When we arrived, (we were rushing!
) the library was already full! Check it out!
Yishun Town's library was so inviting.
It was spacious and very clean too.
The initial talk/introduction of the school was done in here. Likewise for the question and answer session at the end of our guided tour. In general, many parents were concerned about the pace of their curriculum and whether children will be involved in lots of homework & extra curricular activities… whether children in general could cope with the rigor (especially for express students). There were also genuine inquiries from many parents on the school's mission to help students assigned to normal stream. You see, Yishun Town has quite a commendable performance in working with students from this stream, progress accordingly to the next level of education. ie. tertiary level.
This performance, to us, reflected a lot on how teachers in Yishun Town cared and how they were dedicated to inspiring children who were streamed in the normal academic/technical, not to give up on the pursuit of continuing/lifelong education and that if every one of them was willing to work hard, the path to Rome was not only just within sight, but also still within reach, no matter what.
After the intro talk ended, all parents were assigned to individual student leaders on a guided tour around the school. Every parent/family was given number cards tagged to a student leader. We were happy to be assigned to a lovely young lady, whom i'd like to fondly refer to as Xiao Qing. She was a tad nervous but lovely to converse with as she shared her interest in what she enjoyed in the school and genuinely tried to answer our endless queries about the school routine in general and also about school life for students in Yishun Town. Xiao Qing scored an impressive 248 for her PSLE three years ago and she chose Yishun Town over all other better schools which were further away because to her Yishun Town was premium enough for her and she believed the school really helped to hone her interest, instilled discipline, encouraged leadership skills amongst the many other things. She even went on to share that the t-shirt she was wearing was a souvenir from the last camp organized for the student leaders which she thoroughly enjoyed and will remember for a long time.
Xiao Qing first brought us up to the roof of the school where she showed us the things the school's Green Club was up to.
*That's Xiao Qing's pretty back (in yellow tee)*
Apart from all the green thumb-ers, the rooftop garden was also fantastic to work on Science experiments for class projects/assignments that could make use of the open space and great source of light.
We were then taken to walk along the corridors to peek at their classrooms. This was their Home Room, where both boys and girls will be learning simple life skills like whipping up simple food. Very spacious and clean!
Yishun Town has niche CCA,
one of which was Air Weapons Club. 
Nice canteen.
Indoor courts for PE and
CCA practice sessions.
We particularly liked the Fern Lounge Area, where according to Xiao Qing students of Yishun Town go to chillax (chill our & relax). The school encourages students to keep up with current affairs and has in place, all four (languages) newspapers to get children to read whenever they can.
There was also a cool space for students to either do project work, chit chat, or just hang out. Looks like a cafe-like concept. Xiao Qing shared with us that current pop music were also played in here and she kinda liked that, it helped her de-stress when she's chillaxing with her friends. She said, "This space is OUR space." ie. students' space.
There were two small ponds where we chanced upon a cute looking turtle (his other friends were shy) lurked about and some kois. My boys were going all excited over this and we literally had to stop them both from wading in.
Towards the end of the tour, we passed by this corridor with overhead panels that showcased some of the school's graduates who became successful individuals in their own niches. The last few panels were empty but with the words : This could be you.
Impressive art pieces lined the hallways and murals left by graduates left imprints to the fun they had during their schooling years. This was one mural done by a group of them that was realistic enough to invoke interest outta my kiddies.
Xiao Qing genuinely shared her thoughts on her school and answered all our impromptu questions. I asked if she could walk alongside DD1 instead of me, so that DD1 could ask questions that she needed to satisfy her doubts about the school support system, the curriculum, the CCAs, the teaching styles or anything else she may really be interested to know. I didn't need that much convincing.
All of us were guided back to the library, finally some aircon after that long afternoon tour! Xiao Qing opened the door for us and hoped that we enjoyed our guided tour and said hope to see us there next year. We thanked her and told her how we appreciated her time and effort to bring us around her school.
While we fully understand that the COP there is rather high, we will still put Yishun Town as one of our top few choices, for we believe at this delicate teenage years, what DD1 truly needs is a positive learning environment and dedicated teachers who can help her unlock her sleeping potentials.
We can feel that while touring the grounds of Yishun Town. The school is like how my friend termed : Raffles of the North. It was lovely to see happy students (some in action) and teachers who were on hand to answer any doubts that parents may have had (well, all of us were a worrying lot really
) We would've loved to have a sneak peek of all the school's CCAs that day, due to the O level exams going on, it was not possible. Apart from that, the school tour was almost like a nice afternoon with friends.Thank you, Xiao Qing for everything and thank you Yishun Town, for having us.
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