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

MAS - just seen your thread on gumshields

We don't know yet if DS1 will be doing rugby or football so have not had to buy a gumshield. £40 is an awful lot of money for the dentist. I think I am giving enough to the dentist this month as it is - have to have two crowns done with work starting tomorrow - £196

Well I haven't! Not sure where you would actually put a name tape? Suppose if the socks turn over at the top, then you would sew it underneath?

Glad your dd was ok.

So glad to hear that I'm not alone in stressing for my dd's first few days at high school.She seems chilled-apart from scary english teacher.
Lost one PE sock already-HOW do you name socks?I've got woven labels to sew on and iron on ones too-but where do you stick them????

Some pupils at our school have one of the smaller/thinner concertina files to organise their paperwork, with a section for each subject.

I actually bought one for ds1, but it's too big to fit in his bag!

So far he doesn't have many loose paper sheets, so he just has a clear plastic envelope-style wallet to slip them all into.

As a member of secondary staff, it's been a revelation to me how much 'parental involvement' it's taken so far to get ds1 off on the right track. I know he will soon be able to take responsibility for it all himself, but he really does need support getting the routines designed, sorted, and established.

Hope everyone has a good week next week.

DS is carting his books around also.

Thanks Roisin I was wondering if that might be the case. A work colleagues DD has got all her excersise books and doesn't have a locker so is having to cart then all around with her. I've bought a load of plastic A4 wallets so DD can put done homework in those.

We have just been out and bought some coloured folders, going to put a sticker on each with the day of the week, then when DS1 does his homework he can put it into the relevant folder so in reality the night before it is due in all he has to do is put the folder in his bag and all homework for all lessons is there. At the moment any homework he has done seems to be lying around in various places!

He has still got quite a bit of homework to do, so after I have had a quick tidy round am going to go through it with him.

ds1 has been going early for lunch too. I'm not sure when that will stop though. At my school it goes on for about 3 weeks I think.

Magentadreamer - I'm shocked in the other direction. At my school students rarely take any books home. If they have homework it's often done on paper rather than ex books, as the expectation is that students will lose things.

ds1 has brought home an exercise book from practically every subject so far. Even when they are just blank books with just his name/details on the front! He says they have to get into a routine of having a storage area at home, and checking their timetable the night before to work out which books they need to take with them. And if they forget their book, PE kit, or Perf Arts uniform they get in big trouble. It sounds great to me, to get them into good routines of managing their own stuff.

Anyway, he's had 6 homeworks so far and has completed 5 of them. One more later this afternoon then he can have Sunday off

I hope we get a homework timetable soon, so that we can plan it. He likes the idea of doing a stack on one evening, then having the next day to chill out.

DS1 has informed me that he will have to run for his life next week to the lunch queue as this week they have been going in 20mins earlier than the rest of the school and from next week it will be the same time

I gently asked him about the teacher (who is really lovely by the way) and her calling him by DS2's name etc and he started to fill up and said it had annoyed him . So I left it at that. Then 5 mins later he came into the kitchen upset and said he did not want to play anymore, I gave him the option of a couple of weeks off to decide and the tears just streamed down his face so I have left it. He was so upset it brought tears to my eyes

TheGirlWithGreenEyes - hopefully the swipe card will be sorted for your DD on Monday. Yes, I agree with you that packed lunches would be cheaper, we are giving DS £2.50 a day which he is spending, but I think he wanted to do what the majority were going to do!

Roisin - I am sure he will find the vegetables next week, everything is a bit of a blur when queueing up.

Another shock (for me) is that they get turfed outside at break and lunchtime in the rain, have been used to them having indoor play at primary in poor weather.

I am slightly annoyed with dds school - firstly I thought there was a standard price for a meal (as in primary) but a few things to choose from - apparently not so... Then I sent dd in with the exact amount for meal of the day to find out they had put up the price since last year without telling anyone.....

Then they finally sent home the swipe cards which are to be used instead of sending in money - great idea I think so I go onto the website and transfer some money onto it. The school has said nothing in the letter home about how long it takes for the transaction to go through but the website says about 10 minutes so I assume it will be ok for her to use the next day. Send her in with card but no cash and of course the card doesn't appear to have any credit on it . At least they gave her a meal and are supposed to be looking into it....

Wish she would have a packed lunch as it would be so much cheaper. Hopefully when the Yr7's stop getting sent to lunch early next week the novelty will wear off!

I remember when I was back in High School we had to put dust covers on all our text books. DD hasn't bought a single book be it a text book or an excersise book home! She says all are collected in after the lesson! I find that a bit odd and I fancied a peep at what they had done/will be doing!

She's had a great week. Nothing lost so far -she informs me her dinner card is in her locker as it wasn't in her bag last night. And if it isn't she said she'll go to Student Services and ask them for another one.

Homework wise we've had a few bits to do and she's just got on with it after a bit of chill out time when she comes back from school. Hopefully when it gets more she'll settle into a good routine of getting it done when she first gets it - I don't want the Sunday night tears of I've got sooooo much homework ll to be in tomorrow

She's also going to find out about the girls footie team,an after schools dance class plus the book club.

I'm just relieved she's had a good first week and appears to be settling in ok. I know it's early days but it's great to hear her so excited about school and all the different stuff she'll be doing.Hopefully the novelty won't wear off too soon!

MaryAnn - what's with the decorating of books? DS1 has to do this also. I am sure I did not get to do this when I went to secondary (but that was not a long time ago!)

I think this week has finally got to him as for some reason his guitar teacher tonight called him by his brother's name and DS1 got very upset and said he did not want to learn to play anymore - and he loves his music and guitar. I was at work unfortunately and I have only had a quick conversation about it with DH when I got in. I will have to tread carefully tomorrow morning with DS.

No vegetables .

We will have to move on to proper budgetting next week, she might not fit into her skirt by then though!

He is choosing proper food (lasagne, chicken korma, etc.) ... but hasn't yet discovered where the vegetables are ...! He told me he didn't think there were any

I'm pleased how ds1 is handling his money. On the taster day he told me everyone else had £3, and I said tough he was getting £2.

He actually gets £2.25 as his bus fare is £1.75. This is not enough to buy a drink (rather than have water) and have a main meal and a pudding. So it is making him really look at the prices carefully and consider his options.

If he has a surplus he can carry it over to the next day/week if he wishes. He quite fancies a bacon buttie as a treat before school or at breaktime, but the queues are very long at breaktime and he doesn't want to get up even earlier to catch the early bus!

Hiya all, can I join in? .

DD started high school on Wednesday so I have read your posts with interest, she loves it and has made lots of new friends but I made the mistake of driving her in for the first few days and didn't bank on the horrific traffic jams!! DS1 and DS2 have been late at their primary every day as a result!

Also didn't bank on quite how much she would eat, she is managing to spend about £4 a day on food, (bacon roll first thing, mid morning snack, lunch and a daily slush drink, urgh), she is underweight so I am pleased that at least she's having something! today she bought us all a piece of flapjack at the school tuck shop because the packaging had the school crest on!!

Well, ds1 had a "really good" day today - the only teacher (thus far) he's not keen on is the science one - who told them the rules, but in a way that implied they'd already broken them

He's found out that at lunchtime you can go and use the instruments in the music rooms (he played the keyboards today) and that there is also a room where you can play chess and other board games, or you can go to the library and read or do homework. And he had pasta for lunch but no snack this morning as the queue in the canteen was too long.

He told me he is really glad he's at that school (he didn't get in at our first choice - cue much secret angst on my part) and that he "can't wait" til Monday He's never said that in 7 years of primary!

I know it's early days yet but I am so relieved he's happy.

Ds2 on the other hand is having a horrible time with his new teacher (year 2) - if it's not one thing it's another, as my Mum would say.

ds1 has had a great week ... except for today! He had PE P1 today with "a psychotic PE teacher" he told me Apparently scared the living daylights out of them about getting changed quickly, then they had to do tag rugby in the pouring rain and lots of mud. (ds1 not impressed).

But then I think he spent the rest of the sulking about PE!

I'm trying to persuade him to go and sort out a locker, then he can dump his sports gear after PE instead of having to lug it around all day long.

He's got homework to do already for 6 subjects, which is a bit of a shock to the system. But none of it is very arduous.

If there is fish and chips on at DS1's school - he will be in his element!

I did offer to drive DS1 and his friend the very very short distance to the bus stop this morning so they would not get wet - they declined! I asked him if he wanted to wear his waterproof jacket instead and he said no he will be warm enough in his hoodie/fleece thingy. Suppose I have to let him get cold/wet if that is the way he wants it. Oh and he is not a pupil now but a student!

Glad it is all going ok for you too ladies.

Yes, me too - only an hour til I have to pick up ds2