Should I choose Kingston Int'l Kindergarten or St. Catherine?

Adsmartie

My baby girl will be going to Kingston for playgroup this Aug, and friends told me I should start applying for kindergarten in coming Sept or Oct. I'm thinking either Kingston or St. Catherine, I heard that both are good school. Any comments on these two kindergartens?

I'm a first time mom and most of my friends sent their kids to local stream schools, so I don't have anyone to seek advices on these two kindergartens. Your help is highly appreciated.

babybaby08

I don't think st. catherines is an international kindergarten.  It is 50% English and 50% Chinese.  Most of the graduates go to local primary schools.

Adsmartie

Many thanks for your advices.

You said St. Catherine is 50% English and 50% Chinese, do you mean English and Cantonese are the languages of instruction? I thought SC is the same as Kingston, classes will be instructed in English and Mandarin by native-speaking teachers?

And other than Kingston & St. Catherine, do you know any good international (intructed in English and Mandarin) kindergarten in Kowloon Tong?

[ 本文章最後由 Adsmartie 於 08-5-19 23:35 編輯 ]

502

Definitely St.Catherine is not using Mandarin as what Kingston does. Cantonese but not Mandarin indeed.

原文章由 Adsmartie 於 08-5-19 23:33 發表
Many thanks for your advices.

You said St. Catherine is 50% English and 50% Chinese, do you mean English and Cantonese are the languages of instruction? I thought SC is the same as Kingston, classes  ...

Aprmum

Correct me if I were wrong

but I remember St Catherine does not offer K1

502

Wrong - K1-K3

原文章由 Aprmum 於 08-5-20 08:49 發表
Correct me if I were wrong

but I remember St Catherine does not offer K1

Gisele

I don't think St. Catherine offers 50% English and 50% Chinese.  My friends told me that there is a 20 minutes English session everyday.

原文章由 babybaby08 於 08-5-19 20:38 發表
I don't think st. catherines is an international kindergarten.  It is 50% English and 50% Chinese.  Most of the graduates go to local primary schools.

almom

To be honest, almost all kingergartens in Hong Kong are teaching English + Chinese (Mandarin).

Generally international schools uses English as a first language, and Chinese is usually taught as an additional language. Local schools uses Chinese (Cantonese) as a first language and English is taught as a second language. Putonghua (mandarin) in local school is still merely an additional language since most local Hong Kongers do not speak Putonghua at home.

The Chinese name of St Catherine is 國際英文幼稚園, but it is actually a 100% typical local kindergarten catering those who target local primary schools. They do have daily English classes but the main language used at school is still Cantonese. English is only taught as a second language.

Kingston is an international school. Children might also be local Hong Kongers but the children would be using English at school as a main or first language. Some children are also using English at home as a first language.

These are two total different types of schools.

Ruby1219

If you are looking for real international kindy, Anfield and TutorTime and HK Pre-School are the choices additional to Kingston.

Cheers,
Ruby

Adsmartie

Thank you so much, the information is very useful.  And yes, Tutortime and Anfield is on my list as well.

And do anyone know the differences between The International Montessori School in South Horizon and The Montessori School in mid-levels?  I heard that Montessori School is pretty good but I don't know which one is THE ONE.  In fact I'm living on Kowloon side, but I'm willing to travel to HK side if it's a good school coz' afterall it's for my daughter's benefits.

Sorry for the troubles but choosing the right school is giving me a headache.

Thanks again!

[ 本文章最後由 Adsmartie 於 08-5-21 00:10 編輯 ]

matthewdad

if you live in Kowloon side, you can try ESF tsing Yi and ESF Saikung and KBCK as well. There are more choices...

原文章由 Adsmartie 於 08-5-20 23:58 發表
Thank you so much, the information is very useful.  And yes, Tutortime and Anfield is on my list as well.

And do anyone know the differences between The International Montessori School in South Horiz ...

type409

The IMS in South Horizon is the one. Don't choose the one in Mid-Level with a similar name. You can go visit them in person and you can tell.

原文章由 Adsmartie 於 08-5-20 23:58 發表
Thank you so much, the information is very useful.  And yes, Tutortime and Anfield is on my list as well.

And do anyone know the differences between The International Montessori School in South Horiz ...

HaydenNg

matthewdad,

Mind if you could tell me what's the full name for KBCK?  Thanks!

原文章由 matthewdad 於 08-5-21 00:51 發表
if you live in Kowloon side, you can try ESF tsing Yi and ESF Saikung and KBCK as well. There are more choices...

matthewdad

www.kbck.edu.hk You can also add YMCA to your choice. The course are planned for IS or ESF.

原文章由 HaydenNg 於 08-5-22 16:07 發表
matthewdad,

Mind if you could tell me what's the full name for KBCK?  Thanks!

[ 本文章最後由 matthewdad 於 08-5-22 19:44 編輯 ]

Adsmartie

Thank you Ruby1219 and Mattewdad for suggesting other int'l kindergartens.

In fact, I'm more keen on kindergarten that offers more comprehensive Chinese (Putonghua) curriculum. Kingston seems to be an obvious choice but I want to do some research on other int'l schools that offer similar/ even better curriculum than Kingston.

Honestly, I don't like their primary school, I think the campus is quite small. My preference is ESF Beacon Hill, so I'm doing some research on ESF Tsing Yi and Ansfield (heard that students have a better chance entering ESF schools). KBCK and HK Preschool has a very good reputation too, but I noticed that English is the only medium in school, there itsn't any Putonghua session, is it true?

matthewdad

ESF Beacon hill Campus is very nice. However, it depends where you live.

KBCK has no chinese at all. Not sure for HK Pre-school.

原文章由 Adsmartie 於 08-5-23 01:44 發表
Thank you Ruby1219 and Mattewdad for suggesting other int'l kindergartens.

In fact, I'm more keen on kindergarten that offers more comprehensive Chinese (Putonghua) curriculum. Kingston seems to be  ...