New Year 7 tips...

[starryeyed19]

I was wondering if anyone had any tips that would help with my DD starting Yr 7 in September? What do you wish you had known before your child started? What really helps? What really doesn't?

All advice gratefully received

I was terrible for misplacing my books, mum bought a magazine rack and all my books went in there so I didn't loose them.
I had an emergency period kit in my bag once I had started which I think was year 9 but each girl is different
I would buy a load of new stationary. Get a large packet of good pens and leave at home for spares and keep two at a time on her. People will not give them back if they ask to borrow them
She will want a scientific calculator but make sure to name it so she doesn't loose it or get it mixed with school ones
Ensure her pe kit is packed the day before
Keeping a copy of her time table on the fridge always helped and when mum was making dinner she could ask if I had any home work for x y z
I would carry hand sanitizer/ packet of wipes lip balm, pads, tissues for any times I needed

My dd starts September and I'm noting all the tips here. Very helpful.

Rofl at 'just bring sports kit home at weekends'. Once a term is the best mine manage!
Take photo of homework and lesson timetable.
Buy multi packs of plastic rulers, protractors and pens to replace when needed.
Get a whatsapp going with other parents if possible

Once a term?!
Mine bring home after each wear, straight in the wash, it stinks!

All three of ours are / have been at schools where officially they are not allowed to keep dirty games kit in their lockers so the expectation is that stuff is brought home after each use. If they have showers and therefore the used kit will include a damp towel, you really don't want that sitting around unwashed for any longer than necessary...

On the house keys front, when DS1 started at secondary school, we bought him one of the key rings on an extending cable, but found that after a while, the clip damaged the blazer pocket to which it was attached.

Bear in mind that whatever cunning plans you come up with to make your DCs life easier, they are likely to be firmly rejected if your child feels they might make them stand out as different. The urge to look, think and behave like everyone else is very strong. Bite your tongue if it doesn't affect you eg. if lunchboxes are suddenly an abomination or pencil cases have to be tiny.

Be aware of the friendship dip which can happen around October half term. They made lots of new friends in September and everyone was on their best behaviour socially. By October some people start showing their true colours and others will turn out not to have so much in common as it first seemed. Reassure your child that they don't have to be BFF with the person that sat next to on day one.

This is all incredibly useful, thanks for sharing, everybody!

My DD has a basic Nokia at the moment. I imagine she will be very isolated socially if she doesn't have a smartphone, is this true?

Do school clubs and societies usually communicate by WhatsApp?

Following with no shame. Was actually thinking of starting a similar thread this morning. Thanks, op and everyone who has contributed.

Neither of my DCs schools communicate officially by Whatsapp but it is useful if you can get one going with any other parents you know in the year group, then if you or your child miss an official communication, or something in a letter from school isn't clear you can check with other parents.

Mine both bring PE kit home at least weekly for washing and it does need it.

WhatsApp has been both a good and bad thing for both my Yr7 DDs.

Bad because some of them don't think before they message and arguments & misunderstandings have happened.

Good because they use it to message about homework and help each other out if somebody has forgotten or mislaid work.

WhatsApp is now 16+ so not suitable for Y7

WhatsApp my be 16+ but if the majority of your DC's peers use it, then NOT being on it, will make their social life harder. Better to let them use it, with safeguards.

PE has been cut to the bone in lots of schools. DD (Y7) only has 3 sessions a fortnight and doesn't participate in out of school sport. Washing her PE kit once every half term is more than enough.

Placemarking as lots of v useful advice on this thread -l

Not having whatsapp is (or can be) very isolating. We allow it with a one strike and it’s gone proviso.

Don’t be alarmed if all the lovely new stationary you buy gets “customised”. Ds has to have his pencils no longer than about 4cm long, sharpened both ends. This is cool apparently. And all pens have bits snapped off and look like they’ve been run over by a steam roller. Also cool

Ds would rather poke his own eyes out than wear his door key on a lanyard type affair.

Most forms of name labels for clothing are deeply uncool and are not permissible. Marker pen is acceptable.

Sadly this kind of thing is only revealed after they’ve started so be prepared!

Also approach water bottles with caution. The height of cool at ds school is a reused lucozade sport bottle

And don’t even think about putting a Frube in their lunchbox

I’ve told DC to pay close attention on her day visit to School bags and
School shoes so we know what styles are acceptable or not

To relax. The kids will be just fine. The one thing that gave my one confidence was she memorized the school map they gave her, of how to get to her classes. She found all sorts of back stairs and corridors to get to class on time. It helped her a lot and other kids wanted to know how she knew all the routes to class totally her doing. I didn’t know until months later she followed her map and it really help. (New secondary schools are big and foreign so I suppose this helps with organization).

Find out which bag to buy (brands/rucksack/shoulder. Sounds ridiculous, but my poor ds was bullied badly because he had the wrong bag

Buy a spare tie, it saves a big panic when they lose the one they were wearing, obviously must have one for the following day and you don't find out until 2 minutes after the uniform shop has closed for the day.

Love all the Cool rules, Piggery! Already a certain amount of all that in Y6, but clearly, they will get more exacting. No point trying to second guess them though cos I bet every class/cohort/friendship group has different ones. Kids eh? I suppose we were no better in our day.

Yy to a spare tie. £4 well spent as ds has needed his loads of times. We’ve also got a spare pe top but they’re only £5 as well.

Boys seem to be happy with Nike/Adidas rucksacks here. Not bright. But yes obvz that varies greatly. They’re all still in Clarks/Clarks style shoes so not had any cool drama on that front yet lol.

The urge to look, think and behave like everyone else is very strong. Bite your tongue if it doesn't affect you eg. if lunchboxes are suddenly an abomination or pencil cases have to be tiny.

^
This

Lunchboxes and pretty/ fluffy/ themed pencil cases are uncool as is wearing a coat even if it is raining. Having the right backpack and shoes seems to be very important.

Agree with PP about tiredness. I had to re-introduce a children's 5pm teatime, ds previously been happy to wait till 7pm for an evening meal. Try to get homework done before 7:30-8pm and enforce a weekday bedtime ( I personally don't think this should be any later than 9pm)

I saw something somewhere where a school had sent out a chart for bedtimes. It hade age ranges and showed how what time you had to get up effected what time you should go to bed. It was brilliant but I can’t find it

Found it