ISF Academy

[HKfornow]

ISF has the most ambitious putonghua program in HK I think, as they start their kids off with 70 % then slow reduction after P3, till they reach about 50/50. They also do not allow kids to speak Cantonese on campus, so if Putonghua is your biggest concern then they would fit your need.

Victoria is tauting itself as the Bilingual IB through train school, and they make no pretense that the social language is Cantonese, so in playground and even in PE class I believe Cantonese is being used. However, whereas in prior years the kindergarten kids had an automatic in to the primary school, right now, they are expected to interview to get a spot.

From what I've heard of parents from both schools, both of them since they are "newer" schools are quite disorganized, both campus are relatively new, built around 2007-2008, but Victoria principal already states that they want to lease more space from the government in order to accommodate their growth.

A couple of other school with strong Putonghua programs (in HK side) are Singapore International School, St. Stephen in Stanley, Kiangsu Chekiang in North Point and of course Chinese International School. . . there are probably others that I haven't looked into, but these are the ones that I've repeated heard good things about from other parents.

 

[chubbysan]

hi

we are oso currently reviewing ISF for our daughter. would appreciate any review from existing ISF parents about the school. What are your thoughts after sending yr kid to the school & what are the pro & cons?

many thanks in advance!

 

[carolina78]

Bilingual Study

Hi all, I feel related to some concerns described earlier over bilingual study for kids whom parents aren't native Chinese speaker. I'm Indonesian Chinese, my husband is French Italian and our 2yrs old daughter is currently studying at Sunshine House Pre-school. I'm looking into the following schools:

1. Victoria Shanghai Academy

- Majority consists of Cantonese speaking HK students. Even though they DO speak great English and Mandarin ( classes are administered in both language which I think is great) BUT out of the class I assume they'll be speaking Cantonese.

Question- Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Would it be confusing for my daughter and could it be some sort of barrier to mix with them? Will her Cantonese speaking friends see her as KUAILOU ?

- Parents Teacher Association

Checked their PTA website, definitely more "Chinese atmosphere" than Western. Is this a bad thing for mix family like us?

- Mandarin homeworks

I know this is something I should check with the school itself , but in case there'll be a lot of Chinese homeworks, will it be difficult for me to help her out? My Mandarin is not bad, but not sure the level of difficulties in secondary school's (and onward) homework.. I'm sure there are a lot of foreigners out there who put their kids in bilingual even local school, how do they cope with these issues

2. ISF
There's an open day on the 21stMarch. More questions on this after the visit!

3. French International School
Only wish they were located closer to PFL!


4. ESF Schools

There is one just 15mt walk from where I live. They are cheaper, and everything seems standard. Obviously not so much exposure to foreign language compare to the three previous schools. Is there any parents out there who can give me a plus and minus about ESF school?

Thank you very much in advance!!

 

[rani]

My son is at an ESF school. He's in Y2 and since Feb, they have increased the Mandarin to every day. For the younger ones the class is only 30mins and older 45mins. He's definitely enjoying it, and can speak basic Mandarin, and also recognize a few characters. Mandarin is compulsory until Y7 or Y8 at ESF. Am hoping by then he's some what fluent.

 

[carolina78]

thank you for your reply. Yes, I know they have daily Mandarin lesson and i'm happy about that!

I'd greatly appreciate any other review!! Thank you

By the way, how do I check my inbox (where should I click can anybody help?)

Thank you!!!

 

[Old Cat]

Hi Carolina78,

My son is studying in Victoria P.1, so I may be able to answer some of your questions.

Most kids there speak Cantonese during recess/ lunch time. However, they will automatically switch to English if one of them is a non-Chinese. There are also kids come from mix family. Most kids will not treat them as "special" when they play. I don't see any problem for your kids making friends there. My son has both chinese and non-chinese friends.

Regarding the PTA, I am not an active member. Most are Chinese moms, but most speaks extremely good English. There is no communciation problem.

The Chinese/ Mandarin is getting more demanding now. However, they will provide extra assistence for kids without family support. If your kids study there from P.1, they will definitely learn better Chinese (compared to that in international school).

 

[carolina78]

Hi Old Cat!

Thank you very much for your reply. I really appreciate it.

When you say the school will provide extra assistance for kids without family support, do you mean tutoring at school? Is that for an extra cost?

 

[val23]

ISF Parent

My son is currently at Foundation year in ISF. We are an English speaking family although I speak a bit of Putonghua and my husband speaks it pretty fluently (as to my opinion).

ISF is great. My son really loves it. He learned a lot of Putonghua even in the first month of school. The teachers are great too. Social language for my son's class is mostly English although they do speak a bit of Putonghua at times.

I have many good things to say about the ISF but too lazy to type as it is 12 midnight.

For those who'd like to know more, please attend the open house days held on a tuesday every month.

 

[Old Cat]

Hi Carolina,

I do not know exactly the detail, but I can give you an example.

The teachers will posted the assignment list everyday in the intranet for the parent to check. At the beginning of the term (P1), I find that they have categorized the kids into two groups (at least) for learning Chinese language. One group, say group B, appears to be those without family support. I find that they have more assignment and the list is written in both English and Chinese. At the beginning, those assignment for group B appears to be easier. For more detail, you need to call the school.

Cheers
Old Cat

Hi Old Cat!

Thank you very much for your reply. I really appreciate it.

When you say the school will provide extra assistance for kids without family support, do you mean tutoring at school? Is that for an extra cost?

 

[kalrok]

The ISF Academy seems from afar a good school. A lot of parents from the lower grade love it. It's when the kids get in to G1 and above that the lack of any educational framework and leadership comes to a head.
The admin is incompetent and lack any sort of knowledge about education. Their solution to a problem is to hire somebody else to hide in an office with the title of Vice Principal.
Unfortunately there is no Director or Principal that people can go to for answers due to Ms. Lee is ill and probably not coming back. The stand ins are a joke and have earned no respect or even acknowledgement in the ISF community.
The teachers that are non-Chinese see out their 2 year contracts and get the hell out of there; some don't make it that far. There will be 15 or so teachers leaving this summer.

If you are serious about getting your child in to there, ask the important questions (curriculum etc) and ask for proof.

The Secondary school have tried to get MYP accredited but failed and are trying again very soon. Who knows what the accreditors will say this time!

Next school year, G3-5 will be shipped up to the Secondary school building due to construction on the Elementary building. FY-G2 will stay where they are. Will not be easy for the students and far from ideal to be mixing with the secondary students.