Her first exam results

My 5 year old had her first exam just before the school holidays and this being her first academic examination, naturally the parents and all four grandparents were excited (and maybe anxious) for her.

We didn't do much revision, as you know, she's only in kindy. But Vic and I did went through more spelling as that was her weak area. We already have a private home tutor for her Chinese subject and she seems to be enjoying and doing well in this area, much to her banana-parents' joy and relief!

Three days back, I met up with her class teacher after school for our postponed parent-teacher meeting (as we were away over the weekend in Penang). In the half hour discussion, we went through all her markings academic and non academic eg gross and fine motor skills, inter-relationship skills, etc and I noted a few points for clarification, namely:

1. Art & Craft - the craftwork returned to us were hardly "craft" work. They were just pieces of pictures for the kid to color, and I am disappointed as in her previous kindy, they did many creative work which the child really enjoyed. Besides that, we parents also pay additional fees (on top of the monthly school fees) for Art & Craft to the school every semester. The reason given by the teacher was that the 20minutes allocation per week was insufficient for the kids to do any major art & craft work. So what is the additional fees for? Apparently, nearing year end, the kids will be making some interesting craftwork to decorate the school walls... (does this sound ridiculous enough?)

2. Markings of "Satisfactory" - If Vic has done well in her Chinese and Numbers paper exam, and does well in her class work, except for the occassional delay in handing up her homework, how is it that she gets "satisfactory" grading from her teacher? I mean, you can't go better than 100%, right? Apparently, since this is for the 1st semester, all kids, eventhough they are excellent, will only get "satisfactory" markings from the teacher so they will continue to strive for excellence in the coming semesters. And of course, on paper it will look "nice" to see satisfactory to good to excellent, instead of excellent to excellent to excellent. (Errmm... are you following me here? Agree or disagree?)

3. Vic's reading - yes, I know some 5 year olds still do not know how to read at this age, and can only manage simple words. Vic is one of them. We hope by year end she will be able to grasp the phonic blends and sound the word herself. That's called reading, even if it doesn't sound quite right, but getting there is a good thing.


Well, this is about all. Overall, we are truly overjoyed at her exam results. Such a good start, and hopefully she keeps it up. She was not guided by her teacher, and Vic, we are all proud of you! Always remember, there is always room for improvement. Eventhough we are hard on you, that's only coz we want the best for you.