[vinay kamath]

St Joseph's Boys' High School
Museum road, Bangalore

Application forms for admission to LKG for the academic year 2016 – 2017 will be issued online on Thursday the 7th and Friday the 8th of January 2016. They can be downloaded from the school website www.sjbhsbangalore.in after filling in the necessary information. No application forms will be issued by the school office.

Note: The application form will be available for download only on the above mentioned days i.e. on 7th January 2016 and 8th January 2016. Thereafter no application form will be issued and enquiries regarding the same will not be entertained. Kindly read the guidelines carefully before filling the application form.

The hard copy of the duly filled in E-application form has to be submitted at the school registration desk from 11th January to 16th January 2016 between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. The last date to submit the filled in E-application form is 16th January 2016. Admissions are NOT on a first-come first-served basis. All applications submitted on or before 16th January 2016, will be considered. Kindly submit the following documents at the School Registration Desk:

• Fully completed and signed E-application form with a passport size photo of the student and one each of his father and mother separately.

• Birth certificate of the child (child should have completed 4 years of age as on June 1, 2016)
Baptism certificate along with a letter from the Parish Priest stating that the parents belong to his parish. This is for Roman Catholics only. (Photo copy)
Corporation certificate of Birth with name of the child for all others. (Photo copy)
Caste Certificate where applicable specifying the category to which the applicant belongs (Photo copy).

• Proof of residential address (Copy of Passport/ Aadhar card/ Voter’s ID card).
• Details of sibling studying in this school - where applicable
• Proof of father being an Alumnus - if applicable
• Attested copies of the highest Educational qualifications of both the parents.

Students who have been selected as well as those who have not, will be informed of the same by post/courier by the last week of February 2016.

Guidelines:
• The application form may be downloaded at: www.sjbhsbangalore.in

• After filling in the application form on the website, please click on the submit button. A soft copy of the duly filled in E-application form will be generated with an E-application form number. The same will be sent to your email ID for your reference.

• At the time of submission of the hard copy of the duly filled in E-application form, an amount of Rs. 150/- is to be paid. This will be acknowledged at the time of submission of the form.

• Kindly fill and submit the E-application form only once as duplicate applications will be rejected.

• Any enquiries about admissions will not be entertained.

• Recommendations of any kind will disqualify the candidate.

• Parents are advised to apply for admissions to other schools also.

• Seats to LKG in the school are limited.

Please note that we do not take donations for any admissions. We do not have any agents to procure seats. You are strongly advised not to give any money to anyone who promises you a seat in our school. You will be doing so at your own risk.

Rev. Fr. Clifford Sequeira, SJ
Principal

[zaheer5776]

So finally "that day" came when I had to jump into the "School Admissions Procedure". My Son turned 3 years old last November and this event turned on my "Indicators"

Applied for Symbiosis Mini KG. Was asked to sign on a declaration regarding lottery procedure or randomly computer generated names of the applicants. I was pretty confident of making it to the list since my house is just a stone's throw away distance from the school. I thought this might be one of the parameters they had given to computer while making software! Considering that they had 120 seats and they might not receive many applications from nearby area, Hopes were bigger.

Now the "Shock":
Went to the School on Lottery Day. There was a small program where we were given details of the procedure.
They started with: We received 400 plus applications. We have 120 Seats, 30 seats for RTE, 40 seats for Staff and Siblings. 50 for lottery. In that 25 for girls and 25 for boys! I could clearly see the names of boys were more I knew that I wont make it to the list and I was right. I just came back with the feeling that I and my wife and my son would better face the interviews!

[vinit.merchant]

Just a heads up to Puneites.
Forms for Hutchings are out and are available online. Last date for online submission is 17/12/2015 and the print of the online submission along with all attested copies (which need to be uploaded online) need to be sumitted at the school between 8:30 to 10:30 am, by 18th.

Admissions are open for Pre-nursery.
Agre criteria = Birth between July 2012 to June 2013.

[luvDriving]

Pune people - specifically those living in Sinhagad road / Dhayari area. Any reviews for DSK school located in dhayari ? I was contemplating getting admission for my daughter over there for nursery. I could not find any reviews online for this school.

And a general question regarding choosing a school for our children. How to prioritise the various aspects like do we select a school that is ok but is very near to the house or do we go for a reputed school which is located far away ?

Nowadays even reputed schools throw out some incidents which mar their reputation. Travelling for say 2 hours going to and fro will also sap some energy from the child. Any views on this ?

[kutoos]

Originally Posted by luvDriving

Pune people - specifically those living in Sinhagad Travelling for say 2 hours going to and fro will also sap some energy from the child. Any views on this ?

Hi,
Best wishes for Admissions. I' also on the lookout for STD 1 next year for my daughter.

I do not have an idea on DSK, but however would like to advise against your child travelling long hours as it will become very hectic and put a strain on the kid & parents equally.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant

Admissions are open for Pre-nursery.
Agre criteria = Birth between July 2012 to June 2013.

I think this is the uniform age criteria for most schools from academic year 2016-17 onwards.

Originally Posted by luvDriving

Pune people

No idea about DSK school, but about your 2nd question - I would prefer a decent school that is near my house rather than an excellent school that is quite far. My logic is - what's the guarantee that an excellent school will remain that way for 8-10 years? Similarly, a decent school can become a good school in a similar time frame, isn't it?

The kid anyway has to commute once he/she joins the rat race - why start now?

[nowwhat?]

Originally Posted by zaheer5776

Now the "Shock":
Went to the School on Lottery Day. There was a small program where we were given details of the procedure.
They started with: We received 400 plus applications. We have 120 Seats, 30 seats for RTE, 40 seats for Staff and Siblings. 50 for lottery. In that 25 for girls and 25 for boys! I could clearly see the names of boys were more I knew that I wont make it to the list and I was right. I just came back with the feeling that I and my wife and my son would better face the interviews!

Getting into a school with a so-called "good reputation" is always a crap shoot in India.

Interviews are not as tough as you imagine. Mostly the schools are looking for a few common indicators: residential stability (so you do not pull your child off after a few years), financial stability (so you can pay the fees over the full 12 years) and educational background of parents. In addition, some schools see if any of the parents have the time to teach their children. As far as your child is concerned, just make sure s/he is neatly dressed and knows one poem and one simple story.

In the end, keep in mind that if it is the right school for your child, things will happen automatically. Anyway your child will eventually get admission somewhere.

Originally Posted by luvDriving

And a general question regarding choosing a school for our children. How to prioritise the various aspects like do we select a school that is ok but is very near to the house or do we go for a reputed school which is located far away

Personally I would suggest that you take a school close to your residence. In most Indian cities, one can never really forecast how traffic would be 10 years from now. The drive to my child's school used to take 10 minutes 10 years ago, but now it takes close to an hour. Please bear in mind that you may need to drive to the school every once in a while to meet teachers or in case your child forgets something.

Parents fret too much when it comes to their child's school admission. The first 5-6 years are a walk in the park, but the pressure in the Indian system really starts hitting the parents in high school as their child nears the dreaded board exams. By that time, some parents try to decide whether the pressure is worth their and their child's sanity. I know many parents who have moved their children from reputed ICSE/CBSE schools to a lesser known one that runs on state syllabus.

[ajitkommini]

Originally Posted by kutoos

I do not have an idea on DSK, but however would like to advise against your child travelling long hours as it will become very hectic and put a strain on the kid & parents equally.

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

I would prefer a decent school that is near my house rather than an excellent school that is quite far. ... The kid anyway has to commute once he/she joins the rat race - why start now?

Bit of a contrarian view here. I attended two schools in Bangalore between 1991 - 1996. One was 17 km down Kanakapura road, the other was in Yelahanka - both were considered well beyond city limits at the time. I lived near Indiranagar and the commute each way was no less than 90 min, often longer if there was traffic or the bus broke down etc. Yet neither my friends nor I found the trip particularly arduous or energy-sapping as people tend to believe. Rather, we had loads of fun and actually looked forward to that bus ride. Bottom line - I would any day choose a school for my child where she's safe and happy, in an environment that respects and appreciates her as an individual. I would rate this above all other factors including how far it is from home.

[zaheer5776]

Originally Posted by luvDriving

And a general question regarding choosing a school for our children. How to prioritise the various aspects like do we select a school that is ok but is very near to the house or do we go for a reputed school which is located far away ?

I asked same questions to myself. And I applied logic of distance and tried for the Best school which is nearest to my house. In fact one highly reputed school (Symbiosis) is a just a stone's throw away from my house. I couldn't get the seat. Now I feel very fortunate to have got missed the chance. Because I was neglecting better options.

The choice of school is really getting very difficult nowadays as there are many factors like Type of Board, School Fees, Distance, Faculty, Reputation, Time since inception, Sports Activities, Environment, Alma Mater Etc

While deciding the school I want school to have a stress free atmosphere, lot of sports, lot of or discipline, moderate fees, CBSE or ICSE board. I know nowadays its very easy to get admissions into Engineering course, if you have right information at the right time. Because lot of Engg seats go vacant very year. And I am sure that I don't want my son to prepare of IIT entrance so now my job is easier. Just about to finalize a school which is IGCSE School. Fingers crossed!

[NPV]

Originally Posted by ajitkommini

Rather, we had loads of fun and actually looked forward to that bus ride. Bottom line - I would any day choose a school for my child where she's safe and happy, in an environment that respects and appreciates her as an individual.

I agree with you having been in Bangalore all my life
But the traffic of those days is nowhere comparable to what it is now and distance is not an indicator of travel time anymore
So I would say keep distance (and commute time) in mind when deciding the school, especially when the children study in primary and middle school.

[zaheer5776]

Originally Posted by nowwhat?

As far as your child is concerned, just make sure s/he is neatly dressed and knows one poem and one simple story.

I am suppose to take my child for an interview coming Saturday.

So I was actually thinking what they would ask. I am contemplating that in the Interview they will just judge whether my kid fits into the pool of their students. My child looks to be very average guy who cant tell a poem or who cant recognize alphabets or numbers. Though I have seen other kids of his age (3 years) easily reciting poems and recognizing alphabets. One thing even I thought that I will dress up him smartly! That seems to be real key for the interview

[PVS]

Wow - great to note that a school admissions thread also exists in T-BHP. Great - I often come away impressed, with the range of topics on which there are pages and pages of discussion. Nevertheless, would add my two cents here:

I have 2 kids, both daughters aged 9 & 4 respectively. The elder goes to Delhi Public School Nacharam, while the younger one goes to a place school around 5 minutes drive from our place. For the next academic year,the younger one will move on to the first grade, so we got her admission into DPS Nacharam as well.

For first grade admissions in DPS Nacharam, there is a one time fee of Rs 70,000 Non Refundable. In addition, the per term fee for first grade is Rs 21,000, and Transportation for 5 to 10 kilometers is around 7760, so for a term, for a first grader in DPS, I pay around Rs 28760. For the elder child the term fees are slightly higher , though the transport fees remain the same. Education sure is getting costly day by day.

[nowwhat?]

Originally Posted by zaheer5776

I am suppose to take my child for an interview coming Saturday.

So I was actually thinking what they would ask. I am contemplating that in the Interview they will just judge whether my kid fits into the pool of their students. My child looks to be very average guy who cant tell a poem or who cant recognize alphabets or numbers. Though I have seen other kids of his age (3 years) easily reciting poems and recognizing alphabets. One thing even I thought that I will dress up him smartly! That seems to be real key for the interview

My son was a lot like yours at that age. I wanted to send him to a well-known convent school 12 kilometers away some 10 years ago, but my wife insisted on a school nearby. Like you, I thought I would be a shoo-in at the first school we applied, but we never heard from them. In the second school, we parents did well in the interview. As it turned out, our son also aced the interview. The teacher who interviewed him was soft spoken and to our shock, he recited a long winding story to her. I realized how tough admissions were when I went to the school on the appointed day, saw his name on the list of those admitted and also happened to see a whole bunch of parents who were weeping. That is when I realized that this school was perhaps his destiny. As it turns out, we never applied at that convent school.

If there is one thing I would advise you, it is to take your child to check if he has any learning disabilities. We struggled with our son in middle school and are still struggling now. But it is a lot better now that he has been diagnosed with dyslexia and dysgrafia -- We could finally understand him and teach him accordingly. In addition, the ICSE Board has granted him certain allowances. When I finally took him to some of the learning disability clinics a couple of years ago, I saw very young children there and I regret not going there sooner. By his age, it was too late to give him any remedial lessons.

[vinit.merchant]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

I think this is the uniform age criteria for most schools from academic year 2016-17 onwards.

I was of the same belief.
But Admission notice is already up for Bishops, Kalyani Nagar.
Age criteria mentioned by them is 3 to 3.11 years as on 01 June 2016 for Nursery, whereas for Hutchings, they consider this age for Pre-Nursery i.e. Play group.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant

I was of the same belief.
But Admission notice is already up for Bishops, Kalyani Nagar.
Age criteria mentioned by them is 3 to 3.11 years as on 01 June 2016 for Nursery, whereas for Hutchings, they consider this age for Pre-Nursery i.e. Play group.

Oh okay, then the age criteria listed by Bishops seems to be in line with what I was told in several other schools in my area, viz, Paranjape, New India International, Seva Sadan, Karnatak High School, Bal Shikshan, Gurukul and Millenium.

Only Abhinav was similar to Hutchings, ie, taking admissions for pre-Nursery. However, their admission procedure, age criteria etc will be known only in the 1st week of June.

Cheers,
Vikram