P1 registration 2015, it's coming

When was the last time I talked about primary school plan for Renzo? I did a recap and here you go:

July 31, 2011 - freaking 4 years ago when Renzo was barely 2, I talked about the rather complex P1 registration process which till date, I am still not 100% confident that I got it all right (you know, policy changes all the time...). But good thing is, back then, the choice has been pretty clear for us..

Aug 19, 2013 - then about 2 years later, with all the changes in life (house moving, that's a big deal when you talk about primary schools in Singapore), we didn't change our initial plan and instead, we proceeded on to get ourselves secured with a new job role - parent volunteers so that we could stick to our 1st choice of primary school, and since then. we've never looked back..

So what was our decision again for Renzo's primary school?
(Decision from our very first discussion 4 years ago)

Yeah! I am super glad it didn't change after all these 4 years. And even Renzo points at the school whenever we travel pass that area and asks: "That's my primary school right? I know that!". Once a while I do get distracted a bit by some of the rankings or comments from the internet about different primary schools, but I quickly remind myself,  our initial goal was to find a school that doesn't only focuses on academic results, but also gives Renzo enough exposure to experience and enjoy a colorful 6 years of elementary school life.

And how do we know if the school is able to provide him with such an environment?
Of course we won't know. But I guess our efforts in joining the parent volunteering program is the best channel for us to have a better taste of the school of our choice. Indeed I must thank Daddy Chan dearest for his efforts, in participating and making the PV experience super fun and enjoyable. Why do I say so? You will be surprised, or I should say there's no surprise at all, that most of the time you either see the Daddy, or very often the Mummy only, doing the PV work in school. And I think our kids are super lucky that the Daddy is always willing to dedicate his time and work hard for them whenever possible.

With our combined efforts, we only went to school 4 times before hitting that magic number of 40 hours. Don't get me wrong, it's not easy for working parents to take full day off from busy work schedule at all. I am just saying the school is very considerate to assign more full day programs to working parents so it's easier for us the clock the hours. We were extremely happy to find out the types of program the students are exposed to. For example, we brought a group of "student leaders from P3-P6" for their leadership training activities, such as completing different challenges as individuals and as a group. It's definitely rewarding to get to mingle around with school teachers, current students to hear more about the school. We were even lucky enough to meet with the chairman of the parent support group, to learn about some feedback from parents too!! And Yes! We truly love our every encounter with the school!

 

Ready to bring kids out for LTA visit to understand Singapore's public transportation system

 

PV work at school library!

PV work at swimming complex!

So tada, here's one excited mummy who can't wait to get a seat in our 1st choice primary school for our darling boy. Of course, you might think the next thing I want to say is, I am all ready to sit back and relax while waiting for the good news from the school!

Apparently, you are wrong, I was wrong too because I always got the impression that it's guaranteed that under Phase 2B, Renzo would definitely get a seat and that's based on my hours of research on historical record of the school. Unfortunately, when I called the school up today, I was told by a friendly admin manager that we will receive the letter in June and we could bring it along for the P1 registration in July under Phase 2B, and based on subscription rate, Renzo might, or MIGHT NOT get into the school!!

Quite a bummer isn't it? After all the careful considerations and efforts and only to be told there's no guarantee? But hey, what's the big deal?! Guess what I did next? I scrolled up and read this again:

That's why there's this thing called "2nd choice" in our original plan so yes, if the 2B plan ever fails for our 1st choice school, we will just go for 2C phase with our 2nd choice school and it's the NEAREST school to our house! Isn't that a great news?!

I know I know, what if?

No what if!!

I am really going to sit back and relax now while waiting for this to happen:
(from a school monthly circular)
Tentative dates for P1 registration in 2015 for 2009 kids who are going to P1 in Jan 2016.
Phase 1: 2-3 July 2015
Phase 2A(1): 7 July 2015
Phase 2A(2): 13-14 July 2015
Phase 2B: 20-21 July 2015
Phase 2C: 29-31 July 2015