Cassandra's Last Day Of Pre-School

I am definitely going to miss all of Cass' classmates, some of which I have known for 3 years including their parents. Oh yes, the caring teachers there too.  They all know Cass' health issues and have always been very sensitive to her needs. 


All the kids here are such cuties!   All of them but one will be going to a different school as Cass.  But I am pretty sure I will bump into some of the kids here since we all live in the same neighborhood :)



Pictures here were taken on the last day of school by one of Cass' classmates' mother.   She and I have become good friends with each other.  And we stay just opposite of each other.  It was a very memorable day for these 6-year olds as it was the day that they had  to say their good-byes to each other and perhaps never see each other again! *sob sob*




And so with this, the kids here had ended their chapter on pre-school. A brand new chapter begins in the flick of time.  I wish Cass and each of her classmate here a very happy start to their new journey.  May their year ahead be filled with only joy, laughter, excitement to learn new knowledge and may God bless them all always.

Cass In Kindy - Random Pictures

A picture taken last Friday at the lantern party at Cass' kindy.

Before the party started, all the parents and kids walked round the neighborhood with their lanterns.  It was my sixth (or was it seventh?) time doing this with my 3 girls.  And it will be our last time having this party in that kindy as Cass will be going to Primary 1 next year.  I can't believe how fast time has flew past us.  I remember Alycia going to this kindy when she was 3YO.   And that was 8 years ago!

This is Cass walking with one of her besties, Megan. I know she will definitely  miss all her buddies from the kindy on the last day of school in 2 months.




This is the spelling list for Cass...




The Ejaan list...







And the Ting Xie list.  A couple of the words in the Ting Xie list here were the same  as Sherilyn's Ting Xie list.  Imagine a 6-YO being tested on the same words as a 9-YO.  And oh yes, some of the topics in Math for 6YOs in this kindy are the same as what Primary 2 kids are learning.  Honestly speaking, Cass is still struggling with her Chinese but doing pretty well in the other languages and subjects.  I know I will definitely have some hair-pulling moments with her grappling with Chinese when she goes to Primary 1 next year, in her che ches' school.  Ever since the school was awarded with an SBT status, the academics expectations of the HM have shot up to the highest level on the Richter scale, putting even more stress on the students, parents and teachers!




In another 1.5 month's time, Cass will be sitting for her final exam.

What do you think of the level of  Chinese, English and BM in this kindy based on the list of words as shown here?  If you compare this with your kid's kindy, would you grade this as difficult, moderate or easy?  Would love to hear from you :)

Junk Food

On the last day of school for the first term last week, Cass brought home a party pack. It was from her friend who celebrated her birthday in the kindy. As usual, all that was in the party pack was junk food! I had expected it.




My girls love to receive party packs and if what they get are junk food, they know that they ain't allowed to eat most of the items in the party pack. Most of the junk food go to our part-time helper or to the guards at our condo.

Please don't throw darts at me for being a health food fanatic ok. Junk food is really bad not just for kids but for adults too.  If you look at the ingredients printed on the packaging, all you see is a long list of chemicals ranging from MSG to coloring, preservative, nitrate, sugar, sodium, artificial flavoring, artificial sweetener (which is worse than real sugar) and some scientific names that I don't even have the slightest idea on what they are. O_o. Do you want these to get into your kid's body? Sorry if I threw cold water on you if you are a snacks lover. I was once a junk food and deep fried food junkie.  Now, I have kicked off the addiction 99%.   Yes, I still have 1% craving and still do indulge in them once in a purple moon ;)

Paying For December Pre-School Fees. Norm or Overboard?

Towards the end of October last year, all the parents were asked to pay RM340 to the pre-school that Cass goes to.  That amount was for purchase of books for the first half of year 2014.

In January this year, at the start of the new school term, we parents had to pay RM1,060 for the following items:
1) January 2014 fees
2) Snacks for half the year
3) Insurance
4) Concert fees
5) Class photo
6) December 2014 fees - this is a new item to pay effective 2014. Previously, I never had to pay for December fees! Never during Alycia and Sherilyn's time at this kindy.

When I saw item no. 6, which is fees for December 2014, I was shocked. I called up the principal to get a clarification as to why I had to pay for December 2014 when (1) it is the school holidays and the child would not attend a single school day in December and (2) Cass would never have to return to the pre-school again as she will be going to Primary 1 next year.

The principal cum school owner replied me by saying that all the students MUST pay the December 2014 fees to help her pay the teachers' salaries and the rental of the school building!  Some of the teachers would still have to work to teach and care for children sent to the school's daycare program.  "But Cassandra will not return to your kindy anymore. She will go to Primary 1 next year. Do I still have to pay??" I asked.  Yes, all the parents have to pay.  At that moment, I felt like I was held ransom, with a gun at my neck and forced to pay.  I could not change kindy as Cass has been going to this kindy for 2 years already and this is her third year. She is happy at this kindy, she likes her friends and all her teachers and classmates know her health issue.  So I felt like I was forced at point blank to pay the principal.

For your information, come June, which is the third semester, we parents would have to pay in advance the fees for November.  In November, students only need to attend school for half a month, after which the 6-week long school holidays would commence.  This practice has been in place ever since Alycia attended this pre-school in 2007.  This practice serves to 'tie up' the parents and child to the kindy, so that they are unable to switch pre-school. Well, you still can switch but the November fees is non-refundable.

My question to all my dear readers -- is this practice of compelling the parents to pay the fees for December a norm?   IMHO, I think that it is still quite acceptable if the child is continuing attendance at the pre-school the following year. But for kids who will be starting Primary 1, I find this totally unacceptable.


What say you?

Bahasa Malaysia for 6-Year Olds

This is what Cass is learning in pre-school now.  She is going to turn 6 in April and this year will be her last year in kindy.



 Her kindy stresses the importance of  being able to read in Chinese, English and Bahasa Malaysia by the time the child is 5 and 6 year old. Some of the kids in this kindy could read very well when they were only 3 years old.   Cass only got the hang of reading late last year, at a little over 5 years old.  In her kindy, this is considered 'late bloomer'.

Some of the syllabus for 6-year olds in this kindy are similar to what Primary 2 SJKC pupils are learning.  I found out when I was doing revision with Alycia and Sherilyn three years ago. Both of them were learning the same thing! Alycia was then in Primary 2 (8YO) and Sherilyn was 6YO, doing her last year in kindy.

Some parents would say that this is too tough and too much for a 6YO kid to handle. For me, I think it is good as the pre-school is preparing the child for Primary 1.  I remember that when Alycia and Sherilyn went to Primary 1, they kind of breezed through that year as they had already learned most of the things when they were in kindy.

To Cane Or Not To Cane?

The other day while I was walking Cass home from school, she told me that teacher A (her English teacher) told her class that she would cane whoever who did not know how to read a long list of English words in their Spelling book.  The moment we reached home, she quickly fished out the book from her school bag and showed me the list of English words, which consisted of these words : dancing, fine, thank you, knee, neck, very, much, grandfather, grandmother, grandparents, drawing and about 10 more words. She then made me go through the words with her.  See, I can even memorize these words as she made me go through these words with her umpteen times!  She refused to wash up or eat her fruits. She was glued to her books and wanted to complete her homework, as well as to master those words.

What made Cass so obedient and seem like an exemplary student was achieved through the hard and painful way.  The teachers in her pre-school would punish and cane kids who did not complete their homework, kids who could not read and kids who chit chat a lot when lessons are on-going.  Let me tell you that Cass had been punished too many times that I have lost count. Most times, she was called to stand up as a form of punishment for being too talkative and sometimes she would be canned on her hand for not completing her homework.

Some parents would freak out upon learning that their kids (whom they themselves do not cane) are being canned in school. They view such punishment as being too draconian on kids, what more pre-schoolers.

For me, I am not against this form of punishment for Cass.  I admit that she can be very stubborn and disobedient, even at home. My hubs, mil and I are having a hard time disciplining her.  I think she has been spoilt rotten since birth due to her medical condition which has since been rectified after a surgery when she was 13 months old.

However, for kids who are timid and sensitive (like Alycia), canning and punishment would backfire and cause a negative impact on the child's emotions.  Alycia dropped out of the school team in Calligraphy just because the teacher threatened the students that they need not have to attend lessons again if they did not write the Chinese characters nicely.  This happened when she was in Standard 1. She was in tears when I pressed her for the reasons on why she wanted to quit.

Do you agree or disagree to canning being carried out in schools to discipline students?