This Is It. ON to the Next Chapter.

We've finally come to a decision. Well actually it was partly Maia who decided where she's finally going. This morning while I was dressing up for work, she approached me and said "Mommy, sandali lang to ha. Wait mo lang ako. Tapusin ko lang si Handy Manny tapos alis na tayo." 

"San tayo pupunta 'nak?" (me already preparing to leave for work. bubble thought: i don't have time to deal with tantrums. please don't throw one now, little girl)

"Sa Seton." 

I got her to sit on my lap and gently told her it's a Monday and Mommy's off to work already. She pouted and sobbed a bit but was quick to collect herself ("Okay Mommy next time na lang ang Seton ha?") and proceeded to kiss and hug me bye-bye. It was a good thing her dad was taking the day off from work yesterday so I didn't have to feel so guilty leaving her like that.

Tibs picked up the admission results early yesterday and immediately relayed it to me, I thought hmmm she probably knew that she aced the assessment exam (remembering our conversation that morning). hahaha. pinangunahan na kami.

We have decided we will take this a year at a time. And for now, this is what we think is the best choice for our little girl so we're going to give this a try. It's a good thing we've already made our own decision before we were handed the admission results because the school is not giving us a lot of time to think things over as we only have until Mar 9 to decide if we're giving it a go or not. Of course the answer is yes. I just didn't realize enrollment deadlines come this early. Oh well, we know better next year. At least we'll be more prepared. I just have to say this though -- HINDI TALAGA BIRO ANG MAGPAARAL!!!!

I'd frame this if I could! (FOR REFERENCE this is what those 3 pertain to: )

• Cognitive - generally refers to mental skills
• Affective - pertains to attitude, social skills
• Psychomotor - physical and manual skills.

Dearest Maia,

I'd like you to know that you made Dad and me very proud today. Bear in mind though that regardless of the result/s of the endeavors you chose to take in the future, Dad and me will always be here to hold your hand and support you. And now, we're starting a new journey in our life soon -- you finally going to big school -- we share your enthusiasm because we see how ecstatic you are about it. Every morning you'd wake up and announce, I'm going to school! I'm going to school! You make Dad and me laugh every time you do that. I hope this school is the right place for you. But let's help each other okay? We'll take this a step at a time.

We decided to enroll you in big school because we saw how ready you were. But if in the middle of all this, you'd suddenly feel you haven't had enough of play time at home yet just know that Dad and me will never pressure or force you to keep going. We will take your lead. 

This year seems to have a lot in store for us. Oh just the thought of it makes my heart leap already. We're so happy for you little girl. We love you very much!

Daddy and Mommy

ESS South Campus Preschool Tour

Last Saturday, our family of three woke up earlier than usual to prepare and attend the open house at the South campus of Elizabeth Seton School. We hitched a ride with Erl's family. Erl and I have been school hunting together since her cutiepie Kelsea and Maia are almost of the same age (born just about a month apart).

It was a first time to visit this school so we didn't really have any expectations set. It only took us about 15 mins to get to the school from Avida Settings in Bacoor. We took the Daang Hari road heading towards Aguinaldo Hi-way (I'm not very good at directions but it was pretty easy) and I don't think the travel will tire Maia. 

We arrived 15 mins early than the 9am schedule so we had the chance to check out the GS/HS area and the kids were somehow able to warm up. 

view of the school from the auditorium

When we got inside the auditorium, it was already half full. The registration table was  also busy since some parents were already submitting their applications. Erl and I decided to submit ours after the tour.  

Admissions Area

The program started a few minutes after 9am. Kids were settled comfortable and were surprisingly quite through out. They paid attention to the presentation and Maia seemed really interested when the preschool presentation was showing. Tutok na tutok. In between the breaks, Erl handed out post-its to the kids and they got busy writing and scribbling. 

"Know where child is spending the best years of his life."

The open-classroom set up really intrigued us *sorry we don't have photos to show* but after seeing the poster above, it made sense. 

A little past 10, the organizers broke us into groups (based on the levels that we are wishing to apply for - Preschool/GS/HS). They assigned two tour guides for every level). The kids were really excited to see the school.

GS/HS Cafeteria - we were told the the preschoolers have their own dining/pantry area so they rarely come here to eat

Playground and the Preschool Bldg Facade

Pretty ceiling, Preschool bldg lobby

Clinic + Playroom/Preschool Library

And here are the classrooms - I couldn't remember now which belong to the kinder kids and which belong to the nursery kids. But I think the difference was only the way the seats are arranged. All the preschool classrooms are equipped with the same facilities. Each room by the way has their own bathroom so it would be easy for the kids to run to the bathroom if they need to go potty.

All the preschool sections are named after famous children's books characters

Maia: ano ginagawa ni Mickey Mouse dyan Mommy?
Upper left side is the party area (where kids usually hold their bday parties)

Kids are safe here. There's a guard posted at the main entrance of the preschool bldg and guardians are usually asked to wait outside during school days.

I couldn't say yet if this is going to be the preschool of our choice but I liked the environment there. I'd like to personally meet the teachers too to see how Maia would react with them since Maia has somebody in mind when I say teacher and to her a teacher should be just like her Peacher Josie (from St Mikael). I know that she liked the classrooms though and was really enticed by the playground. Tibs and I are still torn. But we're sticking to our criteria and will decide as soon as we're done with all the assessment exams. 

Open House At Elizabeth Seton School (South Campus)

The next school in our list is the Elizabeth Seton School in Anabu, Dasmarinas, Cavite. My co-workers kids have been going here before they migrated to the US and she highly recommended this school to me. From her stories, I can very well see how disciplined her kids are with school work and how they enjoyed school time. That is important to me so I made the visit to this school one of my top priorities during school hunting.

I called last November to check on the assessment exam schedules and get a list of the requirements and I was lucky to have spoken to the Open House organizer herself, Ms Cheris. She advised that I come to the open house first before we make a decision so I enlisted myself and the hubby. Come January, Ms Cheris texted me to confirm the date of the Open House. And this morning, we trooped over to the South Campus with the Gools to know more about the school.

It was a helpful and informative Open House. Apart from the overcrowding during the campus tour (overeager parents that includes me plus a defective microphone for the tour guide rendered that part rather disorganized), it was something that we think is necessary for every first time parent. Here's how the Open House program went:

Parts I-VI didn't really take long. If I remember correctly, I think it was less than an hour. And to think the program didn't start exactly at 9am and we were out of the auditorium by 1030am for the tour. Snacks were already made available before the program started. Most parents brought along the kids with them and contrary to what I expected, it didn't turn out to be a  hassle at all because at the end of it all while we were waiting for the our exam permits (which took the longest time by the way) the kids all had fun playing with each other. They were dancing, singing, laughing which was really fun to watch.

I will be posting the pictures of the Preschool Area Tour separately. But in case you're considering the idea of attending an open house with this school I'm posting here a photo of the flyer that we got from last Saturday's open house. 

Here's a list of the open house schedules:

Feb 11 - South Campus Only

Feb 18 - Main Campus Only

Mar 17, Apr 14 and 28, May 19 - Both campuses

The open house starts at 9am and is expected to finish by 12nn. They gave us 50% discount off the testing fee since we decided to submit application requirements right after the open house. For preschool application, we brought with us the following:

- a photocopy (and original for verification purposes) of Maia's NSO Certified Birth Certificate

- a photocopy (and original for verification purposes) of Maia's Baptismal Certificate

- 3 pcs 1x1 ID Picture

We are scheduled to take Maia's assessment for Kinder 1 on Mar 3. We are waiting for the results of that assessment exam before we finally decide which preschool to choose.

Here are the contact information for both ESS Campuses:

Main Campus

BF Resort Village, Las Pinas City

Tel Nos 02 875 45 53 to  59 loc 113

South Campus

Anabu II-D Imus Cavite
Tel Nos 046 471 0080 loc 112

website: www.ess.edu.ph

Up Next: a photoblog of the preschool area tour

The School Hunt Begins

We started our hunt for Maia's pre-school already. Last Monday, she took an assessment exam at Statefields School in Bacoor. I was a frantic momma after realizing I never even bothered to check what was needed during the assessment exam. I panicked when I saw that I was supposed to prepare pencils and an eraser but didn't bring any. So much for my being a stage momma. 

Fortunately, the teachers were really nice and despite us arriving a few minutes later than schedule they still accomodated the uber-excited Maia. I didn't get to catch my breath anymore and say my proper goodbye before she went into the room for her exam because she was immediately whisked inside. She bid me bye-bye and I hastily gave my goodluck.

We were then told to wait for them in the lobby. I panicked again fearing she might cry when she starts looking for me and would not see me seated just outside of the assessment room where she left me earlier. I had no choice though so I waited with my mommy friend Erl and her hubby at the school's lobby. Guess what? My fears were unfounded because the little miss enjoyed her time so much that she really took a full hour with the teacher. I was told she was able to answer all the questions that were thrown to her and managed to even sing and dance with the teacher. **proud momma moment**

We didn't stay long after that because we decided to check out another school nearby (well, not really near but it was only about 15 mins away by car from where we live so it's still okay). The school is Westhill International School in Salitran (Dasma, Cavite) and it is leaning more on the progressive approach as compared to Statefields' traditional method. We went directly to the registrar's office and we were assigned a teacher to tour us around. We were lucky to have visited during a school day so we were able to see how the kids were inside the classroom. 

Questions we raised (well it was mostly Erl who raised the questions because I was busy chasing after my super hyper little girl) during our school tour -

1. How many students are there in one class?
2. How many teachers are there to supervise the class?
3. What are the major school activities that the kids are usually required to participate in?
4. Are the kids required to go on fieldtrips? If yes, where usually?
5. What teaching principle do you follow?
6. What other extra-curricular activities do you offer for the kids?

I knew I should have been more ready with my questions and noted to write them down for our succeeding school tours/open house visits. Next up for us is the open house at Elizabeth Seton School in Imus, Cavite. Erl and I would like to visit as many schools in our area as we can so that we can pick the best choice when it's already time for us to make a decision. There is also this school much nearer to our place - Scuola Sorelle Faoili - that my aunt is recommending me to check out. We might add this to our list as well along with The Palmridge School in Imus.

We still have a few months to go although at SSI, we are required to make a decision early so we're weighing things out. Right now, having come across this very helpful article in smartparenting.com.ph, I am trying to research more on the types of teaching approaches and find out what approach would best fit my daughter. 

For now, our major considerations would be:

- Accessibility. How far is the school from our home?

- Teaching approach. Which approach best fits my daughter's learning style. My first choice is really Waldorf. But neither of the two schools nor the kindergarten are anywhere near where we live so I will have to shelf that for now.  It doesn't seem right for me to be subjecting my 3 year old toddler to more than an hour of travel just to be in school. But I'm still keeping my options open with this one.

- School Environment and Safety. Will my child be safe when she's in school? How tight is security? Is the environment conducive for learning?

- Finances. How will choosing this school impact our finances? Can we afford the tuition fee and sustain it for the next few years at least?

This list would probably grow longer as I progress on my research. I know that choosing our child's school is one of the major decisions that we will ever be making for her. With the proper research, I am hoping my husband and I would be able to make the most appropriate (if not the best) choice.

First school tour at SSI last Nov 2011