Which is Worse – Public Speaking…or Spiders?

When I was a primary school student, (and that was more than 3 decades ago mind you!), education in Singapore was quite different from what it is now.

For one, we actually have actual results and scores in our report book, even at primary 1. There were grades. There was streaming (eh hem EM1, EM2, EM3..?). Students were sorted into classes according to their academic calibre.

Our daughter’s report book can be confusing to read. What exactly do you mean by performing? What is the difference between accomplished and competent? In a bid to protect our children’s self esteem, we now deal with ambiguous terms.

Which isn’t to say that is a bad thing. It comes to show that the society is realising that success is not determined by how pretty your report book looks.

If you have worked long enough, you would have realised the most successful of your peers and colleagues are not those who did well in exams, but those who have the best communication skills.

Communication skills is vital in a workplace. Any workplace.

Almost every job requires you to speak. (Actually is there any that don’t? If you know of any, please ping us!)

This is why we are so hyped up about our latest collaboration with Speech Academy Asia, which allows us to incorporate public speaking class into our student care program.

We still cannot run away from chasing grades. But with this program, it can ensure that whilst preparing for the PSLE ultimate battle of the childhood, we can still ensure our littles are still honing their communication skills.

The benefits of public speaking run a long list, but the most important one of all would be it helps to build self-confidence. It helps you to become a more critical thinker, and hones your communication skills. It develops vocabulary and speech fluency.

You can easily take on a leadership position with confidence. You can motivate and inspire people. You can be a role model. You can change the world with words!

Glossophobia, or a fear of public speaking, is a very common phobia. It is said that the fear of public speaking is worse than the fear of death (or spiders or heights)

This is why I’m thankful schools have started to place a strong emphasis on Show and Tell from a young age.

If you agree with us, and are keen to find our more about our student care x public speaking programs AND you stay in the extreme east or west of Singapore, do check out our page here.

June 2019 Holiday Program and Excursions

An overview of what we did for the June holidays!

Our App

It’s not new and we’re definitely not the first, but still better late than never! We have officially launched our app so that parents of our student care kids can get photos and notices via the app as opposed to hard copies.

It’s our small effort to go environmental friendly and cut down the use of paper.

This is a snapshot of how the interface looks like.

The Pros and Cons of School Based Student Care and Stamford Scholars Student Care

It’s the time of the year again. Primary 1 registration was concluded some time back and parents are awaiting anxiously for the Orientation Day. For most schools, this day seemed to be some time in early to mid Nov.

This is the peak season for us as we encounter numerous enquiries for our student care vacancies in 2019.

Some parents are shopping around, in case they are unable to get a slot in the almost always oversubscribed student care centres within the primary schools.

School based student care centres are often unable to confirm if they have a slot for your child until Orientation Day.

It is generally believed that lower income families are given priority.

Here, we discuss the pros and cons of enrolling your child into a school based student care centre vs one of the Stamford Scholars student care centres:

Pros of enrolling into a school based student care:

1. They are (normally) cheaper than us.
2. Less logistical issues – nothing can beat walking down a few flights of stairs to your student care classroom.
3. More outdoor play
4. Less academic stress as academic programs are generally not allowed – good for parents who wold like their children to have better academic-play balance.
5. Mandatory nap / rest time

Cons:

1. Bigger teachers to students ratio (1:25-40 normally)
2. Same environment before and after school – your child will see the same faces.
3. Absence of academic programs for weaker students, hence students who are weak in academics will usually end up seeking tuition externally, outside of student care.
4. No option for other enrichment programs
5. Meals are usually catered from the school canteen. Students might find it of limited variety.
6. Most school based student care centre close st 6.30pm, which is earlier than private student care centres. As working parents, some might have difficulty reaching in time.

Pros of enrolling into a Stamford Scholars student care centre:

1. Free pick up by foot or by bus (from selected primary schools). We don’t charge extra.
2. Smaller teachers to students ratio (1:10-15) means more attention for your child
3. Our total students intake per centre is small (~15-40), it means once your child is enrolled with us, we will know both you and your child well, really well. 😀
4. Some kids might welcome a change of environment from the school
5. Opportunity to mix with a variety of students from other schools as well
6. Tuition is available for weaker students who require academic assistance
7. More academic emphasis
8. Our meals are normally catered from external vendors or directly cooked and served from our kitchen, offering variety from the school canteen food.
9. We close at 7pm. For parents who are slightly late (just slightly ok!), we can still “eyeball” for a bit. In this sense, we are more flexible than school based student care centres.

Cons:

1. We are slightly more expensive.
2. If your child has after school activities that end later than the normal school dismissal timings, we are only able to pick up from selected primary schools.
3. Nap time is available on request and can be catered for. We don’t set a mandatory time/period as most parents prefer their children to skip nap time and sleep early at night.
4. Lack of outdoor facilities – we bring students to public outdoor places as we don’t have our own internally.

Where we are the same:

1. We provide student care financial assistance to low income families. Find out more.

And here it is, our brutally honest review of us and our friendly school based competitors.

Things Your Child Should Know Before Entering Primary 1

Now that the Primary 1 registration is almost over, are you also thinking about how you could help your child enter Primary 1 better prepared?

What should your child know before entering primary 1?

We have a list for items for you! This is by no means comprehensive, but feedback from parents who have been through it all.

Academics

1. English
   • Write name and date
   • Basic sight words recognition
   • Writing basic words
   • Learn more about the MOE syllabus here.
2. Chinese
   • Write name and date
   • Basic hanyupinyin
   • Writing basic words
   • Basic words recognition
3. Math
   • Addition and subtraction 1 – 20
   • Write words 1 to 20, eg one, eleven, twenty.
   • Know shapes
4. Show and Tell
   • Speak confidently

Soft Skills

1. Count money in order to buy food during recess
2. Be able to focus in class
3. Take instructions well
4. Use toilet independently
5. Tell the time
6. Queue and take turns
7. Emotional Management – being able to speak up when being bullied or encounter issues
8. Look after own belongings
9. Basic fine motor skills like using scissors to cut

While we are busy ushering our kids to enrichment classes to ensure they will not lose out in the academic race, let’s not forget about the soft skills.

Having a confident and disciplined child might in fact be more important than being able to read fluently.

After all, a diligent child will in turn do better academically.

>> Back to Blog.

6 Reasons Why You Should Send Your Child to Our Music Integrated Student Care Program

1. Flexibility to explore different instruments – piano, drums, ukelele, drums, violin

Fickle-mindedness, though not often encouraged, is nonetheless common amongst young children. This program gives your child the flexibility to try other musical instruments at no additional costs. Say he decided that he doesn’t want to learn piano anymore, he can try drums.

Exploration and exposure to different instruments at a young age let the child finds out for himself what his real interests are.

2. Frees up time to do other things during the weekend

As the music classes are held during the student care program once a week, it saves you a trip to the music school during the weekend. It frees up time for your child and yourself to do other things.

3. We help to ensure daily practice too

It’s tough, and tiring to get kids to do work. We get it, because we are parents too. We allocate 15-30 mins every day for music practice, so we offload you from one task.

4. Free usage of studios and instruments, if you don’t have one at home

Your child may just be starting out on this music learning journey and you’re not sure if you should invest in a thousand-dollar piano or drum set yet. You won’t have to, if your child is going to practice in the centre. He has free access to all the instruments.

5. Strike a balance between leisure and academics

Music is an art. Music soothes the soul. We believe it should be something enjoyable as well. Amidst all the pressure of studies and achieving good results, taking a break to learn music in the school day will be a respite for your child and could possibly improve his concentration span.

6. Peer pressure promotes interest, works for music too

All the students on the program learn music. Learning with friends will help promote interest.

What is the music integrated student care program about?

The music integrated student care program is a collaboration between Stamford Scholars and Ossia Music School. Music classes and daily music practice are incorporated into the student care program. The student care program is housed within the music schools, and operated by Stamford Scholars. The music classes are taught by the professional and qualified music teachers from Ossia Music School.

Read more here.

This music integrated student care program is available at:

Stamford Scholars is a One-Stop education provider for pre-tertiary education built around a team of dedicated teachers with a deep passion for teaching. Learn more.