Is there a Year 9 thread?

[Thiswillbeinteresting]

Just wondering if there was a year 9 thread, for those thinking about GCSE options, the beginning of coursework and general school chat?

DD has gone back for her first day since March today, armed with the knowledge that she needs to pick her options over the next couple of month - could be tricky as she has no idea what she wants to do in the future

Hi

I have a DD in 9 and one DD in 10.

We pick options in 9 and then do the subjects from 10.

My year 9 doesn't go back til Friday. Gets to pick his options this year. Hoping to do computer and business studies. Not sure about his 3rd pick.. Maybe history.

Wow I really need to check on this, I know he had to drop some subjects and choose two, so he dropped drama and music and chose PE and Computer science, I have no idea when they choose the rest!

My DS Y9 was so happy to go back and has actually enjoyed it, mostly the social side of it! He hasn't been totally lonely as when they lifted lockdown he did meet up with friends for park football but wow it's been too long! He had his brother to look after on the first day as he starts Y7 and he took it quite seriously (they are not usually friends....)

Mine is home. A bit miffed that he's in a different set to his best friend after a big reshuffle, but it seems to have gone OK other than that. They had three long lessons a day now, to minimise movement around the school, so he's had a 90-minute 'getting to know you' session with the teacher who's been his form tutor since Y7, followed by 90 minutes of music and 90 minutes of English. He found it a bit boring having to concentrate on one subject for so long (lessons used to be 50 minutes, five subjects a day) but he'll get used to it.

I don't think my DS1 has been bored, but "grown up and got a bit cheeky" - mine too, but I think it's about being a Teenager as much as about lockodwn. I'm a bit exasperated with him just now because he apparently wants us to take him stationery shopping and reports having lost his scientific calculator and Maths instruments set etc etc and a lanyard for his ID and oh, all kinds of other bits. He came home from school and I had to demand that he waited and talked to me about some of the things he needs for school before he rushed out to the park.

Only then did dp come down from a Zoom work meeting upstairs and I realised DS1 had dashed out in his blazer. I am planning to buy a spare but haven't done it yet - money is a bit tight here - so he can't go out and get muddy in the park in his uniform! Grrrrrrr. I wish they'd just have "uniforms" of the primary school sweatshirt and polo with a choice of trousers, skirt, and shorts hot weather variety - it would be so much cheaper and easier to keep it clean.

But otherwise, his first day back seems to have gone ok, and if he wants me to make sure he doesn't get into trouble for not being equipped for learning, he is going to have to be sensible about it.

He is unhappy about having to bring his phone downstairs overnight, but last night it rang 5 times at 4.30 in the morning. That's not going to persuade me it's ok to let him keep it upstairs!

DD is year 9 now and has no idea what options she wants. I don't mind, but would prefer to steer her away from Art - she loves it, but the projects are mammoth and I suspect having to produce art to meet certain briefs would suck the joy out of it for her.

She's already moaned that even though the whole form is staying in their form room for most lessons, each lesson has a different seating plan so they all have to move around every hour - if that's the height of her concerns, I think she'll be fine :o

Moving around seating etc does sound like a bit of a pain, and possibly undermines the point of staying in the same room rather than moving rooms.

@RueDeWakening - my DD has the same at hers, it seems mad & unnecessary in the current situation. Can't teachers align their seating plans.

No options taken yet, perhaps next term. No idea what mandatory yet

Ds is rather pleased to be able to say that almost all teachers have let them choose their seats, and said they stay there for the rest of term at least.
That is unusual, most teachers choose seats, so I wonder if it's to do with most children will pick their friends to sit with so will be more likely to be sitting with the same children in more than one lesson. If so that's quite sensible.

Ds was off today. Not covid, or symptoms. He arrived home yesterday white as a sheet and went straight to bed feeling sick. He recovered enough to emerge from bed about half one this afternoon, before that he really was struggling to sit up.
It's unusual for him not to get a temperature (and I kept checking) with any bug, so I did some probing. Turns out he did PE first lesson. PE this term consists of circuit training, so he spent it doing sprints, sit ups and press ups, and I think he overdid it after his appendicectomy during lockdown.
I've emailed the games teachers to say approximately, not your fault, but please be aware.

However it's also brought a new question out. He had games first thing and felt bad afterwards, so I asked why he didn't go to the medical room, and get some paracetamol.
Turns out the medical room is now the covid isolation unit, and they can't get near.
I am sure there is a medical room elsewhere, but he hasn't heard. He also doesn't know where he should go if he thinks he's got symptoms of Covid. It may be that they told and he wasn't listening, but if his temperature had been coming up then I'm sure they would have appreciated him being sent home asap and not spending another 5 hours in school.

DS was too anxious for school on Thursday, second day back and spent it hiding under his blanket, not eating, drinking or speaking until school ended then a head appeared and finally he ate something but still silent.

Friday he went into school but still not communicating so we don't know what's wrong. He's suspected ASD so probably all the change. Lots of issues not being sorted atm for him and DD, just hope that improves next week. He did manage a hair cut though which is a rare event for him and now no longer looks like a sheep.

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Hi. How's everyone faring after the weekend?
We had a nice weekend but I had DD in my room in tears last night, not wanting to go to school today. This is probably the first time she's ever said that.
I think she's enjoyed being back in lessons and meeting her friends but predictably a couple of kids are being mean about either her not doing things right/being mocked for doing too much. I wonder what the school message is about kids policing other kids behaviour.

Mine has been moved into the same set as a kid who bullied him throughout primary and another who was his best friend in Y5/6 but ditched him really nastily as soon as they started Y7, so he's a bit worried about that. He only has one real friend in this set and she's a girl, but she's feisty as hell so hopefully she'll stand up for him if they start. He doesn't seem too bothered about it - he's so unimpressed that they have 100 minutes of maths pretty much every day though! The school seems to be really pushing maths, English and science, and everything else seems to be taking a bit of a back seat.

@KoalasandRabbit how's your DS been over the weekend? Poor lad. I hope he's less anxious today.

@MentalLockdown

I think it's going to be a bumpy year here. I'm seeking reassurance from DD that it's all going to be alright but reliant on her feeding back information to me but I can't ask too many questions because I need to let her have her privacy whilst trying to reassure her it will be alright.

I need a distraction!

I think it's going to settle into a state of controlled boredom, some kids are timetabled to the same classroom every lesson. Its raining today quite heavily. As if secondary school life wasn't tough enough in normal times.

I think it is going to be a bumpy year here as well! DD has really struggled getting back in to the swing of managing her homework, and she is only one week in. On top of that they are currently sitting exams which should have been done towards the end of Y8, and she is extremely worried that these results will mean more set changes. I am also trying to find the balance between letting her get on with things, and constantly nagging gently suggesting she spreads her work out over several nights, rather than cram it all in. She was so good with her work during lockdown, able to fit everything in and still have time to relax, so I am hoping that she will get back in to the swing of things!

It's really interesting reading all the comments re double vs triple science. From what I can gather, DD's school dont make that decision until the end of year exams. I know DD is hoping for triple but she knows that is dependent on how hard she works.

Hope all the DC who are struggling back at school feel more at ease soon

@KoalasandRabbit hope your DS is feeling a bit less anxious today. DD1 (ASD) refused to go to school for a good few month when she was in Y8 and we couldn't get to the bottom of it for a good while - turns out they changed the seating in the dining hall and DD just refused to go in to the whole school in case that changed as well. A haircut for your DS is good progress though

Thanks very much Spider and This Sorry your DD was off last year This and sorry about your DS set Spider

DS was happier at the weekend (no school) and went to school fine today. School said he didn't do PE today and ripped up his work in 2 lessons as he thought it was rubbish but at least there the whole day.

Oh God yes, the everlasting 2x or 3x Science debates. Fortunately our (outstanding fwiw, oversubcribed) comp ONLY does 2x although they do have top sets that go into greater depth around the edges. Whatever one may think about it, it does remove any angst about a decision!

Koala glad he's feeling better. Ds was like that in year 4 and year 7. Year 7 a really silly thing got him out of it. One of the school bus drivers after he'd dropped the children off started putting up silly notices on their screen (like "this bus is haunted" and "help! children onboard!"), so he got interested in what would be tomorrow's notices which got him in the car.
Unfortunately the driver stopped (suspect someone had complained) but thankfully by then he was over it.

He's gone in happily after his dreadful "mental health" day at school yesterday. I've never seen anyone so pleased to get back to timetable.

Thanks Witchend That's really interesting - DS loves phrases so something like that may just work and it also reminded me he's obsessed with things like Crystal Maze, Fort Bouyard etc.

Glad your DS is better now mental health day is over, my DS also hates any changes to timetable or any mental health things, rather ironic that they stress him out.

Year 9 Mum here. DD has settled back in like she has never been away aside from moaning about bubble locations and not being able to use the main canteen on a Wednesday so misses out on a roast dinner.

I think DD will only have a couple of option choices to make. As top set science she will go on to take triple science and it is more than likely that she will take 2 languages. She will take PE so that really only leaves a choice over a humanity or RS.

She has learned to be really organised with her time. She is in the England squad at her chosen sport and is now back to training 4 evenings a week so doesn't get a huge amount of time at home and as all homework is now online based she does that in the car on her laptop and so uses the 45 min each way journey to good effect.

@Hersetta427 I wish DD was as organised as your DD! She has also returned to sports training, but instead of training 4 times a week as before lockdown, she’s only doing 2 at the moment and is still struggling with that I think realistically she’ll be stopping training soon as there’s no competitions on the horizon and she’s already worried about the increase in homework.

DD has also complained about the school meals - once a week each year group has a ‘grab and go’ lunch to eat outside rather than the hot meals in the dining hall, she normally faffs around so much that there’s nothing left for her - I’m sure she’ll learn

@Thiswillbeinteresting thanks. Her league starts again first week in november (although will be friendly matches from mid October). She knows that she has to keep up both academically and with her training if she wants a uni scholarship to play sport either here or in the US which is her ultimate aim.

She has packed lunch 3 times a week and school dinners only twice (which are the days she is allowed to use the main canteen not the snack shack). she is not happy about missing roast dinners - she is very food driven !

Hi ,

Just saying hello - have a dd in year 9 and a ds in year 11.

Have yet to choose options- thinking it will be sometime in January for us

Hi @Blubell46 think it’s liking like January for us as well

Hi all, yr 9 dd here too. I was surprised how well she settled back into school routine, as she is not terribly social so was quite nervous about seeing her friends and peers again.
Today was the first morning she was a bit slow and money, but still left on time.
GCSE options here after xmas, but she has an idea of what's shes picking/dropping.

School said they would set less homework to ease the pressure for now. Interesting... He (and I'm sure other children too) had a way too much downtime during the lockdown and summer holiday as school had 'no homework' policy during those times. I thought it's time for them to get real work started...