School's out for crepeys

[lalsy]

Ooops, sorry, I didn't mean to finish the thread.

If I lived in France I would also subsist on bread and cheese.

Yes, welcome back, Hattie. Am very [env of your freshly painted house.

BTM, I don't like to think what I would do if that happened here. I would def be very and also .

MrsS, I did snort at the ukelele comment, but heaven knows how you are not homicidal by now. I grind my teeth regularly on your behalf.

Here, dd threw me an "interesting" challenge yesterday. Not for online sharing, but seriously - teenagers, Wtf????

Currently feeling mighty wibbly after yesterday's turbulence and a rather short night, I must drive a long way for my course interview today. A lot hanging on this interview now.

Good luck Stropps, with the interview. Do you have to drive to where the course is being held? Pop in for coffee if you are passing.

Good luck to all leavers today. Dd2 (who is the only one leaving anywhere) waltzed out with dry eyes! Must admit, I was pleased to see the back of that school too

BTM, I hope something can be done. Damage to a work top would probably send my dh into a spiral of anxiety... Work tops and floors are his 'special' thing!

Stropps fingers crossed! Hope all okay re DD!
MI is it the last day there?

Stropps, best of luck!

Yes, BD, last day. I've been really happy with the school and its community and being freelance it's been a lifeline to make nice local friends. Of course, those friendships remain (and I've made active efforts to stay in touch with DD1's friends' parents), but I like the atmosphere of the school gate. Now I will be Alone in my Garret, banging the keys in solitary confinement with nobody but CDiff, day after day...

We are speaking, just. I am just resigned to it being a blot on the new kitchen, but the builder will have a look at it today. Really can't face having to rip out the work surface even if we could claim on the insurance. I have positioned a glass worktop saver thing over it.

Stropps, Good Luck for the interview!

I seem to be missing vital information - ukulele? turbulence?

Last day (till Sept 1st!!!) for me - no tissues necessary

Yes, I know what you mean. Ds's old primary is fab - the atmosphere is amazing, keep telling the head she should push to make it a middle school!! (The fact there is no room is neither here nor there!)
Dp and I frequently marvel at how different all our lives are. We are much more meshed into the community here.

BTM I dread something like that happening to the new (when I get it!) bathroom........

DP, of course, doesn't understand AT ALL. But he goes to work in a Proper Job with People all the time. Admittedly I would hate this and be spectacularly bad at it, but my life can get a bit lonely sometimes.

Our bathroom has survived 10+ years of children's and now teens bathroom antics with no damage to anything so far

MI, I don't know how any of you home-workers do it. It would be a disaster for me!

Ugh, MI. I cried when the DDs left their lovely school in Paris, but as their BFFs were leaving at the same time, it was probably for the best. DD2 is fed up with her BFF in Texas as she never gets up until after midday. I told DD2 to prod her and wake her up to do something. She did say that she has been in the pool every day - they have a huge garden and a beautiful pool. DH said the cost of their house, garden and pool would probably buy our sitting room, as property is so cheap in Texas.

MrsS DH is probably right re house prices.....

Here ds is going to the same school as 10 out of 13 of his class so he'll be fine (I hope)....

Whoa…a lot to catch up on…CV Agree re swimsuit…like the ruching. My problem is I don't have any bits I don't want to cover up these days.Tilly I feel your pain. I would have mullered one of my kids who burnt a new worktop. It can be sanded and varnished, by a good carpenter, surely.? Do you need some worktop savers? MrsS menial tasks for a bunch of overpaid overstuffed shirts? Brings out the naughtiness in me..I would be putting whoopee cushions on their seats and epsom salts in their coffee…Herbs great stuff…sounds like the HT does not have her finger on the pulse in that school.MI I really do hope CDiff is a self limiting condition. It is possible to stay in touch with good friends from primary. It just takes a lot of effort. We were 7 families who met up with and without the kids, supported one another etc. I think we were drawn to one another because we all had kids who were a bit off the wall. All in secondary now for a long time, several different ones. We still meet up as adults. Just not at the school gates and we take it in turns to organise. Rudy Good re DB. well done for standing your ground. Auriga I struggle with the positives and hate being self employed…often leaves ones confidence in tatters, for me anyway. Hatty Thanks..Ds is having a brilliant time. No sirens, rockets in his neck of the woods (yet ) Pics on fb.Stropps best of luck!!

Phew! I have been press ganged in to taking DD and 3 friends to the mall today. I must need my head examined. Then later, DD going to YT and I am due to meet up with co script writer. Lets see if he pitches up . Then tonight meeting girlfriends ( from the '7 families' MI ) at well known North London pub…clue...where Kinks started. Last night met up with an old school friend who lived near where I live now…40 years on. You talk about blub fests…

Good luck Stropps, and hope all OK with dd.

MI, i know exactly what you mean. No answers, but getting stuck into new things helped. It is a very different rhythm when they are both at secondary school, if you are working at home.

Good luck Stropps.

What time are we meeting on Friday? I appear to be the only person in, as everyone else is off for Eid, so should find it relatively easy to escape early.

BTW I have just come to a realisation about CDiff. I have reminded myself for some time that this is a very small charity, whereas I used to run the comms for some seriously big ones. But also, the attempts to bully and nitpick are risible compared to the Big Bullies I've worked for naming no names Lord People's Peer. This lot can irritate and make me miserable. They do not drive me into clinical depression. Shall I award them a Could Do Better, and give them the mental brush-off?

Still in a bit of a tizz about what to do re DS's school. I had been trusting that despite being on a satellite site, it was still being well run, and if all the kids are happy and learning, then what does it matter.

But now the conversation with the head has revealed the grim reality of mismanagement, I don't know what to do. For example, the staff are supposed to record all incidences of bullying, injuries, etc, electronically, so any member of the SLT can access it at any time. But no-one does. The teachers are supposed to pass on concerns from parents to the lunchtime staff, so they can keep an eye on bullying. But no-one had. The teachers are supposed to report back to parents what they've done re the bullying complaint, but I had to keep chasing, and all they said was 'it's in hand'.

All this only came to light for the head when I brought it up - she had trusted her deputy to be sorting it all out. However, she was useless and has incidentally been sacked.

I have faith that she will eventually knock everyone into shape, but in the meantime what does this mean for DS? Should I just whip him out, sharpish, or give them another chance?

Mrs S - there will be two year one classes on his site, one reception, and one year two.

In my funk, I haven't bought any leaving gifts for the teachers, but may have to now, since the playground was full of mums bearing flowers, etc, this morning.

Cross post, MI.

Her nitpicking is merely an outward manifestation of her internal inadequacy. Imagine yourself as a boat, sailing serenely above her nonsense.

MI, hell yes

Herbs, I'd consider applying for other schools, and then decide if places come up. You can always say no. A casual attitude to communicating pastoral problems did for my dd at primary school - I don't think it is an easily sorted problem if eg a blame culture/silo working has been in place. Really hope your experience is different.

Herbs, I think in your situation, I would make preparations for leaving, just as a lifeboat. So see other schools (not with ds), get on waiting lists just in case. Even if a place comes up, you don't need to take it, if things improve.

If any of the main perpetrators are in his class, then I would move him to the other class. I appreciate that it is at playtime that they all meet, but playtime is a small percentage of the school day. He may find better 'allies' in the other class. If he is busy at playtimes knocking around with a group from his class, they are less likely to single him out to chase him around.

We had similar issues with ds in Year 3 and 4. In his case, they observed quite heavily and there was an element of him only remembering the bad playtimes and not recognising the good ones. It's that old CBT thing where if twenty good things happen to you in a day and one shit thing happens, you only remember the shit thing.

We moved ds's class from one to another, which helped. We gave him some things to take into school to play with at lunchtime (which were smaller games for one or two) which seemed to discourage the rowdy boys from interrupting him and he learnt not to give them the responses they were after. I'm still not 100% happy with the way the school handled it, but he muddled through. I do appreciate that he is a bit of a non-mainstream boy, who will never be in the thick of it.

We did look at other schools, but we weren't convinced at the time, that a change would actually help. Looking back, that was probably wrong and we should have moved him, but hindsight is a great thing.....

It's very hard and I do feel for you.

MI -mental brush off sounds good.

Herbs - look at other schools - having been in a similar situation you'll know whether you want to jump ship or not when you get offered a place elsewhere.

I have decided to paint the old pine children's beds white. This will involve a level of sanding - so naturally I haven't got started yet.