year2 ESF interview..help please

[bsc1280]

Hi All,

My kid has this interview for year2 at one of the ESF schools.
The problem is that they have asked for the latest school report card.
He goes to an international school and has improved a lot in past 2-3 months. However, the school report does mention that he has difficult connecting phonics for reading (term2) and needs writing improvement (term1). both term comments do mention that he has improved

Now my dilemma is that shall we show this report at ESF interview? i know ethically we should show it but the thing is that we have been working so hard on him in past 3+ months , including tution classes, and he has improved (although still not fluent in reading ) a lot. I dont want the report which is as of March first week to create a wrong impression for him (the report does not have a date). i dont want the interview to read the report and then speak to him . already thingking that this kid has some problem or may be lags behind the school

this interview is very important to us , please help me decide what shall I do

thanks a lot

 

[rani]

Hi, You will need to show report cards from your current school. However, is it possible to ask your class teacher of even the tuition center for a progress report? I wouldn't worry too much about the writing, as all the kids are learning to write in Y1.

I would practice reading with him every day to prepare him for the test. Your son should be reading one of those simple step 1-2 reading books /day

 

[MommyTo3]

Is he interviewing for Y2 this school year, or next school year. If it's the latter, I wouldn't worry too much. There is a great variety in Y1, however, I would ask the school for an update. But, ESF will do their own tests anyway for any child not entering from scratch so they will test his reading, his writing, his English, maths, etc. If he's still planning to enter in Y2 now (which still happens), they would expect him to be a little further ahead in order to be ready for Y3, but I am thinking it's Y2 (although that's an early interview then).

 

[bsc1280]

thanks all

he is going to interview for year2 starting in August. and is currently in year 1
i am bit relieved to read MommyTo3's comments...

here is what is report card says

Terms1: "X is a wonderful member fo our class and is well behaved, cooperative & friendly to his classmates. Some other sentences and then....however X currentlt has some difficulty in connecting phonics and proper english phrasing. however he has improved in this area in recent past...blah blah"

Term 2:" X has shown great improvment in this term. His conectration has improved and he is able to work indenpendently and finish tasks on time (does this sentence reflect that there was some issue with X before?). He still has difficulty in both fine motors and conencting phonics although he made improvement in these areas. we will contiue on achieving current learning goals. Keep up the good work X"

does the above reflect badly for anyone interviewing? especially for year2 in august? I am very worried that showing this report would diminish his chances of admission (although dont think we have a choice). :|

 

[Elise]

Shouldn't there be an end of year report coming up from the current school? Surely early March's report is not the final report.

They will take on board some of the comments but will want to implement their own testing strategies to check his current reading and writing strategies and skills. This report tells me, as a teacher, that he had some issues with blending, concentration and perhaps being unfocussed and there were some ESL issues.

Best to see if there will be a final year report that addresses these issues as successfully grasped.

 

[bsc1280]

thanks. the interview is next week and the school report wont be available until june 10th.
so I am wondering what to do here.

In general, would the above comments really potray a bad impression ? As a teacher, how do you think they would interpret this. Given the above information, do you think the chances of admission are very slim? (any experiences or information about getting similar kids for year2 admission, pls share with me)

shall i write to his classteacher and ask her to give a reference letter with information update on how she is doing till now

thanks a lot!

 

[bsc1280]

btw he is fluent when it comes to english conversation and grammar. we speak in rnglish at home (its is 2nd language) however, the writing and reading is where he might be behind others

 

[MommyTo3]

Again, like I said before, there is a huge range in Y1. My children are doing extremely well, and reading well above the expected level, but I know others who are struggling, but may be fine in other areas. I think the main thing for them is to see how the English is, where they are, and if there are any special / individual needs that they need to cater for. Remember, ESF takes a wide range of children, including those with needs and they don't just turn children down because they're behind ... they will probably expect them to be slightly behind as many kids are coming (transferring) from P1 preschool programs, etc. Be honest, maybe ask your school whether they can put a few lines about him on paper to support his current progress.

 

[bsc1280]

thanks for the great input.

honestly i would have shown the report in the end anyways, but I was getting nervouse after reading all those points mentioned in the school report. I will request them to also send a letter with her progress made upto now.