Starting Secondary School - tips and advice

[pheasantchick]

We are now half way through the summer holidays ( already!), and soon our thoughts will be turning towards school again , so I thought I would start a thread for tips and advice for any new year 7 starters. Also, if anyone has any questions about starting, they could always ask here.

My two tops tips are:
1) always get the school bag packed the night before. Don't leave it until the morning.

2) homework - get into a routine of doing it. For my eldest dc, he gets in for school, has some 'chill-axing' time, eats and then does his homework.

[doodles]

Couldn't agree with you more PC and would also add:

1. Make them pack their bags and their kit bags themselves.

2. Don't always bail them out, if they leave their book/kit at home don't go running down to school with it.

I may sound very harsh and believe me I have done a far few mercy missions but.... at secondary school they have to stand on their own two feet and "getting into trouble" forgetting their trainers really does focus the mind.

[aliportico]

Have a particular spot for their school things - shelf, basket, etc - even if they have a locker, they will end up with books at home that they don't want to take back that day, and so on. Having one place that stuff automatically goes makes life a bit more straightforward. (Especially when they forgot to pack the bag the night before and are doing it in the morning!) If you can put their timetable next to it, even more helpful.

I have all my kids' timetables up on the wall in my kitchen, and whether it's week A or week B for the two that use that (and last year they spent most of the time out of sync!) marked on my big calendar, so we all know where we are. I don't do stuff for them, but I want to model good organisation for them, so they don't have to reinvent the wheel.

[Reading Mum]

My DD's desk has a protective plastic cover on it so we put a copy of the timetable under the cover - that way it can easily be checked and doesn't get tidied away

[ToadMum]

With "non-cashless" school dinners, I try to remember to get to the bank towards the end of the week to take out relevant amounts in small denominations for the coming week - to avoid the situation where the only thing anyone can find at 7 in the morning is 50p or a £20 note. Between 2 DC at different schools (N.B. this will also usually be the day that there is no bread left with which to make sandwiches).

If possible, always check that they have their art folder / used sports kit etc is as soon as they get in. Some bus / train companies only gather up lost property at the very end of the day, but starting to ring them early at least makes you feel that you are doing something.

[Guest55]

On the timetable have a 'what I need to pack for tomorrow' bit so that the right kit is taken (indoor/outdoor).

Encourage them to keep their planner up to date and be a good parent by signing it regularly and ensuring they tick off work as it is done.

[aliportico]

Encourage them to keep their planner up to date and be a good parent by signing it regularly and ensuring they tick off work as it is done.

Two out of three of mine get payback/detention if their planners aren't signed each week, so that definitely gets done!

[Amber]

Encourage them to keep their planner up to date and be a good parent by signing it regularly and ensuring they tick off work as it is done.

Two out of three of mine get payback/detention if their planners aren't signed each week, so that definitely gets done!

Mine are very adept at forging signatures - not hard as OH's is an indistinguishable scrawl. My late father made a huge fuss about the principle of signing my homework diary every week, believing it to be my responsibility not his. This was in the 1970s so now I can see he was a bit of a rebel, despite being a senior police officer. Having been summoned to school to explain himself, he came to a gentleman's agreement with the head of lower school, who was approximately 3 feet shorter than he was, that 'a signature' would appear but that it wouldn't necessarily be a parental one. (You can see where I got it from, can't you? ) I am afraid I take the same stance with my own lot - as far as I am concerned homework is their business and my signing the damn planner just makes me in some way responsible. So, if I happen to have a pen when they come with it, then I sign, otherwise 'a signature' appears. And everyone is happy.

[aliportico]

Well, yes, dh has one of those squiggle signatures, so sometimes he's not the actual signer of his signature I used to sign my aunt's initials (my aunt lives in Canada!) because my mum didn't like me doing hers! Friend of mine got into trouble because her mum thought it was daft and signed all the pages in one go, lol!

[Guest55]

We use the planner for communicating with parents so if signature is forged the parent doesn't get the message ....