Advice regarding pre-reception/primary???

[Meech]

Hi,

We will be relocating to Hong Kong in July of this year and have a 2.5 y.o. and 4.5 y.o. I have read everything I could get my hands on about schools but am seeking input from a more personal perspective. Although necessary evils, I am trying not to get emotionally caught up in the waiting list/debenture issues and want some real-deal info on what these schools are like.

With that said, we have been highly recommended the following schools for our daughter/s:

1. HKIS
2. CDNIS
3. HKA
4. Kellett

Our assignment is to be 2 to 4 years, so I am not overly concerned about the secondary school academics at this point, although one never knows...as assignments do tend to be extended. My central priority is that we find a good fit for our kids. I've found it rather difficult to get any detailed information out of any of the schools regarding curriculum, theories of education, etc. They basically refer me to their marketing material and, yes, I've read the glossies and the websites but I'm wondering if anyone out there could give me a better "feel" for these schools. (Because of a recent (unplanned) surgery, I may not be able to do a visit before our move.)

Our 4.5 year old is currently attending an independent day school for gifted and talented children. It's been wonderful for her and I am hoping to find a similar fit in Hong Kong (small student-to-teacher ratio, warm and encouraging atmosphere, differentiated teaching style, inquiry-based learning, encouraging perserverence at this age (i.e. making mistakes are ok...we are just like "scientists" testing out theories), fostering a love of learning and self-confidence, NOT high pressure or rote memory, teaching respect for other's views even if they do not coincide with your own...etc.). Yes, high hopes but our daughter happens to have wonderful teachers right now - I am amazed at what they are learning, how much the kids are engaged and how much fun they have doing it.

As we are Americans, most tell us that HKIS is the only place for us - however, I also have heard from sound sources that CDNIS, HKA or Kellett actually would be a better fit. Additionally, I have recently received an email from someone with several very negative things that she experienced with HKIS and actually pulled her kids out.

ANY input at all on the 4 schools I listed would be VERY greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance for taking the time .

 

[rani]

Welcome to HK! Based on your criteria, I would say HK Academy maybe what you're looking for. The class sizes are small. They have a number of American teachers and from the website are following the IB curriculum which is inquiry based. The one teacher that I met from HKAcademy was from Chicago as well. Not sure if she's still there.


http://www.hkacademy.edu.hk

 

[Meech]

Hi Rani,

Thanks so much for your reply, I really appreciate it and will take a closer look at HKA. As a follow-up question - Are you familiar with any schools that would have a "gifted" program? I'm not sure if this exists in the schools there and haven't been able to find any info on the subject. Thanks again!

 

[CNDinHK]

We too were in your position in terms of relocation; and what we found out is that with all the research you do, it may be moot. Not trying to be negative, but I say this b/c your decision may be governed by which school actually accepts your children, not where you want your child to go. You probably already know this, but the international school application process is akin to university applications back in the US. You apply, interview and you either get in, get waitlisted or get denied. What I suggest you do is call the schools and see if they will take your application at this late stage. FYI, for CDNIS, we already had interviews in Jan/Feb (for entry into Fall 2010) and they have already started to send out acceptance letters. We have a 3.5yr old and we applied for their Reception class.

Obviously, there are always people leaving HK and spots do open up. For example at a school tour we went on, the tour guide (a parent) told us they came in mid-year and were told by all schools that they had no open slots. However, when they actually moved, they were very lucky in that a student had just left the school a week earlier and an open slot became a available.

With that said, to answer your questions, for HK Academy, I do agree w/ the previous poster. The curriculum is considered progressive...in a good way. Also, HKA do not do waitlists, rather they have wait pools. When a opening is available, they selectively pick and choose out of the wait pool to create/maintain a diversified classroom.

Notwithstanding the awesome campus at CDNIS, we felt that CDNIS and HKIS were decent schools that you would find back in Canada/US. As for 'gifted' schools or even 'gifted' classes, it does not exist in HK to my knowledge.

I do empathize with you as this whole education process is a stressful one. It's not the same as the US/Canada where schooling is based on where you live. It's equivalent to the private school game that you would find in major cities like NYC....very competitive.

One side note, I'm only speaking about international schools, not ESF schools. ESF also has applications, interviews BUT it also depends where you live.

Anyhow, please call the schools to get your application in sooner than later.

 

[Meech]

Hi CNDinHK,

Thanks, I appreciate your input. As you mentioned above, I've just about resigned myself to the fact that we don't have much control regarding acceptance. However, in hopes of getting in somewhere (waitlisted), I'm hoping to have enough information to at least know what we're getting into and what to expect regarding the strenghts and weaknesses of whatever school that may be. Wow, and this is just for our 4.5 year old...I still have to explore options for my 2.5 year old!

On a related note - did you fly your kid/s to HK to sit for the interview or were you already living there?

 

[Roger]

There are loads of kindergartens in HK. If you live in North District, I could recommend Choi Po Kindergarten in Choi Po Estate, Sheung Shui, or Greenfields, also in Sheung Shui. I understand from a friend that Greenfields is a multilingual environment; great preparation for school. In fact either of these will ensure that your children have a sufficient grasp of Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) for when they start primary school, when they will need it. There are no waiting lists or fees for local primary schools. Please see the thread Local School User

 

[MommyTo3]

Based on your questions, it seems you're looking at international schools. I think you should look at HKA (at least from your list). First of all, they follow IB (very inquiry based), which I think is a great program, classes are small, people are very happy there. HKIS is the American school but it's not very academic, especially in the lower primary, and I know quite a few people that haven't been too happy and even pulled children out (again, especially the earlier years of reception / lower primary). It's a good school, but definitely not your only choice simply because you're American. And listening to your post, it may not be what you're looking for. CDNIS is very Asian but with people from all over, also follows IB, but it's much larger than HKA, from what I know. Kellett is very difficult to get in, most of these schools will be very hard to get in, so a debenture would help you a lot! ESF does IB as well, but classes are bigger, and they will support individual and special needs (but know plenty very gifted and talented children there as well). GSIS is very good too, Harbour School is great for children with individual and special needs, but also gifted (small class rooms, etc. but I don't know anything about their curriculum). FIS International School is good too, but very hard to get in as well. They're lots of preschool programs which will accomodate your children at least for a year if needed (we arrived here, from Chicago) when my oldest was 4.4 yo. She did one more year of Sunshine before moving into ESF. Also the level here, in general, is much higher than the average level in the States, so I don't think you necessarily needed a gifted program (not sure there are any) if you find what you think is the right school. Do a search on the IB website to find other schools that follow the Primary Years Programme, that may help too. Anyhow, it may not necessarily be about where you want her to go, but where they have place for her. But, you should be able to find at least a preschool for a year if needed to look at other options. It would also partly depend on where you live.

 

[0ze_Kid1]

You may also like to consider Montessori education which hits most of your criteria too. Such as The International Montessori School and some of the Woodlands preschools. We were in the same situation as you and did lots of research and got lots of feedback to questions. We put names down at about 6 schools and once here went and saw them. This makes the world of difference because only by seeing them will you know if they are right for your children.

Good luck with it all.