Two weeks ago, during a lunch conversation with my colleagues, one of them asked me which school I intend to enroll Little Edison in. To be honest, I haven’t given it much thought until yesterday when I stumbled onto someone’s blog. I was shocked to know that they have been planning for their daughter’s primary school when she is just two years old.
Our boy is already four and I haven’t plan anything yet. Am I too late? Or am I too “kan-cheong”? I wasn’t sure, but I began searching for information pertaining to Primary One registration on the internet. I’m not a Singaporean, thus I don’t really know how the primary school registration system works in Singapore.
However, I’ve seen the stress that my colleagues went through in order to enroll their children into a premier primary school. If you’d ask me, I’ll be honest with you that I’m going to fight tooth and nail to get Little Edison into a premier school too. In this aspect, I don’t mind being labeled as a “kiasu” mother.
Education is a significant component in one’s life that would mould the person he would become one day. Considering the fact that our children are spending more and more time at school than at home, it’s important to find the “right” primary school for them.
V and I had a talk about this issue yesterday. Both of us were from neighbourhood schools but we do recognized that it would be a good opportunity and starting point for Little Edison if he were given a place in a premier school. It’s our prerogative as parents to give him the best wherever possible.
Our selection criteria for Little Edison’s primary school are:
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It should have a proven track record of outstanding PSLE results.
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It should have a good learning environment with dedicated and hardworking teachers.
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Ideally, it should be within 2km from our house or our parents-in-law’s house.
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Preferably, it has a good school image as reflected in their students’ attire and behaviors.
With the above criteria, we should start short listing our preferred primary school for Little Edison.
There are many good articles about P1 registration at KiasuParents.com. If you’re unsure of the process, do hop over for a good read. This article is very well-written with all the details of the different phases of registration.
From this article, I also understand that if I wish to get involved as a parent volunteer to increase the probability of getting enrolled, I‘ve to start at least ONE YEAR before the registration. Counting backwards, that means I need to sign-up 2 years before Little Edison turns 7 – which means when he is 5 years old – which is just next year!
Now, we should really start to think and plan for it. It’s never too early.
