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YCIS - Any Feedback on this school?

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  1. #31

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    Quote Originally Posted by 7jai:
    So I recently went on the YCIS school campus tour, and after speaking to their teaching staff team/principals and also viewing the entire environment/vibe, we concluded that it just wasn't the right "fit" for us. Or it wasn't exactly what we were looking for our child. So we will probably look at other options now.

    Thanks all for the help!
    What was it that made it not the right "fit"? Might help recommendations of other schools to look at.

  2. #32

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    Quote Originally Posted by 7jai:
    So I recently went on the YCIS school campus tour, and after speaking to their teaching staff team/principals and also viewing the entire environment/vibe, we concluded that it just wasn't the right "fit" for us. Or it wasn't exactly what we were looking for our child. So we will probably look at other options now.

    Thanks all for the help!
    Can I ask where is your location?

  3. #33

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    Quote Originally Posted by Beanieskis:
    What was it that made it not the right "fit"? Might help recommendations of other schools to look at.
    Full disclosure; I've been on a very long journey visiting a multitude of schools these past 6-8 months. So far I have visited multiple locations at VEO/VSA, CDNIS, AISHK, CIS, HKIS, FIS, and now recently YCIS. Some had multiple campuses, so I tried to visit all of them to get a wide spectrum of opinion and thoughts. I also took time to speak to the principals (if the principals weren't available, I made sure I spoke to a Lead Coordinator of the program), and also other teaching staff/coordinators around. I sat in all their info sessions as well (which is why I was able to visit so many schools).

    When I visit a school, my wife and I try to be observant on the students attending the school, the classrooms, teacher/student behaviours, the activities and things that are posted all over the school walls/classrooms, security staff, the upkeep of the building, and the list goes on and on...... We also listen and see how each school presents their story (usually about their heritage, who they are, what they stand for, structure, setup, etc....). We also pay attention to the other families around us attending the info session as they would be the "potential" parents we would want to connect with as a community, etc.

    Going back to your question on "fit" with YCIS, I think it's quite a personal question (so please don't take it the wrong way if you feel differently), but for us the delivery of the info session was rather weak/bland. You can tell once you walk in it was heavily China-centric (which makes sense since they have many locations across China) even though they push that they are an East-meets-West co teaching culture. I truly didn't feel any of that except for some people who spoke English. The upkeep of the secondary school was rather so-so, facilities were gloomy and needed an upgrade. The children who went there were OK, but as you may imagine, were 80% from China. When we went to their ECE campus in KLT, there were a few locations (some newer than others). The one we went to was the older one, and the conditions to me did not reflect the high tuition that we would be paying. I truly didn't see the value of paying a high tuition for what I saw. The curriculum was rather "student led" which we already knew from the get-go, but we didn't expect it to be "so free".

    In any case, I think I can go on and on about what we felt. YMMV. But after what we saw, we didn't think it was the right "fit" we want for our son. He learns a bit differently and prefers to interact/communicate in different ways which I don't think YCIS would complement and be able to support him on.



    Quote Originally Posted by pin:
    Can I ask where is your location?

    I live on the HK Island side. So I travelled a bit to get to KLT. But we don't want to restrict ourselves geographically. If it was a good match, we would find ways to make it work.

  4. #34

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    Quote Originally Posted by 7jai:
    Full disclosure; I've been on a very long journey visiting a multitude of schools these past 6-8 months. So far I have visited multiple locations at VEO/VSA, CDNIS, AISHK, CIS, HKIS, FIS, and now recently YCIS. Some had multiple campuses, so I tried to visit all of them to get a wide spectrum of opinion and thoughts. I also took time to speak to the principals (if the principals weren't available, I made sure I spoke to a Lead Coordinator of the program), and also other teaching staff/coordinators around. I sat in all their info sessions as well (which is why I was able to visit so many schools).

    When I visit a school, my wife and I try to be observant on the students attending the school, the classrooms, teacher/student behaviours, the activities and things that are posted all over the school walls/classrooms, security staff, the upkeep of the building, and the list goes on and on...... We also listen and see how each school presents their story (usually about their heritage, who they are, what they stand for, structure, setup, etc....). We also pay attention to the other families around us attending the info session as they would be the "potential" parents we would want to connect with as a community, etc.

    Going back to your question on "fit" with YCIS, I think it's quite a personal question (so please don't take it the wrong way if you feel differently), but for us the delivery of the info session was rather weak/bland. You can tell once you walk in it was heavily China-centric (which makes sense since they have many locations across China) even though they push that they are an East-meets-West co teaching culture. I truly didn't feel any of that except for some people who spoke English. The upkeep of the secondary school was rather so-so, facilities were gloomy and needed an upgrade. The children who went there were OK, but as you may imagine, were 80% from China. When we went to their ECE campus in KLT, there were a few locations (some newer than others). The one we went to was the older one, and the conditions to me did not reflect the high tuition that we would be paying. I truly didn't see the value of paying a high tuition for what I saw. The curriculum was rather "student led" which we already knew from the get-go, but we didn't expect it to be "so free".

    In any case, I think I can go on and on about what we felt. YMMV. But after what we saw, we didn't think it was the right "fit" we want for our son. He learns a bit differently and prefers to interact/communicate in different ways which I don't think YCIS would complement and be able to support him on.






    I live on the HK Island side. So I travelled a bit to get to KLT. But we don't want to restrict ourselves geographically. If it was a good match, we would find ways to make it work.
    Wow, you've visited a lot of schools! Just a comment on the people around you at the tour though - for international schools in my experience they are not representative of the student mix that will be accepted, due to the rules on % of local passports. For example I did a tour at a school and the people on it were 90% local. However my son is now at that school and his class is very different to the group on the tour - I would say there are only a couple of children who have two local parents (and then they will also have another passport), the rest are mixed race with one parent who is not local, other Asian nationalities, or overseas born Chinese, or European.

    What are you looking for in a school?

  5. #35

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    Quote Originally Posted by Beanieskis:
    Wow, you've visited a lot of schools! Just a comment on the people around you at the tour though - for international schools in my experience they are not representative of the student mix that will be accepted, due to the rules on % of local passports. For example I did a tour at a school and the people on it were 90% local. However my son is now at that school and his class is very different to the group on the tour - I would say there are only a couple of children who have two local parents (and then they will also have another passport), the rest are mixed race with one parent who is not local, other Asian nationalities, or overseas born Chinese, or European.

    What are you looking for in a school?
    Fully agree with you, which is why I didn't just pre-judge based on appearance. As awkward as this may sound, I actually overhear side conversations of students in attendance of the school and also other parents talking.

    If you are familar with accents, you will know where they are from (even in some cases which Chinese province they are from lol). Even if they speak English (which some students did), you could tell if they were native or not. But I can say that I didn't hear too much English spoken between children. It was mainly Mandarin and some Cantonese. The Mandarin that I heard was clearly from difference Chinese provinces which gives me an early indication on their family roots and which part they are from.

    It's a bit extreme, I know. But I want to do whatever I can to get the right fit school for my child; I feel like this is an important responsibility. That's the best I can offer as a parent.

    In terms of what type of school fits well, there is so far no perfect school (surprise surprise right?). But I would say CDNIS, ESF, CIS, AISHK, FIS are all within that realm of a good fit thus far. All schools offer a bit different things, but from what we are looking for, these are the ones that fit our child the best.

    The next question then becomes, how do we get in? haha That's the tough part.

  6. #36

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    Quote Originally Posted by 7jai:
    Fully agree with you, which is why I didn't just pre-judge based on appearance. As awkward as this may sound, I actually overhear side conversations of students in attendance of the school and also other parents talking.

    If you are familar with accents, you will know where they are from (even in some cases which Chinese province they are from lol). Even if they speak English (which some students did), you could tell if they were native or not. But I can say that I didn't hear too much English spoken between children. It was mainly Mandarin and some Cantonese. The Mandarin that I heard was clearly from difference Chinese provinces which gives me an early indication on their family roots and which part they are from.

    It's a bit extreme, I know. But I want to do whatever I can to get the right fit school for my child; I feel like this is an important responsibility. That's the best I can offer as a parent.

    In terms of what type of school fits well, there is so far no perfect school (surprise surprise right?). But I would say CDNIS, ESF, CIS, AISHK, FIS are all within that realm of a good fit thus far. All schools offer a bit different things, but from what we are looking for, these are the ones that fit our child the best.

    The next question then becomes, how do we get in? haha That's the tough part.
    How old is your child? It may not be as hard as you think for some of these, as long as you apply at the right time (we're at one of them), and certain passports help at some.

    Know what you mean about what language the children speak. At some of the newer schools in HK, even though the curriculum and teaching staff may be mainly British, I've heard the playground language is mainly Cantonese (i think maybe they've had the % that must be non-local passport holders waived?). At a more diverse school the playground language will be English as it is the common language.

  7. #37

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    I see you said he's turning 3 this year - which month? Have you applied to these schools already?


  8. #38

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    Quote Originally Posted by 7jai:
    Fully agree with you, which is why I didn't just pre-judge based on appearance. As awkward as this may sound, I actually overhear side conversations of students in attendance of the school and also other parents talking.

    If you are familar with accents, you will know where they are from (even in some cases which Chinese province they are from lol). Even if they speak English (which some students did), you could tell if they were native or not. But I can say that I didn't hear too much English spoken between children. It was mainly Mandarin and some Cantonese. The Mandarin that I heard was clearly from difference Chinese provinces which gives me an early indication on their family roots and which part they are from.

    It's a bit extreme, I know. But I want to do whatever I can to get the right fit school for my child; I feel like this is an important responsibility. That's the best I can offer as a parent.

    In terms of what type of school fits well, there is so far no perfect school (surprise surprise right?). But I would say CDNIS, ESF, CIS, AISHK, FIS are all within that realm of a good fit thus far. All schools offer a bit different things, but from what we are looking for, these are the ones that fit our child the best.

    The next question then becomes, how do we get in? haha That's the tough part.
    When you have made your choice and your child started, keep an eye out for changes in the teaching and learning approach. A new Principal or new senior staff can shift the 'fit'.
    Mrs. Jones likes this.

  9. #39

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    Quote Originally Posted by Beanieskis:
    How old is your child? It may not be as hard as you think for some of these, as long as you apply at the right time (we're at one of them), and certain passports help at some.

    Know what you mean about what language the children speak. At some of the newer schools in HK, even though the curriculum and teaching staff may be mainly British, I've heard the playground language is mainly Cantonese (i think maybe they've had the % that must be non-local passport holders waived?). At a more diverse school the playground language will be English as it is the common language.
    Quote Originally Posted by Beanieskis:
    I see you said he's turning 3 this year - which month? Have you applied to these schools already?
    Next month is his birthday. We didn't apply last year because we were satisfied with his current PN school. But now that K1 will start later this year, I need to start considering K2 options as many of these schools kick start their admissions process at different times.

    Some schools even said they are still open to taking on new students as well for K1! So I recently applied to those ones too. There's one on my the waiting list for. The interview went fine, but i think they had too many sibling priorities this year, so we were on waitlist (fingers crossed)


    Quote Originally Posted by hullexile:
    When you have made your choice and your child started, keep an eye out for changes in the teaching and learning approach. A new Principal or new senior staff can shift the 'fit'.

    Absolutely! I think many things shift the paradigm, so we keep a close eye on it. We also dont want principals changing every other year too, which shows a bit of instability.
    shri likes this.

  10. #40

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    I wanted to add one more point to my original post regarding why we didn't end up choosing YCIS. I talked a bit about the lack of diversity (i.e. 80% of students/parents were from China). For us, having a diverse student/parent body is important as it facilitates debate, differences in opinion, and pushes us to go deep in working with different people and finding creative solutions.

    We are looking for something like that for our child. Unfortunately there are some schools which are reknown to have a large student body featuring more or less "one diversity". Mainly these are YCIS, ISF, etc.

    Interesting to point out that of all the international schools that offer Mandarin as a "bilingual" environment, you will see a lot of Chinese applicants/students (as I would assume their parents/family want them to continue to learn Mandarin while having a more "western" education). If this school does not do their "diversity checklist" when accepting students, the student body of that year would be predominantly Mandarin Chinese.

    On the flip side, if you apply for schools that do not have a "strong" Mandarin offering, you will see more diversity at those schools as not many Chinese families would want their kids to study there. So the diversity at those schools would offer a stronger student body mix by default.

    Just some food for thought


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