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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

pfb -in fact only child - off to secondary on Thursday...

788 replies

MaryAnnSingleton · 02/09/2008 08:07

am being calm but every so often panic strikes me - ds is fine about it, it's just me fretting about roads to cross/ money for the canteen - will it get lost/stolen, what about the lockers, arghhh ! Plus,as with the beginning of every term,I'll miss him - I love having him here in the holidays !
It also means that I have no excuses not to sit at my desk and work on the job I'm meant to finish by the end of Seot...

OP posts:
Original poster
MaryAnnSingleton · 01/10/2008 09:17

ds seems to have adjusted well,in fact better,than I'd imagined,which is fab and he seems to really enjoy the lessons and being at secondary school generally...one teeny hiccup yesterday when he assumed that 'wet play' at lunch (they probably call it something else in secondary school !) meant he couldn't go out to the canteen to get lunch,so no lunch except for his emergency apple and nutrigrain bar- dafty !

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magentadreamer · 01/10/2008 06:56

DD is enjoying it so far and appears to be settling in well. She seems so grown up these days as well. Last night she was telling me about the class clown in Maths and basically said he was a pain and should do as he's told so Miss can get on with teaching us. I was like as she just sounded so grown up about it. She's doing Aerobics and trampolining at lunchtime so she has a pack lunch those days. Plus she signed up for the book club competition but said no way was she going on a pamper evening.

So far she's had 3 win/draw slips in Maths 1 in German and Science so she's happy about that. The only thing she thinks is tight about High School is the homework but she gets on with that. So overall a month in she's enjoying it and appears to be working hard.

bellavita · 01/10/2008 00:19

Ds seems to be doing ok, should hopefully get his locker tomorrow (or rather today now!) which will make life easier for him with the pe kit.

He has done a few lunchtime class inter sports things which he has really enjoyed.

roisin · 30/09/2008 20:07

How's it going for everyone else? Any hesitations or hiccups or major nightmares?

Original poster
MaryAnnSingleton · 30/09/2008 19:32

I'm so pleased it's going so well roisin - yay !

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roisin · 30/09/2008 18:26

Crikey I love this school: ds1 is quite a complex, quirky character and he is just so happy and so settled there already.

He got a merit certificate today for German, for having had 10 merits in a subject. He is thrilled to bits.

They had an after-school 'social' today, which he enjoyed. They had hot-dogs and played Bingo. He had no idea what Bingo was! PMSL

Original poster
MaryAnnSingleton · 30/09/2008 10:37

brilliant news roisin ! well done your ds !

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bellavita · 29/09/2008 22:12

How lovely roisin for you and your ds.

magentadreamer · 29/09/2008 20:42

Thats wonderful news Roisin

roisin · 29/09/2008 20:05

How fantastic is this: ds1 has joined the boys' choir at his (state) school. He is a keen and enthusiastic singer, but is not particularly musically talented.

He has come home today with a list of 7 performances/concerts before Christmas this term and is really enthusiastic to sign up to be available for all of them. He understands this will mean giving up some of his free time in the evenings and at weekends for the performances and for extra rehearsals, but he's keen to do so.

He's not sporty at all so I'm thrilled to bits that he has an opportunity to do something different through school.

roisin · 28/09/2008 10:05

It's a different world SqueakyPop!

SqueakyPop · 28/09/2008 08:06

We have done 3 weeks, 2 days, and have 3 weeks until half-term.

Ashantai · 27/09/2008 23:12

Good to here our kids are doing well at school. I've finally stopped freaking out at my daughter walking anywhere without me but i do admit that i breathe a sigh of relief when i hear her key in the lock

roisin · 27/09/2008 15:58

It depends on your county SqueakyPop. We've done 4 weeks and we've got 4 more til half term.

SqueakyPop · 27/09/2008 14:35

Tell me it is only 3 full weeks!

Original poster
MaryAnnSingleton · 27/09/2008 14:33

I can certainly believe that WendyWeber ! time does whizz by alarmingly (then we can fret about 6th form college !)

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WendyWeber · 27/09/2008 10:03

DS2 will be going to the 6th form open evening in a couple of weeks & thinking about his A level options - you will be amazed how soon that comes round

Have just been catching up with this thread & it's lovely to read how they're all settling in & sorting themselves out bellavita, you'd better find yourself a wine tree as well as a money tree!

bellavita · 27/09/2008 09:06

DS is looking forward to the Yr6's looking around his (done on an evening) because the now Yr7's get to be the hosts in classrooms and have lots and lots of things going on to show the Yr6's that it is not as hard as they might think it is.

I think he is secretly hoping he is in the science block demonstrating and helping with experiments.

Original poster
MaryAnnSingleton · 27/09/2008 08:46

it's been a lot easier than I'd imagined (touches wood) this time last year we were visiting the schools to choose and I was terrified ! ds says that the current yr 6s were looking round yesterday !

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roisin · 27/09/2008 08:44

We've done 4 weeks, which means we are half way towards half term.

YIPPEE!

Original poster
MaryAnnSingleton · 26/09/2008 21:24

how many weeks have we done now ? I think they're coping brilliantly !

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Original poster
MaryAnnSingleton · 26/09/2008 21:23

ds has similar system for organising - supervised by me,though he is checking which books are needed each eveningfor next day...some loose bits of paper are coming home a bit crumpled despite my putting a poly envelope thing in,so a more rigid plastic folder/file might be an idea (adds to growing list of stuff to get). I can't remember how much the locker costs to rent at ds' school - you have to supply your own padlock..ds has a combination one to save losing a key ! It's really nr his tutor room too so handy for storing PE kit during the week.

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magentadreamer · 26/09/2008 18:44

DD is amazing me at how organised she is being - I honestly had visions of her returning home the first day in her polo shirt and trousers -the rest being scattered around the school. She goes to her locker before school starts loads up her bag for the morning lessons then goes again at lunch to unload/reload. At home time she goes and puts any books etc that aren't needed into the locker and brings back that nights homework. On Friday she bring back her entire locker. This is the child who had a lost property bin named solely for her - or so it seemed in Juniors!

Bellavita is it one of those High beds with desk etc underneath that you are after? I saw one the other day in I think Bensons beds - the shop has just been renamed grr. Looked very sturdy. The ikea one looked a bit wobbly IMHO but could have just needed tightening up.

roisin · 26/09/2008 17:07

He's come home absolutely shattered. They have IT Period 6=last thing on a Friday, and they had 3 tests to do in IT today. ds1 said they were really hard and he was exhausted. It sounded like verbal reasoning and non verbal reasoning plus a spelling test (this is on top of CATs last week). ds1 is excellent at spelling, but said this test was really hard with words like photosynthesis in it! I wonder if they get extra credit for the fact that his class did it on a Friday afternoon?

They have actually had loads of tests, and I keep telling him I'm sure that will be it and they won't have any more ...

Fortunately he only has 2 pieces of homework this weekend which is great because we wanted to go out tomorrow for the day.

His Science homework is to do a challenge. There is a choice and Easy Challenge and a Difficult Challenge. I think ds1 will go for the difficult one, but it really is very hard.

bellavita · 26/09/2008 16:29

roisin - we have a very similar system (DS supposed to sit at dining room table for doing homework), there is a box for books not being used, plastic wallet for homework, same set up in his bag as your DS but he still cannot get himself organised (I think I am getting on DH's nerves now because I keep going on at DS), DH seems to think that he will have to learn the hard way. Anyhooooo......

DS has not got his locker today, his form teacher is arranging for some letters to be sent home which we will have to sign and send back, then locker will be allocated.

Again, thank crunchie it is Friday