#175 - Survived 1st Day! - More Bullying - DS Leaving School After All - Need P&PT

[zoestargrove]

piles of mojo and all my digits are crossed that your son thrives in his new school!

[Fairy]

Sending mojo for a great first day.

[maydaymommy]

Wishing your ds lots of luck with a smooth transition and a school that will help him succeed. Thinking of you & your family and hoping everything goes well!

[bekahjean]

I hope he has a great day at school today!!

[Melbel]

Thank you for all of the support. I nervously watched the clock through out the day. He was understandably nervous this morning, but made it through the day fine. He rated it a 7.5 out of 10, which is great for an anxious child learning the ropes of a new school after a traumatic experience.

[crl]

Hooray! I wish you all the best with the new school!

Catherine

[ilfaith]

So glad to hear your son had a good first day at his new school. I think you made a great decision, and starting him during what is a short and probably fairly mellow week should make for an easier transition. I imagine it will also give him some advantage in making friends and growing comfortable in the school environment before the class size expands with the influx of seventh graders next year.

Hopefully you will be able to find some neighbors with whom you might be able to carpool.

Did you ever get any feedback from the school where the bullying took place regarding your son's departure? I know DD1 is still attending that school, and i presume she is still happy there. Obviously you don't want to do anything to jeopardize her experience at the school, which I imagine would prevent you from really giving the administration a piece of your mind, I just wondered whether they made any attempt to retain your son at the school so as not to lose out on his tuition for the remainder of the year.

[elektra]

7.5.
Made me smile. Definitely not horrible, but room for improvement. Still very good though.

[Melbel]

So glad to hear your son had a good first day at his new school. I think you made a great decision, and starting him during what is a short and probably fairly mellow week should make for an easier transition. I imagine it will also give him some advantage in making friends and growing comfortable in the school environment before the class size expands with the influx of seventh graders next year.

Hopefully you will be able to find some neighbors with whom you might be able to carpool.

Did you ever get any feedback from the school where the bullying took place regarding your son's departure? I know DD1 is still attending that school, and i presume she is still happy there. Obviously you don't want to do anything to jeopardize her experience at the school, which I imagine would prevent you from really giving the administration a piece of your mind, I just wondered whether they made any attempt to retain your son at the school so as not to lose out on his tuition for the remainder of the year.

DS will definitely have an advantage in terms of knowing more kids and knowing his way around next year when the class sizes really expand next year. In the past week, we have run into a few of his "old school" friends and he also had a friend over for a play date over the weekend. It seems as though some of the strong negative associations of his friends due to the old school are starting to fade (which will also be helpful when many of his former friends, almost entirely good kids influx next year).

After the administrator crossed the final line, they knew we had our minds made up to leave. The administrator majorly breached our trust by directly defying DS' doctors' orders. With so many families already gone, you would think the school would want to address the problems, even if solely for fiscal reasons. The administrator talks a good talk though, and finds ways to blame the victims. Then you have the headmaster, who does not want to have to deal with "in house" issues, so he prefers to assume there is no problem. With the poor economy, the school has built in excuse for the falling numbers over the past few years. The old school already has most of DS' tuition $$ for this school year. We will work on a demand letter for the amount we have over paid for the school year over the Thanksgiving break. We are continuing to be professional, but stern in our dealings with the school.

DD1 is still at the old school for now. She loves it there and is doing very well. We have a comfort level with her teachers, and she has good kids in her grade. DD1 is tall, strong, popular and confident, and not as likely to be bullied. This would have described DS in 4th grade too though, and we do not plan to keep DD1 at the school for the long term. Now that DS has transitioned to his new school, I am working to find a spot for her, either at school choice #2 (we were considering for DS) where she has a couple great friends but there are no current openings, or alternatively, a school that will feed in to DS' new school in a couple years (touring there next week).

I confirmed that 1 neighbor can help get DD1 to school when DH is traveling, which is a relief.

Hopefully all steps in the right direction.

[gatorsmom]

I've been following your posts and threads (though not always posting myself) and I just wanted to say I'm so relieved and thrilled for your DS. I'll be continuing with the prayers that he grows in confidence and contentment at highs new school.

prayers and hugs for you, too, because moms worry so much for their kids. Our burdens are bigger than our kids' I think.