Any Foreign kid got to Local School (2022)

[NYY1]

After looking up the dictionary definition of “bottom of the barrel” - I think I see why you thought my intention was to degrade or imply something objectionable or inferior.

This is where native speakers of English (who never learned the dictionary definition) can be misconstrued. My meaning was in the sense of “leftover or least desired items” after everyone has picked through the barrel and gotten what they deem to be the most attractive items — whatever is left over, if anything, is the bottom of the barrel.

I didn't even look up the definition in a dictionary when I read your comment. Instead, I knew what it meant and how people (in many different countries, including the USA) have used it to convey a meaning.

Are you, a native speaker of English, saying the dictionary meaning is wrong? Is it possible that your meaning is not the generally accepted meaning?

Anyways, I'm not sure you have a good understanding of nuance vs. tangent or majority vs. plurality (another thread) either, but I guess that's OK. Like you said, sometimes peoples' word choice is questionable (I'm paraphrasing).

[malcontent]

I’m native English speaker, hence my tendency to use vocabulary in a more colloquial rather than technical way.

And I was reminded by my wife just tonight, my choice of words is not precise enough for her, so it must be me. Ha!

[Lisafuller]

The government has stated publicly that only PR/SC students are guaranteed seats in local schools. I think it’s important for parents to understand that they cannot count on getting a seat in a local school. It could factor into decisions on whether to accept an assignment in another country, or whether to accept an assignment here at all. This is why I emphasize the limitation - not to sow seeds of hopelessness, but to ensure the limitation is understood by those who who are facing those decisions. Anyone who is not a SC has another passport with school choices outside Singapore, unless they are stateless.

Some schools are more desired than others, as the P1 registration process clearly illustrates. Many parents care deeply about this. Going back to the expat who is deciding whether to take an assignment elsewhere, they should know that only the least desired schools are potentially available (no guarantee) after locals have their pick. Nobody said they were bad schools, but they are not at the top of anyone’s list. This is not to make anyone feel bad, it’s just the reality here… and it’s very a different system than most countries — so in my mind, it’s good to be aware.

Good points and yes, people should be aware. I don't think I've ever said they shouldn't be aware?

Nevertheless, once again I don't think the reply is directly related to what I said. To recap:
#1. There are spaces available for foreign students.
#2. Some of those foreign students are happy to take the spot, and despite being called bottom of the barrel by others, many of the students can do quite well. Possibly, even surpassing some of the other students that started in a more desirable place. I think there are many things that could be reasonably inferred from this, but I haven't listed any of them and have no interest in discussing them.
#3. I never made any statements about how much difference a more desirable school might make to student outcomes. I was wondering if someone thought I did?

Maybe I'm missing something but if you want to address those points, that would be great (or if not, that's fine too). If you want to try and shift the topic to something tangential, there's no need.

I believe it’s nuance rather than tangent. One person can say the glass is half empty, the other can say it is half full… neither of them are wrong — it’s just different perspectives.

Disagreements are inevitable but they should not stop us from continuing to share our perspectives.

[Lisafuller]

After looking up the dictionary definition of “bottom of the barrel” - I think I see why you thought my intention was to degrade or imply something objectionable or inferior.

This is where native speakers of English (who never learned the dictionary definition) can be misconstrued. My meaning was in the sense of “leftover or least desired items” after everyone has picked through the barrel and gotten what they deem to be the most attractive items — whatever is left over, if anything, is the bottom of the barrel.

Not sure there's much of a difference in meaning though, Mal. Objectively, what is left behind can also be seen as what is undesirable, because if it was desired by others, it wouldn't have been left behind to begin with.

[Lisafuller]

After looking up the dictionary definition of “bottom of the barrel” - I think I see why you thought my intention was to degrade or imply something objectionable or inferior.

This is where native speakers of English (who never learned the dictionary definition) can be misconstrued. My meaning was in the sense of “leftover or least desired items” after everyone has picked through the barrel and gotten what they deem to be the most attractive items — whatever is left over, if anything, is the bottom of the barrel.

I didn't even look up the definition in a dictionary when I read your comment. Instead, I knew what it meant and how people (in many different countries, including the USA) have used it to convey a meaning.

Are you, a native speaker of English, saying the dictionary meaning is wrong? Is it possible that your meaning is not the generally accepted meaning?

Anyways, I'm not sure you have a good understanding of nuance vs. tangent or majority vs. plurality (another thread) either, but I guess that's OK. Like you said, sometimes peoples' word choice is questionable (I'm paraphrasing).

I actually don't think the meanings are all too different. The first definition is contained in Mal's definition.

[Lisafuller]

I’m native English speaker, hence my tendency to use vocabulary in a more colloquial rather than technical way.

And I was reminded by my wife just tonight, my choice of words is not precise enough for her, so it must be me. Ha!

Clearly, nobody had bad intentions, we're all parents that want the best for our kids, who have enjoyed many fruitful conversations/debates together. Nothing to be upset about.

[BeeKayEss]

just asking if any parents started getting the result of Phase 3? Website mentioned "in October" Receive offer email and register at the designated school and by end of October they will provide the reporting dat details

[sliverchair13]

just asking if any parents started getting the result of Phase 3? Website mentioned "in October" Receive offer email and register at the designated school and by end of October they will provide the reporting dat details

past year result got out from mid to end of october.

[BeeKayEss]

thanks for the response

[malcontent]

For anyone who has a child applying to US universities after completing JC2 (A-level stream) in Singapore, how were final year grades submitted… do mid-year and prelim count as semester 1 & 2 grades for year 12?

How about predicted scores, how do those get transmitted and when?

[mukacantik]

My kid was able to get a local school spot during Phase 3 registration. It is just very near, around 100 meters from our rented HDB.
The key is to study the previous years balloting results. You need to identify which areas and which schools has more remaining slots to offer during Phase 3 registration.
Then I became strategic and move to this area two years before my kid will turn P1.
K1 & K2 were in PCF Sparkletots to show that we are willing to integrate on the local school system.
Don't know if that helps, but three of my friends did it and we are all successful.
There is no really guideline on how to achieve this but we just tried the most possible logical way we can get it. And perhaps you can also include prayers and luck.

[malcontent]

My kid was able to get a local school spot during Phase 3 registration. It is just very near, around 100 meters from our rented HDB.
The key is to study the previous years balloting results. You need to identify which areas and which schools has more remaining slots to offer during Phase 3 registration.
Then I became strategic and move to this area two years before my kid will turn P1.
K1 & K2 were in PCF Sparkletots to show that we are willing to integrate on the local school system.
Don't know if that helps, but three of my friends did it and we are all successful.
There is no really guideline on how to achieve this but we just tried the most possible logical way we can get it. And perhaps you can also include prayers and luck.

Do you really think Sparkletots does anything? My kids did most of their N1-K2 at Barker Road Kindergarten. Although my kids lamented that their time there included almost no recess and they were served porridge that made them gag, it was still far better than a lot of local options, and priced within reason. Although the school is on the ACS campus, there is no affiliation or advantage to going there.

Like you, I also started a deep dive into the P1 registration process about 2 years prior, so I could learn all of the ins and outs. I learned that the MOE only posts P1 registration stats for all schools for a brief moment at each phase, and then promptly removes it. You snooze, you loose. So I would copy/paste into spreadsheet over time until I got a complete statistical picture. After considering all of the options, I decided to target a mission school that was at least half-way decent and we were reasonably assured of getting a spot given the kilometers. My strategy worked and we got my daughter into her target school, but in the end she developed no fondness for the school whatsoever, and totally disregarded the scholarship offered by their affiliated secondary without a second thought.

[NYY1]

My kid was able to get a local school spot during Phase 3 registration. It is just very near, around 100 meters from our rented HDB.
The key is to study the previous years balloting results. You need to identify which areas and which schools has more remaining slots to offer during Phase 3 registration.
Then I became strategic and move to this area two years before my kid will turn P1.
K1 & K2 were in PCF Sparkletots to show that we are willing to integrate on the local school system.
Don't know if that helps, but three of my friends did it and we are all successful.
There is no really guideline on how to achieve this but we just tried the most possible logical way we can get it. And perhaps you can also include prayers and luck.

Do you really think Sparkletots does anything? My kids did most of their N1-K2 at Barker Road Kindergarten. Although my kids lamented that their time there included almost no recess and they were served porridge that made them gag, it was still far better than a lot of local options, and priced within reason. Although the school is on the ACS campus, there is no affiliation or advantage to going there.

Like you, I also started a deep dive into the P1 registration process about 2 years prior, so I could learn all of the ins and outs. I learned that the MOE only posts P1 registration stats for all schools for a brief moment at each phase, and then promptly removes it. You snooze, you loose. So I would copy/paste into spreadsheet over time until I got a complete statistical picture. After considering all of the options, I decided to target a mission school that was at least half-way decent and we were reasonably assured of getting a spot given the kilometers. My strategy worked and we got my daughter into her target school, but in the end she developed no fondness for the school whatsoever, and totally disregarded the scholarship offered by their affiliated secondary without a second thought.

Phase 2 and Phase 3 are two completely different things. For Phase 2, it only matters if you are a SC or PR, and then it is up to (now citizenship,) distance and then random balloting (of course where a child did N1-K2 is irrelevant). Phase 3 is hardly that. While no one knows the exact formula they are using, it wouldn't be difficult to guess some of the factors they are considering.

[malcontent]

My kid was able to get a local school spot during Phase 3 registration. It is just very near, around 100 meters from our rented HDB.
The key is to study the previous years balloting results. You need to identify which areas and which schools has more remaining slots to offer during Phase 3 registration.
Then I became strategic and move to this area two years before my kid will turn P1.
K1 & K2 were in PCF Sparkletots to show that we are willing to integrate on the local school system.
Don't know if that helps, but three of my friends did it and we are all successful.
There is no really guideline on how to achieve this but we just tried the most possible logical way we can get it. And perhaps you can also include prayers and luck.

Do you really think Sparkletots does anything? My kids did most of their N1-K2 at Barker Road Kindergarten. Although my kids lamented that their time there included almost no recess and they were served porridge that made them gag, it was still far better than a lot of local options, and priced within reason. Although the school is on the ACS campus, there is no affiliation or advantage to going there.

Like you, I also started a deep dive into the P1 registration process about 2 years prior, so I could learn all of the ins and outs. I learned that the MOE only posts P1 registration stats for all schools for a brief moment at each phase, and then promptly removes it. You snooze, you loose. So I would copy/paste into spreadsheet over time until I got a complete statistical picture. After considering all of the options, I decided to target a mission school that was at least half-way decent and we were reasonably assured of getting a spot given the kilometers. My strategy worked and we got my daughter into her target school, but in the end she developed no fondness for the school whatsoever, and totally disregarded the scholarship offered by their affiliated secondary without a second thought.

Phase 2 and Phase 3 are two completely different things. For Phase 2, it only matters if you are a SC or PR, and then it is up to (now citizenship,) distance and then random balloting (of course where a child did N1-K2 is irrelevant). Phase 3 is hardly that. While no one knows the exact formula they are using, it wouldn't be difficult to guess some of the factors they are considering.

I’d guess the closest school that still has seats, simple as that. Seemed to be the case for my son and his cousin who lives in the same condo as us and applied during the same round of P1, both of them were offered spots at Cantonment Primary, not exactly close to where we live in the Holland area, but not horrible either.

[NYY1]

Do you really think Sparkletots does anything? My kids did most of their N1-K2 at Barker Road Kindergarten. Although my kids lamented that their time there included almost no recess and they were served porridge that made them gag, it was still far better than a lot of local options, and priced within reason. Although the school is on the ACS campus, there is no affiliation or advantage to going there.

Like you, I also started a deep dive into the P1 registration process about 2 years prior, so I could learn all of the ins and outs. I learned that the MOE only posts P1 registration stats for all schools for a brief moment at each phase, and then promptly removes it. You snooze, you loose. So I would copy/paste into spreadsheet over time until I got a complete statistical picture. After considering all of the options, I decided to target a mission school that was at least half-way decent and we were reasonably assured of getting a spot given the kilometers. My strategy worked and we got my daughter into her target school, but in the end she developed no fondness for the school whatsoever, and totally disregarded the scholarship offered by their affiliated secondary without a second thought.

Phase 2 and Phase 3 are two completely different things. For Phase 2, it only matters if you are a SC or PR, and then it is up to (now citizenship,) distance and then random balloting (of course where a child did N1-K2 is irrelevant). Phase 3 is hardly that. While no one knows the exact formula they are using, it wouldn't be difficult to guess some of the factors they are considering.

I’d guess the closest school that still has seats, simple as that. Seemed to be the case for my son and his cousin who lives in the same condo as us and applied during the same round of P1, both of them were offered spots at Cantonment Primary, not exactly close to where we live in the Holland area, but not horrible either.

Probably a bit more complicated than that. Maybe a more critical question is "Who gets the seats?" Can't say for sure but I think it is unlikely they just group everyone into different distance categories and then conduct a random ballot. Certainly, there are people in close proximity to a school that don't get a seat, and there are people that are allocated to a school an hour plus away (although this may have been the school that was closet to them with vacancy, or it was the closest school after all of the vacancies at nearer schools were given to other people).

Anyways, there are definitely many factors that play no part in Phase 2 applications. Not sure I would conclude that itself means they are irrelevant to Phase 3 applications.