local or international?? hurry!!

S

shaz

Banned
Why local or why international, how do you choose?
My situation is this: I am British, hubby is Chinese and are son just finished his K1 at a local kindergarten. He joined Feb this year when he turned 3 and he will repeat K1. Although i dont feel he has too.
Anyway, i am quite keen to change him to an itnernational one but hubby wants local, this is tearing me apart as i dont know what's best. Any ideas please and quick because i need to make an application now. My other question is if he went to a local kindergarten could he have a chance in an international primary school being his mum is british and his english is very good? thanks
 
I am in a similar situation to you (me foreign, DH HK Chinese).. We had are kids in local schools until this year. Now my dd will be entering P4 and my son P2 (ESF system).

I think you can relax and send your son to local kindergarten. The big decision will be when he is in K2. The K3 year is the equivalent of the P1 ESF year.

If you apply to ESF, make sure you emphasize that he cannot cope in the loca; system. Otherwise he will most likely be waitlisted.
 
I was in similar situation a few years back. DH wanted my son to be in the same school he went to when he was little... I was upset but went along with it. After 2 horrible years (ie. 8-10 homework per day, school letters which I cannot make sense of cos they are in Chinese, school doesn't have a PTA and not to say tons of tests and exams), we ended up hating each other (the 3 of us), my son was scared stiff at around 6pm cos he knew I would be home soon... He won't finish homework till 11pm adn then we have to revised for tests and dictations. What did he get out of these 2 years? Basically Nil. We couldn't take it anymore cos we were worried about the rising of suicidal rates in students in HK so we tried to switch him back to INternational school (ESF.. he was 7 yrs), one school rejected him cos his English level is not up to their standard. We were lucky to have another school accepted him and he is now in Year 7 in South Island and having such a terrific time. Not only he is now growing up to be respectable boy, his knowledge surprises me too cos he now has time to read books. We can now go out on weekends adn enjoy life..

Local Schools? nah, never again. I can be contacted at [email protected] if you need to talk?

Cheers,
 
One very important note, if you are non-Chinese, you will not be able to help your child with his schoolwork, will your DH do that? How could he find time to do that cos that is almost a full time job!
 
definitely International!

I graduated from CIS a decade ago. Now I have my own baby who is just 6 months old. I have told my hubby who is HK Chinese (I, oversea Chinese) that our son will definitely have to go to an international school. School is supposed to be fun and I wouldn't want to waste the happiest years of my son in a local school. Although they have more hw, exams, etc... in local schools it doesn't mean that they learn more. Also, the personality of people from international and local schools are really different.

If you are going international, you have to figure out which system you want? American? then HKIS is the answer. My bro and sis went there and they both loved it. On the otherhand, CIS is a more conservative international school.

Good LUCK!
 
international vs ESF

what are the differences / advantages-disadvantages of INTL and ESF schools?

Is CIS international or esf? what does CIS stand for?
 
CIS

CIS: Chinese International School
It is located at Breamar Hill.

The curriculum at CIS is geared towards IB (International Baccalaureatte). I think for ESF (not sure) is towards A levels.

ESF is partly subsidized(?) by the hkg government. International schools aren't.

Hope this helps.
 
Dear Shaz,

If you are thinking of the local system you and your husband (as nearly everything is in Chinese) need to understand it. There are special seminars designed for the parents of K3 students so that they can understand the placement allocation for primary schools.

In the local system you still have the government schools (with the placement allocation) and the private schools (which often have kindergartens but some start at three years old and others at four years old). You need to understand the scheme in order to make sure your child has the best opportunities.

The schools are all banded into 5 bands. Children from a band one school do much better academically than children in a band five school. One of my nephews is currently in a band five primary school and the whole family is working together to get him moved from this school to a higher banded school. He is only 10 years old but they are all worried because the primary school he is at feeds into a secondary school which has very poor results.

You might get more information from the Education and Manpower Bureau web-site, http://www.ed.gov.hk/index.aspx?nodeid=2&langno=1

Every year there are lots of adverts (including on the TV) about the deadline for the dates to fill in the forms for applying to primary school. This date is quite early in the school year. Then you are told if you?ve got the place in December/January time. If not you have another chance to get the school you wanted later on. If you don?t get the school you want you will be given a school as the government are obliged to school everyone. It is a very anxious time for parents of five year olds. Because as I mentioned above the band of the primary school affects the band of the secondary school which in turn affects the leaving qualifications.

As your son is only three years old you still have a lot of time to research everything. Don?t worry that he has been asked to restart K1 it is because the cut off date for each year is January 1st. Thus because he was born in 2001 he should be in K1. All the children in K1 this year were born in 2001. In fact it is a good thing because he will be one of the older ones in his year and so is more likely to do well at school.

Good luck with your decision-making. I found choosing schools the hardest decision to come to because so much seemed to be attached to it.

Best wishes,
Barb
 
Thanks everyone,

On the homework issue, hubby would have to do the chinese part of it and he works late usually so my poor son has to hang around for dad to come home - which is a no-no for me!

Well, I have till tomorrow to make my decision cause my son got accepted in K2 or Anchors and they need an answer tomorrow. Their K1 was full but the lady said she felt my son would be ok in K2 and to try it out with him. I love the fact that they have no pressure and learn through play. I have noticed a change in my son though he seems very shy around people and i think him being in the local school before caused this cause he knows he is different and it does affect him. People are always approaching him and saying where are you from and can u speak chinese and struff like that, he hates it!

When we were in uk for our summer vacation he wasn't shy with anyone even people he didn't know. I think now he associates everything around mum cause i'm british and he seems to get along with expats better. he spends most of the time with me too so i think on that note i should allow him to be raised in schools with a micture of kids, like eurasians and expats and some local. his happiness is the most important to me; not results!

well, i am going to go with anchors and try it for a year cause anyhow if my son can get a place at shatin junor then he'd start his pre-primary in jan 2006, so only 1.5 years at kindie left.

thanks all so much for your input here.

shaz
 
i think it's always good to learn more than 1 language. if you speak english to your child at home already, maybe you should get them to attend chinese language schools.
 
Hi everyone. I'm going through the same headache about whether to go local or international. I'm a BBC and hubbie is HK chinese. I can speak Cantonese but can't read chinese that well so v.reluctant to put my son (2 years and 8 months in nursery at a local nursery/kindergarten) into a local school (because of chinese homework) though hubbie thinks there's nothing wrong with local schools as he went to one! I'm living in Yuen Long at the moment and I don't think there are any international schools here. I think the good schools are in the Kowloon area and wonder is it necessary to move in closer to the schools to avoid my son travelling such a long time? My friend's daughter is living in the same area as I am and goes to a kindergarten in Kowloon Tong and she takes the school bus which takes about an hour to get there which to me is a long time for a child.

I have thought about the kindergarten in Tsing Yi ESF - does anyone have any info about this kindergarten and the primary school options available post-kindergarten?

Any advice is great!
 
It's the headache of a livetime - I have found that out.
My son who goes to an english speaking kinddie has almost lost his chinese now. I think he remembers it though because i'll speak chinese to him and he'll reply to me in english. He just prefers to speak english. i am trying to enourage his chinese in other ways and may put him in whole day school at this current kinddie - where he'll do local stream in the am and international stream in the pm. Then i can have him sound in both languages before deciding where to put him for primary. I live in Sheung shui and understand your concerns about travelling and stuff like that, its not good for such small kids to travel so far. There are some good kinddies in Tai Wai area. My son goes to Anchors in Tai Wai and so far i am pleased with it.

The Tsing Yi ESF kinddie is expensive and does not give you automatic entry to esf schools, please remember that. But i think overall it is a pretty good kinddie.

Yes, its good that our kids speak both languages and finding the 'right' school is a tough decision. Don't rule out the DSS schools - i beleive there is one in Tin Shui Wai, they are not too expensive but focus more on creative learning and languages and are more preferred than local schools.
 
Like everyone here, i am torn b/w the International and local school option.

Since I grew up on overseas and did not learn Chinese, i am very keen for my child to be fluent in both written & spoken chinese. Does this mean i need to send him to local school, as i have heard the Chinese being taught at I/N school are inadequate????

Also any comment on attending a I/N kindergarten and then switching to a local chinese school??? (Since i am keen on the Montessori teaching methods, but it does not seem to be available pass primary level.....?)
 
Maybe its worth visiting different schools (international and local) and compare teaching methods, school ethos, homework policy, breadth of curriculum, opportunities to shine in other areas as well as academics, music, sport, etc and see which one suits your child. You may need to decide which of these things are important, then choose a school that meets your requirements. Different children thrive in different types of school - there's no hard and fast rules. A friend of mine has a child in a local school and has another in an international school because that works best for her children. They are both thriving in their own way and the main thing is that they are happy. Of course, the older child is completely bi-lingual in every sense but the younger perfers to use English more.

I think if you send your child to a international school, a couple of hours of mandarin/cantonese is not enough for them to grasp hold of the language adequately (so that they are at completely fluent level), especially if this is not backed up at home. Of course, you could get a chinese tutor to help with language if that is important to you.

These are just some thoughts......
 
Go with what your heart tells you - my son is thriving now and is happy in his environment and enjoying school. They won't succeed if they are not happy.
 
Hey May

I didn't get your email yet but sure im always happy to meet new friends.
We have regular monthly playgroup sessions which im sure you'd be happy to join.

Shaz
 
About switching from Int'l to local. Forget it. It's possible the other way 'round, but most kids in "typical" local kindie have already been trained in writing characters, writing English words, and start having graded dictations in the second week of school. If your child has been in a much "freer" environment, he will have a hard time getting used to the regimentation.

If you're interested in alternatives in Cantonese medium - you might want to check out Yew Cheung (warning, $$$$) or Logos Academy in Tseung Kwan O. There's also the Hong Kong International Institute of Music, a new school that is said to have a more active learning approach and spend extra time on music education. It's in Diamond Hill. The website is here, but if you can'tread Chinese, will do you little good. :)
http://www.hkiim.edu.hk/main.html
 
Dear loupou,

This might seem stupid, but what do you mean " alternatives in Cantonese medium"?

As for Yew Chung i heard it's meant to be English & Mandarin, but b/c most kids are from HK family, they end up speaking more Cantonese than Mandarin anyway. *sign*...... i am still undecided, asking around & collecting everyone's opinion.
 
My son goes to a local KG (in Sheung Shui) but does not have endless tests and dictations, however, he does have a little homework. His Cantonese is now good now, having regained it in 3 months after an 8 month break in the UK. He also enjoys reading both English and Chinese. We also get a rebate from the government as we are on a low income. I understand there are a couple of good schools in the area. There is also an international (American) school in Fanling for around $3-4000 a month.

If you want your children to learn Chinese, then local is best, but choose carefully.
 
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