When we enrolled our then 3 year old daughter 4 years ago into the then SPS, now PKM program, we did so because we were disillusioned with what we perceived as a gradual deterioration of the public education system. We felt that rather than ensuring a macro environment of empowering all students, coupled with micro emphasis and care based on individual talents and abilities, the public school system was too distracted with ideological indoctrination, bureaucratic bickering and catering to the lowest common denominator.
Like any other parents, we wanted our kids to have opportunities better than we did, so they can accomplish with those opportunities, more than we did. With this vision, we enrolled older one into RMS Central Park where she started on the very first school day after the new year holiday, in 2015. And we cannot say enough complimentary or laudatory things about her and our experience with RMS Central Park.
Our older one was the first grandchild in her family (on either side), she came with tremendous potential, but also took a few months to blossom. From crying for the first 2.5 months, to falling in love with her teachers and then doing such a wonderful job at her first spring concert in May, 2015, it was so overwhelming and wonderful for us as parents to see.
And then when emphasis on education drastically increased in Kindergarten, and she taking a few months to get into her groove; give you an example: I learnt spellings by rote and the threat of "discipline", and not by understanding the basics of sounds that match to letters or groupings of letters. So, relearning in order to help her practice at home, was very enriching, to the point where she really shone over the course of that year. Ms. Briggs did a wonderful job (she is the authority figure in a lot of pretend play at our house) and we personally really love Ms. Deguire as well - her passion for the kids and the rewarding of desirable behavior and traits and the disciplining of undesirable behaviors and traits. Ladies Ayala, Briggs and Deguire really helped us raise and nurture her, at that very important time, with their love, affection, teaching, discipline and care.
Ms. Thawer to us really feels like extended family - I do not remember a night during Prep One, at bed time when Hanya did not bring up some story or incident about Ms. Thawer. Our older one just absolutely adores and cherishes Ms. Thawer. She excelled in developing her personality and also academically, she did excellently.
Ms. Ivanyushin has also been wonderful in really encouraging our daughter to be her own individual, unique person in Grade 1. The conversations that we have at the dinner table or in the car, from and to school, sometimes boggle us - because the level of thought clarity, critical thinking in her seems ahead of her 6.5 years. The evolution of this phenomenon over the last one year tells us that Ms. I has had a key role to play in this.
And Madame Del is just phenomenal - her amazing infectious optimism at all times, her energy - bringing out the creativity in Hanya and also helping our family have a French speaking member finally! We are so grateful to her for all these years of art, music and French.
Ms. Penrice runs the school excellently, she has been so accommodating to us on numerous occasions and we truly feel we are collaborating together in bringing up Hanya and now Tosha.
We love that excellence and respect are fundamental valuea of RMS. Respect for country, those that sacrifice for the country, respect for the individual, respect for our historical as well as recently integrated multicultural heritages are all appropriately promoted and embraced at RMS. We absolutely love that religion is kept out of the school at all time as are any other ideological biases. We personally love that RMS celebrates Christmas and not just winter holidays.
Hopefully, with the grace of providence, we will be able to continue to live our intention of one day having both our daughters graduate from Grade 8 at the Academy campus.