What to Expect From A Home Schooling Centre

This post is a continuation of our previous post on Pros and Cons of Home School, Private and International Schools and Home Schooling Centres.

For those considering home schooling centres as yet another option for their children's education, we hope this post on What To Expect From A Home Schooling Centre will be an eye-opener for you.

This post was brought to you by Kensington Academy Malaysia. Kensington offers Cambridge IGCSE from Primary to Secondary, Years 1 through 11. Scroll down for contact information.

If you are opting for home schooling centres, below are a few factors you should think about and take into consideration.

Parents Support Role - Where Do I Start?

Regardless whether your child is a toddler or already has several years of primary school experience, sending your child to a homeschooling centre can be done at any point in time. Most parents find the end of one school year is a good time to start their ‘shopping’ because it gives them enough time to research on the details. No matter what your choices are, you should visit homeschooling centres around you, and talk to people who homeschool, contact or join a local homeschool organization/group. Educating yourself about the various routes you can take is the best way to define why you are making this decision and what you hope homeschooling will accomplish for your child.

Decide On Homeschool Curriculum - What Curriculum Is Available?

Fortunately, Malaysian parents are spoiled with choices when it comes to syllabus or curriculum choices. Nevertheless, the most commonly followed syllabi are the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and the Alpha Omega Publication (AOP) for religious based homeschooling centres. Learning materials can be purchased at leading bookstores, they vary from traditional textbooks and workbooks that cover reading, writing, and arithmetic to more individualized approaches that are guided by a child's own interests, e.g. drama and play, art and craft etc. At Kensington Academy, we allow learners to not only excel academically, but also enhance various soft skills like recall of knowledge, teamwork, problem solving etc.

Comparison chart between public schooling and IGCSE Pathway from Kensington

Examination Board - What Exams Will My Child Take If We Choose This Route Of Education?

IGCSE stands for the International General Certificate of Secondary Education. Unlike the GCSE, which is taken by the vast majority of students in UK, the IGCSE is crafted to suit international students or students reside outside of the UK where the courses and examinations will have an international flavour rather than being grounded in British situations and settings.

There are many examination boards that award IGCSE certification. Kensington Academy currently uses the examination board from CIE (Cambridge International Examinations), a department of the University of Cambridge, UK. Hence, the course syllabuses and curriculum we use is designed to prepare our learners to meet the requirements set by the CIE.

Image Credit: Kensington Academy Malaysia. Top Picture is Principal of Kensignton Academy Malaysia, Mr Kelvin followed by pictures taken during students' self development/ outdoor sessions.

Contact Information: Kensington Academy Malaysia

Special Offer At Gakken Math Classroom

Hi there parents,

Remember we shared with you the free science experiment trial classes at Gakken Classroom Kelana Jaya.

Good news for you! You have another 2 weeks to redeem a month's worth of free science classes.

Free Science Experiment Trial Class
More Information About The Science Experiment Class

Gakken Classroom conducts science and math classes for children from 4 to 12 years old.

Today, we would like to share with you another offer by Gakken Classroom Malaysia. This time it is by Gakken Math Classroom. Your child can try the math classes for a month at 50% off. That means you only pay RM80 for 4 classes, a value for money offer.

The math classes focus on logical thinking through self learning. Children are encouraged and motivated to learn on their own. First they are taught the skills, then they are coached to apply them in real life.

To find out more about the Gakken Math classes, visit Gakken Math Classroom website and click on the links as shown below or call 017-727 9228 to book a month's trial classes for your child.

To find out more about Gakken Math Classes, go to the website and click on the links shown for more information

Example of the primary school math materials from Gakken Math Classroom

UPSR 2016 Grading System - 80 Or 85 Marks For Grade A?

Recently there were some news circulated on social media about the Grades for UPSR being reset to 80 from 85 and now it looks like it is official.

The Sistem Analisis Peperiksaan Sekolah or SAPS in short, which is the school exam analysis system by the MOE (Ministry of Education) has released the following downloads on its website.

Grade Ranges for primary school for 2016 (Julat Markah Sekolah Rendah 2016)

A = 80-100
B = 65-79
C = 50-64
D = 40-49
E = 0-39
TH = Tidak Hadir (Absent)

Grade Ranges for lower secondary school

A = 85-100
B = 70-84
C = 60-69
D = 50-59
E = 40-39
F = 0-39
TH = Tidak Hadir (Absent)

Grade Ranges for upper secondary school

A+ = 90-100
A   = 80-89
A- = 75-79
B+ = 70-74
B = 65-69
C+ = 60-64
C  = 50-59
D  = 45-49
E  = 40-44
G = 0-39
TH = Tidak Hadir (Absent)

* Note: The grade ranges for lower secondary school and upper secondary school are different from primary school as shown in the diagrams below.

Primary School Grade Ranges 2016

Lower Secondary Grade Ranges 2016

Upper Secondary Grade Ranges

Source of Information: SAPS
You can find the above information under the heading "Gred Sekolah untuk SR, SMR dan SMA"
(Note: SR= Sekolah Rendah/Primary School, SMR=Sekolah Menengah Rendah/Lower Secondary, SMA = Sekolah Menengah Atas/Upper Secondary)

While you are at the site, you may also like to take note of the following important dates. These are deadlines for schools to key in examination marks into the system. It will give you an idea of the time frame of key examinations for 2016 for Std 6 and Form 5 students.

You can find the following download under the heading "Takwim Peperiksaan Dalaman Sekolah 2016"

Internal Examination Calendar For Schools 2016

Source of Information: SAPS 

Cuti Perayaan And School Term Holidays 2016 As Set By KPM

We're about to conclude a 9 day school holiday (inclusive of weekends) for the Chinese New Year festivities. Since we're still in a holiday mood, let's have a look at the rest of the school holidays you can expect in 2016, school term holidays as well as "Cuti Perayaan" 2016 as set by KPM or Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia.

Here they are.

For Group A Schools Kedah, Johor, Kelantan and Terengganu.

• First Term Holidays - 11 March to 19 March 2016 (9 days)
• Mid Year Holidays - 27 May to 11 June 2016 (16 days)
• Hari Raya Aidil Fitri Holidays - 1 July to 9 July 2016 (9 days inclusive of 2 weekends)
• Second Term Holidays - 9 September to 17 September 2016 (9 days)
• Deepavali Holidays - 28 October to 1 November 2016 (5 days inclusive of 1 weekend)
• Year-End Holidays - 25 November to 31 December 2016 (37 days)

For Group B Schools in all other states other than the above

• First Term Holidays - 12 March to 20 March 2016 (9 days)
• Mid Year Holidays - 28 May to 12 June 2016 (16 days)
• Hari Raya Aidil Fitri Holidays - 2 July to 10 July 2016 (9 days inclusive of 2 weekends)
• Second Term Holidays - 10 September to 18 September 2016 (9 days)
• Deepavali Holidays - 28 October to 1 November 2016 (5 days inclusive of 1 weekend)
• Year-End Holidays - 26 November to 1 January 2016 (37 days)

The official holiday schedule from KPM can be downloaded from here.

You can use this schedule to plan your vacations. Happy Holidays!

Creating Family Traditions

Making Chinese New Year exciting for the kids

One of the things we enjoy doing a lot is creating family traditions and routines to make Chinese New Year a memorable affair for the kids.

We do this by doing the same thing every year. We take the kids to have a haircut, then we go to the same places to buy new year clothes, we do spring cleaning and get the kids to do the decoration and clean the porch, we buy the same Chinese New Year cookies. We travel back to hometown and stay at the same place.

Boring? In contrary, it is far from boring. By doing the same things every year, we have created a routine that the kids have come to anticipate and love.

I've read in forums of how people hate Chinese New Year because they hate visiting relatives, they hate their in-laws. They hate this and that and then they take off for a holiday to escape all of this. I feel sad reading it because there is much to love. I loved Chinese New Year as a child and I hope to make my children love and look forward to it year after year. It is not hard to do that. All you have to do is create a routine that you can revisit every year and that is how family traditions are created. By you!

Happy Chinese New Year 2016!