The Second Day

Much as I would like to reel off the names of the children in Starting School here (see post title) I can't remember them in order. David and Sophie and Sushma and Robert and Alison ... or thereabouts.

Second half day, of course. While I'm here thinking I cannot believe we have six weeks of this part-time messing about still to go, I have a friend in ... Bolton, I think ... who has had to talk her son's headteacher into letting him go part-time for just three days, rather than straight in. There's got to be a middle way, surely?

Meanwhile, after school this afternoon we went to see one of Daughter's nursery friends. She has just had a home visit from her Reception teacher, and both teaching assistants. She starts next week, and I think is only part-time for two weeks. This seems like an option - don't start the Reception class with the rest of the school (ours did, to the day) but use the time instead to do home visits. That way children in nursery could stay there a little longer, making their parents lives easier, and the teacher (and teaching assistants as applicable) could get a little one-on-one time with each child, something our school hasn't done.

Making life easier for parents though - not sure if this is even a consideration. I have been told (and should stress told by parent with child at a different school) that the headmaster 'doesn't like working mothers'. I am sincerely hoping this is just gossip and sour grapes. There are three mothers just in Daughter's half of her class (fifteen children) working for my employer alone!

What is annoying me at the moment though is that they haven't yet updated the website with the school diary for this year, neither have they notified us of the term dates for the year. I am working purely off the default county timetable, which I hope is what they are working off! I will start to prod shortly (I'll be very disappointed if NOTHING comes home tomorrow in the bookbag) but don't want to do it just yet. It's very well saying we can have a chat with the teacher at hometime, but at the moment the children are being very carefully let out one by one, and to wade in there and need to talk to the teacher would be highly disruptive.

Ho hum.

Hometime is funny though - they line up, the teacher gets them to spot a parent and their little faces light up, and off they go. So cute. If they don't see anyone, back to the back of the queue!

In other random news - first school dress lasted two (half days) and has a mystery mark near the zip, clean one tomorrow; first pair of socks worn were trashed yesterday, made her change into jeans to go on the trampoline in the wet, and wet brand-new jeans + white socks + rain = blue socks, oops; water bottle got lost yesterday but has turned up today. Also I tidied the hall and have dedicated one shelf to my bag collection and one to Daughter's. Go me. Living room tomorrow.