Tag Archives: BB

PSLE Year Week 1 Update

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Another update that I wanted to do as a seperate post was on BB & GG’s final year in Primary School. They will give their PSLE exam this year in October and this weekly update should serve as a diary of sorts for me, to use as a guide of how they are doing in school this year and what we as parents can do to make the transition to secondary school easier.

Week 1 in school was a suspended timetable week with no co-curricular activities (CCA) or supplementary and enrichment classes scheduled. This will all start from today when out of five days a week, they come home straight back from school at 2 pm only on Fridays. When you add tuition to the mix, what you will get will be two very tired children at the end of the day. This is how their schedule will loosely look from today:

  • Monday: School ends at 1:30, Supplementary classes from 2-4 pm, back home at 4:30 and off to Hindi tuitions at 5. Back home around 6-6:30, time for some homework, dinner and then sleep.
  • Tuesday: School ends at 3:30, with online Hindi classes from 6-8 pm. Dinner in the middle, then homework and sleep.
  • Wednesday: School ends at 1:30, Supplementary classes from 2-4 pm, back home at 4:30 and Maths Tuitions from 6-8. Dinner before tuition and then time for some homework before bed!
  • Thursday: School ends at 1:30, Enrichment classes and CCA from 2:30 – 5:30 pm. No tuitions on Thursdays as they will be exhausted!
  • Fridays: The one day in the week they come back at 2 pm. Only have Hindi tuition at 4 pm. So will have time to do a bit of studies.
  • Saturday: Hindi school from 8:30 to 12:30, then music lessons from 5-6.
  • Sunday: No rest on Sundays too with one tuition from 8-10 am and another from 10-11 and 12-1! The evening is free…

The school pace has started to become faster than they are used to with teachers putting their noses to the grindstone and also reminding them of their PSLE exams.

I will be meeting BB’s Maths and Science teacher this week during their curriculum talk to discuss how we can help him for his Direct School Admission. I will also be speaking to one of GG’s teachers for her DSA! More updates on that later.

GG’s class also filled up a form where they had a list of some of the schools in our area plus other good schools and the scores needed to enter the school. They were asked to put 6 schools they want to go to and also their final score they need to get in! Hopefully this will motivate them to do their best! (Fingers crossed)

School year (or “The Madness” as I’d like to call it) begins

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School started yesterday and BB & GG enter a new phase – they will give their Primary School Leaving Exam (PSLE) at the end of this year and leave the safe, secure and, perhaps a little too comfy world of Primary School and enter the independent world of Secondary school. This, along with grappling with the trials and tribulations of being a teen!

My posts this year may be a bit too much about the PSLE, but since it’s such a major exam in Singapore, and with two of them taking it together, it’s quite understandable, me thinks!

Also, this is probably the last year, the two of them will be together in the same school. Who knows what the next year will bring, although I am praying with all that I have that they get admissions into the schools of their choice (should I actually reveal it here or is that tempting fate?)

While dropping off GG & BB at their school yesterday morning, I saw all the fresh faced Primary 1 children and their parents, all crowded around the children in the school foyer and this took me back six back when me and S were one of those parents. We huddled around our children and followed them to their classes. Parents are not allowed inside the classroom and we were all outside, our eyes searching for offspring and clicking away to glory! After a few minutes, they ask you to go down and wait in the canteen so that teachers can bring the class to order and also get to know the children. We waited till recess and then again a mad rush to see our children. Most of the children buy food, but we’ve always sent BB & GG with home-cooked food to school, be it recess or lunch! Then another wait till school dismissal. I think I went home and came back at dismissal.

Their school also has a tradition of giving every incoming Primary 1 child a medal on the third day of school (the last day of the orientation and before the teachers start  the real teaching) and parents and their seniors (aka Primary 2) are invited for the ceremony. The Principal usually gives a nice speech about the school, it’s values and how they hope the children imbibe these values and make the school proud of them….

Now it’s my children’s turn to do well in their PSLE and make their school proud of them….

Speaking of which, BB is getting an Edusave Merit Award this Sunday for doing well in school – he came in the top three in his class for Maths, Science and English and if not for his pathetic marks in Hindi, will be in the top class! GG is jealous as she got this award last year, along with BB, but P5 proved too much for her. I’ve consoled her that if she gets the marks and the T-score she is aiming for in the PSLE, she will definitely get the award next year.

Guilt Tripping

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School holidays started from today and this morning both GG and BB wanted me to stay home from work.

“Mama, we miss you a lot when there are holidays! I wish there was school today so I don’t get to be so bored”, this from BB with his big eyes looking soulfully at me.

I melted and almost decided to stay at home….just the thought that I do not have any more leave pushed me to work!

Really, really looking forward to our holiday next month…

End of School Year

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BB & GG’s school year for Primary 2 is coming to an end. Tomorrow is the last day of school and Friday is the awards for top performers. BB missed the top slot by a few marks, but hopefully he realises this and bucks up next year. They will be going to school on Friday though as they are part of the choir which will be entertaining the parents and the prize winners.

Picture Source

They brought their year-end reports home yesterday and BB managed to get Band 1 (85% and above) for both his school subjects but Hindi brought his total score waay down. So this year has been an eye opener for him. As for GG, she really needs to work on her Math. She scroed Band 2 (between 75 to 84%) for English and Band 3 for Maths. Hindi also brought her total scores down. Here is what their teachers wrote about them in the year-end report.

GG: With her gentle temperament, GG gets along with her classmates. She  is a helpful girl who is always ready to offer her assistance to the teachers. She is diligent and has shown keenness to learn. Keep up the good work attitude.

BB: BB is an independent worker but needs to put in his best effort to complete tasks assigned by teachers. He clarifies his doubts and has a natural flair in communicating his views. To improve his collaborative skills, he will need to be patient and listen attentively to the views of his classmates. If he exercises more discipline in his studies, BB can achieve even better results. Strive harder!

Now on to conquer Primary 3…Wish us luck…