It had rained the night before and the GPS indicates that my destination for today’s interview, Q-dees Hillpark, is about an hour away. Starting off from our office, the distance, the traffic and the slippery roads all combined to weigh rather heavily on me. Somewhere at the midway point of the journey, Fats Domino and Blueberry Hill started playing over my car stereo.
I found my thrill
On Blueberry Hill
On Blueberry Hill
When I found you
The moon stood still
On Blueberry Hill
And lingered until
My dream came true
The wind in the willow played
Love's sweet melody……......
I smile, and for the rest of the journey I just could not get the tune out of my head. My mind kept making the connection between Hillpark and Blueberry Hill. My humming got louder and my smile got broader as I neared my destination. By the time I arrived at Q-dees Hillpark, I was so cheerful and in such good spirits, I felt that I could single-handedly take on a hundred boisterous screaming kids and still remain sane.
Q-dees Hillpark (Tadika Intelek Gemilang) is located atop a little hillock. From its elevated position it does seem an ideal setting for Blueberry Hill.
Q-dees Hillpark is made up of 2 double storey semi-D units combined and although they have been operating here for almost 5 years, the now iconic red, yellow and blue of Q-dees look brand new. Decorated with colourful flag lines, multi coloured plastic pinwheels and buntings, Q-dees Hillpark looks very welcoming and has a carnival feel about it.
I can just imagine children who see this in the distance clamouring for their parents to bring them here.
The principal of Q-dees Hillpark, Mdm. Stephanie Toh greeted me at the door with a warm handshake and a sweet smile and ushered me in. I bent over slightly to remove my shoes and when I looked up, my eyes and brain registered a huge “WOW”! Right in front of me, spanning the entire height of the wall were 3 pieces of coloured foil (red, yellow and blue – no prizes for guessing what they represent) patterned and all. At eye level is a huge poster on which is enshrined the essence and vision of Q-dees Hillpark:
Q-dees Love Life
- Q-dees love Kids
- Q-dees Kids love to learn
- Q-dees Kids learn to love
- Q-dees Kids love the community
Strategically situated to the left of the main entrance is Mdm. Toh’s office. The interview starts with a short anecdote of the sequence of events leading to the founding of Q-dees Hillpark. The tale was occasionally humorous but largely it was a tale of self-sacrifice and a mother’s ambition and desire to provide for her children the best possible education available. “I have long admired and trusted Q-dees’ brand of all-rounded preschool education. I have longed for the day when I would be the proud owner of a Q-dees franchise and become a part of the Q-dees family,” reminisced Mdm. Toh. This dream became a reality 5 years ago when she took up a Q-dees Starters franchise and founded Q-dees Hillpark. Today, besides Q-dees Hillpark, Mdm. Toh is also the principal of Q-dees Setia Ecohill.
Q-dees Starters is a preschool that offers Foundation and Enhanced Foundation programmes, fostering a child’s keen sense of curiosity and passion for learning. Aside from the 3 major languages of Bahasa Malaysia, English and Mandarin, Q-dees’ Starters Foundation programmes also include Maths and Science, Music and Art, Character Building, Pre-Gymflex and Pendidikan Islam for its Muslim students. For Pendidikan Islam, Q-dees Hillpark has their very own in-house Ustazah to school the children in Sirah, Akhlak, Ibadah, Jawi and Iqra. There are additional activities including Ballet, Taekwondo, and Special Art & Critical Program, in the curriculum.
Preschool learning at Q-dees Hillpark is unique as the first 10 minutes of each lesson employs various multimedia tools, such as projectors, computers and CDs to engage the children and interact with them. In providing a holistic learning experience, parents are engaged via a programme known as Graded English Readers. This programme doubles up as an e-Reader programme that can be accessed through Q-dees’ e-Reader website by both students and parents. Hence promoting the saying that “The family that reads together, stays together”.
A step up from the Foundation programme is the Enhanced Foundation programme. In this programme, a child’s understanding and mastery of Mathematics, English, Mandarin and Art will be accelerated. There are more activities and interaction plus the reinforcement of subjects and concepts studied.
At the end of a child’s stay at Q-dees Hillpark, he would have achieved the following 5 milestones:
- Master of languages
- Logical thinking and scientific discovery
- Creative development
- Physical development
- Social and emotional development
Additionally, Q-dees Hillpark also provides daycare services, piano classes and transportation services upon request. Leadership and character building sessions are also available through the good folks from HANkidz. Then, there is the highly-anticipated celebration of the year – the concert. Unlike most kindergartens, Q-dees Hillpark organises their concerts in a convention centre where parents can watch their child up on stage, donned in fancy costumes performing to a selected theme, while enjoying a mouth-watering dinner. And before I forget, there are plans to have a proper swimming pool for the kids with lessons by a qualified instructor. With such a plethora of activities, there is never a dull moment at the top of the ‘Hill’park.
There is so much more that Q-dees Hillpark has to offer and so much that is good here, enough to be selected as one of the 25 out of 250 franchisees to receive a Q-dees Gold Award 2019. Q-dees Hillpark is recognised for their utmost efforts to ensure that children are wholly supported in their path of growth and progress. To fully do justice to Mdm. Toh’s preschool I would have had to cut down many more trees to produce the pulp on which to write my notes. Suffice to say that Q-dees Hillpark is an excellent kindergarten offering a holistic preschool education.
On top of the hill the wind blows fresh and the air is clean. Q-dees Hillpark welcomes students with open arms and children arrive with big cheerful smiles and I start to hear again Fats Domino and Blueberry Hill………
