Kindergarten at SAS living in Orchard... Bus schedule?

[tanusa]

Hello. Anyone with a Kindergarten student at SAS living in (or near) Orchard? What time does your child catch the bus in the morning and what time does he/she arrive home? How do you feel about the bus service? Is your child exhausted when he/she gets home? I really like SAS, but am having a really hard time with the idea of putting my five-year-old on a bus for so long by herself. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Also, does anyone have a Kindergarten child and a preschooler at SAS? How does the difference in schedules for the two classes work out? I would have a Kindergartner and a first-year preschooler there next year.

thanks!

[road.not.taken]

Our kids started at SAS in pre-school (age 3) and took the bus from Orchard Boulevard. They loved it! It was about a 40 minute bus ride (I used to ride my son on my bike to a local pre-school, which also took 40 mins, but was a lot more dangerous). The bus arrived at the condo empty, filled up and went straight to school. They were not exhausted ~ plenty of time and energy for play dates, swimming, trips to the zoo, etc... Remember she won't be by herself, she'll have friends and a bus amah to help.

[tanusa]

Our kids started at SAS in pre-school (age 3) and took the bus from Orchard Boulevard. They loved it! It was about a 40 minute bus ride (I used to ride my son on my bike to a local pre-school, which also took 40 mins, but was a lot more dangerous). The bus arrived at the condo empty, filled up and went straight to school. They were not exhausted ~ plenty of time and energy for play dates, swimming, trips to the zoo, etc... Remember she won't be by herself, she'll have friends and a bus amah to help.

What time did they have to catch the bus? Also, what are the school day hours for Kindergarten at SAS? I've looked all over the site, but am only able to find the schedule for the preschool and not the Kindergarten classes.

thank you!

[road.not.taken]

I don't remember to tell you the truth, I want to say for an 8:00am start it was about 7:15. That was a lllllooooonnnnngggg time ago when the length of the day changed for Kindergarten, and our kids were in both afternoon and morning sessions of Pre-School. I can tell you now we are still in the Orchard area and they get on the bus at 7:00 and get there at 7:40. They are off the bus at 3:40.

If you go onto the SAS website, then choose Primary at the top, then look at the Quick Links on the right, about 1/2 way down you'll see Primary Handbook. Once the PDF loads, scroll down to page 7. The schedule is there.

[tanusa]

I don't remember to tell you the truth, I want to say for an 8:00am start it was about 7:15. That was a lllllooooonnnnngggg time ago when the length of the day changed for Kindergarten, and our kids were in both afternoon and morning sessions of Pre-School. I can tell you now we are still in the Orchard area and they get on the bus at 7:00 and get there at 7:40. They are off the bus at 3:40.

If you go onto the SAS website, then choose Primary at the top, then look at the Quick Links on the right, about 1/2 way down you'll see Primary Handbook. Once the PDF loads, scroll down to page 7. The schedule is there.

Thanks so much. I'm going to download it now. I must have spent an hour looking through the SAS for the school hours. It never occurred to me to download the handbook. I think my mind is in total overload right now. Less than three months until we move, and we're in the middle of a house renovation. I think I'll get to Singapore after the holidays and crash!

[katy2]

I posted my reply as a new topic...sorry

If it makes you feel any better I had the exact same anxiety moving here. We moved here in August and my son is a Kindergartener at SAS. We live in Bukit timah but his bus ride is about 40 minutes. I lost sleep over this bus thing. It is REALLY not a big deal at all. The kids are fine and most bring a DS or books on the bus or just chat with other kids.

School starts at 8 and they are home by 3:40. A long day but I have nothing but great things to say about the school and staff. My son loves it there. Hope this helps.

Call Yeap bus service and they can tell you exactly how long it will take from your condo and what pick up and drop off times are.

[tanusa]

I posted my reply as a new topic...sorry

If it makes you feel any better I had the exact same anxiety moving here. We moved here in August and my son is a Kindergartener at SAS. We live in Bukit timah but his bus ride is about 40 minutes. I lost sleep over this bus thing. It is REALLY not a big deal at all. The kids are fine and most bring a DS or books on the bus or just chat with other kids.

School starts at 8 and they are home by 3:40. A long day but I have nothing but great things to say about the school and staff. My son loves it there. Hope this helps.

Call Yeap bus service and they can tell you exactly how long it will take from your condo and what pick up and drop off times are.

Thank you Katy2! Your post makes me feel a little better. My husband is going to Singapore next week, so he'll be checking out the schools while he's there. I have SAS, Stanford and UWC on the go-see list so far. Glad to hear you are happy with SAS for your son. Based on everything I've read (and it's been a lot!), SAS always gets great reviews. The only "negative" I've ever found is the location being so far.

Now that you've been in Singapore for a few months, how do you like it? Has it been easy to meet people? How is it meeting other parents at the school since the kids all take buses? Here, I've met most of the other parents while dropping off or picking up my daughter. I've actually made several great friends that way. It would be nice to be able to know other families at her new school too.

thanks again!

[katy2]

Singapore has been an easier adjustment then I thought. The kids love it!
You must make an effort to meet people but there are so many organizations and you can get involved in a playgroup. Join AWA. They have a ton of groups and tours to participate in.

I know how you are feeling. It is vey easy to live here just very far from home. Good luck with the move!