Choosing a good pre-school for our precious little ones is a difficult and important decision, and there are many choices catering to different needs. I am glad that I have found in Newton Kindergarten a good school that is like an extended family for my children. I was keen to start my children as early as 18 months, for them to meet other children, establish a routine, and be exposed more to the outside world. Yet at this tender age, like all parents, I was of course anxious to entrust my young child, who had never been away from family, to any school. From the first day, the school principal, along with the team of very experienced teachers, were there to reassure the parents. I could see that the teachers were all very experienced to manage and soothe the children, taking a gentle but firm approach to settle them in quickly. Most importantly, I could see that they take a genuine interest in, and have love for the children. Before long, my then toddler, was looking forward to have fun every day in school. Their online updates also give parents, especially working mums like myself, good visibility on what my children are doing in school, enabling me to engage the children to share more about what they do at school. The curriculum at Newton Kindergarten as the children progresses, is also adept to their needs and to stretch their growth potential. The option of enrichment classes within the school after classes, with the school facilitating the transition daily, means that parents are able to expose their children to a wide variety of enrichment classes, should they wish to, without having to ferry their children around to different locations. This also means parents can have children spend a longer time in school should they choose to. The wide variety of curated enrichment options – ranging from music, dance, gym, to brain expansion, science, phonics, mathematics, hanyu pinyin, etc, means I am spoilt for choices. Their pure Chinese class, which my younger daughter is also now in, in addition to her normal dual language kindergarten class, has also been useful to further reinforce Chinese language, culture and everyday vocabulary to her in a fun way. I have noticed that she is speaking more Chinese at home, and surprises me daily with Chinese vocabulary which even I am not familiar with. Besides academic and enrichment aspects, Newton Kindergarten also moulds strong character and habits. Teachers partner parents in this journey, and have along the way, dispensed invaluable advice to me to help me understand my children even better and how best to engage them. Hands-on projects such as utilisation of recycling objects, growing their own vegetables etc, also prepares the children to be citizens of the future. My elder son is now in primary school, and with the strong grounding from Newton Kindergarten, he was able to settle in quickly, and I am able to see how the curriculum and teaching philosophy of Newton Kindergarten in grooming the children has more than well paid off. It has been almost 6 years since I first stepped into Newton Kindergarten, and it still feels like home every time I visit the school. The principal and staff are always welcoming, and you can feel the sense of purpose, happiness and joy within the school compound, emitting from the school teachers, school staff and children. I am grateful that I made the right choice 6 years ago.