Anyone here can comment on York kindergarten?
- Thread starter kas
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My wife and I were in Kowloon Tong last month sourcing for kg for my son. Went in to York and the vice principal attended to us.
My 1st impression was not good. The VP emphasized quite a lot about their video conferencing with other schools all over the world, stressing that it is something that is very difficult to achieve with all the wirings they have to do. In this day and age of technological advances, I don't see the difficulty.
2nd, I saw the kids in a classroom-like environment where they sit down behind a desk with the teacher teaching in front. They will have lots of opportunities to do that from primary up to university. Furthermore, they are supposed to be an English kindergarten, yet I saw the teachers conversing in Cantonese with the children in all the classrooms I went pass. Hardly heard a word of English.
3rd, they are very proud of a Cambridge test the kids have to take. Again, I don't see why children at kindergarten have to take a test at such a tender age.
I'm not sending my son there. Yew Chung seems better where the children learn through play. Heard from a friend that there is a new kindergarten opening in Kowloon Tong later this year. Their approach is similar to YC and Tutortime so I'm waiting.
My 1st impression was not good. The VP emphasized quite a lot about their video conferencing with other schools all over the world, stressing that it is something that is very difficult to achieve with all the wirings they have to do. In this day and age of technological advances, I don't see the difficulty.
2nd, I saw the kids in a classroom-like environment where they sit down behind a desk with the teacher teaching in front. They will have lots of opportunities to do that from primary up to university. Furthermore, they are supposed to be an English kindergarten, yet I saw the teachers conversing in Cantonese with the children in all the classrooms I went pass. Hardly heard a word of English.
3rd, they are very proud of a Cambridge test the kids have to take. Again, I don't see why children at kindergarten have to take a test at such a tender age.
I'm not sending my son there. Yew Chung seems better where the children learn through play. Heard from a friend that there is a new kindergarten opening in Kowloon Tong later this year. Their approach is similar to YC and Tutortime so I'm waiting.
hi mosmom,
comments like those from papaof2 would be useful..
do you agree with his comments and you have other info to share...
hi papaof2,
thanks for the input. have you walked around yew chung and noticed that the teachers were conversing in english only?
i have yet to check out yew chung..
thanks
comments like those from papaof2 would be useful..
do you agree with his comments and you have other info to share...
hi papaof2,
thanks for the input. have you walked around yew chung and noticed that the teachers were conversing in english only?
i have yet to check out yew chung..
thanks
Oh yes, I have been to Yew Chung. They had an open house last week and I went to check out the classes.
Yew Chung has mainstream (local) and International. Their approach for children is much better. The kids learn through play and are more creative. Their artworks are seen all over the place.
However, the difference between the two streams is very vague. Mainstream consist of lessons in English and Cantonese and so does the International stream. The only major difference is mainstream is half days whereas International is full days. And children from both streams are accepted into Yew Chung Primary which I think blurs the definition between the streams further.
They have both local and expat teachers so expect lessons in Cantonese at least 1/2 of the times.
Yew Chung is one of the better schools I came across. I'm waiting to visit a few more schools to see if I can find the best.
Yew Chung has mainstream (local) and International. Their approach for children is much better. The kids learn through play and are more creative. Their artworks are seen all over the place.
However, the difference between the two streams is very vague. Mainstream consist of lessons in English and Cantonese and so does the International stream. The only major difference is mainstream is half days whereas International is full days. And children from both streams are accepted into Yew Chung Primary which I think blurs the definition between the streams further.
They have both local and expat teachers so expect lessons in Cantonese at least 1/2 of the times.
Yew Chung is one of the better schools I came across. I'm waiting to visit a few more schools to see if I can find the best.
We live in West Kowloon too, and considered York at one stage. Went for the interview with my daughter, and was very impressed with the things the Principal talked about. Really really liked her and her views on education and bringing up children in today's world. Got accepted by the school, and then invited with other parents for class tour and observation. Think this is a standard procedure. This is where my impression on the school changed. Maybe it wasn't what I was looking for personally. Found the school quite old, very much geared for Cantonese speaking families that wanted their children to get a good start in English. The school prides itself for the English standards and their high pass rate for the Cambridge English tests. May have misunderstood them but think they said the NET staff would only be there twice a week. Otherwise the rest of the English classes are conducted by non-native teachers. Thought the school was a more local school set-up, and I guess this is what made me decide it wasn't appropriate for our daughter.