8 Tips for Attending Your First Open House in a Singapore School
Attending open houses is a good way for families to get an idea of what attending different schools will be like. School open houses can give new parents an idea of what their roles in educating their children will be, moving forward. These events are also especially beneficial for expat children as these can help them prepare for a learning environment that may be quite different from what they had in their home countries.
In Singapore, the academic year for government-run schools typically starts in late January or early February and ends in December. While some Singapore-based international schools do follow this schedule, most have an academic year that starts from June to September, often following the academic year of the countries that these schools have ties to. In any case, school open houses are usually held a few weeks before the start of classes.
If you’re enrolling your child in a school in Singapore for the first time, attending open houses can be key to ensuring that they enjoy the best possible academic experience. Here are a few tips and ideas for attending your first school open house in Singapore.
1) Research the School
If you’re not familiar with local schools, you’ll want to do some research. A quick look at different school websites should give you an idea of which schools are most suited for your child. To further narrow down your choices, you can check out online reviews or ask for recommendations from locally based relatives or work colleagues. If you’re a first-time parent or just moved to Singapore with a young child, you may want to only attend open houses hosted by trusted early childhood Singapore schools
2) See If There Is an Active Parent-Teacher Association or Similar Organization
Active parent-teacher associations (PTAs) are a green flag as they indicate that the school administration is willing to work closely with parents to improve the learning environment. Additionally, active PTAs can also indicate that a school has close ties to the community and its other stakeholders, something that may have a positive impact on the breadth of your child’s educational experience.
3) Write Down Your Questions
You’ll probably have questions for the admissions officers, headmaster, and teachers even before you arrive at the open house. Fortunately, most open house events have a time for Q&As as well as a short period when parents can mingle with each other as well as with the school staff. Make sure to write down these questions somewhere so that you won’t forget about them later on. If, for some reason, you find that you couldn’t get your questions in during the allotted times, be sure to send the school an email containing your queries immediately afterwards.
4) Try to Get to the Open House Early
Most parents will probably arrive at the open house more or less on time. If possible, you’ll want to be able to get there before most of the other parents show up. Arriving a bit early will make it possible to have relaxed (and therefore, more revealing) conversations with the admissions officer, other school staff, and fellow parents.
5) Take Down Notes
Chances are that the initial tour of a school’s facilities will leave you with some questions. Make sure to jot down new questions or anything of note as you go on the school tour. Taking down notes will not only help you ask better follow-up questions, but it will also help you better understand the potential benefits and drawbacks of each school when you and your child make the final decision, later on.
6) Note How Long it Takes to Travel to the School
The school’s distance from your home can have a major impact on your child’s learning experience. If it takes you more than 30 minutes to reach a school from your home, you may want to reconsider choosing it in favor of one that’s located close by.
7) Dress Professionally
Dressing professionally helps create a positive impression on the school administrators and other parents and shows that you’re taking the open house seriously. This impression may, in turn, help create a more productive atmosphere during the Q&A and any informal conversations that follow it. Perhaps most important of all, dressing professionally to a school open house may help emphasize to your child how much you prioritize their education.
8) Plan a Follow-up Visit
One drawback of most open houses is that there may not be enough time to accommodate all the parents’ questions. To ensure that all your concerns are adequately addressed, make sure to ask the admissions officer if it’s possible to set up a future visit to discuss things in depth. If a meeting before the start of the school year isn’t possible, ask if you could do a virtual meetup or a phone call instead.
Attending school open houses is a good way for parents and children to learn more about the facilities, programs, and culture of different schools. However, the opportunities that they present are often lost when parents are unprepared for them. By taking some time to prepare for school open houses, parents and potential students can get a much better idea of whether or not a particular school is well suited for their situation.
