Good luck teachers!

Last week mama and papam received a letter from my school. The letter says that The Orange Tree Preschool (that's my school) will be holding it's 5th Annual Graduation Concert on Friday, 16 November 2007 at DBS Auditorium.

The teachers are seeking support from mama and papam to approve my participation in this event. We will be wearing costumes, I just don't know what yet. Yesterday, papam handed a CD over to my teacher. He said the teacher borrowed the CD which has Philippine Folk Dance music in it. So I guess my teacher would ask me to dance in the event. The only thing I can say is - 'Good luck teachers!'.

Kristian got his first star

Yesterday, when I picked up Kristian from school, he was very proud showing me his right hand with a red star on it. The red star was drawn on top of his right hand probably with a red ball point pen.

The school director told me that Kristian's teacher gave him a star for being very good in school. The star was for his coloring skills. The teacher said Kristian is very good that he is able to color within the image.

Kristian starts pre-school

Yesterday, January 8, 2007 was Kristian's first day in pre-school. He woke up late so we arrived at the school around 9:40 am. The classes start at 9 am according to one of the teachers who greeted us so he just needs to wake up earlier the following days. Shoes are not allowed inside the school premises so we have to remove his shoes and socks and put them in a shoe rack with his name on it. When the teacher led him inside the school premises, she unlocked the main door for me so I figured she was expecting me to leave. So I left after saying goodbye to Kristian and told him I have to go to office. I also told the teacher that if he starts looking for me or my wife, just tell Kristian that we're in the office and he will understand.

I went on leave yesterday as I was expecting to standby in case Kristian cries and wants to go home but seems like I have no choice but to leave him in the hands of his teacher. The class would end at 5 pm and his teacher said I can pick him up anytime between 5 and 7 pm. So I stayed at home all day. I decided to pick him up from school around 6 pm because it would be around that time I would be able to pick him up if I had really gone to office.

I arrived at the school at 6:15 pm, I couldn't see Kristian around. He is probably inside one of the rooms. When his teacher saw me, she went inside the room to get Kristian. I suddenly heard Kristian cry and he was crying when his teacher is leading him out of the room. I asked what happened and she said one of the boys is playing with Kristian's bag. Kristian really seemed upset that he went straight to his shoes and started to put them on. I helped him put the shoes on while he was telling me that he wanted to get into the car (he refers to the car as 'neneng') and drive home. I asked the teacher how he did at school, if he played with the other children. The teacher said he only cried twice, the first time in the morning around 5 minutes. That must be after I left the school. And the second time was what I have seen. She said Kristian does not play much with other children and always stick with the teacher.

When we were about to leave, Kristian's teacher mentioned that he was coughing the whole day and even vomitted in the morning so she asked me to monitor him. On the way home, Kristian keeps on talking in the car and telling me stories about what had happened that day. So except for the incident that afternoon, he seemed really excited going to school.

This morning, Kristian was still coughing so we decided to let him rest and not go to school. He was still excited to go to school when he woke up but we told him to stay home first because he's not feeling well. Maybe he can go back to school again on Thursday (if he's feeling better).

Registration to The Orange Tree Preschool

Today we submitted Kristian's registration to The Orange Tree Preschool. He is registered for a full-day session, 5 days a week. The preschool operates from 7 am to 7 pm so we can bring him anytime after 7 am and pick him up anytime before 7 pm. The school uses two languages, English and Chinese, in its play-based curriculum under the auspices of the Morris Allen Study Centres and Tien Hsia Language School. For more information, please visit the school's website at http://www.orangetree.com.sg.

Kristian is enrolled in the Nursery 1 program which will last for 1 year.

During his first days in preschool, Nanay (his nanny) will accompany him probably the whole day until he gets used to the new environment. He will be wearing a uniform like the rest of the children, but he would only get the uniform 2 weeks after the class has started. In the meantime, he can wear his best t-shirts and pants to school.