Wouldn't you think they'd let up in the last week of term but no....

[debinaustria]

Today ds has 10 words to learn and copy out 3 times, sentences to copy, 5 times table to learn (again) - apparently he told the teacher I didn't have time for him!!!!!! and reading.

Then this week he has another times table test, a reading comprehension on Thursday, and Deutsch test - dictation on Friday. I was foolishly asking him before if they did anything special on Friday being the end of term - oh yes - another test!!!!!!!

Sympathize, Deb. Ds1 has a biology test today & an essay to write on Thursday. Ds2 has a science test today and a s*dding dication Thurs.
Gave dh the choice after supper last night: electricity or a cow's digestive system. I kid you not...
End of term jollity consists of the last two hours Friday (11-1pm) clearing the classroom so it's all tidy for next term. Ho Ho Ho.

so fed up of s*dding dications dictations I can't even write the word without the red mist descending

My year 10 class have a GCSE formal assessment on their last lesson of the term with me. Christmas or not I simply don't have the curriculum time to waste a lesson.

My sixth form classes will be revising in the last lessons of the term, but I will be giving them biscuits.

Year 7 have some christmas themed work on the planets.

Just call me Scrooge!

Mind you, on some other thread a mnetter will be bemoaning the fact that the 'Lazy' teachers are not doing work with the kids.

in frosty Germany. The Austrians obv love dictations too. Ours get 10 over the school year.
20-40 words in a text. They learn them over a week in different tenses/sing/plural etc but don't know the actual text. Then D Day when the teacher dictates the text and the marking is stringent. All letters are cursive (like calligraphy) with swirls and tails and marks lost for e.g. the loopy bit of the A not being clear or the D not exactly on the line as well as the hoofendoofen irregular verb horror.
V old-fashioned way to learn. Ds1 panics and goes to pieces.
Read a lot about English pupils being so tested - at least we don't have SATs but looking at our calendar in the kitchen, ds2 (8 - Y3) has in a 3-weekly cycle: dictation, essay, maths test, science test, music test, ethics test, start again with dictation...
Relentless.

This is primary school, btw.
And Admylin & SSSandy who are both in Berlin will be along to tell me they wish their children had as much work because they don't seem to be learning anything

the Austrian school system sounds really tough, why can't we all have something inbetween what your dc get and what our dc don't get - IYSWIM.

Not joining in any more school stuff as I'm trying to get in the mood for Christmas - even contemplating going down into spider territory (our cellar) and getting the box of deco stuff.

We are Christmassy here Ds2 & I do his homework in front of the fire, tree lights on and candles lit stuffing our faces with homemade biccies... we sound like the German Waltons

But it is nice , I must get motivated and try and get everything put up then dh might even sit down long enough to get in the mood - I'm getting sick of his bl**dy laboratory!

In Berlin they have Halbjahreszeugnisse (that was long) in January so thinking about it, mine have also had all the tests and Klassenarbeit things. I bet the teachers have to do some of the reports over the holidays as we're off 'til the 13th of January this year.

Dh is a Bah-Humbug and I have learnt to ignore him. I delegate the things he likes; buying drinks, huge quantities of meat & a useless gadget - this year for the tree. He enjoys annoying me by making fun of my Christmas efforts but in good-humoured vein. Or he gets no present
When he starts to get on my wick I play Mario Lanza at full volume.
He is v stressed with work so the dc & I do our 'thang' and he joins in when he wants. Gave up years ago waiting for him to get in the Christmas mood.

Yes Berlin reporting in : these Austrians sound like a bunch of Weicheier to me, wasting all day drinking Melange, skiing and wanting to have a good time and not understanding the true meaning of life which is saure Tage basically and the occasional frohes Fest - if I remember it correctly.

Deb I hear your pain but like Finknottle rightly guessed, I think at least they give you something to do. I spend so much time rifling through workbooks and thinking up things to do with dd at home (grammar and - groan - dictation even) since we don't get homework IYSWIM so you never know whether you're really on top of things (curriculum) or not. It's a guessing game.

As you can imagine, no work here, Christmas shows and this and that, no stress, no dictation. But where do they end up at the end of it?

Hey Admylin FGS get your tree up, will you woman?! Ours is up, it looks magical, SO nice. We have the cards up, wreath on the door, the wreath on the table and bells and whatever and the crib - everything up now. Then you light candles or sit by the light of the tree and drink wine and listen to Christmas carols.

I take it all back - apparently tomorrow and Thursday they have no homework - just work to learn for the tests!!

Just waiting for dh and ds's to get the tree in, they've been to chop one down from the garden, but with these temperatures we'll have to bring it in and defrost it overnight before decorating it!!

So it's Christmassy here too, but dh did need some persuading, he doesn't get as excited as me about Christmas

Mind you I do think dictation on the Friday they break up is OTT madness.

Finknottle, love your German Walton family. I can see you all there in your heile Welt with the vineyards around about - and I want to belong to it!

Deb maybe they're using all these tests as the basic for the January reports (if you have the same system). When do you go back after CHristmas?

arghh basis

dd has had three tests in a week
and been learning loads of spanish all written in different colours

ds is hoping she will of baked christmas biscuits today

we still have no tree

We're back on the 7th , as far as I'm aware we don't get any reports then.

We have a long break this year - as admylin said. And thank goodness too! Mind you I might well be saying something else when the third week kicks in!

Actually Deb, before I changed schools, dd was getting homework like that every day too (she was year 1 at the time so I mean the year 1 equivalent). When I think about it, a lot of it seemed fairly senseless, uninteresting so we just got through it because you had to but I didn't feel it was always that useful. It is nice not to have to do great wads of homework every night but to just practice a bit of this and that where it seems necessary. (Desperate attempt to look on the bright side there maybe)

Well it won't be till they're all 19 or so and finished with school that I suppose we'll know for sure how good/bad the various systems were!

Do you have snow yet, Deb? I see Munich had -15 forecast so I thought NightyNight and Cheechymonkey were bound to be thrilled about that.

Admylin, you're sounding weary these days. I don't think it's a crime or anything if you can't get into the mood for Christmas this year. It's hard if you're the only one trying to swing it. I have to say it's dh who goes and organises the tree, takes dd to the Weihnachtsmarkt and buys all the Christmas food/most of the presents. Don't know if I would do anywhere near so much if he wasn't motoring along with me.

Actually reading that, it doesn't sound as if I do much at all! Always feels like I do heaps though!

Wow, sounds a nit mean. No homework or bookbags at all for us this week!

Yep DD1 in year 3 sat here doing homework - Deutsch and English, no maths though as they didn't do it today all the Catholic kids trooped off to Messe instead. I have been informed this is the last homework this year. Here in Wien we have the half year report before the end of the first semester -February the 8th - I think. We get just the 2 weeks off too.

PS deb have you made it to Wien for the Christkindlmarkts yet? Am out tonight with girlfriends to drink some Turbo Punsch...

I meant a bit mean. We've had headlice this term- obviously on my mind!!!!!!

Strudelface - Vienna is a little far for the markets, we're off to Salzburg markets on Sunday for my Birthday.

hi all
bloody hell, I didnt see the forcast but it is COLD here!! I have turned the heating up.
there is lots of snow, but not in our town.

Lidl have got bedding this week, so I bought some feather pillows and a super under bed thing today.
and yep, dd has 3 probes this week - deutsch, englisch and GSE.

For the deutsch, I gave her 3 mock probes over the weekend, because she made so many mistakes in teh first one.