anecdotes of a mom: ISYC

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Preschool searching

The search for a pre school is on! For the past week, I have been researching for preschools in Marikina and Antipolo. I shared in a previous post here that we wanted to enroll our son in I.S.Y.C. for SY 2014-2015 after his summer school experience. I received a text message from the Directress that they were opening their slots last January. When I called after two days, both the morning and mid-morning classes were already closed. The only class that is open is the afternoon class which will run from 1:30pm to 4pm. As much as I wanted my son to go to I.S.Y.C., the afternoon class will interfere with his nap time. He is just two years old and I do not want to stress him out at an early age and deprive him of his nap time. I did not realize that the slots will run out that fast, lesson learned.

I resorted back to the Internet to search for possible schools in our area. Female Network has been a very helpful resource in getting feedback. It is also important that you also take time to visit the school and observe a class to help with your decision.

In narrowing down on what schools I will visit, my criteria is as follows:

1. Proximity - I prefer schools near Marcos Hi-way and Marikina Sports Complex
2. Teacher to student ratio - A small teacher to student ratio is ideal, but with a montessori set up, their ideal class size is at 20 since it's a mixed level class
3. Tuition - Maximum fee at P75K.
4. Facility - I prefer that the school has its own facility and not a house converted into a school. However, this may change because it will really depend on the layout of the school.
5. Teachers - I don't think I really need to elaborate on this. But of course other than being able to properly teach my kid, the teacher/s also need to look pleasant and has a very good command on the English language.

Here is my short list and a little background of each school:

Integrated School for Young Children (I.S.Y.C.)
-located in Marikina
-Tuition for SY 2013-2014 is at P75K

-Max of 10 per class

-3 options to choose from for the classes: am, mid am and afternoon

-5x a week, 2.5 hrs

-Facilities: a 2 storey building, outdoor playgound, air conditioned Multi-purpose hall, Kitchen
-Teachers: Teachers are very pleasant and speak English well, a lot of the teachers are graduates of Miriam college
-My son attended the Summer camp last 2013 (see my review here)

Montessori at Kent
-located inside Filinvest East, Antipolo and is quite a travel from the village's entrance
-Tuition is around P50K+
-max 20 per class, mixed level

-Morning class only from 8-11am

-5x a week, 3 hours

-Facilities: a house which was converted into a school, small outdoor playground

-I was able to speak directly to the School Directress/owner who was very accommodating and explained to me the Montessori Curriculum

Kidstech Learning Center

- located in Lark St., Marikina, just across the Sports Center

-Tution :approximately 52k

-Morning class is from 8:30am-10am, mid morning class is from 10:30am-12nn

-5x a week

-Max 10 per class, 1 teacher and 1teacher aide

-Facilities : 1storey, small outdoor playground on the side

Kids on focus (now managed by Family montessori preschool of Loyola)

-located at Pine St., Marikina

-Tuition : 60k + 10k miscellaneous fee (no uniform, exclusive of snacks and field trips, etc), snacks are billed on a monthly basis (P400/month)

- morning class: 8-11am or 9am-12nn

-5x a week, 3 hrs

-max 20 per class (with 1 head teacher, 1 assistant teacher, 2 aides)

-Facilities : newly renovated school since they took over KOF last year, clean classroom, new materials, small covered area outside the classroom where kids have snack, read books, etc, tiny outdoor playground, with security guard

-Head Teacher was well versed with the Montessori curriculum and very accomodating. She has also been with the school for 7 years

-I visited the school during class hours to observe and was immediately impressed at how the kids were well behaved and were independently doing their respective work.
-*** Update: They now also have a 4 hour program. Tuition for SY 2014-2015 for this program is at P80K exclusive of snacks and field trip fees

The next question is, where will my son finally go?

Friday, June 28, 2013

Toddler School: My son's Summer class experience

Even before I gave birth to Vito, I was already planning to have Rocco attend Summer School. I pictured it to be our time together since I knew that I would be busy taking care of a new baby. Things did take a different direction (with Vito passing away at 33 weeks) and accompanying Rocco to Summer School last May was part of the healing process. I got to divert my attention and focused my energy on Rocco.

I enrolled Rocco in the Integrated School for Young Children (ISYC) in Marikina in their Summer Program. I was looking for a school in my area (Antipolo/ Marikina) and came across a couple of good reviews on ISYC. I visited their website, called the school and scheduled a school tour. What I initially liked was that the I was able to directly speak to one of the school owners, teacher Leah who was very accommodating.

During my visit, I was pretty surprised that they are not located in some old house or building that was converted into a school. ISYC has a two-storey building equipped with a mini outdoor playground, and a pretty big multi-purpose hall. All classrooms are air conditioned. They have ample security and yayas to assist the children. Teacher Leah had us briefly observe one of the Toddler Class as well. On the same day, we signed up for their Summer Playgroup Class. The total fee was P5,500 covering a total of eight sessions every M-W-F (the last day was a culminating activity for all the Summer classes) for three weeks from 9am to 10:30am. The fee was reasonable comparing it to what I used to pay when Rocco was going to Gymboree, which was around 4k for a once a week class for 4 weeks. Teacher to student ratio is 1:5, and the child needs to be accompanied by one adult. Majority of their graduates would be going to Ateneo and Miriam, which is a good indication of the quality of education that they have.

On the first day of school, Teacher Leah provided us with the Syllabus, as well as the schedule that we would follow throughout the program. They had free play, circle time (singing and dancing), activities focused on shape recognition and story telling time. I think I was the one more excited for Rocco to go to school than he was. I also never imagined that it was going to be a little challenging. There were good and bad days. There were days when he would cry because he didn't want to stay inside the classroom or would want to eat his snack or he didn't want to do the activity. But we were able to surpass those, thank God!

The culminating activity, which was held on their last day, was a testament that he did somehow enjoy going to school and was ready to showcase the things he learned. I was one proud momma (even if he was the only one who refused to sit down while performing), beaming with pride with what my little boy accomplished. I was secretly stopping tears from falling. They were handed their certificates of attendance and we were each given a clear book containing all their artworks and a music CD that contained all of the songs that they sang in class.

I was satisfied with Rocco's summer experience in ISYC and am looking forward to enrolling him in their Toddler class when he turns three next year. I was informed though that I should apply as early as December since the classes get filled up easily. The tuition fee is at 75k, which I think is one of the highest here in our area, but looking at their facilities and the quality of education, it is fairly reasonable. Now it's time to start saving!