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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

pfb -in fact only child - off to secondary on Thursday...

788 replies

MaryAnnSingleton · 02/09/2008 08:07

am being calm but every so often panic strikes me - ds is fine about it, it's just me fretting about roads to cross/ money for the canteen - will it get lost/stolen, what about the lockers, arghhh ! Plus,as with the beginning of every term,I'll miss him - I love having him here in the holidays !
It also means that I have no excuses not to sit at my desk and work on the job I'm meant to finish by the end of Seot...

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magentadreamer · 22/09/2008 08:16

Cheers Bellavita and you've jut reminded me to remind DD to revise her music homework!

bellavita · 22/09/2008 08:36

roisin - I think there are around 1200 children at DS's school and the older ones do go out, but still if there are say half of them going out - the lunch queue is still pretty long! As I said before, those grab-a-bag's sound great if you have something going on at lunchtime.

A letter arrived in the post on Sat morning from the school, headed Year 7 LPU/THRASS Programmes.

It was letting us know (DS did mention he had to go out of the Spanish Class) that he had to go into Literacy Progress lessons or Teacher Handwriting, Reading and Spelling Skills. He does struggle with literacy and these lessons are approx 25 mins long and consist of fast-paced, focues teaching with specially trained teaching assistans in groups of no more than 6 pupils. They focus on the building blocks of reading and writing and are designed to help pupils make a real and meaningful improvement in key aspects of literacy.

We have been invited to a Literacy Open Evening on Thursday.

Original poster

MaryAnnSingleton · 22/09/2008 09:41

I keep reminding ds about the grab bags at lunch !
Today he has cookery and has gone in with a ton of ingredients to make pizza and fruit salad (am hoping he'll remember to seal up the tupperware containing fruit salad before putting in his bag !!) He also has to remember to go to his singing lesson,which means excusing himself from music and going to tell his geog. teacher that he has singing before going back to the music block..
He is going on a weekend bonding trip to a PGL place in October which I hope will be fun - he hasn'[t been away before.

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Original poster

MaryAnnSingleton · 22/09/2008 16:26

well, he didn't seal the container very well ! have just wiped out his rucksack and am drying his planner,timetable and calculator ! He did get to singing lesson ok and had pasta for lunch - hooray !

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roisin · 22/09/2008 17:44

There is just so much to remember isn't there?

ds1 forget to tell us that he needed an apron for Design Tech, so tomorrow (along with a dozen others) he's got a 15 min lunchtime detention.

I'm really impressed by how the school are impressing on the children that it is their responsibility to get themselves organised.

Every night ds1 looks through his timetable and packs his bag for the next day, and also works out what extra things he needs to take in (dance uniform, PE kit, tech apron, art pencils, etc.!) I've just done a colour chart to help him remember.

He also checks as to what he needs to remember to do each breaktime, such as taking kit to/from his locker, ordering a grab-a-bag, going to a club, etc.

Original poster

MaryAnnSingleton · 22/09/2008 18:27

I'll say...ds is not terribly organised and there's much eye rolling and huffing when I take charge and go through the next day's timetable with him...

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bellavita · 22/09/2008 19:08

It is me doing the eye rolling and huffing as DS is taking toooooo long packing his bag as he is not concentrating enough on the job in hand.

He took the craft apron out of his bag last night and said he did not need it until the end of the week - I made him put it back in and said if it stays in there then he is less likely to forget to take it.

He went in search of the music teacher today to get Fridays homework - teacher has done a vanishing act! I asked him if any of his form were in his music class - no, so I said well what about any of your old yr6 friends - err yes mum there is - well bloody well ring them up then and ask if they have the homework. He could have done this at the weekend and saved some time. He rang a boy under duress and this boy has the homework so luckily he has said he will photocopy it and bring to school tomorrow.

He also told me tonight he forgot to mention he has to do a poster for Wednesday for his cookery lesson based on the pizza he made.

bellavita · 22/09/2008 19:09

and breathe.......... and have another glass of wine!

Original poster

MaryAnnSingleton · 22/09/2008 19:18

bellavita !

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bellavita · 22/09/2008 19:19

the wine is rather nice!

Original poster

MaryAnnSingleton · 24/09/2008 11:11

am hoping ds will remember to cart home PE kit today so I can wash any grubby things... so far the week has been fine and he had nice lunch yesterday - hooray !

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bellavita · 24/09/2008 12:41

DS enjoyed his lunch yesterday as well - chicken tikka masala (with half portion of chips).

He was a bit naughty yesterday morning - decided he would spend some of his dinner money on bubblegum before he even got on the school bus! So that meant he only had enough money for a half portion of chips.

I said it was different if he had money left at the end of the day, then he could spend it, but not before the day started.

Think my DH put the idea into his head (not realising) he was telling DS over the weekend of how he used to walk home from school instead of catching the two buses he had to (no bus pass) and spend his bus fare!

DS told me this morning he needs/wants some shin pads and goalie gloves for a football tournament they are doing at lunchtime tommorow (sigh, he thinks we have a money tree in our garden). Thing is I have been out this mornig and forgotten to go into the flippin sports shop and have come home without the said purchases. DH now having to call at the designer outlet on his way home now

Have been into TK Max this morning and picked up a (well I think it is) nice coat for DS, was £60 down to £20. If he does not like it I can take it back. I went into York yesterday and saw a really nice coat in FreeSpirit, it was by Animal but it was £45 and not that winterish.

Original poster

MaryAnnSingleton · 24/09/2008 13:24

well done with coat purchases - I must think of stuff for ds- he will need a coat and probably new wintery clothes !!

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bellavita · 24/09/2008 14:51

thanks MaryAnn, but he has not seen it yet! he could also do with some winter tops but I will probably wait until the Oct half term and then he can choose himself.

Unfortunately, with TK Max, if you don't buy it there and then, there is not guarantee that it will still be there tomorrow, at least I can take it back if he does not like it.

Original poster

MaryAnnSingleton · 24/09/2008 15:00

ds not bothered by what he wears so far - though he has a surfy necklace we bought on holiday which is his amulet and he loves it ! Hope I pick nice stuff for him - it seems pretty cool to me but I might be hopelessly wrong (Gap/Mini Boden surfer dude stuff) ..must go shopping at half term ! We have to get a sleeping bag for his bonding weekend too.

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roisin · 24/09/2008 18:14

MaryAnnSingleton - did he remember his PE kit home? ds1 now has a locker which means he doesn't have to cart it all around continually, but does also mean he doesn't bring it home very regularly.

He's not started puberty yet, and doesn't get sweaty/smelly, and I think aims to do PE with as little exertion on his part as possible! But his games socks were pretty niffy when he finally brought the stuff home on Tuesday after 1.5 weeks without a wash

Original poster

MaryAnnSingleton · 24/09/2008 18:17

yes he did !!!!!! nothing seemed very grubby or smelly even - just a bit grassy but have washed it in case I don't see it again for a while !

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roisin · 24/09/2008 20:09

ds1 had a long chat with me this evening about things at school generally: I'm just over the moon with how settled he is, what a fantastic school it is, and how things are working out.

I can't believe he's done almost 4 weeks already: almost half way through the first half term!

Original poster

MaryAnnSingleton · 24/09/2008 21:42

on the whole it's been a lot better than I imagined !
ds is writing a story which he wants to type out tomorrow - this'll take ages and he'll get cross and impatient - it's quite long - but he wants it to look good,which is heartening.
Alarmingly one character is called 'Falak'

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magentadreamer · 24/09/2008 22:04

DD has amazed me in how well she's taken to High School. Apart from her music teacher who also takes her for drama she likes all her teachers and admits to actually shock horror enjoying school!

bellavita · 25/09/2008 00:20

Hi ladies,

DS loves his coat - so that's a bonus.

A local boy in the village that we use as a babysitter (now in 6th form) is a bus monitor on DS's bus, so he said tonight that if there are any problems, DS is to go straight to him.

He has also settled in better than I imagined.

Hey and get this - he bought some gum last night (I know, I know) and had used some - less than half the packet left this morning, he sold it on the way to school for more than what he paid for it

The flapjack he made today was actually very nice

magentadreamer · 25/09/2008 06:48

Lol@selling the gum for more than he paid for it!

bellavita · 25/09/2008 07:54

OrmIrian · 25/09/2008 09:40

DS#1 has shown a remarkable enthusiasm for German. I am gobsmacked. It's never been his sort of thing before. He even wants a german/english dictionary. This school has a policy of putting some of the brighter pupils up for German GCSE a yr early. Maybe it means he's one of the brighter pupils

Original poster

MaryAnnSingleton · 25/09/2008 09:53

oh it does sound as though they are settling well and finding their niche ! at bellavita's entrepreneur ! so glad he liked his coat too. They fast track languages at ds' school so maybe he might take to it - he seems very interested so far

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