2014 starters

[mychildrenarebarmy]

I have just been reading an old thread whilst trying to find some useful tips for September. Posting here for the benefit of others and so I can easily find it when I lose it and am panicking about my PFB going from home ed to school

Get in the habit of packing bag the night before.
Charge phone and ipad/laptop in the afternoon/evening.
Do homework when you get it. If you have a 2 week homework then do a bit every couple of days.
Make copies of timetable
Make copies of homework timetable.
Get a lanyard to attach door key and locker key to.
What to do if..... ‘list’ – for if they get lost/ill/forget lunch/PE kit/key.
Keep some change and a £5 note securely tucked away in bag for emergencies.
Get tutor’s email address.
Keep a supply of extra pens, pencils, rulers, rubbers, pritt sticks at home.
Keep a spare pencil case in bag in case the usual one gets lost.
Zippy A4 plastic wallet for letters etc.
Get a spare planner if they have to have it with them at all times but are liable to lose it.

Good list!

They also need to practice their journey to and from school, especially if commuting alone for the first time.

They need a secure pocket for bus passes, school payment cards etc.

Just beware that the best laid plans may not work. Like...
I can't see plastic A4 zip folder being practical (or used).
Never had or been offered an email address for form tutor.
Mine don't get homework timetables.
they can always get spare copy of class timetable from student centre/support.
DS won't carry more than 1 pen in his blazer, he bums other bits of stationary off the others (I can see why they have so much spare, now).
Spare planner is just something else to lug about & lose.

I'll add mine, having one in Yr 7 and one starting in September.

Buy sticky backed plastic ready for covering exercise books.
Buy a scientific calculator - the casio one that is on sale everywhere.
And a maths / geometry set.
The blazer become the life-support system, for pens, passes, keys etc. If you must wash it, empty the pocket contents into a plastic bag and put it in their school bag, so that vital scrap of rubbish note does not get lost over the holidays.
Leave copious amounts of Lynx in the bathroom and remind them to please wash their hair and use deodorant.
Coats will not be worn, ever. Ditto the pac-a-mac, gloves, hat.
Be prepared to replace the 'cool' bag with a backpack once they have realised it's more practical.
Packed lunch may be easier than canteen as Yr7s may be at the end of the queue.

Hello, can I join? DS2 starting Secondary in September. (Year 8 in these parts).

I have been through it once with DS1 (now Year 10) but feel a bit anxious as DS2 going to a different school.

Don't bother with coats/hats/gloves
Blazer is a walking pencil case
Still name everything as if it was primary, but less chance of getting lost stuff back.
Definitely pack bag night before

Following... have a DD starting in Sept too

Definitely join in Sparkling. From a purely selfish point of view, the more that do the less daunting I will find it!

The list I posted was from a thread where someone was asking about tips for when their Aspergers PFB started secondary school. That was why it was interesting to me. My DD doesn't have ASD but is 'quirky' and self-proclaimed as 'weird' ("if I wasn't weird I wouldn't be me! I don't care what anyone else thinks") Because of that she is exactly the type of child who will wear a coat when no-one else is, would use a plastic zip folder for keeping important papers in, and "why would I want a 'cool' bag. It isn't exactly going to be comfortable or good for my back is it?!"

I have DD1 in year 7 and DD2 starting in September. Also, I am a maths teacher.

I would recommend not buying a scientific calculator until you find out whether the school has a preference. The maths dept may even sell it. As a teacher it's far easier/quicker to teach the class how to use a scientific calculator if all of their buttons are in the same place!! In the past I have had to go round the whole class finding a particular function on each of up to 30 different models! Very time consuming.

In my experience most of the children do not wear a coat. I think it may be down to some schools not having lockers, so you have to trudge about with a big coat all day. This may be more a boy thing more

YY crumble DS1's school sell calculators and maths sets.

I echo what was said about calculator, make sure you get the school approved one. Also find out what the system is for labeling, lost property etc if you can. In DS's school everything has to be labeled with the form room details. It sounds odd, but there is more chance of lost property coming back to its owner that way.
Packed lunches can be a bit of an issue, DS has a very small lunch box as that is all that fits in once everything has been crammed into his rucksack. He goes to a school which doesn't have lockers and some days he has to squeeze school books and PE kit into it as he also has art or cookery stuff to take in as well. Try and get one that only takes up a small space.

Some schools provide lists of what their pupils are expected to have, it is worth having a trawl through the website or looking at what is for sale in the school shop. Some schools do a Year 7 starter stationary pack.

I would also buy lots of plastic A4 folders for the various subjects, they get a lot of worksheets in Year 7 and it keeps them tidy and in order.
Re the planner, I would just let them have the one and if they lose it they will have to deal with the consequences, they won't do it again.

If you can find someone with a slightly older child at the same school, it's worth asking them what the pupils really need (everything as specified on the uniform/equipment list? Or are plain substitutes ok for some logo items? What things is the school weirdly strict about?)

My Y7 DD complains that when the weather is really hot, they's allowed to take off their blazers. BUT because i bought her blouses without pockets she has nowhere to keen her phone/keys (bags stay in the locker during lessons).

So i'd say buy blouses/shirts with pockets!

Scientific calculator/maths sets were a must and could be bought through the school. Lots of A4 plastic folders (one for each subject) plus spare and a USB flash drive for transferrring digital files between home & school.

Sparklingbrook my DD doesn't wear a coat either (or a jumper most days) so it's not just a boy thing.

DS1 goes on the school bus Old, so I can't scrutinize the coat situation as much as I would like.

Judging by the number of both boys and girls that walk past our house, looking like drowned rats, in the pouring rain, it is definitely not just a boy thing. :D

If there are visits before the start of term, find out if they have lockers, how big they are and whether you need to supply a padlock (check size, and get combination lock, else it's just more keys to lose).

My DD is at the end of year 13 and I would add the following:

Write your mobile number somewhere safe (inside diary, inside blazer) so if they lose their phone or it is out of charge etc. they can still contact you.

DD's school was very keen on getting the kids to store work on a memory stick. This is fine until the memory stick goes missing and it has a term's homework on it. Make sure that they back up work on their computer. For extra paranoia, DD would print out a paper copy of any important homework as she went.

I agree with waiting on the calculator. If the school has an induction day, it is likely they will give details of specific items of kit they require on this day, so there is plenty of time to get it.

The biggest piece of advice I can offer though, is to get them used to being responsible for homework, deadlines, bag packing etc as early as possible. The faster they get the hang of this, the better. It doesn't matter in the big scheme of things if you forget your calculator when you're in year 7, but it does if you forget it for your GCSE exam. If they learn these things in year 7, when it is safe, and teachers, at least in the beginning, are understanding, it will be a great help to them.

Ds2 starting secondary school, ds1 starting sixth form and I'm going back to work!! DS2's first day I'll be at work so big bro will have to take him. :/

My ds will be starting secondary (age 12y6m) in August.

He's only moving "upstairs" in his current school, as he's at a fairly small specialist language provision state school, where his older and younger sisters are.

The commute won't be too bad, he can travel to start with with dd1, it's 2 buses across Glasgow.

Giving him to actually care about his education (he's very bright and doesn't have to try) will be something else!

nostress That is going to be some day!

Mychild...It will be! Eek seems like only yesterday he started junior school!

As a maths teacher can I make a plea to NOT get your DCs bendy rulers! Whilst they seem like a good idea kids play with then and stretch them so that they no longer draw straight lines nor accurately measure.

Also echo the calculator ones - if school do not specify avoid the cheap texet ones, they are a nightmare to use!

Noted Emmylou717. Having told DS off for bending the bendy ruler yesterday I understand.

I've had experience today of the 'if your child is a lone starter or coming from as part of a very small group tell the school' aspect. I'd been waiting to speak to them about another issue and when the head of the lower school called me to discuss it he asked which school she was coming from. I explained she is home ed at the moment and added that she did know at least one other girl starting and some others further up the school. He asked for her friends name so he can try to put them in the same form if we "think it would be a good thing". I would definitely add to the list now "let the school know as soon as possible if they only know a couple of people (or less) moving up".

I'm very aware that for most of us we are probably far more worried than they are!

OP, my DD went to secondary school knowing no-one at all, she was the only one from her junior school. It will probably give your DD some reassurance to see a familiar face, but there will be many who are in a similar boat so try not to worry too much.

Thank you FantaSea. She has always been fine in any new situation/setting and I think this will be no different, I'm just fussing here instead of in real life. It gets the niggling worries out without passing them on to her. I have always been able to leave her anywhere, with anyone, to do anything and it doesn't phase her in the slightest. She has more confidence at her tender age than I have ever had.