The Report Card

Joshua has completed his first half of academic year at Greythorn Primary School. There are no exams, not tests but there is a report card detailing what the students have achieved in the first 2 terms of the year.

Before we moved to Melbourne, we had Joshua enrolled in Tadika Sri Soka near our Cheras home in Malaysia for a year. And even then, as a 5-year-old, he had homework to do. And because of that, things became easier when he started attending school here.

The homework here is nothing compared with the homework in Malaysia. There are a lot of play activities to make learning fun. But it was not just fun, fun, fun. All these fun activities are observed and recorded by the teachers.

And I'm glad Joshua has done fairly well. A good start, I'll say. He's got a headstart in KL, after all. But what really gladdens me is the fact that he's become more self-confident and sociable, a big step forward since he was so timid and shy before.

In the report card, his teacher even describes him as "displaying a great eagerness to learn, attempting any given task with a positive and mature approach", "willing to contribute ideas, answer questions and participate in classroom discussions", "speaking confidently and clearly in front of the class", "excelling in Maths and shows great competence and accuracy in his work" and more.

Yes, it's a good start. I hope Joshua can keep up with his good work. I also hope Joanne will display the same eagerness next year when she goes to Prep. She's the more laid-back type. I may have to push her a little bit.

I'm just relieved I'm not back in KL where most parents are driving their kids crazy with tuition and a whole load of other activities. Enough said.