Please help - forest schools

Taiwan Parenting
1

Oh dear, I’m very :cry:

My husband has just been to see a school we were hoping to send our child too when we arrive in Taiwan in a few months’ time and they’ve told him they don’t have any places. They’re recommending this school instead w5.yfes.tp.edu.tw/english/ but my heart sinks just looking at the site. I’d really got it into my head that we could enrol our boy at a small school in a green environment, whereas this school they’re recommending - well, I’m worried he’ll be lost/overwhelmed/ maybe bullied as the only foreigner child.

I haven’t got time to post more, but suggestions and advice very welcome please!

2

Question: how’s your Chinese? All communication through the school must be done in Mandarin. How’s your kid’s?

School doesn’t look bad. The most important thing is that it will be close to home.

And that website is actually quite good. :smiley: Boss says all public elementary schools are more or less the same and that one looks new and advanced.

Yes, it is not in a grassy field, but that is quite a luxury here in Taiwan. And also not that convenient regarding transportation. That is time you could be together. One thing for another.

3

Thank you Icon.

My Mandarin is very low level at the moment, though I plan on taking full time classes when we arrive. My son’s Mandarin is non-existent, but the main reason that we’re enrolling him in a local school is so that he’ll learn it. I know it will be tough for him but I also know from experience that young children pick new languages quite quickly. We’ve managed to communicate with all the schools we’ve contacted so far so I’m hopeful that someone will know enough to help us enrol at least.

Here in the UK all schools aren’t by any means more or less the same, so choosing a school in another country from a distance is very nerve-wracking. It’s going to be an upheaval for my son to go to live in a new country and enrol at a school where he doesn’t speak the language, so it’s important to me that I’m comfortable with the school.

I agree the school looks okay - it’s just bigger than I’d like. The English teacher at the school that’s full has said they have 2 or 3 classes per year. My son’s currently at a school like that and that’s quite big. I know I’m probably being overly cautious but I’d feel better if he was the only white kid of one hundred rather than six hundred, if you see what I mean. That’s why I’d really like to send him to a forest/mountain school, because they’re small. They’re also above the smog level, which is another plus.

I’m so stressed about this! I think I’m going to have to come out there again before coming out in August. Either that or delay enrolling him until later in the school year, but it’s going to be harder for him to settle in if he starts in the middle of term. Don’t know what to do. :frowning:

4

The school is in a nice green area, being right at the edge of Beitou on the way up into Yangmingshan National Park. Just go on Google Maps and street view and check it out. It’s all mountains and forests to the North and east.

5

Thanks, that’s helpful local knowledge. I could see it did seem to be on the edge of the mountains from the map on the website, but it’s still hard to tell unless you’re actually there. My husband’s going to take a walk over there tomorrow even if he can’t get an appointment to see anyone at the school.

6

Wen-Hua Elementary is also a public school that is within walking distance of Beitou mrt station. I interviewed there and it seemed to be quite progressively minded is Taiwanese schools go. It’s also situated in a nice area close to the mountains.

FWIW

7

Thanks Teggs, we’ll check that out too.

8

Since you’re in Tienmou, what about the Taipei European School?

9

We wanted to send our son to a local school, Kea, so that he can learn to speak Mandarin.

10

Or a Bhuddist School-there is one in Tienmou (I think), they do wonderful dance performances and would probably have a nice atmosphere for the children.

Bah, I can’t remember more than that though, I’m sure someone else can help more. Good luck.

11

Thanks for your suggestions Kea.

12

you’re welcome, although I helped less than the others. I’m just bumping this thread in the hopes someone else notices it and has a good suggestion.

I’m aware of a Shen Yun high school in central/south Taiwan-it’s a Falun Gong organization based in New York that does dance performances all around the world-and takes students in Taiwan for study and dance training. The only reason I mention it is perhaps a buddhist focused elementary school in Taipei/Tienmou might provide the stable social environment you are looking for. Of course, there is the Christian focused Dominican school in Daji, but I suspect all their teaching is in English-even though they are predominantly Chinese speaking students.

The other suggestion I would make is to take your boy on regular walks on the countless trails around Tienmou riversides and Yaminghsan, and picnics, and sometimes invite his classmates. Make it fun and frequent. Also, invite his classmates around for small parties/fun (birthday parties, games days etc). That could help him settle well.

13

That’s kind of you to bump and offer more suggestions, Kea.

I’m just going through the possibilities mentally now and trying to decide what to do. One option is to deliberately choose somewhere to live that’s within the original school’s catchment area so that they have to take him (apparently this is a requirement at this school). But when my husband was there he got quite a strong feeling they really didn’t want a foreigner child at their school, and I’m unhappy about sending my son to a school that’s actively discouraged us from enrolling him.

Another option is to try to contact other schools over there from here and gauge the possibilities of securing him a place prior to our arrival. This is going to be extremely difficult, though, not least because I’ll have little idea of what the school is like. Other posters have sent me some details, for which I’m very grateful, so there are some leads at least. The problem with this is that we can’t register him until we’re in the country with our ARCs, so we could rent a flat in the area and turn up to the school on the first day only to be told that they can no longer take him.

I think our most realistic option is to wait until we get there then find the lie of the land then. Try to find a good, small school that has places then rent in the area. This will take time though, and I think the later in the school year that he starts, the harder it’s going to be for him to fit in. :frowning: Unfortunately we can’t leave until August because I have to sort out my older boy who’s going off to uni in the autumn (have to wait for his exam results).

I don’t know anything about Buddhist-focused education but I’m not comfortable with a religious school environment. I will have a look at the schools you suggest, though.

Sorry to go on, but it’s good to vent! I know the first few months could be quite tough for our son so I was trying my best to find a school that was more suitable for taking ‘different’ children. I also wanted to be able to prepare him with some idea of where he was going to go to school and what he could expect. That’s all gone now and I’m left wondering whether this is all going to end very badly, with my little boy having a really bad experience :frowning:

14

How old is your son?

15

How old is your son?[/quote]

He’s seven. He’ll turn eight the day we fly out. He’s in Year 3 at school here but he’s extremely young for his year, so we’re hoping he can go into Year 3 in Taiwan and repeat a year.

16

Petrichor, actually, that is a small school by Taiwan’s standards…

Actually, houses around “good” schools are highly coveted, as you are supposed to enroll in elementary school according to your area. Middle school is according to test scores and that’s where democracy breaks down.

Maybe a bit of Mandarin while still at the Old Homeland would be appropiate, so he will not be as challenged for basic stuff. True, kids learn faster. But if he comes already mastering at least bopomofo -get him a Taiwanese tutor, shouldn’t be hard to find- it will make thinsg a lot easier.

Learning the stuff while he’s still in an English speaking environment will lower his affective filter: he will be in a familiar environment. When he comes here, he will make the connection and his learning will be highly improved and accelerated.

You should also be thinking about hiring a tutor here to help him with his homework, at least at the beginning. One or two hours a day. Parents here are very involved in teh homework process, and since your Chinese may be challenged, it would be good to have a stable person who points the way, at least at the beginning, and give you additional suppott when necessary. Again, this should not be difficult.

17

Petrichor, there’s also this, but I don’t know exactly what it’s like:
hhhs.tp.edu.tw/hwshin/k6/thisisindex.htm
you could live near the end of Shidong Road/Dexing East Road, and walk up the hill to school-looks like there’s a small road, could be wrong though.

maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&q=% … 6&t=h&z=16

I’m assuming most of their course is in Chinese, with some English (if I’m wrong on this, I apologise-best to call them and verify if they make your short list):

this is their ad on tealit:
tealit.com/ad_categories.php?sec … anguage=en[quote]Huaxing Elementary School is looking for caring, dedicated foreign and Taiwanese teachers. Huaxing is a school situated in the beautiful Yangming Mountain National park. The school is quiet and has many facilities, such as an Olympic-size swimming pool, a baseball field, a track and basketball courts.[/quote]

18

Yes, I’ve realised that recently. If those schools are small the normal sized ones must be massive compared to the UK. We live in a large village and we have two primary schools just for the children in the village, both of which are smaller than the small schools in Taiwan, but they’re normal sized for here.

[quote=“Icon”]
Actually, houses around “good” schools are highly coveted, as you are supposed to enroll in elementary school according to your area. Middle school is according to test scores and that’s where democracy breaks down. [/quote]

I’m more interested in a warm and welcoming environment than test scores. I don’t suppose there’s league table for that? :laughing:

[quote=“Icon”]
Maybe a bit of Mandarin while still at the Old Homeland would be appropiate, so he will not be as challenged for basic stuff. True, kids learn faster. But if he comes already mastering at least bopomofo -get him a Taiwanese tutor, shouldn’t be hard to find- it will make thinsg a lot easier.

Learning the stuff while he’s still in an English speaking environment will lower his affective filter: he will be in a familiar environment. When he comes here, he will make the connection and his learning will be highly improved and accelerated.

You should also be thinking about hiring a tutor here to help him with his homework, at least at the beginning. One or two hours a day. Parents here are very involved in teh homework process, and since your Chinese may be challenged, it would be good to have a stable person who points the way, at least at the beginning, and give you additional suppott when necessary. Again, this should not be difficult.[/quote]

Thanks for the good advice which I’ll follow. I bought a lot of children’s Mandarin language workbooks while I was in Taiwan last time, which we have worked through, but it’s a bit of a case of the blind leading the blind. We’ve also been watching some Mandarin language series on Youtube. I doubt I’ll find a Taiwanese person around here, though, let alone a tutor. We live out in the sticks. I’ll have to wait until we get there, but I completely agree it would be a very good idea to give him as much support in this area as we can. As soon as we’re settled in I’ll start looking around.

19

[quote=“Kea”]Petrichor, there’s also this, but I don’t know exactly what it’s like:
hhhs.tp.edu.tw/hwshin/k6/thisisindex.htm
you could live near the end of Shidong Road/Dexing East Road, and walk up the hill to school-looks like there’s a small road, could be wrong though.

maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&q=% … 6&t=h&z=16

I’m assuming most of their course is in Chinese, with some English (if I’m wrong on this, I apologise-best to call them and verify if they make your short list):

this is their ad on tealit:
tealit.com/ad_categories.php?sec … anguage=en[quote]Huaxing Elementary School is looking for caring, dedicated foreign and Taiwanese teachers. Huaxing is a school situated in the beautiful Yangming Mountain National park. The school is quiet and has many facilities, such as an Olympic-size swimming pool, a baseball field, a track and basketball courts.[/quote][/quote]

Thanks Kea. You’re a star. I’ll give them a ring and see what their courses entail. We did look at some bilingual schools last time we were there but ruled them out for various reasons. This one looks as though it’s in a nice environment, though, and if they don’t have English as the language of instruction it could be a possibility.

20

Back in 2007, a friend of mine visited some schools in Taipei as prospects for his kids, who were English-only speakers. Here are his notes on a primarily Chinese language private school with small class sizes, and it’s in Beitou:

“Wego (www.kg.wgps.tp.edu.tw). overall best school for Lucy yet. K-12, K1 starts @4. Nice facility- great playground, outdoor full wall for mural painting (then wash away). music, woodworking specialists. integrated curriculum - clearly care in having art, music, . 1hr english a day. 1hr montessori classroom a week. field trips. 10 classes per grade level @10 students each.”

My friend thought this was the best of all that he visited for his daughter, who was then 4; however, he ended up sending both kids to a Montessori downtown so that both his kids could go to the same school (the younger being 2 y.o. at the time and therefore unable to attend Wego), so he doesn’t have any personal experience to share about the school.