Neue Stifte, neues Maeppchen: new German school thread

[finknottle]

Am starting in positive manner as we're 7 weeks into the new school year and all 3 of mine are settled and happy.
Well, d won't be if she does have head lice and has to stay off because she loves school so much.
S1 is in the second year of secondary & still thriving. Is class prefect for the first time which was a great ego boost.
S2 is in Y4 & has been doing better in class but his test results are still lousy (unfortunate choice of phrase if we are lice-ridden) and his teacher is convinced it's the language issue. He's trying harder which is a good sign. He lost the prefect election by 1 vote to his best friend and was chuffed to bits to be his "deputy" and that so many voted for him.

Had forgotten how wonderful the "erste Klasse" is.

I'll join you then, h also only sees it that way too

Finknottle, lets hope the teacher does stay away after half term then - but hope it doesn't go like our Klassenlehrerin last year, she went off sick in January and never came back but they didn't bother with a replacement teacher 'til well into May. The year 4's spent most of their schooling hours playing outside in the courtyard unsupervised. Some of them even used to go shopping at Lidl round the corner because no one was watching.

I think it would be a shame tbh, she tries so (too?) hard but has little experience or confidence.
S2 reports she has been getting more ratty lately but yesterday's shriek-fest was totally out of character. I think she needs more support from the head & the parents. She had a lousy start, none of it her fault but made her even more anxious, and anyway, she only came in to Y2, then stayed for Y3 & Y4 with the class as they'd had 5 teachers in Y1 & first half of Y2. Can't face another change.
She does so much preparation, esp since these weekly plans started, and gives so much. I think Things have been going on behind the scenes, fall-out from the parents mtg where again, she was in the right, the class has more than its fair share of loony parents.
Will doubtless discover in time, did I mention I'm on the Schulelternbeirat now? And the head is no longer my arch-nemesis but new best friend?
My how times have changed...

Oo, good for you finknottle. I half considered volunteering to be Elternvertreter for dd's class. Noone wanted to do it and it was only after about 10 excruciating minutes that someone reluctantly said they would. In my defence I feel I don't know the other parents very well in dd's class but basically I just couldn't face it. The parents meetings are strange affairs. At the one before last the teacher spent the whole time telling us how dreadful the class were.

There is one mother in the class who is extremely precious about her daughter and complains every time she thinks anything is getting in the way of her education. This is the girl who always gets a 1 in every test and also had the leading part in the school play. Jealous, moi?

Anyway at the last meeting some of the parents were saying how they thought it would be a shame if the teacher doesn't take them to the Landesschulheim (?) and precious daughter's mum says through bared teeth, "well, if some parents here made more of an effort to make sure their dc behave the teacher might be more inclined to take them." Ouch!!

This mother is one of the Elternvertreter so you'll perhaps understand why noone else wanted to do it

What sort of stuff do they discuss in the juicy meetings?

Better had be juicy now! Going by what friends of mine have told me who've been on it for years & by my helping out with projects you just get to see what the teachers are really like and how they squabble They tend to treat you differently too which after the last couple of years can only be to our benefit.

Seriously you get not only a view behind the scenes but also the chance to air your views, something you don't normally get here. I also think I complain enough & only fair really to do my bit & get involved.
Also will be choosing new maths books and the current ones annoy me so am being productive and not just after the gossip.

Have been stuck inside all day, cold & drizzly out and I don't know when I last was incarcerated for so long. Better not be like this till April.

Being Elternvertreter is quite good really - I did it in Berlin and you get to understand more about the school and how it's run it helped me understand that a large percentage of the parents were nutters and that the head misstress wasn't all that bad - what a hard job she had to do. The year before when I wasn't Elternvertreter we sometimes heard what was going on or someone gave a short speech at an Elternabend but otherwise nothing so when I did it I always wrote up the protocol from our meetings and gave a copy to each family (ds handed them out in class) so atleast they all knew what was being talked about and what was going on. Never got a word of thanks by the way but still thought I did a beter job than previous Elternvertreter.

Can I just ask you all about the heavy school bags? My 2 are both complaining about having sore backs and their bags are really heavy - infact so heavy that I can't even carry both of them on my bike (in the basket) so they have to manage. On some days they also have sport stuff and ds has his trumpet to carry on 2 days and one day all his bloody art stuff - they have no where to leave that at school so he has to carry the famous shoe box with paints and all the equipment he'll need for art back and forth from home to school.

It's crazy. There's no point asking for lockers - unheard of luxury that parents have to pay for themselves even if they would be made available. When we get a car I'm going to join the traffic jam and drive and drop them.

Well, ds has had a massive bruise on one shoulder from the day he had to caryr his big Duden dictionary into school along with all the othet text books for that day. I try to carry it for him now. I just don't get how they all manage.

Do you think I'm wrong in not bothering to go to the collective parents evening? I don't see the point as the teacher just tells us things we will be told in letters anyway and then you have to sit through other parents asking stuff that doesn't concern me. I'd much rather have a private meeting to be told how my child is doing and such like. I never get much from these collective meetings anyway.

It's crazy, isn't it, all that stuff they have to carry to school. Dd has got better at leaving stuff at school, including her hw when it suits her . Don't know how she'll cope when she leaves the Grundschule.

I don't blame you for not going to the collective parents evening, although I suppose there is just the off chance that something really important/interesting is discussed or that you could get to know one or two of the less bonkers parents. Is it for your ds or dd?

I've been to several now and they all seem to follow the same pattern: teacher stands up and moans about unruly class, other subject teachers say the same. Then after about 1 1/2 hours everyone slinks off home except for a small impenetrable clique of parents who stand around gossiping chatting.

Exactly taipo, sounds like every Elternabend I've been to up to now! On the 11th there is one for dd and on the 18th one for ds. I don't think I'll bother going.

In Texas my niece is a science teacher and she said they would think it was their fault if a class was badly behaved or not up to standard in learning - here the teachers seem to blame it all on the parents as if they have nothing to do with it.

I'm fed up as you can tell and have been on the school website where I went to school and where I'm thinking of going back to - ds saw over my shoulder and begged me to let him go to a school like that. It got a 73% pass rate for A levels and is in the top 20 schools on some lists so it could be a good move to make.

That does sound like a really good school. The one I went to was pretty average in most respects.

How are your dc getting on in their new schools?

Hi taipo,

well I think ds is getting on OK. He's very friendly but quiet at the same time but seems to be well liked by all his class mates so no social problems and the work is still quite easy for him even though he hates all the homework (some nights it's a joke how much he gets). Dd seems to be doing OK too but - and I know I shouldn't have - I read her diary and she hates it and wants to go back to Berlin . Am quite sad that she hasn't talked about it to me and she puts on such a brave face every morning when I see her in to school. How's it going at your end?

Oh, I imagine how upsetting that must have been to read that, admylin I suppose it is early days though. We had something similar with dd last year when we moved here. Initially she was very excited about the move but once the reality of starting a new school and trying to find new friends sank in, she used to get really upset and say how much she was missing her best friend from London and how she wanted to go back to her old school. One and a half years later she still thinks about it but it's clear that this is her life now and has made new close friends. I'm very glad she's happy now but it's quite difficult for me to accept that she's becoming a German child basically and gradually becoming less and less English iyswim. I suppose it would be different if they'd been born and grew up here.

At least she's doing well at school now, after a slightly shaky start to the 4. Klasse. She should have no problems getting the Empfehlung for the Gymnasium but I've probably tempted fate dreadfully by typing that

Ds is more of a worry atm. He is a very sensitive boy and finds it difficult to make friends as he really seems to believe that other children won't like him. I also had a phone call from his teacher a few weeks ago saying that he hasn't settled very well in his class and is sometimes dispruptive which she put down to the fact that he is bored as he can read already. Therefore she suggested that we think about putting him up a year which seems to be the standard solution to any 'problem' child here - just put them up or down a year and let someone else deal with it. That may be a little unfair as I do quite like his teacher but I don't think it would be the right thing for ds atm because he's not very mature for his age and also because he reacts so badly to any kind of change. Imo he justs needs time to settle - I don't see how you can say a child has not settled after just a few weeks.

Don't do it taipo. I know I thought I was doing dd a favour by putting her up a year early and the first year was OK but the age difference shows now as she's the youngest in her class and they just seem to expect so much from them that she is quite exhausted just trying to keep up - not on the academic side but on the social side. She tries to be cool about it and play with the older girl sbut deep down she just wants to play fantasy games and run about pretending to be a vampire! The girls in her class seem so much older all into fashion and make up and pop groups already.

I've been thinking that one option would be to ask for her to repeat year 4 to give her a chance to settle in before starting the next round of problems and then I think we should just go back to the UK.

Ds has reported back that at Gymnasium the first groups have bene invited to attend Förderunterricht and he isn't so he must be doing OK. Dd has an invitation tomorrow to stay one hour longer for extra maths but honestly 7th hour on a Friday - she'll be exhausted.

The trouble is that it would be hard for her to go back a year now, wouldn't it? Dd is also a year ahead of her age group and I think it shows too. She's pretty immature compared to some of her classmates but she does seem to have found her feet there now so I guess we'll just have to see how it goes. She's at least not that much younger as her birthday is in November and one of her best friends is actually a couple of months younger than she is. Ds's birthday is in June though so he really would be very young if he went up a year. I would much rather he stayed where he is and managed to settle there and find some friends.

It sounds as though you are pretty serious about going back to the UK in the future. How would your dh feel about that, if you went ahead without him and he got to see you for long weekends etc.?

I've got a feeling ds's school is going to give the report grades only taking the Klassenarbeit results into account. I was just looking through ds's German book to see what he'd been doing and the teacher hasn't marked it since they started back at school. He says he never looks or checks if the homework has been done. They've been doing creative writing and have had to write loads but it has never been looked at. My problem is that I can't read the stuff and tell if any endings are wrong or know if he needs anything corrected.

Do they not take course work into account at all? Dd will be doomed then because she has panic in exams or when the timer is on and will only ever show bad marks. The rets of her work is great.

In dd's class it is only the Klassenarbeit results that are taken into account for the secondary school recommendation. Not only that it is also only for German and maths so it doesn't matter how good they are in any of the other subjects - none of it counts. Could be different where you are but I guess you'll need to speak to the teacher to find out.

Dd had a couple of bad marks at the beginning of term because it took her a good few weeks to get used to being back at school again after the summer holiday. Seems to have resolved itself now but if happens again then I suppose we'll have to start worrying again. By mid February it will all have been decided and then I think they do very little for the rest of the year.

That seems so unfair doesn't it? Anyway what can you expect - the system is so ready for a big change but they haven't quite figured out what and how so we'll just have to hope our dc pull through.

This week I'm going to visit a school near us where they start at 9am and stay 'til 4pm but all homework is done in school. It's a Gesamt schule so if the dc has good grades in maths but not German it's not the end of the world and they can be in top class for one subject and bottom class for other subjects but still manage the Abitur. All the other subjects like the arts are also taken into account. I could kick myself for not trying to get my dc into that school before we started with Gymnasium and stress about Empfehlung etc.

Finknottle, taipo or anyone - can you tell me if I've understood this properly. I'm starting to worry, as I thought I had it sorted out - whatever school a dc goes to here, they can do Abi if they get the grades up to a certain year. Now we got a magazine 'Eltern ratgeber' sent to us from school and it's all explaining about the types of schools and in the Realschule section it says that nowadays it's really hard to change to do Abi because of the new schnellabi (a year less than normal). Only alternative is a sort of Fachabi (what's that?) CAn tehy go to uni with a fachabi?

Now I have to decide about dd - haven't had the Empfehlung yet but I don't think she will have made Gymnasium - so that means Realschule or IGS (Gesamtschule) but I won't be guarunteed a place at the IGS. You have to give 2 or 3 alternatives when you register the dc so what do I do? If I put Gymnasium anyway, she might get in as they don't need an Empfehluing here in Neidersachsen and as her brother is already in she might get a place as they do consider Geschwister first. Or do I put a few Realschule names on the list? One colleague of h's put his dd into Gymnasium without Empfehlung and she's now doing a PhD in Chemisty so she managed OK! I just don't want to spoil dd's chances of going to uni if she wants later. It seems so unfair to have to decide now too. Sorry to go on but I think somedays, yes, I've understood it all, it's all worked out in my head and then I read something like that and start to worry.

I'm still not sure about everything that happens once they leave the Grundschule, but I have heard a lot about the stress pupils are under because of having to do the abi in 8 years instead of 9 so what you read could be true but I would guess it's not impossible to change schools.

Interesting that you don't have to have the Empfehlung. We do here (although I have heard there are ways around it - especially if you are middle class and pushy )

I think if you have the Fachabi you can't study at a traditional university but you can go to a Fachhochschule. Not sure though.

How capable do you think your dd is of going on to study later? Crazy question to ask of a 10 yo, I know but such is the system here.... You've mentioned before that she's a year younger than most of her classmates so I guess you need to take that into account. What does she think about it?

Must be hard for you to plan for stuff like this atm when you know you could be moving again soon.

Firstly ime I'd try not to panic about what happens later and concentrate on what would be the best type of school for your d now.
From my experience here in R-P:

Gesamtschule are the only ones where they stream sometimes even within the class & have more staff so e.g. the faster half can push on while the others take it more slowly. Also though they stream into Gym, Real & Haupt classes, pupils can be moved from one to the other much more easily than changing schools, esp after Y6 as Y5 & Y6 are the Orientierungsstufe. I'd def go for one for my 3 as all eventualities covered.

Gesamtschulen are usually all day schooling with Ganztagsklassen where the material is repeated & practised thus eliminating the need for homework as opposed to Ganztagsschulen which have homework supervision, parents still need to check it, you should make sure it's not the latter or the child has a long day at school & homework after it.

Don't know how your d would fare at Gym, ime, girls who happily & regularly score 2s thrive at Gym. She may struggle now and have it all click later, if she's scoring 3s, 4s, then that is an indication she may find Gymnasium tough. I know friends of s1 who had average 3s & the occasional 4 or 5 in Y4 and who are now coping with Gymnasium but swotting a lot. Others in a different Gymnasium have less stress/pressure and homework than in primary - so you need an idea of the school from parents prepared to be honest about the school.
You must have an idea from your s about the level at the Gymnasium, could she do it? If yes (even yes-ish) then I'd go for Gymnasium & Gesamt.
This may not be v lucid, am trying to do 3 things at once & have another school meeting tonight - didn't want to leave your post unanswered. You can also email me if you like.

I know we're in Austria but it's a similar set up here so can I have a moan?

Background - Been here 3 years, have decided that we're going back to UK but have to sell house so not imminent.ds1 is in the 3rd class of VS, this week he had 2 tests so lots of extra work at home.

1st was a reading comprehension type - he got full marks and high praise from the teacher because he writes such good German sentences - not "Austrian" German like his peers.

Then came LZK - about 40 words to learn, verbs in diff tenses etc... and tested in a dictation of about 20 sentences long. Poor ds made 17 mistakes in total(not the words he'd learnt but the other word in the sentences or punctuation) - so probably about a 5. The teacher complained to him saying " don't you do any work at home now that you're going back to the UK?"

Now if we never did any work at home he wouldn't get full marks in the reading test would he? I'm so cross that she said this to him, if she thinks that's happening she should get us in and speak to us, not to my son. He's obviously got a problem with these sort of tests- but does she see that? No !!

I feel better now, I'm going to arrange to see her next week to have a chat!!!

Anyone know of anything I could use to help him, my German is crap so I feel quite useless, I need examples of sentences to read out to him that he should be able to write in the 3rd class.

Thanks

Hi debinaustria, I know what you mean. Dd is so good at most subjects then she has a dictation and ends up with a 4 which totalyl knocks her self esteem - worst part is the teachers think it's all up to us at home to make sure they can do everything. There was a parents meeting recently and the teacher just nagged on and on at how bad the dc are and how they aren't up to standard but i just kept thinking well what are you doing about it?

I think you 're lucky because it really doesn't matter anymore, you can concentrate on trying to teach your ds English reading, spelling practise etc because you know he's going back into schooling there soon. You should maybe tell the teacher that's what you'll be doing. I've still got to try and decide, do I send dd to Gymnasium and hope she manages, will we maybe be able to go back to UK (depends on h's job) or do I put her in Realschule and half ruin her chances of going to University later. No idea and I hate having to plan her life like that and having to make the decision now.

Hey, have you tried selling your house on MN? There are so many moaners who are fed up with life in UK you might find someone to take over the business! We all want to go home and they all want to get out, atleast that's what I read on quite a few threads.

Hi, thanks for the reply, The problem is that because we don't know how long the house will take to sell(1 year, 2 years, 3 years)if I started giving up on the German now and concentrating on the English then ds would certainly suffer in school here, but I leave it too late to concentrate on English he's going to suffer at school in the UK - AARGH!!!

I really hope that your dh's job means that you can move out of Germany soon and you won't have to make the Gymnasium decision.

good idea about selling the house on MN