On Finding The Best School for Our Kids

Whew! Finally, Sophie is done with the entrance exams in the 4 schools that we shortlisted. So far, 3 of 4 schools have called to inform us that she already passed the exam J I couldn’t be prouder of the little Ate. She's going to big school now. She's excited while I'm having a tinge of anxiety. I hope she will be able to adjust well to her new environment. Am I worrying too much? We didn't let her attend any summer class to let her enjoy the break before school starts.

The exam result for school #4 will be released in May and were hoping for a positive feedback. I found  out during exam day that there are 2,000 other applicants in that school. Wow! And they will only pick 100 students. 

Nevertheless, I’m happy that we have choices. It gives us the leverage to pick what we think is the best for my little girl. Three schools are traditional schools while the other upholds the Integrated Basic Skills Development and Socialization.

Pre-school hunts days we took note of factors that made us consider these schools (not in order of important):

1. Coed – coming from an all-girls school in highschool, I know the kind of ‘stuff’ the goes on inside so let’s just say, maybe Sophie can skip that. Plus we wanted Sophie and Sam to be in the same school eventually; 
2. Smart – intelligence is a plus factor but more importantly we want our kids to be smart (street smart, that is). That they may not grow up gullible, vulnerable and has no complete grasp of reality. We hope to bring up children who are cruel-world ready, armed with crucial life lessons, good head on their shoulder, good morals and values and powerful prayers. In my 15 years in the business of advertising and broadcast, I've met too many different personalities and admire those who can handle extreme pressure, difficult decision making, ultra-multitasking work and sleep-deprived irate clients with smiling faces and great composure. The truth is, this industry eats stress for breakfast so you just gotta love it to enjoy it. Sadly, some do not make the cut (and cry too much!) because they didn't expect work to be too stressful. I'm not saying that they will eventually follow this career path but I want them to be ready for anything - career and the rest of reality. 
3. Values – two of the 4 schools we chose are Catholic schools and for me it’s very important that schools become an integral support to parents in instilling good values, faith in the Supreme Being and a prayerful life to children. I would like to put stress on school as support to parents because at the end of the day, the home is the basic foundation where children learn their values and hone their personalities and the parents are their greatest influence. 
4. Enjoy Life – of course, kids need to enjoy life and make most of it. We want their school environment to be a place where they want to come to 5 times a week, 10 months a year. A place where kids learn and have fun J

It’s no joke jumping from one school to the next during our school hunt, our weekends were occupied since March because of that (and our summer outings hehe). Because we want to make sure that we considered all the best options for our kids, we don't mind going through all the phases. 

Now that’s done, I can tackle my other to-do things like get my driver’s license renewed, make it to the bowling tournament and get the long-delayed haircut.