Phase 2A1

I can’t believe I have a kid going into Primary 1 next year! I know it’s a bit of a cliche to say this, but where did the time go? One moment she’s a squishy, fat baby, and the next moment I have a little girl who reads and writes and makes all sorts of smart ass sarcastic remarks. It truly takes my breath away.

I must admit I was a bit of a slacker about the whole registration process. I put together her birth certificate, our identity cards, her immunisation certificate and my alumni letter, but forgot to make photocopies of the documents. I also thought the alumni letter would be good enough and didn’t know that I might have to produce my report books and/ or PSLE certificate so I turned the house upside down the night before registration to look for those items.

I couldn’t sleep well the night before and even woke the husband up at 2 am (by tickling his feet) thinking that it was already 7 am! Then I woke up a few more times before it was actually time to get up. The husband dropped me at my beloved alma mater then took the kids to school before coming back again to join me. I got to the registration counter before 8 am and was 7th in line for Phase 2A1. While I was filling in the form, I started feeling so emotional thinking about how my daughter’s going to be wearing the same uniform I wore for 10 years, studying in the same campus.. *sniff!*

The lady at the counter was kind and friendly and we bantered for a bit while waiting for my documents to be photocopied. I told her I was surprised by the higher than usual number of spaces taken up at Phase 1 and she agreed that it was definitely more than what the school usually gets at that stage. The whole process went quite smoothly and, since I was so early, I was done very fast.

After the registration, we went to the canteen to eat. I will never cease to be amazed by the fact that I can buy noodles from the same auntie that I bought noodles from on my first day of school in Primary 1. So many warm fuzzy feelings in one morning!

Initially, I wasn’t nervous at all about Primary 1 registration. But when I saw the unusually high numbers for Phase 1 and read about another girls’ school that was likely to have to ballot at Phase 2A1, I starting worrying in earnest. I was on tenterhooks the rest of the day and only felt slightly better when Adrian texted me at 4pm to say that his friend’s wife’s friend was at the school and was number 59 and there was no one else in line. I did not breathe easy until 8 pm that night when the results for 2A1 were announced and we were safe.

To be honest, I would be devastated if my daughter could not attend the same school that her mother/ aunts/ grandaunts/ great-grandmother attended. Thank God her place is confirmed!