When we arrived at the school hall, the vice principal addressed us and provided the performance result within the school.
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| There's Brandon waiting anxiously with his friends, for the result to be released at noon. |
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| Impressive performance by the school. 100% graduated! |
Brandon is one of the 77% in his school's cohort to get into the express stream. While we are happy about his achievement to express, we were not quite prepared for the daunting task of deciding which school he can go to versus the schools of his choice. In fact, Brandon was also none too pleased with his result.
His aggregate fell into the "neither here nor there" category. Neither high enough to confidently select the schools of his choice nor near enough to meet the schools' minimum cut-off points. He was also not qualified to apply for the normal stream, which my husband and I felt that he would have had a wider choice of the better neighborhood schools had he been eligible for it.
The.next.few.days.really.dampened.our.spirits.
We studied the secondary school courses within our neighboring estates endlessly, hoping to find the ideal school for him. Not only did we need to consider the reputation of the schools, we also needed to see if it could cater to his extra curriculum interests. It was frustrating.
My dear son has an eye for air rifle/shooting, archery and robotics. Many schools that cover these niches would probably not be allocated to him because of their higher cut-off points. It was one thing to try and apply knowing you do not qualify right from the start but we didn't want to waste the 6 choices in the list lest the chances of him getting into other schools will be lessened. We had to be practical with our decision.
Today was the deadline of the schools submission. We managed to come to a consensus last night before we sent in our application. Whatever the outcome of school that he will be posted to, regardless of any setbacks in his milestones, I am confident that he will excel and continue to do me proud. We are praying for the best and know that our God will place Brandon at the school that will be best for him.
Whenever there is a will, there is a way.
I believe that with constant encouragement, he will make it better in secondary school life.
I believe that with constant encouragement, he will make it better in secondary school life.
Our lives have to go on.
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| http://inspirably.com/quotes/by-love-segarra-aguisanda/my-life-may-not-be-going-the-way-i-planned-it-but-it-is-going/download-facebook-pic |
PSLE is so emotional for parents too. I'm sure whatever school he goes, with you and your family supporting him, he will excel too. All the best for thr posting results :)
ReplyDeleteAi @ Sakura Haruka
Thanks Ai! Just the words of encouragement we would love to hear. :)
DeleteSpeaking from experience, my PSLE was so lao ya I swear my dad wanted to smack me across the room if not for my elder sisters stepping in. Grades are in no way an indication of the child's intelligence. Cannot get into an ideal school? It's ok. Perhaps it is a blessing in disguise? He can pursue his interest for air rifle, archery and robotics outside of the normal school curriculum leh? Don't worry mama. He's a good boy. Good boys are cultivated by great parents not teachers you know? :)
ReplyDeleteYep Liza, we want to believe that it will be a blessing in disguise. Secondary school life will be quite tough le, with time stretching till an average of 3pm before they leave school. With CCA, it would stretch till 6pm. Interests to be pursued outside school curriculum have to be put on hold for now as we also don't know what to expect and don't want want to burnout the boy. But thanks so much for your encouragement! :)
DeleteHope he gets the school of his choice.
ReplyDeletethanks Dom! We are hoping the best!
DeleteBetter to be street smart, I feel - academics cannot be the only thing to gauge a child's ability.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the person whom I have had the opportunity to encounter so far, I'm sure he will be able to get through life dealing with its hard knocks based on his keen sense of adaptability to circumstances. And that - is something which they cannot teach in any school.
Reg, Bran has a lot more room for improvement on the street smart area. :p
DeleteIt's no doubt all parents will be concerned for their child's well-being in school. I never thought I would but I do. Like they say, in every growing phase there are obstacles to cross. This is just one of them.
Brandon's very blessed to have such supportive parents! I'm sure he will excel whereever he's placed, given such strong family support. Big hugs & hang in there!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the words of encouragement! :) Key thing is to never give up hope.
DeleteI was a neither here nor there psle student as well, in the end, I got chucked into some new school that none heard of, despite my choosing of the schools I wanted to go. Bottomline, I did exceptionally well for my O's, was the third top student in my school for the O'levels and managed to get into nanyang junior college. It really doesn't matter where your son gets posted to, a positive mindset as well as never-ending and consistent support from parents would get him to places. Places even he wouldn't have imagined himself to reach. So Brandon, I wish you all the best in your future endeavors, whichever school you are posted to! Make the best out of what you are given, opportunities are made, not given :)
ReplyDeleteGood for you Nadia! Now, yours is an inspiring story. Positive mindset! Yes, we could all do with that! :) Thanks for sharing!
DeleteWow! I'm very touched by the extra research you go through to find out the best secondary school! With all your input, I'm sure he'll be in the best possible school in this next phase of his life!
ReplyDeleteWell Jiahui, if you were in my situation, I'm very sure you will do the same. :) Yep! We shall keep the faith!
DeleteI too am a mom to a P6 boy. I am in a more frustrating position. My family is a returning Singaporean family. We stayed in Shanghai(SH) for 3 years. My son did P4 to P6 in SH. Afther doing all the necessary checkings, we decided to have him sit for the iPSLE in SH. We did not want to come home early leaving the father behind alone. It will not be healthy for the family as a whole. My son sat for his iPSLE and got his result. We came home with his results thinking that he will be posted to a secondary school without having to compete with his fellow peers as the PSLE cohort and iPSLE cohort are different in numbers. We expected MOE to have their own policy with returning Singapore kids doing iPSLE afterall it is administered by SEAB. Sadly, it didn't turned out to be so. He will only be posted after all the S1 posting is done. His T-score is still grouped with the cohort here.
ReplyDeleteiPSLE cohort is estimated at 1,000. PSLE is 48,000.
Like you, I believe God will never withold good things from his children. When God is for us, what can men do to us!
Hi BeLive! Thanks for sharing your side of the story. I wasn't aware there was an iPSLE! And I can imagine your frustration - to be posted after all the others that took the exam here are done! Let's hope for the best and trust God. :) And here's welcoming you back home to Singapore.
ReplyDeleteI understand how it feels. Just remember that success in life is not just based on exam or even the school you go to. I'm not saying it is not important, I'm just saying it is not everything. Success in life is an attitude towards learning and perseverance, unafraid of failure, and keep on trying until the goal is achieved.
ReplyDeleteBrandon's result maybe neither here nor there, but the good news is he passes reasonably well to be in the express stream. Now he can work harder for better grade in Sec 1.
Agreed,
ReplyDeleteIt is good to know what we don't know so that we can work upon them to improve.
Don't see results as set back but instead, look at them as opportunities to learn. With a positive attitude as such, the education journey will be an exciting one!
Once in a while getting some help from tuition teacher will be good as well :)