To amend school newsletter

[lia66]

Bit tongue in cheek but for heavens sake, it's not rocket science is it?

"We can develop a project that can be pacifically aimed at....

[Saucery]

It is incorrect, yes, Nomore. Lazy, illiterate and incorrect and should not be leaving a school without being checked.

[honeylulu]

Thing is what are you hoping to achieve?
It won't be the teaching staff who have written it

I thought this when my son's (rated outstanding) school used to send out newsletters with horrendous clangers. They were in the name of the headmistress but I'd assumed were typed by the school secretary (whose first language wasn't English). This included every week a section entitled "Dates for your dairies" and misplaced apostrophes that nearly made my eyes bleed.
Eventually I contacted the headmistress and said as tactfully as I could "you probably don't get the chance to proofread it before it goes, but if [sec] emails it to me I can do it in a couple of minutes and send it back".
A very curt reply from the headmistress informed me that she did indeed scribe it herself. Oops.

[Nomoreworkathome]

Lazy, illiterate and incorrect

Wow. You sound lovely.

[Butteredpars1ps]

But perhaps the project is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean?

Seriously though, I write the newsletter for our PTA and it doesn't matter how many times I check it. I always see an error after I have pressed send.

[wishparry]

Oh my goodness.my dds newsletters often have mistakes in them.it gives me the rage because it comes from a place of education.
I also went to a new park today and got a little wound up because there was a plastic bit at the top of the slide which listed the planets in order......well all but Uranus and Neptune that is,they had switched places.

[bumsexatthebingo]

I would see if my child could spot the spelling mistake and use it as a lesson in English and to show that everyone, including adults, makes mistakes. I did this with a sign at the school once that had an apostrophe in the wrong place. Would I use it to make someone else feel bad? No. It's not as if it will be the English teacher who wrote it.
There seems to be a trend these days of pointing out bad spelling grammar and making a big deal of how annoying you find it. And often the people who bang on about it are some of the worst offenders and not too happy when someone helps them out by pointing out their own errors

[Saucery]

What, for giving a shit about standards of literacy as displayed by a school, Nomore
Lazy - not been checked by the writer or anyone else
Illiterate - are you saying it is an acceptable standard of literacy to have a word with the wrong meaning in an official document?
Incorrect - it is not the correct word. Not even close to correct.

How pointing that out defines my personality as lovely or not lovely is beyond me.

[Janey50]

Agree with Newtssuitcase I don't see how 'specifically' can be mistyped as 'pacifically'!

[kktpj]

Truly dreadful

[LadyPeterWimsey]

Ouch.

But is that worse than discovering on parents' evening as you check your child's literacy book that the teacher has written on two pieces of work, months apart: 'Good openning!'?

At least the newsletter is not meant to be read by the pupils.

[Nomoreworkathome]

No Saucery
For your really quite OTT and unpleasant response to a sodding error in a school newsletter.

[Saucery]

Which bits are you disputing then, Nomore?
Lazy, illiterate or incorrect?

Would you be happy if your DC went to a school where the Admin staff were functionally illiterate?

[Nomoreworkathome]

It wouldn't cause me anyway near the same amount of angst as it is clearly causing you that's for sure. Christ alive.... I sincerely hope nobody from your kid's school (if appropriate) makes the same mistake. I suspect you are the type who be on the phone to Ofsted.

[happyinherts]

If that had originated from my children's primary, I think a queue of parents would have already reported it to Head / Secretary in the time I'd take debating whether to or not.

A mere typing mistake is forgivable, but clearly writing the wrong word is not. At the very least it should have been picked up before being sent out. I think it's vital for educational establishments to have effective proofreading / staff who can write grammatically etc, and yes, I think it does need bringing to the Head's attention.

The fact it's being sent to parents and not children is neither here nor there. Literature should be accurately worded before being sent out.

[Burntbum]

In our newsletter today we have "pupil's", ambassador's", "school's", "educator's", "Thursday's". All plurals, not possessive. I despair and really feel like I should say something.

[ChickenLicken22]

Had a school meeting to discuss year 2 SATS the other day (which includes a spelling, grammar and punctuation test) and one of the slides underpinning the talk used "reasonNing" (capital emphasised) in a sentence. I was itching to point the mistake out. Kept my counsel.

[unlucky83]

It could be a typo that has been corrected using spell checker and the person wasn't paying attention ...I'm sure we have all done that - correct, correct, correct - oh damn it and have to go back and correct the correction...

[happy2bhomely]

I am sympathetic to poor spelling and grammar. I live in East London with my dyslexic husband, so I experience both daily, and I hate to see people humiliated for their mistakes.

I am getting tired of the 'dumbing down' that is prevalent in schools and hospitals etc. Getting spoken to like I'm a simpleton by professionals. I understand it's to increase accessibility to information, but it is patronising.

I don't judge anyone for not knowing something. I do judge people for making no attempt to learn. My SIL, for example, is looking for work. She doesn't have any GCSE's. I have suggested that she signs up for an adult literacy/numeracy class. She just happily says 'Nah, I'm no good at maths, who needs all that stuff anyway!' She went for an interview where the guy very tactfully told her that as much as he liked her, she didn't have the skills needed to do the job. All she took from that is that he liked her.

I think we do need to point out mistakes like this, in a gentle way so that people can learn. If you can't spell and type properly you shouldn't be working in an office.

I'm far from bright, I have a clutch of B grade GCSE's to my name, but I am shocked at the apparent low level of quite basic skills in our society.

[glitterazi]

OMG, I actually just cringed reading that. Seriously? Pacifically?! Was it written by Del Boy?!
I don't think I could let that one slide. That's atrocious for a school newsletter!
I'm a grammar pedant at the best of times and that one would finish me off and I'd want a lie down. Lie down being preferable to a rant and my blood pressure rocketing every time I looked at it.

[Serin]

Our best school letter stated;

"If children wish to play out in the snow, please ensure that you send their WILLIES with them in a separate bag".

Caused much hilarity!

[Beeziekn33ze]

Serin. Love it! Snow and a rude word, the kids must have been delighted!!
OP I think you should, very tactfully, bring it to the attention of the head, in person rather than in a letter or email. However it is a mistake also made by the leader of the free world ... 🙄

[HesMyLobster]

Just send this in :

[lia66]

lobster

[lia66]

serin I bet the kids loved that one. We get our newsletters by email so I doubt many kids see them except my dd who asked to read the ofsted report the other day--

[Trifleorbust]

Bloody snobs. So someone doesn't know how to spell 'specifically'. Well done for laughing at them

I bet if we did a spelling test everyone who has commented rudely here would get at least one word wrong.

Tossers.