When one door opens...

On 17 March, the die was cast.

We got a call from GNLS asking if Beth and Miss J could come in for an interview the following afternoon. And could Beth please bring her latest school reports.

Miss J was so excited she kept telling everyone - her kinder teachers included - "I'm going to see my new principal today!"

Until we reached the school carpark...and discovered she was sound asleep.

Miss J is one of those kids who cannot be roused when she's in deep sleep.

"Jordanne, wake up! We're going to see your principal!" just didn't work with her.

So I had to carry her in my arms and lumber into the P's office, with Beth helping me carry the bag containing her reports and application papers.

I was proud of how Beth conducted herself during the interview, the charmingly frank way she talked about her composite class and specialist subjects and how she enjoys being part of the choir and ensemble.

Most of all, I am grateful that Beth has come to accept (not in a resigned bo pian way but with a positive attitude) that she will be changing school, uniform, friendships, routine etc from next year. She has truly matured in the last 2 years.

I was also impressed by the P's understanding manner, her communication and leadership skills, and the effort she put in to get both girls into the school. Perhaps the school reports helped, as well as our explanation that Beth had been doing extension work since prep, and is currently doing extension Literacy and Numeracy.

As she explained it, the prep enrolment for 2012 is full (such is GNLS' rising popularity). The only way she can think of is to accept Beth into Grade 3 this year or Grade 4 next year, and have Miss J come in as a prep sibling, which automatically guarantees her a place.

At one point, she popped out to discuss the matter with her leadership coordinator, and came back to announce that the latter supported her proposal.

I wished Calvin could have been there to make the decision with me, but he was at work. So I took my many questions and self-doubts in both hands and asked how the school would cater to students who wanted to achieve more. (I was careful to phrase that positively so as not to appear like one of those annoying parents who think their kids are super smart and deserve special treatment.)

I also explained that we would like Beth to stay at HCC for the duration of 2011 because of the unusual circumstances with her 2/3 composite class, which is new to the school, the teacher and the students involved.

The P accepted that, and we said yes to her offer of Grade 4 for 2012 for Beth and prep for Miss J.

I know we have made the decision that is practical for our family, but I cannot say I have absolutely no doubt we have done the right thing. If I only focused on what Beth is going to miss out - Year 5 camp, Latin, French and Chinese (which was one reason we opted for HCC to start with), ensemble - the fear that I have done the wrong thing by my child would break my heart.

I am not looking forward to breaking the news to the school mums I have grown close to: Jo, Carmel, Yvonne, Louie, Cassandra, my neighbour Sebby...

Not to mention nearly all of Sunday School.

But I also think of the mums at kinder who are considering Woodville PS, the non-HCC kids who do Kumon every Mon and Thu alongside Beth, other friends here who have opted to send their kids to the neighbourhood school/Catholic school, the relatively low cost (and high standard) of education in SG.

And I know HCC cannot be the only or 'best' choice.

Not when it causes so much financial strain for 10 months of the year as we work out how to pay $562 a month in school fees on top of the mortgage and other expenses. And that is for just one child.