Secondary Considerations

[Smunder Woman]

I can't believe L is old enough for that! I have no concept of children growing up though really, mine are both about 6 or so in my head

Good luck to S and Chunk!

[Little My]

Well that sounds like a good start, Tex.

I used to like my blazer, except when it rained. No school uniform for R at high school either.

[Glint]

Well, the bump up days went well and most of his class don’t want to be back at primary for the next fortnight

[Little My]

It feels like they're waiting it out now, doesn't it! R has two weeks left, and half of that is their end of year trip and grad stuff. They are so ready to move on.

[Little My]

Well, the bump up days went well and most of his class don’t want to be back at primary for the next fortnight

How did the first day go, Glint?

R has two introductory days this week. We got a glimpse of her timetable and all her least favourite subjects are in the first semester, but then her second semester will be something to look forward to because they have her favourites. The academic year is cut in half, with four subjects in each. So it will be less chaotic for her to organize herself, hopefully.

Still no school uniform, but I'm wondering what secondary kids wear to phys ed. R tells me she'll be fine with a selection of Lululemon ensembles.

[Glint]

Oh, LM, is she sure she can make do with lulu

First couple of days seem to have gone well. PE went down a treat as they were in the gym using machines Already disliking Modern Languages (French) after 1 class and declaring himself brilliant in others. I haven’t a clue what some of his classes are with the new names.

[Little My]

Sounds like he's settling in well then. Class names are fairly straightforward for us so far, except PE is Healthy Active Living. Doesn't quite trip off the tongue.

[Little My]

So PE turned out to be a bit of a head scratcher. When choosing classes, you could do male, female, or co-ed gym class. R selected female and has been put in a class of Gr.9 girls ... who are teamed with a class of Gr.11 & 12 boys. I'm not understanding the logic here.

[Glint]

That’s, erm, interesting

[Dutchie]

How bizarre, LM. I can imagine that if you choose female for religious reasons, being teamed with boys is far from ideal...

Our big boys have just had their first proper week of classes and they have a few subjects that I can't quite get my head around. One of them is "Language Proficiency". They have normal Dutch, English, German and French classes and then this one (abbreviated to LP). I can't for the life of me imagine what they learn there! Another one is "Cultural and Artistic Development". WTF??

[Little My]

That was my first thought too, Dutchie. Oh well, R doesn't actually care but I'm sure someone might.

Your boys are doing a lot of languages!

[Dutchie]

That was my first thought too, Dutchie. Oh well, R doesn't actually care but I'm sure someone might.

Your boys are doing a lot of languages!

Well, considering we live in a country whose language is spoken nowhere else, I guess it's born out of need. Most schools teach English from kindergarten now.

[Teasel]

I think there are a few of us with the secondary school decision to make this time.

We have 2 local schools which are both good and should have no problem getting in (our house is equidistant between the 2) and a third a bit further out which unless it's a big birth year she should be ok for too.

The first open evening is tonight and is currently N's favoured school. It's the one a bit further out so would mean a bus journey.

Is there anything I should be looking out for or asking in particular?

[Ismee]

Hi Teasel

I've only just seen this so a bit late for your open evening.

We're doing this now too with TBL. There are three choices for him. One is the Catholic boys school which 90% of the boys in his year will go to. It's sort of the feeder school and is a really good school. It's a bus ride.

The 2nd option is a mixed high school that H attends. It was once a very poor performing school but a new Head has transformed it and it's amazing now. H has really thrived there. It's close to his primary school and my work.

The 3rd is another mixed school which was built 7 years ago. It has very particular rules (no talking in the corridors, walk on the left, things like that) but I've heard it's a good school too. It's the closest one to our house.

We've been to see school 1 and 3, he didn't like number 3. I think his heart is set on the school H goes to which is number 2. I am happy for him to go there, it's brilliant but I worry because I don't think anyone he knows will go.

As for open evenings, I am rubbish at asking questions but I just try to get the general vibe of the school. It's hard because open evening is a show really but just like when you looked at nursery and primary school I do think you get a feeling.

I hope it went okay

[Pippedydeadeye]

My question was always is the library actually a library or an overspill classroom? Other than that I think it’s down to the vibe you get. Look beyond whatever flashy presentation they give and listen to what they say.

[Teasel]

Thank you both. It's good to know others go on the vibe/feeling you get as that's mostly what I've been basing things on.

Last night was good. It's the first time I've seen the school (we went to the other 2 last year's round of open evenings) and I liked it a lot. N also did a taster day with her class last term so has had a good feel for it. A year 7 pupil who had come from N's primary showed us round which helped because they knew each other so asked things I don't think they've asked otherwise.

I'm going to ask your library question at the next one Pip!

[Little My]

The library question is a good one.

I think getting the vibe is important. R is now in the high school she always wanted to go to, and it was almost a no brainer to send her there. I will need to think harder about what's best for B. We still have another year before we need to make choices, but I plan on attending open houses with him this fall if we can manage it. (I honestly don't think he could hack it at R's school.)

[Pippedydeadeye]

We’re now booking open days for 6th form.

[Cerise]

We’re now booking open days for 6th form.

Us too!

[Ismee]

Yes and us! Remember when we were all talking about weaning!