YEAR 8 YEAR 8 YEAR 8 !!

[MaryAnnSingleton]

here we are, all ready for the new term !!

Well dd1 got an absolutely glowing report from her form tutor on academic review day - she more or less said she was perfect and destined for a position of responsibility such as head girl in years to come (am surprised dd didn't get her head stuck in the door on the way out actually }.

Fast forward a week and this responsible vision of perfection has left her pe kit behind in one of her lessons! It has disappeared off the face of the earth so will have to fork out for a whole new kit (trainers were no more than a month old either) . Sigh.

Well done your DD Polgara. I'm actually amazed that DD's PE kit hasn't been lost several times over but even the over priced socks are still with us. DD has been given the all clear by the Physio regarding her knee which is great news. She's doing a drama/dance workshop all next week so fingers crossed it doesn't flare up again as she can't wait to start riding again. Hope everyone is having a good break.

Hi I'm new but have a dd going into yr 8 in September, and would love to join in? (can I??)
I laughed at polgara 2- my dd had same glowing report- head girl in the making etc, but has lost every bit of pe kit, a pr of trousers, skirt, jumper and even a (brand new) pr of Clarks shoes in the summer term!!!
Bless her, she does have ocd but that's no excuse.

deaddei - yes,do join us -you are most welcome !

Hi deaddei

Well, less than two weeks to go and DS has decided to announce that he has art work to finish . He could have got this out of the way before our holiday. He has spent all morning looking for the flippin folder... I found it in two seconds flat

His old rucksack that he had last year has gone in the bin (well past its use by date, even though it was new at the start of Yr7) and in comes a bag that goes across his body. He was not going to have another rucksack he said! He has now got a khaki converse one.

Just got to get him some new school shoes and we are ready to go.

hi all ! new school shoes still to get (on order) and a bit of singing practice to be done...and I must print out his timetable without printing the entire year group's individual ones !

Hi, my DD starts high School on Friday, it is our local one and it has a bit of a reputation . Mainly from people who have never seen inside it, of course! DD got an A in her 11+ so would have automatically have gotten a place in our local Grammar, (we're in N.I). She has a condition called NF1 and has some anxiety and aspergers problems connected to it. We picked this school so she won't be under too much pressure academically, so can I lurk?

Please

Hi coco- sounds as if you've done the right thing, not putting too much academic pressure on her. People do give you raised eyebrows and aghast expressions don't they- I had that last year with a couple of mums whose dds got into the very highly selective girls grammar. One girl told my dd that only silly girls went to (my dds) school!
She'll be fine .

do lurk and join in coco !

Thanks!

Yes, join in coco

Well she survived the first morning! She's home with her timetable and books to back ,(sarcastic yeah!). She isn't with any of her old friends in any of the classes, I think they might have been streamed, not sure. She's in 8A with 6 other girls and 20 boys!
At least there was no tears - from her .

Glad to hear your DD had a good first morning, Coco. I remember well the first day can't believe that DD will be starting yr8 on Wednesday.

Phew coco, that must be a relief

DS1 doesn't start back until the 8th.

Unfortunately it all went pear shaped last night . She was at my Mums for a sleepover and DH had to go and collect her. She has phobias about fire and balloons and is petrified about bunsen burners. We managed to calm her down and then she asked would she die from toxic fumes, she'd seen a poster about safety in the lab.

Unfortunately she takes everything as gospel, she's very literal in her thinking. She's better this morning.

Good luck to everyone for next week

Cocolepew - are the school aware of her anxieties? Could you drop a note in to the science teacher to let her know?

ds1 goes back on Wed, he's at a festival with his dad this weekend (having slobbed around and done very little for the past couple of weeks since we got back from hols!) He was actually shock, horror appearing to tire a bit from his life of indolence, late lie-ins, lots of reading and extra computer time. I think he's ready for back to school. I spoke to his mate's mum yesterday, and she says he's been exactly the same.

My mum came on Thurs to sit and chat whilst the rest of the family went to the zoo. So my mum sewed name labels on all the new uniform items, and I ironed everything (both boys) and hung everything up in the new wardrobes. So we are definitely all ready for the new term now.

I gave in information about her condition, the Head was going to pass it on to their SENCO. I'm going to send a note to her form teacher on Monday to check that everyone who has her, has been made aware of her needs. Her Aspergers traits hare getting worse as she gets older, it's just finding ways of her coping with them. Rather than letting them take over. Thanks

I did tell her she wouldn't be the only person crying about big school

I work in a secondary school, and honestly - even with the best efforts of teachers - it is hard to process/remember all the little details about all the students.

If I were you I would print off a short letter addressed personally to the Science Teacher, detailing some of her specific anxieties wrt bunsen burners and gas etc. If possible with a photo of dd on it as well!

Thanks roisin.

roisin - labels! You have just reminded me.... knew there was something I had to do >

yes,roisin's idea sounds sensible coco..poor dd. I was terrified of bunsen burners - all science things scared me a bit in fact though I managed to scrape through biology A -level. It took me years to learn to light a gas stove - had a huge phobia about fire and heat.

I sent a note to the science teacher and she had a talk with DD telling her not to worry she'd give her plenty of warning and help when she needs it. Then she phoned me this afternoon, to talk about how she could help DD and to reassure me she'd do everything she can to help her anxiety . I really appreciated her taking the time to do this. Me and Dd are both feeling better . Thanks for the suggestion Roisin!

Glad it has been sorted for your dd coco

I'm really pleased that's worked out well coco. It sounds like a really caring teacher, I'm sure your dd will thrive.

The teacher sounds lovely Coco. Glad it worked out.
We are all ready for Thursday I think. Shoes have been purchased at M&S and trousers that fit have been acquired following a marathon shopping stint (poor DD had to try on 20 pairs in seven different shops before we found ones that fit). She ended up with size 6 petite in Top Shop. All the normal ones were either too short or huge around the waist. So I had to pay £22 a pair - she'd better look after them!