Singapore Expats

Hi, I am a mother of 2 kids and we just shifted from Canada.
Actually looking for a good primary school in the west.

Anyone can help me?

Canadian International School (CIS) has a campus on Toh Tuck ave in the west - friendly smaller school that looks an obvious choice, unless you are looking to get your kids into a local school which could be a challenge - If local school, I would suggest you look at Nan Hua. My son went to CIS for two years, we really liked the school, but since he is from a mixed (Caucasian/Asian) background we wanted more Chnese language and culture in his education so we have just made the decision to move him to Nan Hua and he starts there in January. I have no other reason for pulling him out of CIS, and I would recommend CIS to anyone.

is it better to learn chinese from the school or private? If we choose the canadian private school, i believe they don't offer chinese as a subject.

Since you are using the word "shifted" i'm guessing you are local. I'm not picking on you, but rather it's an important distinction with regard to ability to gain entry into good local schools. If your concern is learning Chinese, then local schools are the way to go. International Schools do not teach Chinese intensively in the way local schools do, except perhaps at the new Chinese International School on Dunearn. For local schools, everyone knows that Nanyang is the leader in Chinese language, but the school is exceptionally difficult to gain entry to.

what is the need for the ability to gain entry into good local school?

you will find plenty of threads on this subject if you do a search - the bottom line is: Not easy for an expat family to get into the "perceived" best schools.

Chinese was only taught 1 hou per week at CIS and since my son is bilingual - he was top of the class and way ahead of what they were teaching, good for his ego, bad for his future - this was the main reason we decided on the move - at a local school, it's not just the language, it's also the culture, history and much more immersion.

I would suggest you do a search on this forum for info on local schools for expat kids - you will get a variety of opinions and info on the process.