Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Secondary education

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

Original poster

Year 7 Summer Term !

237 replies

MargaretMountford · 10/04/2009 10:37

Here is a brand new thread for the new term !

OP posts:
magentadreamer · 11/05/2009 18:47

I can imagine she would be LGP! Well done your DD.

bellavita · 11/05/2009 22:04

magenta - we have already had our parent consultation (through the day and no school for DS). It was a 15 minute slot and we saw his form tutor. He gave us all the info from his other teachers.

From what I can gather I don't think we get to see other teachers until after year 7.

robinpud · 11/05/2009 22:10

We have parents' evening tomorrow night. Not sure whether to sit there and say nothing- her report was quite gushing.. or to ask question such as
" Is it standard practice not to indulge in any marking apart from a mad rush the week before parents' evening?"
or " why was dd and her friends told to play with their mobile during a history lesson?"

btw does anyone else's child get a level on a piece of homework.. e.g RE design your own religion- levels range from level 3 to 7c.. in Year 7. I just don't get this.. how do they know it is independent work? How can one piece of work represent an achievement at a level?

magentadreamer · 12/05/2009 06:08

Robinpud re giving out levels on peices of homework I always took it to be that it was that particular peice of work was deemed a level what ever and not that was the level my DD was at for the subject as a whole IYSWIM. My DD has recieved Science projects leveled at about a level higher then her half termly tests. Regarding asking questions then yes I would especially the marking thing. One of the reasons I really wanted to see my DD's English teacher was due to the lack of marking. DD herself comments on the fact she does English homework putting alot of effort in and doesn't even recieve a mark or a comment. I don't expect homework which is find 5 things about so and so to be marked I'm assuming that this kind of homework will be fed back in class but I think things like stories and longer peices should at least have some kind of feed back if only to show her where she went wrong and how she can improve. ranty hat gets taken off

Bellavitia - do you not have the parents evening scrum to contend with? We had a tutorial with her form techer but that in November I think.

foofi · 12/05/2009 06:38

Hi you lot - I am obviously coming to this rather late, but can I join you?

Since DD has been at secondary school I know almost nothing about her life!

Robinpud - I do hate it that everything seems to be about levels now. At parents evening in March (the first one we had) that's all the teachers did - read a list of levels for various pieces of work. Reports are the same, a list of levels. I would like more COMMENTS...

Having said that, comments about dd are only going to be about being disorganised. It's the same at home - v. messy at the moment.

Magenta - the "parents evening scrum" didn't turn out to be as bad as I had been led to believe. Generally had only one family queuing in front of us at each table. Didn't take DD with us, as many parents did. I prefer to talk about her when she's not there! Also, I noticed that lots of the teachers spent the valuable 5 minutes asking the child how they thought they were getting on, rather than the teachers having to say anything themselves!

Am up early today helping her with her English as she never asks for my help but did last night but I was going out!

Have just remembered I haven't topped up the lunch money card (we do that online) so am just nipping off to do that.

magentadreamer · 12/05/2009 06:40

Welcome to the thread Foofi

bellavita · 12/05/2009 08:52

Robin - yes, quite a bit of DS's work is marked with a level.

Hello and welcome Foofi

DS has a had a bit of trouble with some drama homework on bullying. He hates drama with a passion, probably because he is not very good at expressing himself and sometimes when he asks us things (could be about anything) he has to take 3 or 4 goes to get his sentence out. I am not sure if this is to do with DS2 or not who is rather forward and always use to speak for DS1. DS2 always has to be first at everything and I think DS1 just used to let him get on with it in the end. Someone would ask DS1 a question and DS2 would be in there like a shot answering.. The teacher put a comment on the work "see me with a face". But after seeing him DS1 still didn't understand it and it has to be in today. It is all to do with techniques used in the role playing. I don't think there was just DS that didn't understand from what I can gather.

Original poster
MargaretMountford · 12/05/2009 18:49

in haste, just passing by briefly...but welcome foofi

OP posts:
foofi · 12/05/2009 19:56

Thanks everyone
Am v excited as was chosen to trial the new 'cybersentinel' program for MN and have today installed it on dd's laptop, so now I will be able to see what she's doing from my laptop and monitor her chat etc - it's spying obviously, but am looking forward to knowing what she's talking to her friends about.

LadyGlencoraPalliser · 12/05/2009 21:06

DD came home without one of her school shoes yesterday, having lost it somehow playing rounders after school. Luckily the PE teacher spotted it on the field and put it in the changing room for her - I do NOT need to buy new school shoes this close to the end of term.
Tomorrow she and two or three others are teaching a maths lesson - the class was divided into groups and each has had to prepare and teach a lesson on a different topic. She said so far some have been good and some not so much. I think she is pretty nervous about it.

foofi · 12/05/2009 21:11

Teaching maths in Y7?? What are the teachers doing?

magentadreamer · 12/05/2009 21:17

Phew@shoe turning up LGP Hope your DD's lesson goes well

DD's Art teacher slotted DD in for parents evening in the change around time as did her English and History teacher. And I will finally get to meet Mr Drama-Music! I'm sure he's a very nice person but DD is very animated when she lists his latest hideous crime - singing the register is a favourite crime of his!

LadyGlencoraPalliser · 12/05/2009 21:30

You may well ask foofi! I am hoping some teacher will turn up on this thread and tell us that it is a brilliant learning strategy -I am not so sure.

LadyGlencoraPalliser · 12/05/2009 21:33

LOL at singing the register Magenta! That would make DD cringe! DD's music teacher is actually the only one I have met because he was sitting near us at a concert last month and came over to introduce himself much to DD's embarrassment. She actually told me off for talking to him!
It's great the other teachers have slotted you in.

magentadreamer · 12/05/2009 21:49

Lol@ your Dd telling you off for daring to talk to a teacher! My DD would probbly do the same!

Polgara2 · 13/05/2009 10:21

Oh don't get me started on marking! The amount of dd1's books that are very rarely marked makes me very cross. How on earth are they supposed to know if they are getting things right if they don't mark it. AND they mark themeselves or the person next to them a lot which is better than nothing I suppose but still doesn't show the teacher how they are doing! There.... rant over!!!

Am also annoyed at dd1's school because amazingly there are two people with her (full) name (how unlucky is that) in Yr 7 and I have always been concerned about things getting mixed up. She came home to say that they had had a celebration assembly and yet again the progress certificates given out had no clue on them as to which of the 2 girls they were for. So dd1 went and got them all and they sorted it out between themselves later who they were for . If they get this mixed up what else may they do so with and it just should be better organised so I will have to speak to her Head of Year I think but am not really sure how to do this yet.

bellavita · 13/05/2009 15:30

I thought DS being in the same form as 4 other boys with his first name was bad enough Polgara! Perhaps they could number the girls?

magentadreamer · 15/05/2009 06:59

Polagra that sounds a right nightmare, at least the other girl isn't a right tear away!

DD has started writing again last night she spent 2 hours on the lap top typing out the first chapter of her book - an adventure story set in London about a schoolgirl who so far seems to be in and out of trouble at school - I'm hoping no personal experience has been used!! It's lovely to see her actually writing stuff because she wants to and enjoys it. I of course am encouraging this in the hopes I will be able to retire and live off her royalties

GrapefruitMoon · 15/05/2009 11:43

Gosh that's unlucky Polgara - hope they are at least in different forms!

DD's school seem to have managed to put lots of girls with the same first names in the same forms, surely it would have made sense to divide them between the 6 forms....

We had parents evening a few weeks ago and although they gave out appointments no-one stuck to them so it was a question of seeing which teacher had no/the shortest queue and trying to get around to as many as possible.

bellavita · 15/05/2009 15:24

Just had another note home asking for a further £10 for another school trip (all the trips now seem to be at once!) gah!

DS has an "audition" on Monday at 9.00 to see if he is able to have guitar lessons at school. One of his friends had an "audition" yesterday for the piano, so I have asked him to ask the friend if they gave him a piece to play to see how much of the piano he knew or if they asked him to play something of his own choice, just so that DS can be prepared.

magentadreamer · 19/05/2009 22:35

How did your DS's "audition" go Bellavitia?

We had DD's parents evening tonight - which wasn't the scrummage I'd feared thankfully. We managed to see all of DD's teachers bar her MFL and Geog teacher. I can really understand why DD loves Science, Maths, ICT and DT the teachers she has for those subjects came across as being really fun but firm IYSWIM and enthusiastic about their subjects. DD's DT teacher is fab, DD is fairly shy and I suspected the reason she didn't go to a couple of after schools clubs was because her friends didn't go. On Thursday her DT teacher has suggested that DD meets her in her room and she'll walk down to the craft club with her so she won't have to go in by herself! I thought that was really lovely.

bellavita · 20/05/2009 00:25

Aww that was awfully kind of of the teacher magenta. Glad you had a good parents evening.

Yep, the audition went well and it looks like he will be doing the lessons in a group rather than a 1 to 1. There are two other boys that already play the guitar like ds and one other who doesn't play yet but also wants to learn something other than rock (which is what the rest of them are interested in) so am not sure how that is going to work. Am assuming I will get a letter from the school regarding a start date..

roisin · 20/05/2009 17:11

I can't believe it's almost summer half term already.

ds1 didn't go to school today. He wasn't really well yesteday, but went in as he wants 100% attendance

Today he put his uniform on but looked really grim and I managed to persuade him to stay home for the day. He looks a bit brighter now, so I hope he'll be OK for tomorrow.

magentadreamer · 20/05/2009 17:42

I can imagine the jamming sessions with 3 wanna be rock stars and a budding classical guitarist! I'm sure they'll find a way of catering for all tastes.

Hope your DS is feeling better soon Roisin and I can't believe that it'll soon the end of Yr7 and they'll all be sooooooooo grown up and Yr8's!

bellavita · 20/05/2009 18:01

at jamming sessions!

I hope your DS feels better soon too roisin.