Is there a 'my pfb starts secondary this Sep' thread going yet?

[MidnightVelvetthe4th]

As I could do with one, I have no idea what to expect!

If anyone could point me in the direction of any such threads that would be great :)

I think you'll be more likely to see a thread on offers day onwards when everyone goes from denial to fretting about details like shoes and school bags.

What do you feel like you don't know, MidnightVelvetthe4th? My pfb is starting in September, but I've been a secondary school teacher for 20 years, so I'm a bit blasé about it .

My PFB is starting comp in September too. I'm a little nervous because he only plays out the front on the green with all the other kids, and in September he'll be WALKING to school over a mile away.

Does everyone find out on 1st March? will everyone log on at 6am before work to find out or is that just me

I don't know anything merciful! Nothing at all about secondary except its bigger than anything he's used to. Scares the bejesus out of me! He's very young for his age, whilst all of his friends are walking in a grown up fashion he's the one bouncing along shooting things by himself...he's a bit left of centre.

Same here GingerNut he will be walking by himself :)

Our choice is more about keeping him out of one school though than an actual first choice, so if he gets either of our first 2 then its all good. And I do appreciate how lucky we are to even have a choice!

My psb is starting in September. pfb did GCSEs last summer.

Preparation

• start looking now to see what bags current y7s have, and what shoes/coats
• make sure they can handle method of travel to new school
• think where they will work and store books

Things to know when they start:

• lots of schools have 2 week timetables which is confusing. Stay abreast of which week it is. have coy of timetable up somewhere visible
• help them pack their bags initially until they can do it themselves
• get into habit of doing h/w as soon as possible because you don't know what you'll be given tomorrow
• plastic tubs for food tech!

Behaviour - new rules for Secondary

• ignore bad behaviour of others unless it is e.g. drugs which should be reported
• don't act like Hermione Granger in lessons
• remember a bad impression takes ages to unmake so behave for your new teachers

Also

• they grow up a lot between now and July
• and then a lot over the summer
• and then a lot Sept&Oct

A4 coloured plastic wallets are useful for keeping stuff for one subject all together
A separate pencil case for home and school bag stops them forgetting to repack it

I guess I'd better join this thread… DS1 off to big school in September. Just waiting for offers although it's pretty much a dead cert.

Yes, waiting for the email on 1st March here too! My pfb is one of the oldest as he is an October birthday but he is still such a baby.

DH and I were discussing this evening whether we need to have the talk about the tooth fairy and Father Christmas soon. He got 50p last night from the tooth fairy and still seems very innocent.

He has taken the bus to primary school alone once of twice already as practice and that went well. I'm more worried about him being bullied.

ignore bad behaviour of others unless it is e.g. drugs which should be reported

To clarify

I mean stuff that doesn't affect your DC such as not doing work, scribbling on books etc. i.e. no telling tales. Obviously anything that affects their concentration, or if they are being picked on/bullied does need action.

PFB going in September. She has friends at both potential schools already so I will be grilling their parents after March 1st. She goes to a maths group at one of the schools and they have had several taster days already with two more to come. It's only a fifteen minute walk away so I have let her do those walks by herself to get used to it. The roads are busy but safe and there are lots of children going in the same direction. Didn't stop me from following her like a totally inept secret agent the first time or two.

I have to keep reminding myself that DD (confident, bright, relaxed) is not me (anxious, unconfident, anxious) and her school experience will not be the same as mine. She is really looking forward to it so I am keeping all my wobbles to myself.

Ginger DD started in September, and I only said to her yesterday that I couldn't have imagined a year ago that she'd be walking into town by herself, shopping for clothes, and having lunch with her friend. She's grown up enormously since the end of primary - mostly in a good way.

My dd1 starts in sept too. Thus far she has never crossed a road alone and still is an go and TF believer. So much growing up needs to happen as she will be getting the train to another town to school, no matter which offer we receive. I am relying on those who say lots of changing will take place between now and then! Enjoying these last precious primary school months meantime anyway.....

Fc not go

Some questions:

Are they assessed right at the beginning of first term and put into sets?
Are these sets rigid?
Do they work at tables like primary or desks like I did in days of yore?
Do they keep textbooks at home and have to remember which book to take in each day?

Thanks

I would advise travelling the school route with them several times, making sure they know what buses / trains to get, what stops to get off, having an emergency plan, (alternative route if bus / train is cancelled).

Get them used to packing bags, remembering what PE kit to take in on which day now.

Doing homework straightaway and if possible doing most of the weekend homework on Friday evenings to be able to have a proper break at the weekend.

Reminding them that school isn't just for learning, it's for fun too and encouraging them to join clubs and try new activities :)

Ds is starting in September, too. No idea which school he will be allocated (due to living in an tricky area), which is causing some angst at the moment! Ds quite blasé, but he is very young for his age, and I worry about him...

My pfb is starting high school in September too. I can't believe it!
I'm worried about bullying. Most of his friends are girls, and his interests are traditionally "girly". I don't know if he'll get picked on or if he'll meet more like minded friends as high school is much bigger with way more people. Hope it's the latter

iPaid I can answer your questions

Are they assessed right at the beginning of first term and put into sets? Depends on the school. Many schools do CAT testing in September (or even going up day in July) and use it to inform setting. Some schools set (or stream) from the start based on SATs. Some schools set after a couple of weeks or after half term. Some schools don't set at all, or only set for Maths.

Are these sets rigid?
As far as I can tell, streams are often rigid. Sets should be more fluid with the possibility of adjustment after the first half term and termly after that. For the 3 subjects DD1 was set in for y7, she moved sets in all of them during that year.

Do they work at tables like primary or desks like I did in days of yore?
Depends on the school and the subject. They are likely to be tables but generally laid out like desks iyswim.

Do they keep textbooks at home and have to remember which book to take in each day?
Depends on the school. At DD's school only MFL textbooks come home, and even exercise books tend to stay in school. Other schools everything is kept at home. N.B. This will affect what type of schoolbag your DC requires.

Hope that clear things up

Thanks TeenandTween!

One more question: does the school provide exercise books or is my DD correct when she says I have to take her to Paperchase in July and let her choose her own

Another one signing in here.

I must say I was more worried about it until our local school had an open day - it was absolutely amazing. They put so much effort into it, ds had great fun joining in with a drama lesson and setting stuff on fire (safely!) in a science lab, we saw all over the school and got a real sense for it. If you haven't already done a visit to your school of choice I really would recommend one, it's made me feel (somewhat) more reassured. Ds does a maths workshop there every week as well so feels like he knows the place.

He's another one who's very young for his year (June birthday) so I do worry about how he will cope in the big school. Particularly if he's not put in a form group or whatever they're called with some of his closest friends. Pretty confident of getting our first choice school as it's our nearest but still a slight niggling worry about that too!

I guess the other thing is that we have to get SATs out of the way first - I'm not going to put much effort into worrying about high school until they're done. One crisis at a time.

I'm in too. My pfb is laid back and fairly confident, he'll cope (I'm telling myself!). But he still believes in father christmas.

Thanks for the tips on this thread.

And a good bag is important. They carry a huge weight of crap around all day. And even if they have lockers, they rarely get used. Some are terrible for their backs.

For some schools yes.

DDs school exercise books and text books all stay in the classroom, so the amount DD1 had to carry was minimal.

Which is why it is helpful to have a look to see what kids for your school use for bags. Mainly rucksacks / large bags and they have loads to carry. Large amounts of girls carrying something tiny means more is kept in school.

tribpot All the schools round here take input from the primary schools on who the kids should (or should not) be in a form with. They try to keep them with at least someone they know and get on with if at all possible.

Thanks Teen, that's what I'm hoping will happen - most of the kids will come from four or five local schools so they'll need to mix them up well but it should also be relatively easy to keep at least some friends together.