been offered for my K2 or keeping my kid at Woodlands Peak for a morning (English) and afternoon (Mandarin) program.
Some interesting notes from my visit to Hillside.
* ~20 kids per group x 4 groups per session (morning/afternoon). Legally they can go to 22 but rarely hit that.
* 75% of the parents want the morning session, but only 50% of the slots are for the morning. By Chinese New Year though, anyone who has expressed an interest in switching has generally been offered an opportunity to do so.
* Of the 84 kids that applied to ESF primary, 83 have already been offered spots, and #84 (who got their paperwork in very late) will likely get an offer later this Summer/Fall.
* The ESF teachers / "scouts" come over and the kids who have applied to ESF are given stickers to be observed, reviewed.
* The ESF school emphasized "their relationship" with the ESF primaries in helping to facilitate the admission and transition process.
* Woodlands v. ESF is basically "a draw" academically. The advantage to ESF was the larger class size which might help them socially develop for ESF primary, where there are 30 kids in a class. Woodlands are a bit smaller class sizes.
* Mandarin is offered as an activity (20-30 minutes) once a week(?). It was not very formal though.
* A new outdoor play area (at the end of the bus drop off area) is being developed and should open by the start of the school year.
* The K2 area will be expanding by taking over 1/2 of the teachers lounge to give them more room to run around.
Anyway, though some of these items were interesting to those who come later and search these forums.
As for us, we're really torn. We originally were at Woodlands AM/PM for an English/Mandarin experience, then we thought ESF would be our best bet, and now we're second guessing and thinking of staying at Woodlands for the full year prior to applying to ESF primary school (Peak) for 2011-12 or an international school. Still haven't come to a final decision yet.
Some interesting notes from my visit to Hillside.
* ~20 kids per group x 4 groups per session (morning/afternoon). Legally they can go to 22 but rarely hit that.
* 75% of the parents want the morning session, but only 50% of the slots are for the morning. By Chinese New Year though, anyone who has expressed an interest in switching has generally been offered an opportunity to do so.
* Of the 84 kids that applied to ESF primary, 83 have already been offered spots, and #84 (who got their paperwork in very late) will likely get an offer later this Summer/Fall.
* The ESF teachers / "scouts" come over and the kids who have applied to ESF are given stickers to be observed, reviewed.
* The ESF school emphasized "their relationship" with the ESF primaries in helping to facilitate the admission and transition process.
* Woodlands v. ESF is basically "a draw" academically. The advantage to ESF was the larger class size which might help them socially develop for ESF primary, where there are 30 kids in a class. Woodlands are a bit smaller class sizes.
* Mandarin is offered as an activity (20-30 minutes) once a week(?). It was not very formal though.
* A new outdoor play area (at the end of the bus drop off area) is being developed and should open by the start of the school year.
* The K2 area will be expanding by taking over 1/2 of the teachers lounge to give them more room to run around.
Anyway, though some of these items were interesting to those who come later and search these forums.
As for us, we're really torn. We originally were at Woodlands AM/PM for an English/Mandarin experience, then we thought ESF would be our best bet, and now we're second guessing and thinking of staying at Woodlands for the full year prior to applying to ESF primary school (Peak) for 2011-12 or an international school. Still haven't come to a final decision yet.