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Wednesday, June 25, 2008

in dilemma

Just came from Parent’s Orientation this morning of Poveda. And I must admit I liked what I heard and saw. Will post separate entry about this since I need to come up with a very important decision and finalize Sam’s schooling on the next two days.

Anyway my dilemma ... after the parent’s orientation, I had a very, very surprising revelation. Before reaching Grade 1 Level, preparatory classes are as follows:

Toddler : 2.5 to 3.5 years old
Kinder 1 : should be 4 years old by October 31
Kinder 2 : should be 5 years old by October 31
Kinder 3 : should be 6 years old by October 31 --- This came as a surprise to me!! Never was I informed there is still Kinder 3! And really stupid of me to assume that there will only be three levels before reaching Grade 1! (well, all the private schools I know consists of nursery, kinder 1 and 2 like Miriam, Assumption, St. Paul etc… )

And since my daughter’s birthday falls on November 4 …four days late of their cut off date, she was admitted to Toddler class. As I’ve blogged before they were are very strict with age requirement ( gusto ko na nga dayain birth certificate anak ko eh!!).

I don’t have any qualms with the school, as a matter of fact I SO LOVE my daughter to be a Povedan but realizing that it will take her 4 years before reaching Grade 1..well, that is a different story. With Kinder 3 and Grade 7 as an added curriculum, my daughter will be graduating from HS at the age of 18!! By college, nag-debut na sya! Tagal non!!

And I feel that Sam doesn’t belong to Toddler class anymore. Well, she’s big for her age … and she’s ready for formal curriculum. She can recognize colors, letters, shapes, parts of the body, write letters, sing, dance, express herself, etc … and CAPEX and OPEX-wise, time and effort … saying ang one year!

After the orientation, I immediately went to St. Paul Pasig (my alma mater). I asked if possible to do late registration for my daughter since the class already started. Happily they obliged and accommodated my request. They are willing to accept Sam as late enrollee…and I was able to choose na AM class pa! Wow! Good news! I inquired what level my daughter would be, and I was told she will be an incoming nursery student. Next to nursery, Kinder 1 and Kinder 2 ..then she will be in Grade 1. Just three (3) years before reaching Grade 1.

Now my dilemma … should I continue Sam at Poveda (toddler –class)or enrol Sam to St. Paul Pasig (nursery)? I have until Friday to decide. Need your inputs please.

Getting the tuition refund is no problem at Poveda. Less 10% tuition will be deducted until next week only.

I am trying to weigh using the pros and cons .. I’ll share with you my evaluation exercise:

POVEDA

Pros: good catholic-education, hubby loves sam to be a povedan, very good school environment (toddlers have their own entrance gate), superb and brand new school facilities , remarkable teachers, small community of students only, tight-security, brings out independency students, 15 students per class only (2 sections), Spanish class, perceived by many as prominent school.

Cons: will take four years before she reaches grade 1.

ST. PAUL

Pros: three years only before reaching grade 1, good school environment, good teachers, 15 students per class only (4 sections), superb school facilities, my alma-mater (may bearing ba ito?),

Cons: big school community

Btw, I also thought option of enrolling Sam initially at St. Paul and transfer her to Poveda by Grade 1. Age requirement at Poveda should be 7 years old with cut off October 31. If she won’t meet the age requirement, she’ll be asked to enrol to Kinder 3. And now I am back to square one! lol.

Oh I never thought birthdates will be a big factor in school choices! Grrrrr… if I only knew, nagpa-ceasarian na lang ako so I gave birth earlier than October 31. bwahahaha! :)
So please … help me rationalize my options :)

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Naku, ang hirap nga nito...teka mag-iisip muna ako! Hahaha.

In Miriam, 3 levels lang din before reaching grade 1. So practically nga cause Margaux's bday is March, umabot sya sa cut-off ng first step (nursery nila yun). So ibig sabihin pag tinuloy mo si Sam sa Poveda, mauuna pa si Margaux mag-grade 1 sa kanya, considering na mas matanda si Sam sa kanya. Hmmm, big factor yung extra year ha.

Pero you would also like to consider of course yung curriculum ng school. hmmm...

hindi ako makapag-isip! Hahaha!

Aggie said...

Juskoday.
Wala akong masabi. Baket ganun katagal mag-aral para lang maging Grade 1?! HAHAH!

Teka, u forgot the most impt thing Jacqui -- baka magsawa si Sam sa school kasi K1, K2 and K3 I swear pareho pareho lang yan, iba iba lang ng degrees ng hirap ng analysis.

U know ur daughter best -- kung feeling mo kaya ni Sam sa St. Paul, go. If u feel the three years (additional) for Sam in Poveda will do her good, then go.

I think moolah naman isnt a problem, I think u feel sayang lang ang panahon - which I so totall agree!!!

Holistically (NAKS!! San ko to nakuha?!?!? hahahaha)...where do u feel Sam will really blossom into a well-behaved child and lady?

Dun ka :D

Apols said...

Hey Jacqui, naku grabe to mahirap hahaha!
Pero for me ha, hmmm, toddler + kinder 1 -3 parang ang haba na for the kid....

As for me ha, I will prefer lang st paul then i will switch to poveda. O diba mautak hahaha!

Honestly, i will choose st . paul first, then poveda since maganda din naman ang st.paul eh catholic school din yun, big din.... :) tama ka, sayang ang one year....at ang haba niya in fairness. hehehe

Anonymous said...

jacq, nag preskul na ba si sam b4? so pag dating nya ng grade 1 7 yrs old na sya tama ba? now ko lng narinig na may kinder 3 ah kse sa ica kinder prep then grade 1 na wala dn sila toddler class o nursery eh pero d ba parang tama lng coz nag grade 1 dn me b4 7 yrs old me eh mika nw is turning 5 so pag nag grade 1 sya 7 na dn sya 2 1/2 yrs kse sya sa preskul and mostly requirements na rin nila nag preskul mga kiddos b4 goin to bigskul how old is sam?

abie said...

ay ang hirap nga nito and sis looks like I will face the same dilemma as your kse si bela naman nov 16...so alanganin din birthday nya...

for me ha, parang ang haba nga ng 4 years na education before reaching grade 1 and sabi nga ni aggie, parang pare-pareho lang ang tinururo sa K1, K2 at K3...so para sa akin sayang ang panahon at moolah...

ok ako sa suggestion ni apols, st paul muna, tapos transfer mo sya sa poveda pag ready na sya for grade 1

Anonymous said...

jacqui, naku ha last night ko pa iniisip ang irereply ko sayo haha

anyway, did i get it right, that if you let sam go to st paul initially, di mo na rin siya matratasnfer sa poveda by garde 1 coz di siya talag pasok sa cut off right? wala lang, natanong ko lang kase baka pwede yung suggestion ni apols.

ganito na lang.. if it was me, naku even if i like the school so muc, feeling ko 3 years before grade 1 is too much. diba same si sam and sophia nag toddler class na diba? so in total parang 5 years si sam before grade 1. susme!!!! that is too long for me. well, POV ko lang naman yan pero alam mo, it really varies per school so wala tayong magagawa. at rosemont/woodrose obviously 3 years lang din and maaga cut off nila. by 6.3 sophia is in grade 1 na!

i am not familiar with other schools pero being in the metro, girl ang dami mo namang choices. if you are not really comfortable making sam go through kinder for too long, then look around na lang. pero if truly deeply haha in your heart eh gusto mo siyang maging povedan talaga, well you have to deal with the fact na ganun talaga.

hay ang haba ng reply ko para namang walang sense haha

goodluck girl and let us know. pero tama nga si jody ha, mauuna pa kiddos namin mag garde 1 considering sam is older!

Jane said...

i mean 4 years before grade 1 is too much!

Anonymous said...

Jacqui, pinag-isipan ko ulit kagabi. Hehehe.

You have to weigh now your criteria in choosing as to where to send Sam to school. Gawan mo ng excel file like:

curriculum, is it a catholic school, tuition fee, ratio of students to teacher, etc. at kung ano pa ang mga consider nyo before ni mike. If you think all of these pantay lang naman with poveda and st. paul, another year before grade 1 is another issue. one, extra year means extra money not only tuition fee but also sa whole 1 year school activities. But farther than that, yung extra year for sam to go through the same thing tapos pareho lang din naman. So parang dapat pala di na lang nagtoddler class si sam dun sa school malapit sa inyo. pareho lang what she would get in toddler class ng poveda now. Ganun ang basa ko dito eh.

But if you think, you really want her to be in poveda because of the standard (girl, school standard is subjective ha: I always feel nasa bata yan. In fact, kahit sa public school pa yan, if matalino talaga, she would also go long way. Plus factor na lang talaga ang school standard) then deal with it. Let sam stay in poveda.

Do you think sam would bore herself for another 4 years before becoming a full-pledged gradeschooler? Maybe, you should look on what's the difference between K1, K2 and K3 in poveda. Tama si aggie,feeling ko pare-pareho lang yan eh. medyo iba lang level of difficulties pero what's the difference naman ng K3 nila sa Grade 1? Does it mean na pag grade 1 na sa poveda curvasive na ang sulat ng mga bata? Do you get what I mean?

In gradeschool, i feel all schools follow certain curriculum na based as to what set by DECS so why a need for K3?

But again, review your criteria, check the curriculum again of poveda so you can decide from there.

Goodluck.

Anonymous said...

di naman kaya magsawa si Sam sa dami ng levels bago maggrade 1??

go where you're comfortable jacqui. moms are gifted with instincts so just follow yours. :) i'm sure you'll make the right choice.

hubby hated school when he was a kid because he had to go through so many levels din and found himself really bored with the activities.

anyway, okay din naman ang st. paul, catholic school din sya. and kaya man ng moolah or hindi, sayang ang one year girl!!

Jacqui Co-Soriano said...

hi jody,

thank you for the lenghty advise ha. super helpful. And syempre like most moms, big factor sa akin yun extra one year talaga. Time, effort, money etc.. sayang talaga.

And you are right, tapos na si Sam for toddler curriculum..eh di sana, di ko na inalis sa previous school nya, naka-tipid pa ako! lol. :)

Alam mo naman, si daddy lang super fanatic to bring Sam to Poveda. Aside from superb quality of education, he thinks the kids from Poveda are very much independent, strong-willed, smart and outgoing comparing to other private schools. O di ba, school branding lang yan! hehehe!

And like yun inputs ni Aggie, kahit ano pa itawag sa levels, K1-K3..pare-pareho lang. Naiiba lang with the degree of subject complexities kada year. Hehehe!

Thanks ha!

Jacqui Co-Soriano said...

hi aggie,

Naisip ko din yan baka magsawa sam pag super tagal. Instead na mag-enjoy sa school, tamarin na mag-aral!

You are correct, Mommy talaga nakaka-alam what is best for our kids. I feel when she stays in Poveda, ma-stagnate lang learning capability nya sa tots level. Sayang naman!

Jacqui Co-Soriano said...

Hi Apols,

wow..st paul loyalist ka pala! :) paulinian ka din ba? hehehe!

and talaga naman tama yun concern ko..ang tagal at haba ha! pag-graduate ng anak ko nakapag-debut na!! hehehe!

Jacqui Co-Soriano said...

hi MM.

I think 3 levels before reaching grade 1 requirement for private schools. Dapat age 7 sya pag-grade 1.

My problem kasi yun cut-off age for her to be in Grade 1 sa Poveda. They require 7 years old by October 31. Dun kami nagka-problem. I think if Sam was born earlier than their cut -off date, she'll just take 3-levels before reaching grade 1. Nasa tama age na! But since she was born after the cut off date, she was forced to take the lower batch na :)

Jacqui Co-Soriano said...

hi abie,

yes...same dilemma tayo if ever you want to put her at poveda. haaayy!!

kaya plan namin ni hubby i-trasnfer na lang siguro. makikiusap ako every year not to consider yun cut off age. hahaha! :)

Jacqui Co-Soriano said...

hi jane,

yes..you are right. Kahit ilipat ko sya grade 1 .. di sya accepted because of their cut-off age! Dapat 7 years old by October 31! Eh november nga si Sam ... waaahh!! she need to take K3 if ever!

Alam mo naisip ko, grade 2 ko ilipat. Wala age limit pag ganoon basta galing ka grade 2 from a different school then good academic records, and naipasa mo entrance test..pwede ka i-admit for grade 3! wala naman ata na-demote from grade 2, ginawa grade 1because of birthday cut-off? what do you think? hahaha!

Apols said...

paulinian :D

....so biased.

* wag mo ko sumbong ke sam* hehehehe

Anonymous said...

One year will not make a difference. I spent 6 years in college so what's the issue with another year.

Choose the school you like. Poveda is a great school and St. Pauls too. It's your choice.

Just don't factor the excess one year. It's not an issue at all.

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