Starting secondary support thread 2

[PenguinPandas]

Support thread continued.

Not been asked to buy any, I did buy a few as DS missing so much school but none have been opened yet. Both mine attendance is at 91% so am hoping no migraine this month for DD, might hit half term. Only a week until half term!

We have been asked to buy a science revision-guide and something else for English. Haven't seen either of them - apparently they are kept at school!

Thank you Penguins and dobbins - she is good with a ball there is no doubt.

We get asked to buy a selection of revision books. Generally I buy them. I think there have been occasions that they've been used. Don't know why I bother.

Dread to think what ds' attendance is. It was just over 90% at the end of term, but he's missed several days this term. Dd2's is unusually high for her, and dd1's is, as always for the last 10 years 100%. I wish she could share some of her stoicism with them, but she could also do with sometimes being able to take a day off when she's ill as she usually goes anyway.

Thanks. They seem to be following the SATs, so it's Maths, English Science assessments. I think I may buy the science ones, as DS2's primary barely did any and DS2 is motivated to try and catch up. But there's a choice of foundation or higher and I don't especially want to buy both, so will see if I can get some more information first. This is apparently a new thing for the school. I'm pretty sure DS1's school do end of year assessments in all year groups across all subjects, which I thought was normal tbh.

I think DS2's attendance is 89%, and it's 90% that triggers the AO. We shall see what happens!

DS has now managed to go from excelling in Nov to developing in Dec to emerging now in French. DH is French but DS seems to be test refusing in French. He seems only to be able to focus on so many subjects and rest get abandoned - both DD and DS got top of year in their maths exams and DS seems to score well in geography, science and RE.

Tried to help DS by doing some geography homework but got told its no use, argh, apparently as I won't have included enough jokes - I have 2 in but you need 10. 4 days to half term here, hoping no illnesses as at 91% for both, DD is normally 100% every year but migraines have hit her hard.

DD has gone down with another migraine so off home today. Last night she said she wouldn't complain if I did her homework then asked me to do their group presentation on chromatography. I did it and she said thanks it looks very professional though did you just download it? I said no and she said I think I need to make this less professional.

Hope DD is feeling better Penguin LOL at toning down the presentation to look less professional.

I've had to collect DS2 ill but I expected it as he wasn't look great this morning. He has his report! The only real surprise was PE wasn't his worst grade . He had good Attitude for Learning for all subjects apart from science, which was a surprise to him as he has been really enjoying it. Highest possible grade for maths allowed for the end of Yr7. He's said the pace is really slow and he did the Yr8 maths test and got 100% in that too. It's always been his best subject, but I'm not sure he's really a year ahead good, so I do wonder a bit about the school's general approach to maths...

Hope your DS is feeling better soon Dobbins and that sounds like a good report. DD was supposed to do the group presentation today and was asleep this morning as ill so I e-mailed my "professional" version to science teacher as none of others have done any work on it, expect I will be in trouble with DD but happy science teacher. Senco has just sent me cahms forms so added our bit and sent them back. DD woke up for lunch but otherwise pretty dead.

At less professional. I can see dd2 saying that.

I decided to take a day off as I wasn't feeling brilliant, so let dh take the car. So I got a call about 11:00 saying could we pick ds up as he'd ben sick. Had to get dh out of work.
Dd1 is saying no one who is sick can come near her as it might effect the rest of her life. She has a sort of point, in that she needs to finish A-level coursework in the next couple of days, and it could easily drop her a grade.
Dd2 is going to be extremely put out to find ds has been sent home. She sometimes takes that as a personal insult.

Ds is extremely smug and showing very little signs of feeling sick now. He's planning on baking this afternoon. So far he's told me he's going to make chocolate cake, fruit cake, scone and cherry buns.

Hope he gets better soon Witchend

I think he is better
He's singing at the top of his voice and demanding food.
"No school tomorrow" seems to be top of his choice words at present.

I suspect dd1 and dd2 might have slightly different choice words

No haircut here since last August penguin . I trimmed his fringe myself a month or so ago after he threatened to do it himself!

Wow we could start a which DS has refused a haircut for the longest competition on here, think yours may have won Cheminotte Think DS was late last year but DH always insists on not getting much cut off so he will want to go next time- argh, like that works.

DD didn't take her migraine medication as she's "saving it as there's only 6" - should get her to join one of those Brexit prepping threads. She says its not as bad as last two. Hope she can go in tomorrow and Friday otherwise she will go under the dreaded 90%

Ds was August too. I insisted on it before he started school. I haven't even trimmed the fringe. Apparently it's good to hide behind in lessons he doesn't like and doze.

Yes I insisted like you Witchend and had about 3 days of complaints afterwards that it was too short. But it was still long enough for him to have had comments about it from day 1.

Got to choose DDs year 9 options soon - she's in year 8. Am looking at GCSE options and there's a lot.

Looks like compulsory next year is Eng x2, maths, double or triple science (and less PE), French and/or Spanish and RE but as 1/2 a GCSE, geography and history. Then they get to choose 4 out of business studies, engineering, food tech, design and technology and art, music, dance and drama. Business studies doesn't go to GCSE. She's very keen on engineering and links to companies here so makes sense. Design & Technology you can't take to GCSE with engineering - maybe useful though not sure. Food tech, well she's a veggie! She was very keen on business studies but its something else like OCR though the year 9 options you don't need to take to GCSE but if you don't take them you rule it out. She's vaguely thinking of engineering but wants double science to do PE more, think she might be better with triple though maybe double plus engineering is sufficient - triple is also an extra one, engineering a replacement so 9.5 or 10.5. Not keen on her doing loads unless good reason. She's very academic but lazy, quite maths / science preference though not biology. They do GCSE Stats too. DH is an engineer so should be able to help - I know they have trouble recruiting British students as they don't like education system here for engineering.

DD was back in school today and came home and asked me if I had sent her science presentation for the group to the teacher. Said yes as she was ill and asleep. She said everyone didn't know how it arrived and a couple of boys said to me there's no way you wrote a presentation that well done

Well I had a call from Ds’s HoY to tell me how they have dealt with yesterday’s incident. DS hadn’t actually told me! I asked him why not when he got home and he said so as not to upset his little bro (Y4 and already getting stressed about secondary so we asked DS to be a bit less negative in front of him). So good news and bad news.

Hope everyone has a lovely half term next week.

DD is asleep and DS says he has 4 homeworks but can't remember what English homework is and has no password for Show my Homework. He said English maybe poetry or anarchy and can guess which of those two is likely to happen if ask him to do that one! DH is off to France for a couple of days. Will be nice to have kids at home but fairly boring week with meh weather.

DS's views on DDs option choices Art / Music / Drama / Dance / Food Tech - all pointless subjects, can't make money with art, music or drama and you can learn to cook at home. Engineering & D&T he may do but business studies he knows everything already so nothing they can teach he so he only wants two choices not four. [Grin] Though he did add he enjoys drama. sure the drama teacher will be delighted he creates quite a lot of his own drama in drama. He says he won a sweet in science.

hmm what was the deleted message about? was it a spammer?

cheminotte I hope DS1 is o.k, bless him for keeping it to himself so as not to upset his little brother.

I have to get DS1's option sorted penguin and he just won't discuss it at all. Would your DS like to pick some for him . DS1 gets to drop one as he's in the ASD provision, he said that made him feel a bit guilty, so I said he was more than welcome to do the full lot. "not that guilty" was the reply!

DS2 made it in for his last day before half-term. He's been struggling a bit with English so I've bought some stuff which will hopefully help a bit. DS3 has an ear infection and impetigo on his face, so I have no idea how I'm going to entertain the nursery teddy DS4 brought home. Maybe I'll photoshop it into interesting places!

It was an advert for an education company with spelling errors.

I am sure DS would love to give his advice. There are few subjects that aren't pointless though so you may get just maths and economics on the list, everything else is a waste of your time. Engineering got a meh and science the same but English and practical subjects should be banned.

Really good advertising campaign then

DS1 would definitely support the motion for English being banned. It was his best subject at primary but he is struggling so much I'm not sure he'll even be able to take the exam. It's a shame really, as he can produce wonderful stories etc but his skill-set falls outside of the curriculum.

Speaking of GCSE English, DS2's school does one of the English GCSE's in Yr10. Is this normal? I'm sure DS1's doesn't.