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| This picture has no relation to P1 registration. I just think its hilarious to see you milking the cow and I really think this picture will come back to haunt you when you grow up. |
In our country, we have a rather
complex way of enrolling our kids for primary school that proves to be vexing,
tiresome and nervousness all at the same time. Registration for most good schools proved to be
impossible. The majority of the
available places are always taken up by the schools’ alumni members and
parent volunteers. Leaving only a
measly number of places for the general public to slog it out via
balloting. Your parents were not
from top schools and didn’t have enough money to throw away to be
alumni members of so-called ‘premier’ schools. Volunteering was also out of question, as it means
shifting our home to be within 1 km distance of the school. Hence, like all parents would, we
weighted the pros and cons of our neighbourhood schools for En Xi. First, the question of all girls’ or
mixed school?
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| You want to be an Air Stewardess when you grow up because its pretty |
CHIJ (Toa Payoh), as the name
suggests, is a Catholic all girls’ school that focuses on character building
and values creation. It’s the
closest (distance wise) and we trust that it can provide an environment where
you can be safe (from Boy-Girl-Relations) and strive (education). Moreover, you are always fascinated by
churchgoers and always asked your grand-auntie Margaret for church visits. Having said all that, CHIJ is a popular
school and it doesn’t take in parent volunteers that would have increased your
chances for enrolment.
So should we opt for a mixed
school instead? Kheng Cheng is
slightly further away, but still within walking distance. It has a whole lot more places for
enrolment and it’s almost certain to get in. After all, your uncle Dylan and auntie Jolene graduated from
there and are doing well with their further education at the moment. Besides, having you in Kheng Cheng will
guarantee En Jun’s enrolment in the same school. Back to the question of BGR again, will you be lured to the
idea of ‘lesbian’ in CHIJ? Which
is worst? To see you kissing a
girl or coming home with a big belly?
Sorry, paternity instincts kicked in and I apologise for the not-too-kid’s-friendly
description.
There are other schools as well,
Pei Chun, Marymount and First Toa Payoh.
We ruled them out as it will require you to travel a lot more and with
school starting as early as 7.20am, we figured that adequate rest is of
paramount importance to yours truly, Sleeping Beauty. So, will it be CHIJ (Toa Payoh) or Kheng Cheng? We did what’s best for you.
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| I think you are serious about this ambition |
You are placed in Phase 2C and the
enrolment results announcement date was set on 6 Aug 2014. We were fortunate
this year as Ministry of Education (MOE) announced that there would be an
additional 20 dedicated places allocated in Phase 2C. Together, with the remaining places from the previous
Phases, there were 53 places up for grabs. The 3 days for registration in
Phase 2C was nail biting. Day 1
and 2 saw the take up rate to be around 40-ish. The number of applicants slowly crept up towards 50 and I
was ever so confident that there would be no balloting exercise. In my mind, I was thinking who would
risk their application on the final day?
The third and final day was only half a day with 4 hours for
registration. I was proven wrong. There were 54 applicants for the 53
places available. Hence, there was
to be a balloting exercise to determine your place in CHIJ. This was going to be an important
milestone in En Xi’s life. Will
you grow up embraced by Catholic values or will this mark the start of a
frantic search for another school?
Odds are high, you might say, but you never know who will be the
unfortunate one.
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| Number 32 for the 30th place (4th row, 3rd from the left) |
6 Aug 2014. We send both of you to pre-school and
proceeded to attend the balloting exercise in person. I was always, as cool as a cucumber; and your mom was
always, as ‘kan cheong’ as a spider.
The event started with the principal explaining the rules of the
balloting. She spoke about all the
potential points of dispute and left no contingencies unturned. Its funny how the whole event was
played out like how lottery would.
Your fate is decided by a little numbered white ball spinning in a gold
cage, waiting for it to be scooped out and called by the teacher. Together with us, was Auntie Angie
(Xuan Ying’s Mom), her number was the 7th number to be called. So lucky! We waited and waited. Such fantastic odds (98% to be called)
suddenly seem not-so-great after all.
The 20th number was called and the 27th number quickly followed suit. 50% of numbers called! When is your number going to be called? Your heat rate starts to pound a little
harder and sweat begins to gather at your forehead. At last, at the 30th number, number 32 was called. Heng Ah! Such Relief! Tio 4D also don’t feel so shiok! And we feel so sorry for the last name that was not called. Seeing the mummy cry was so heart wrenching.
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| Let's hope Xuan Ying and En Xi are in the same class |
