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Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Primary education

No fun! Would you complain?

28 replies

schoolios · 03/03/2016 10:41

So 2016 we have a new headteacher.

First she bans sending Christmas cards. The kids were very disappointed. The letter sent out suggested we donated the money we would have spent on cards to the schools Catholic charity.

I think sending Cards is important. It cements friendship. Shows thoughtfulness and is good for writing practice.

Next she's banned dressing up for book day!

My immediate reaction was awesome! but the kids were really disappointed again. They've always put such pride in their outfits before.

They're only in primary. Surely you can't just cut out the fun stuff!

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schoolios · 03/03/2016 10:41

Sorry from September 2015.

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Jesabel · 03/03/2016 10:45

Christmas cards aren't exactly "fun". She presumably has just stopped a load of fussing about it in school rather than "banning" you from doing whatever you like in your own time.

I don't see what dressing up has to do with WBD anyway. Half the kids are in random outfits and there's barely any connection to reading.

Happymummy007 · 03/03/2016 10:47

That does sound a bit harsh. Our DD is 10 and loves all the dressing up stuff. It is a bit of a pain for the parents, but we enjoyed looking at all the weird and wonderful childrens' outfits on our journey to school this morning. Even our teachers got involved today.

Does the HT give a reason why she doesn't want to join in these things? I can't believe that they really make much, if any, more work for the teachers, so it sounds a bit miserable to me.

Happymummy007 · 03/03/2016 10:47

That does sound a bit harsh. Our DD is 10 and loves all the dressing up stuff. It is a bit of a pain for the parents, but we enjoyed looking at all the weird and wonderful childrens' outfits on our journey to school this morning. Even our teachers got involved today.

Does the HT give a reason why she doesn't want to join in these things? I can't believe that they really make much, if any, more work for the teachers, so it sounds a bit miserable to me.

PurpleDaisies · 03/03/2016 10:47

I disagree that sending Christmas cards is important-it leads to a huge amount of faffing around when they get handed out. What's her logic? It doesn't stop people giving cards outside school. I'm also with her on getting dressed up for world book day.
If there are lots of parents who feel the same as you, why not get together and lobby the head to change her mind?

Happymummy007 · 03/03/2016 10:47

Sorry - computer playing up. Didn't mean to post that twice!

schoolios · 03/03/2016 10:49

But you are looking at it from your own adult pov. The kids wanted to send cards. They always have done. They couldn't understand why it was banned (me either tbh)

And dressing up is just a bit of fun isn't it? It's not beneficial but it's not meant to be. It's just supposed to be exciting for them to choose a character and make a costume?

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dementedpixie · 03/03/2016 10:49

Our school never does dress up for world book day. I'm quite glad really!

PhilPhilConnors · 03/03/2016 10:50

Where's the school? Sounds fantastic!

Christmas cards are added pressure at a time that's already fraught and difficult.
WBD means meltdowns in this house, and children going to school in home clothes under the poor disguise of a costume (eg. Ds3 is Peter Parker before the spider bite )

This family would be thrilled to see a ban on them.

dementedpixie · 03/03/2016 10:52

Maybe she wanted to cut down on the waste of paper. Could you suggest just doing one card per child but written to the whole class

PurpleDaisies · 03/03/2016 10:52

But you are looking at it from your own adult pov

The head is under no obligation to do things just because the kids want to do them. As I said before, they can do them after school if they really want to send them.

There are plenty of parents with neither the time or the money to arrange costumes for all manner of events. I totally agree that dressing up has nothing to do with world book day.

schoolios · 03/03/2016 10:52

Aww you're all a bunch of stick in the muds!

I don't care if it's faffing and effort if my children enjoy it! That's motherhood!

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schoolios · 03/03/2016 10:53

Demented considering the amount of letters we get every day in duplicate if you have more than 1 child, paper waste is not the concern.

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PurpleDaisies · 03/03/2016 10:54

You're in the fortunate position to be able to afford to time and money sort out costume schoolios. Lots of families aren't.

dementedpixie · 03/03/2016 10:55

Yes but 30 children each giving out 30 cards is a lot of waste that just goes home and into the recycling. My 2 kids aren't that bothered by card writing and don't mind not dressing up either

Happymummy007 · 03/03/2016 10:56

Our school does make the dressing up relevant to WBD. They have to have read the book, take the book with them and be able to discuss it (and of course have the dressing up outfit from a character from that book) and they are running a charity book sale today too. We might be very lucky that the dressing up is so relevant, and I appreciate totally that other schools won't/don't/can't make such an effort, but just for us it works.

SirChenjin · 03/03/2016 11:00

The kids can send Christmas cards in their own time.

Banning dressing up on WBD? Excellent! Far better to do something which is actually relevant to reading and literacy without impacting on the parents' time and bank balance. She sounds like a sensible woman.

Presumably there will some fun activities throughout the year - you've only mentioned 2.

PhilPhilConnors · 03/03/2016 11:01

I'm on an ASD support group on FB, this morning it is full of posts by parents who have struggled to get their DC to school because of the stress and change of dressing up day.
Ds2 hid in bed and didn't want to get up. He didn't want to dress up, but he didn't want to go in school uniform as he'd look different. In the end he wore his own clothes but was still nervous going in and will probably have a mega meltdown once home.

soapboxqueen · 03/03/2016 16:54

No school is going to get it right for everyone. For every parent or child that loves getting dressed up there'll be others who don't care and others who hate it. Same for Christmas cards, school trips... Pretty much any school activity or event.

Personally I like these activities because the children love doing them and it helps build community amongst the children.

You can't please everyone.

SirChenjin · 03/03/2016 17:16

There's a happy medium. The occasional fun day - fine, but there was another thread recently about the sheer number of dress up/down days, creative projects that have to be done at home, and all sorts of other nonsense that are just grinding parents down.

clam · 03/03/2016 19:13

My school hasn't "banned" dressing up for World Book Day - we just haven't done it this year, but done a Book Swap instead.

Remember, for every parent who likes their kids dressing up, there are at least 3 who dread it, me included.

BoboChic · 03/03/2016 19:14

There is often way too much fun stuff at primary school. Plenty of DC and their parents don't like it and want school to be for learning and fun for home.

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PerettiChelsea · 03/03/2016 19:14

Oo dream school

clam · 03/03/2016 19:31

Bobochic Correct me if I'm wrong but you're in France, aren't you? I suspect there's quite a different culture in the schools there.

Mind you, there's been another thread running on here in the last few days, pleading for just a couple of weeks without any "special" school things going on. I have to say that I sympathise.

starry0ne · 03/03/2016 19:32

Have you read the threads on how dressing up has very little to do with WBD... I have bought my DS two books on his kindle tonight..If you want to celebrate WB...It doesn't have to be dressing up..Ours have wrote book review for homework... They have been doing some book related stuff in school today...

As for cards.. They can still give them to their close friends but otherwise yes I imagine it takes a long time to sort them into classes then hand them out at the end of each day.

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