yr 7 anxiety dream last night...

[MaryAnnSingleton]

...not ds but me...not sure why as ds is feeling fine about transition and all seems to be going smoothly - special visits to the school and from the school with teachers com,ing over to do lessons/older students/buddies etc coming to see the children. Ds is even going with s small group of children who are more 'vulnerable' (aspergers/other difficulties) to the school to acclimatise. He has problems with balance,very mild but enough to make him hestitant in crowds,on stairs and fine motor skills such as opening a locker/ taking coins from a purse etc - I'm not consciously worried but there must be something underneath ! any advice from seasoned secondary school parents ?

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Hi Mary.... it's me Northern. When our dd went she was slightly different in that she'd been to Steiner school, and it was all completely new and different. The schools are very very good at settling them in. There's a buzz and excitement, the older kids love being "in the know" ( which is her role now obviously) and are generally amazingly kind and welcoming.
The homework is a bit of a shock, and our dd has quite a long day.
On the whole, I'd say they are so ready for the challenge, and the wider scope they're given, that they settle in quickly.
They really seem to enjoy having different teachers for different subjects too.
Our middle dd is joing eldest in Sept, and in a way is looking forward to it, although she lacks confidence a bit; they had a test day last week, and her mind was set at rest, everthing is spelt out, all their worries foreseen and gone through- friends, homework, bullying, not being able to do work, getting lost.
He'll be fine...
Now , you on the other hand, probably need a mentor.....

! hi and thanks northern ! yes, I probably do need a mentor - silly really...and yes, I think ds is ready for the change of school. Today they are doing initiation ceremony,devised by themselves in groups. for going up to secondary school - he has taken in a chiffon scarf as a prop...

any other words of wisdom for me ?

I was worried this time last year as DS is dyslexic and has problems with time. Had visions of missed trains, and him not being able to get to lessons on time.

A nightmare I have had all my adult life is that I have gone back to school,not done my homework, and am wondering round the corridors not remembering the timetable etc sometimes it gets worse and I am wearing an old ragged nighty so I was projecting my worries onto him.

He sorted himself out, he got a nice watch for his birthday and he has alarms going on it constantly for a few minutes before trains, lunch break etc. and thankfully has managed timekeeping very well.

Agree with northern, the biggest shock has been homework, it seemed to take over our life for the first term, although now it has settled down a bit.

thanks christy - I have those dreams too,where I'm unprepared for an exam and probably still in a tatty nightie !
Ds will be ok I'm sure and the homework will be s shock - he'll also have to sort out timing too as he tends to drift about in a world of his own. I suppose he just seems little,physically mainly, and I can't yet picture him in those noisy corridors !

glad your ds has coped so well too

Hi MAS

Our dreams are amazing about bringing worries from the back of our minds to the forefront.
Perhaps you are MORE anxious than ds because you are NOT the one who has been to visit the school on several occasions etc. Ie you don't know how ds is going to be until he gets there, whereas ds is probably feeling fine because all the excellent prep the school is doing.

I am worried about which teacher ds will get next year (we stand a good chance getting the one teacher who he does not like, who does not like him, who I am not keen on, and who is the mum of a boy in ds's year, whose crowd ds does not get on with and I am worried she will be prejudiced against him because of that...)
So last night, I dreamt his teacher was to be John Major!! [sock]

sock? !

Oh gosh, I still have those exam dreams! Awful to realise it still gets you at our age.....
Chiffon scarf initiation ceremonies? Is this a school sponsored by the masons?

They all seem to be very excited at dd 2's school. And she's actually going to a different school from them (as she's going to the same one ad dd 1)- when they left Steiner they went to a tiny village school where we really liked the head.

I think he'll be really fine. There's more room for the individuals at secondary school; more choice of friends. And if it's a good school, they'll nurture their individual characters.
I don't have many really vivid memories of junior school, but there are some teachers who really stand out still, and made a lasting impression- my english teacher who was like Margeret Mountford was one! I still remember her lessons, and poems we had to learn etc.

you are right there hippi - T is relaxed probably because they are visiting and doing all kinds of stuff related to moving up,whereas I just remember seeing it heaving with kids and noise and bustle and being very confusing as there are so many rooms and corridors and it smelled all science labby ! Ds was very lucky in his teachers all through this school (and his last one actually) - the year 5 one was fantastic and he has been happy with his present teacher too. Hope your boy doesn't get the one you aren't keen on,or John Major !! (now what is going though your subconscious hippi )
Thanks again northern - sensible words there ! The initiation thing involved lots of dressing up apparently...
I loved my primary school and have tons of really good memories. It took me a little while to settle into my secondary school - I was ill for the first two weeks and everyone had made friends etc by the time I went back -I'd only been there 1 day - but it was fine after a while and I found my niche. Ds will only have to walk across town whereas I had a very long bus ride - I was much more independent though and streetwise and generally more practical and everything,but things were different in those days and we were always out and about going to shops,taking buses and riding our bikes.