Category: Blog

getting in the groove

Posted on by Admin

We’re getting in the groove, even though we still have to run to school to avoid being late! Did I mention we live ACROSS the street from the school?

One big glitch which enraged, ENRAGED me. I know communication in schools is a problem. But you need to get it together when it’s a big problem. This was a big problem. It’s no secret that NYC has a bedbug problem and that the bugs are notoriously difficult and expensive to get rid of.

My manny was told midweek to wash the sheets and sweater of Brayden’s. Not really thinking he didn’t ask any questions. Well it turns out that one of the students has bedbugs. If the staff is aware of a potential problem they should let the parents know- I’d rather throw out the articles instead of bringing them into the class.

Worse, some parents were still unaware the following day of the potential problem. One mom didn’t think twice and just had the items still lying around in her house. It wasn’t until I told her that she ran home panicked.

Guess it’s time for me to make some enemies at the PTA meeting, because I’m about to get evil.

Label EVERYTHING!

Posted on by Admin

One of the most important thing they should tell new parents is to label absolutely everything that is not on your child's body, including coats, hats, shoes, anything they may remove.

It rained heavily during the first couple days of school this year so Lee wore his new yellow rain slicker that he is in love with.  When I went to pick him up that afternoon, the teacher greeted me with a most apologetic look on her face.  "I'm so sorry, but we accidentally gave his coat to the boy he shares a cubby with", she said.  The perfect storm of circumstances lead to this unfortunate mishap that left my child with no coat to wear home in the rain.  The other boy was picked up early that day by someone who was not his mother or father and couldn't have known that he did not own the coat.  The teacher handed over the book bag and coat thinking it belonged to the right child.  The other child's name was in his coat, but Lee's name was not.  I guess there was some confusion as to who was who because the wrong coat was left behind for Lee.  It was an honest mistake but try explaining that to a 3 year old who is just getting used to a new situation.  It was not pretty.  Luckily, by the time we got outside the rain stated to hold up so he didn't get very wet at all.  The coat was returned the next morning and all was well.

Since then, I've learned to put his name on absolutely everything that is not attached to him - clothing, sheets, blankets, pillows, utensils, etc.  I use the labels from Name Bubbles and they're great.  I especially love the shoe labels because they have a plastic protective cover that keeps the labels in place.

Testing, Testing

Posted on by Admin

If you've been reading (and I know you have been), you'll see that the Board of Ed has announced launched the gifted and talented testing program for the 2010/2011 school year for students entering kindergarden and the primary grades.  This testing is not mandatory, it's only for parents who want their children to qualify for one of the gifted and talented program.  Starting this year, for the first time, the city is choosing to enforce an old law on the books that says all students in publicly funded pre-k programs must be tested for developmental disabilities.  That's right, if your child is in a universal pre-k program in public school, he/she WILL be tested.

I am not crazy about all of this testing of the youngest ones in school and there are some in education who feel the same way.  As this NY1 article states, some teachers and program directors are concerned about false positive results.  "You are going to have kids who are just refusing to do these tasks and won't be able to do them as their supposed to according to this assessment, simply because they are fearful.  They may be uncomfortable, they may be hungry.", says Martha Foote of Time Out From Testing.

In the same article, DOE Spokesman William Havemann says about the test, "It will be used for early detection of developmental delays, and for no other purpose.  It will not go in a student's permanent record, and will be used only in pre-kindergarten."

Tell us what you think.   Leave a comment and tell us if your child has been or will be tested and how you feel about the issue.

G&T handbooks now available online

Posted on by Admin

Handbooks for the NYC Board of Education 2009/2010 Gifted and Talented program are current available online.  Here are important program dates:

Applicants who were born in 2005, 2004, 2003 & 2002

(Please note: For K, 1st, 2nd, & 3rd grade placement in the 2010 - 2011 school year)

October 7, 2009: Gifted & Talented Test Information handbooks available online

October 7 – November 6, 2009: Window for submitting the Request For Testing (RFT) forms open

October 13, 2009: Gifted & Talented Test Information handbooks available at schools (with Request For Testing forms and OLSAT practice test included)

October 13 – October 23, 2009: Community Information Sessions

January 4 – February 26, 2010: OLSAT/BSRA testing at school sites for public school students

January 9, 10, 23, 24, 30 & 31 and February 6 & 7, 2010: OLSAT/BSRA testing at selected sites for non-public school children

Early April, 2010: Score reports and applications with available G&T sites communicated to eligible students

Late April, 2010: Applications due

June 2010: Placement offers communicated to parents

June 2010: Parents accept/decline placement offer

Free education seminar

Posted on by Admin

Title: Free Education Seminar
Location: Nightingale-Bamford School 20 E 92nd St. (btwn 5th & Madison) NYC, NY
Description:
If you are interested in learning more about school options for your kids, plan to attend a wonderful free education seminar hosted by The Metropolitan Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc.

The Education Seminar will be held on Saturday, October 17th at the Nightingale-Bamford School, 20 East 92nd Street (between 5th and Madison Avenue).

Attached are fliers for the morning session, afternoon session and one for the morning and afternoon session combined.

Morning Session 9:30am-12:30pm: Representatives from independent, public, charter, and boarding schools plus school fair

Afternoon Session 12:30pm to 4pm: Panels on handling social pressure and anxiety in middle and high school experienced by students and parents, the academic and social climate at colleges, and the SAT, student essay and interview.

Start Time: 09:30 am
Date: 2009-10-17
End Time: 16:30 pm

Staying put

Posted on by Admin

I've decided to stay where we are and not change schools.  Our school is great and it just feels like a perfect fit for my boy.  He is learning and enjoys going to school everyday.  No sense in disrupting that at this early stage in the process.

update PTA

Posted on by Admin

great meeting- went on for 2 hrs tho...exciting to hear that our school received 105.1 points out of a possible 100 plus 15 for extra credit.  Also the school had placed 9th out of over 1100!
The school seems to be a good fit - some of the parents who are interested in a more "progressive" approach are not that pleased with the no-nonsense stricter approach of the school.
Yet the PTA has become very active within the school and now has a very vocal board and definitely a strong effect within the school. Why weren't these parents at the meeting?
People love to complain and yet hate to get involved.....

Reflections

Posted on by Admin

As I walked by the pond in our local park this morning, I marveled at how still the water was, despite the waterfall behind depositing a steady stream of water into it.  It resembled a mirror, reflecting the trees, grass and skies above.  That is my favourite part of the 25 minute walk home after dropping Lee off at school.

I started to reflect on the progress Lee has made since starting school.  Today is exactly 3 weeks since the first day of school and he has completed the separation from me completely.  When I drop him off in the mornings, he says good-bye and gets into his school groove.  I've noticed that some of the kids already have close friends that they are happy to see each morning but my son isn't there yet.  He'd rather speak to the teacher or stand up in line.  There are still a handful of kids that haven't quite made the separation from their parents yet, but overall, the class seems to be doing very well.  I think that's a testament to the warm, loving nature of the teacher.

Each day when I pick him up, he skips happily down the street asking me about my day.  He's much more interested in hearing what I have to say than telling me about what he did that day.  But, I'm figuring out other ways to get him to talk about things, besides asking direct questions.  He's always loved to sing and he's added a few new songs to his repertoire, such as the days of the week and the months of the year.

Communication with the teacher is very important to me and she has been very responsive.  The recommended method of communication, a note in your child's folder, is effective but she does answer emails as well.  I try to keep those to a minimum.  If I get there early enough in the mornings, I can chat with her while everyone arrives.  I was pleasantly surprised to see a newsletter in Lee's folder a couple of days ago, summarizing what the class has accomplished for the month and suggesting activities to do at home to reinforce what is being learned.  Of course, the big news is that the kids took a vote and decided on names for their pet goldfishes and weekly show and tell starts tomorrow.

I've noticed a difference in our nightly story time.  Whenever we read books we discuss what is happening in the story.  I ask him questions and sometimes (not very often) he asks me questions.  He much prefers to just sit and listen to the story as opposed to having conversations about it.  Now, he questions and comments more often and in more detail.

Things seem to be good so far but here's a new wrinkle.  The school that was my first choice just let me know that a spot has opened for Lee if I'm interested.  I'm torn.  I really liked the program there but Lee is settled in to his new school and really likes it.  I'm not sure if I want to put him through a big change again.  On the other hand, it's still early in the year, and if a change is going to be made, now is the best time to do it.  I'll take the weekend to think about it.

sept beginnings

Posted on by Admin

Pretty non-descript beginnings...DS has seen the school for years inside and out (because of my volunteering there). He's been in some sort of school environment since 2, so was comfortable with this school. I made sure that he had a mellow summer, no camp- so by the time the school year rolled around he was excited to be in a classroom! I was the same as a kid....
Beautiful day yesterday. I met one of the moms walking to school, her son gave DS the biggest hug, then the boys met up with a third boy- again a huge bear hug. Was so beautiful, they hadn't known each other two weeks ago. One of the moms commented when do we lose that ability to just see each other as friends?
Some of the kids seem to have a hard time adjusting, a few parents have had their children at home full-time until now. Aside from that we're an excited group!

First PTA meeting this Sat- should be packed!!