to think that schools should jolly well get their punctuation right in their newsletters?

[BellevilleRendezvous]

Just seen a newsletter from the primary school that ds will go to next year. I was surprised to see several errors with apostrophes, in particular two wrong uses of it's and its and another apostrophe before rather than after the 's'.

I know it may seem petty but surely a school should get its punctuation right?!

There was a typo in my school newsletter today

I don't worry bout it, sometimes fridays are very busy at school and the last thing the head has time to do is check the newsletter for mistakes

You would think so.

There are people who think it doesn't matter. That baffles me.

The people who ensure the education of our children can't get it right and we wonder why standards are falling.

Now typos wouldn't bother me so much ... obviously people should proofread, but typing errors happen. But not knowing how apostrophes work in a newsletter signed by the Head seems poor to me.

Yanbu that would really wind me up. I'd probably complain but then I'm petty pedantic like that.

YANBU, but some people just don't care about this.

Now IWBU if I complained given that ds doesn't even go to the school yet!!

YANBU but maybe it was produced by non teaching staff?

I have just read the chairman of the governors' annual report. It has more than one grammatical error in it.

Now I am happy to hold my hands up and admit to not being the greatest speller/user of correct grammar on the planet. However if I was the Chair of the Governors I think I would check the spelling and grammar before sending out a report!

Um, I am non teaching staff, but I have a degree and I still know where apostrophes go. How patronising!

In a recent leaflet from school there are several mistakes along the lines of:

How are pupils' assessed?
...the pupils' will receive a level...

Oh, and did I say, the leaflet is a guide from the Head of English!

YANBU

My DC go to a primary school which has: Headteachers Welcome

on the top line of its website. You might have thought someone who knew some English could have proofed it. (Like, the headteacher, maybe?)

I personally find the whole its/it's rule completely arbitrary and counter-intuitive.

The only way I manage to remember its vaguaries is it's the complete opposite of what seems logical to me!

So YABUish

@Chaotica PMSL
So they are looking for new headteachers :o

It's not arbitrary. You might not understand how it works, which I can't be arsed to explain, but hopefully you are neither a head of English nor a head teacher, cumfy.

Maybe I am. Maybe I am, poppymouse.

So glad it isn't just me who is pedantic. I was pointing out to DH earlier this evening that the letter DD brought home from school today had one spelling error & two punctuation errors in it...

yup it really riles me
I am a ta there too ...
(ex publishing)

well, not 'there' as in br's school
unless you are in midlands br?

how is it counter intuitive?
it's = it is (the apostrophe shows the missing i)
if you can't sensibly replace with it is, no apostrophe

YANBU

but newsletters are rarely written by teachers, it falls under the 24 tasks we are not supposed to but end up doing anyway do as teaching staff.

And perhaps, poppymouse you meant:

You might may not understand how it works :)

Tut tut.

trefusis - at Rode An Elephant

lol at elephant ..
but not in a good way

This isn't new.

When I was at school we were made to write Records of Achievement and were told that these would be great for when we applied for jobs etc. It being the Time Before Computers we wrote everything out using pen and paper and the result was transferred onto computer and printed for us, presumably by the secretarial staff of the school.

Mine came back riddled with spelling mistakes. No way was I showing that to any potential employer...

The only time there's an apostrophe in "its" is when it's short for "It is". There's never an apostrophe used for possession - "The cat ate its breakfast."
"It's too late to have an argument about this!"