Countdown to school and how do you feel about it?

[BusynMember]

School starts Sept. 1st here, the first time in ages it has started before Labor Day. I'm freaked out that my Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) son will be a high school sophomore, but not nervous about it--he's been at the school forever and does well.

daughter is starting a brand new school. She is going from a class of 34 seventh graders in all to about 200 eighth graders (a guess). She is uber-excited because of the great sports programs and the larger amount of kids (she knows many). I'm nervous because she is Learning Disability (LD), it's a bigger school, and I hope she can keep up with the work. Although she's a good athlete and socially astute, she really struggles in academics, and I don't know that a larger school will be able to work so closely with her. On the other hand, there are more academic options there. Also, although my daughter has shown no interest in them, there is a bad element at this school.

So I'm both glad they're going to stop saying "I'm bored" and apprehensive.

Your thoughts on your kids? When is their first day?

 

[mstang67chic]

First day here is Thursday the 13th. Four days, 22 hours 27 minutes.

Does that answer your question? LOL

 

[Wiped Out]

MWM,
We also start on the first of Sept. I have mixed feelings about school starting. For us it means all four of us getting into a busy routine. It means my peaceful summer days are coming to an end. I really like my job as a teacher but the busyness that the school year brings can become stressful.

difficult child will be starting 7th grade and I am hoping this year's team will be as good as last year's team was working with him. As for easy child, she'll be a junior, and I'm hoping she is motivated enough to work hard this year.

 

[lmf64]

School starts here September 8. I'm not sure how I feel about it. This year could be a repeat of previous years, in which difficult child sleeps/yells/refuses to cooperate and the school calls/suspends/refuses to do what has been recommended by multiple professionals.
Last fall (late) we got him a 1:1 para and he was great. BUT he moved out of state so he's gone. AND this spring the school district transferred the teacher who had a relationship with all of our AS kids to early childhood from the high school. We still don't know who's going to be teaching the class and I haven't received any calls to interview the 1:1 for this year.
Because of his severe global lds doing the academic stuff is a battle that I don't care to go through anymore. With the 1:1 last year he did progress a little with his reading, but who knows what the new para will do. Anyway, this year I am pushing for trades training. They keep saying but he's not 16 yet. I say I don't care he needs as long to learn the skills he'll need to do a job as possible. He is not a typical child and therefor trying to use an age as a precurser to training is absolutely rediculous.
On Wednesday I am attending a symposium presented by Pacer and hope to get someone on board to help me push this dang school district to do what my son needs.

 

[susiestar]

I am embarrassed to say I don't know when school starts. It wasn't on the school website as late as yesterday! I looked at the various school sites and no one has updated since early May! I am very frustrated with the schools' district wide refusal to use the website effectively. Employees will direct you to the website instead of answering questions, but the answers are not on the website. We lost a principal over this, she would not let the office answer questions - they were only allowed to tell people to go to the website. But she also refused to update the website or allow anyone else to do it.

Need I say our SD is a bit bizarre?

I am getting very upset with the online school provided by the state bored of ed. I have been desperately trying to get the school to answer some questions and all I get is voicemail. If this is what they do I must find another online school for Jessamess. Her back just will NOT tolerate carrying or pulling a backpack. School is against providing her with help or letting her whell a backpack. So online is her option this year.

anyway, I don't know when we start!!!

 

[KTMom91]

Summer school ended Friday, and the fall semester starts Aug 17. I'll only have a week to hear how bored she is with nothing to do. I mean, nothing to do that she wants to do.

 

[everywoman]

I go back on the 12th---the kids show up the 17th. I'm a little nervous because my principal took my American Lit courses and promoted me to 12th grade! I was happy where I was---I love Juniors and I love American lit. I've been working since early August getting new lesson plans ready---but I have not gotten back the first quarter of work
Ashley moves into her dorm next Sat. Her mom is coming from OK for 10 days so I will have her and maybe 5 other kids in the house for my first few weeks with students.

Jana starts classes on the 24th. I am hoping she can get her Financial Aid straightened out until her GIBill info gets here.

 

[crazymama30]

We start Sept 8th. I am not sure what I am feeling. difficult child will be a 6th grader, at a very small charter school. It will either be a great or horrible place for him, and I really hope and think that it will be positive.

The 2nd day of school he goes on a 2 night field trip. I would love to volunteer, but I really think that his behavior will be so much better if I am not there. If I am there he will be comfortable and secure enough to complain and cause problems. If I am not there he has no security blanket (me) and he is smart enough to realize that he has to behave in that case.

I am nervous about this. He has never been on an overnight field trip before, he had the oppurtunity last year but lost it due to his behavior.

So I guess with all that being said my feelings are mixed. Sure took me awhile to figure this out.

 

[gcvmom]

We also start on the 8th, the day after difficult child 1's 15th birthday.

While I am READY for them to go back, I personally do not look forward to the crazy schedule. Or any schedule for that matter. I LIKE the relaxed pace we have in the summer!

This year I have three separate schools and three separate bell schedules to worry about. Fortunately, they are all different enough that I should be able to ensure everyone gets where they need to be on time. And of course, if husband is not employed by then, he will be expected to help out.

difficult child 1 is going to HS and will have to get himself up and out the door to school on time for the FIRST TIME IN HIS LIFE. And he will be starting very early. That worries me. I just don't want to have to get up to give him Focalin at 5:30am so that he can be functional enough to get out the door on his own. We'll have to see if there's a better system we can work out, and he'll HAVE to use and respond to an alarm clock this year. There's just no way we can do this if he doesn't.

difficult child 2's new school is on the other side of town about 8 miles away. And easy child's new school is about 4 miles away. I've got a lot of driving in my future unless we can find people to carpool... which will be hard, since we don't know anyone from our area going to these schools. Oh well, it's not forever.

And then there's husband. I really, really want him employed. He's not been too hot to trot about it and that's a little annoying.

 

[Andy]

My difficult child starts on August 31st. There is a Right Start workshop tomorrow and Tuesday he will attend to get oriented to the building and how to get around. He is worried that he will not be able to find the correct classroom and that he will feel awful like he has every day for the last two years.

I assured him that he will learn the building quickly and teachers will help make sure he gets to the right classroom.

As for feeling weird, I reminded him that the new medication he is on has taken away the weird feeling so he should be just fine. We still have a 48 hr EEG set up to check for seizure activities to see if that is causing the weird feelings.

I just hope I am right. School refusal is no fun and it is going to be a very long 6 years if he starts that up again. If he does face overwhelming feelings in 7th and 8th grade, there is a small private high school that is way less pressure that he can go to 9th - 12th. Diva went one year in 12th and graduated.

I told him on days that I don't feel like thinking I just do the best I can, plug through the day and bring the books home to try again at night.

 

[DammitJanet]

Does having a grandchild starting Head Start count as having a kid starting school?

I have butterfly's in my tummy...lol. I cant believe she is old enough to be going to "school"!!!! Tony was in denial but I had to pull up the website and show him that they actually take applications for 3 and 4 year olds who will be 3 before Aug 31st...lmao. She is just still our baby. Now we get to worry if she will come home with those slips of paper that say "Keyana has a problem." LOL. I think it will be..Keyana talks too much...lol. I dont see any ADHD or stuff like that in her. I think she can focus as well as the next 3 year old. She may have some minor fine and gross motor skills deficits but she has amazing rythem. I know she needs speech. All my kids needed speech.

Can you tell Im obsessing...lmao.

 

[Josie]

My older daughter starts on 8/25. She will be going into 8th grade at a new middle school with about 350 per grade. For the last 5 years, she has been in a school with about 45 per grade. I think she is mostly excited about it. I am a little concerned that there will be more exposure to a bad element at this school. I am happy she will have more structure to her days.

I will be homeschooling my younger daughter again this year. It is a challenge. I do have a tutor to come 3 days a week for 3 hours so that helps. The tutor has been coming all summer but I haven't done any other school work with her. We will have to start that up again on the 25th.

 

[donna723]

Ours already started here - last Friday. It seems like it gets a little earlier every year!

 

[pepsichic9115]

We start school on the 31st. My difficult child is going to be going to 5th grade at a different elementary school. She had so many problems at the old school--she doesnt want to go back. My other 2 girls will be going to the same old school. My 3 yr old starts head start on the 15th of September. (Im really excited about that one, since I work there, I got to pick the class hes in---so I know he got good teachers!!)

 

[DazedandConfused]

A lot of changes this year as far as school goes.

Since I'm a school librarian :reading2:and we have a new elementary school due to open, my school and job will be impacted. The district redrew the boundries and we are losing a bunch of kids and getting new ones.Overall,there will be a lot less students. I got an email from my Principal informing me our test scores are up again this year, so that is so very exciting because our school was the lowest in our SD for years. It has taken her five years to get the right mix of instruction and teachers. This school and our students have come so far, but I hope it doesn't all come undone by the budget cuts made to education in CA.

We are going to be a "choice" school this year!!
(Sorry, but other schools have bagged on us for years!)

On a personal level, Daughter has graduated from HS, and is starting at community college. So, I will not be driving her to school which starts on August 31. Only one kid to drive to school and this is his last year as a middle schooler. I can't believe he is going to be in HS next year! He's still my baby! Even if he is a difficult child.

This summer has flown by because I've been in school, myself, all summer trying to finish courses before I have to go back to work. Son has been busy with his friends and he's been working with his Dad so no complaining about boredom. Daughter has been working all summer, so no complaining about boredom from her either. Overall, it's been relatively peaceful.

It's back to a strict routine for me. Plan, plan, and plan.

 

[jal]

August 31st is the start for us. difficult child is in out of district placement and beginning 2nd grade. Luckily for us difficult child likes school and never gives a fuss about going. He has attended day camp and the extended school year program which just ended last week, so he's been in school mode. He now gets 2 weeks off and 1 more week of camp before returning to school. He is looking forward to seeing his regular teacher (she did not do the summer program) and we are hoping that the tiny bit a maturity we have seen come through this summer will flourish so that he may transition back to mainstream in another year.

 

[AnnieO]

We start the 25th. Jett will be going to the same elementary, and the principal knows us and BM and all the issues. So we're good there. (Next year he goes to the middle school that gave Onyxx all the problems... But... They better leave my boy be and follow his IEP!!!)

Onyxx is starting at the Learning Center full days, then high school half days, then high school full days. This scares me to death. She has issues with the dress code - and you know what? I don't care. If she won't follow it, she'll lose the clothes that are a problem. For instance - no hoodies. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Love it!

I told her high school will be a lot different, and that she needs to buckle down and start working with instead of against the teachers... because if she doesn't, she will still be in HS when Jett gets there. If she doesn't pass, we won't pay to send her to summer school.

The good news is, one of the English teachers was a friend of husband's in high school, so he'll keep an eye out. She will have someone she can go to if need be.

Sigh. My babies are growing up.

 

[Shari]

School starts here mid-week next week.

Wee difficult child can't wait. He has wanted to go back since 3 weeks after school let out.

easy child 2 hates school and is a grump-monster about having to go back.

And me? I don't want it to start. difficult child has had a great summer, and the chaos of meetings has already started, and try as I might, and I can't help that feeling of dread that this year may not be any better than last.