Abacus Kindergarten or Woodlands

J

JKemp

Registered User
Hi,
I have a little girl who would be due to start kindergarten next Sept. She is currently in another Sai Kung preschool but we are not very happy with it as there have been many changes over the last month.

Does anyone know anything about Abacus in Clearwater Bay ? I believe it is ESF and the children get priority to go on to ESF Clearwater Bay school but I don't know much else.

I know Woodlands is also supposed to be opening - has it opened ? Any reports on this school yet ? A friend of mine was going for an interview there and got offered the job as playgroup leader even though she doesn't have any teaching qualifications which I found a bit worrying ! But maybe the older children's teachers are qualified ?

Thanks
 
my son goes to SAI KUNG LOK YUK kindergarten. it is local, but there are A LOT of expat children. my son loves it, and in his class alone there are a number of expat kids, as well as a number of mixed kids.

the spoken language in the classroom is cantonese, but all of the teachers speak english and all of the notices are sent home in either english or chinese.

another great thing about it is that if you apply for the gov't voucher, a half-day at this kindergarten is only $60-70!!!! yes, you read that right.

my son is a mixed child and his friends (that he tells me about) are mostly expat kids. they all seem to really enjoy the school.
 
My daughter is at Abacus and loves it. The kids who go there, do NOT get priority to Clearwater Bay ESF, they are only guaranteed an interview.

We applied to other kindergatens mainly as you can't choose the AM or PM session at Abacus and wanted a back up should she have been given PM.

We chose Abacus over other places in the area as many of the other (cheaper) options are quite far from where we live.

I've never been to Woodlands as it only opened recently. From what I have heard from friends is that due to complaints from residents at Marina Cove your child can only take the school bus. Aside from that I don't know much about it.

I think the best thing is to see if any of then have an open day and look around. Decide what your priorities are...proximity, cost, teaching styles, medium of instruction etc and then apply to a few to give yourself a bit more time to decide.

Hope that helps.
 
Hi,
I am not in a position to comment on the qualities of either Kindergarten as I work at Abacus so my views would be biased ! However, I would like to set one thing straight. Children from ESF Abacus kindergarten do get priority over other children for interview at ESF schools. They are definitely not guaranteed an interview though. The priority system is on the ESF website. Siblings of children who are already in ESF schools get first priority and then children who have attended an ESF kindergarten, followed by all other children.
We welcome people to come an have a look round. Parent tours take place regularly for those who wish to visit.
 
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