GRADE SCHOOLS IN QC

[wkt]

so yun pala ang nangyari sa St. Claire.  Katabi lang namin yung scholol na yun and its now Romarinda International School.  I know Romarinda has a branch (probably the first branch?) in Meralco Ave. and koreans mostly ang students nila.  Sana may mag-post ng feedback about the new school.

How about Maria Montessori at Visayas Ave?

So far, Im interested in visiting that^, Miriam and the Learning Tree.

[cool_chique]

Yes sis, Korean nga daw nakabili.
Nakasalubong ko nga lang few weeks ago yung kundoktor ng shuttle service namin dati sa St. Claire tandang sora (wow, at kilala niya pa ako ha!). sabi niya, nabaon daw sa utang yung school... binenta yung parehong branch sa tandang sora at west ave. Sa tandang sora, foreigner nga nakabili, at sa west ave, parent daw ng student don. Yung sa West Ave. yata yung St. Claire Fountain of Light ngayon. Though wala pakong feedback kung pano na ang turo. Nakakita ako ng brochure sa west ave, mukhang okay naman.. wala lang akong idea doon sa tandang sora branch. Btw, sa west ave na nagwwork yung dati naming kundoktor, driver siya ngayon don :p

[prettymom]

Mga sis who are inquiring about feedback sa Montessori School of QC, my 2 kids are studying there and I'm planning of transferring them. Some parents had transferred their child to different school. The structure is good and clean but learning and choosing a school is beyon the structure or should I say there are some issues that should be greatly considered which are equally important diba mga sis? May issues mga teachers and madami na nagrereklamo regarding that. dissappointed nga ako eh..

[marose17]

Any feedback on The Learning Tree?  I know maraming good feedback sa turo dito but how the building looks is not very encouraging for me whenever I would happen to pass by the school.  Are the classrooms well-equipped and are the facilities up to date?  A friend of mine said she did not like the facilities when she visited the school so she scrapped TLT from her list.

[prettycha]

A friend sends her kids to TLT.  No doubt they have good quality of education.  The only thing she dislike is the issue of favoritism.  This school has been a showbiz school already since kids of the likes of  Sharon Cuneta, Cesar Montano etc studies here.  During programs, the celebrity parents are given reserved seats.  This thing might be an issue depending on perspective.  Parati daw [textspeak!] donor si Sharon Cuneta that's why they have special seats.  But sa parent's side mejo not in good taste since everyone pays the same amount of tuition fee.

[ADreamer]

How much kaya is the tuition on TLT?

[marose17]

^ Based on my phone inquiry, the tuition fee for grade 1 for this school year is Php69,000.  Next year, the school is projecting an increase of 10-15% on the tuition fee.

[ADreamer]

Thanks Marose!

I'll try to call din and see if the Cubao branch is okay.

^ Based on my phone inquiry, the tuition fee for grade 1 for this school year is Php69,000.  Next year, the school is projecting an increase of 10-15% on the tuition fee.

[marose17]

^ The Cubao branch is a preschool while the Sikatuna Village branch houses the grade school, if I am not mistaken.

[blackberryqueen]

We inquired at School of the Holy Spirit (BF Homes) QC, and the tuition for Grade 1 in the current SY is around 55K pesos.

Proximity-wise, this is the best choice for us. I just haven't heard much about its academic standards lately, whether it is at par with STC -- which is often raved about by most of my co-parents. I hope someone here whose daughter is in SHSQC can share some insights.

TIA 

[marose17]

^ Hi!  I went to SHS QC for high school back in the 80s.  Back then, it had rigorous and strict academic standards.  Marami ding rules on discipline, etc. which I found too harsh back then.  But all's well that ends well.  Because of the educational standards, most of us eventually went to prestigious universities (UP, Ateneo, DLSU, UST) for college.  I went to UP Diliman for my undergraduate course and for law school as well.  There are several doctors, nurses, lawyers and a few architects and engineers, as well as entrepreneurs, from our batch.

I have classmates who are currently sending their daughters to SHS.  They said that since the nuns are no longer involved in managing the school, they have relaxed some of their rules a bit - like participating in contests, academic and non-academic, in other schools (during my time kasi, we were only allowed to participate in academic contests in other schools, bawal sa GALS/cheerleading and the like).  My friends seem happy naman with the way their daughters are turning out.  Based on my observation, the school still values discipline, modesty and good behavior.  Another friend of mine from SHS is planning to send her two year-old daughter there as well when the time comes.

Regarding academic standards, I guess okay pa din.  The teacher at my sons' preschool now almost sent her daughter to SHS for high school.  Hindi lang natuloy kasi her daughter made it to Philippine Science.  I know a few co-parents also who put Holy Spirit as #1 on their list of girls' school for high school, ahead of Miriam which is located within our area.  Proximity wise eh Miriam dapat ang choice nila but they opted for Holy.  I dunno why though so there must be good feedback  about my alma mater, I suppose.

There's a thread here regarding SHS.  May good insight ang isang academician GTer there.  Hope you can find it.

[cool_chique]

I am not sure if this is the right thread for this...

I came from a coed school all my life. Personally, I liked how I was able to interact with boys (positively and negatively) on a daily basis. And I initially would like to send my daughter to a coed school too. Yet since many of my friends studied from SHS and have heard good feedback about it, I become interested on all-girl school. What are the advantages and disadvantage of sending kids to all-girl school especially during elementary?

[marose17]

Advantages:

1. I met the bestest girlfriends for life in school.  One of my best friends was my classmate in first grade.
2. When we all started having our first monthly period and our bodies started to change (such as growing boobs), we did not have to endure teasing from boys because we were going through the same thing.
3.  We were taught by the nuns to be refined, disciplined, modest, have good penmanship (SHS girls  have similar cursive handwriting), and to acquire skills that will later come in handy (our Practical Arts/Home Economics subjects were Sewing, Steno, Cooking, Embroidery and the like).
4. We all know that girls mature faster than boys and most of the time, do better than boys in academics (because girls are generally more disciplined and diligent).  Girls will thrive siguro and not be hindered by the fact that they may be doing better than the boys in class, which may (I am just assuming as I have no actual information) not be the case in a coed environment.
5.  Maiiwasan ang pakikipag-boyfriend nang maaga.    

Disadvantages:
1.  Lack of exposure to the opposite sex - which also may be an advantage if you are a parent

Sorry, I could not think of any other disadvantage.  For me, the major difference lang talaga from coed schools is yun nga, walang boys.  But we did have soirees and interactions with boys from all boys' schools so meron din kahit papaano.  I went to a coed university and hindi naman ako na-culture shock or what.  I easily made friends with boys when I was already in college and I did know how to interact with boys - hindi naman ako naging pakawala or sabik sa boys at hindi rin naman ako naging sobrang mahiyain sa company ng boys.

Ultimately, nasa bata iyan at nasa pagpapalaki ng magulang.  Coed or exclusive - it should not really matter.  What I mean is, I would not choose a school just because it is coed or vice versa.  Hindi siya ang primary consideration ko in choosing a school for my children.

[blackberryqueen]

Thanks sis Marose for the very helpful insight..

We're almost 90% sure about our decision to send our daughter to SHS. It's just that I was a bit taken aback by the reactions of some co-parents in my child's pre-school, which ranges from puzzled look to outright suprise that I'm not sending my child to the more popular choices, namely, Miriam, ICA, Poveda and STC. It's like I'm such a bad mother for not investing more in my child's education. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but that's how I feel.. So I need to find more justification for our decision, by getting more feedback about the school, and first-hand accounts of those who actually went there.

Aside from the location, another consideration is the academic and social culture. We had to analyze our child's personality, attitude, IQ level and talents, and make sure that the school will enable our child to thrive in the areas where she is good at, and develop some more skills which will be very helpful in life.

Had STC been a lot nearer, no doubt we will send our daughter there. Miriam on the other hand is our 2nd top choice, but we've been hearing not so positive feedback from some moms of MC students, so it's slowly sliding down the rank in our list.

[marose17]

^ Perhaps wala masyadong name recall ang SHS because the alumnae from Holy Spirit choose to keep a low profile.  Pero matagal na rin ang Holy Spirit schools for girls here in Metro Manila (Mendiola but college na lang and New Manila).  Meron din sa provinces like Tarlac.

[kirohanz29]

hi sissies,
i dunno if ditu ba dpt tong post ko,
but i just want to know

whats the big difference between the schools
like traditional, montessori, progressive etc.

advantages and disadvantages

[marose17]

^ Kindly check the blog of Teacher Tina Zamora (what is a progressive school), may discussion siya doon.  Mayroon din sa momexchange.ph and sa marami pang sites.  Mag-google ka lang.

[mishyewarians]

Been to a coed and all girls schools.. But i chose coed for my kids..

[kirohanz29]

thanks sis marose,
im a first time mom kc ,
and im a bit curious of what schools
should ill be looking in the future for my tod,

im thinking kc if i should pick progressive or montessori
whch really givea me a headache which is better

[marose17]

^ The best way is to observe your child.  Then, make a list of your target schools and visit with your child (so you can gauge his reaction to the school and the teachers).  Marami pa kasing factors eh aside from the teaching method.  Basta sa akin, marami akong kinonsider na factors dati.  My husband and I decided on a Montessori school because after my research, I realized that the method and the environment are suited to our twin sons.

There is no one method better than the other.  The key is to find out which method best fits your child's learning style.