rentre scolaire

[opas]

yipee!! the school is open again some sort of order is gained. Then last evening I had my allocation of homework! all the paperwork neccessary to send two primare kids to school, and a list of things to buy that I hadn`t already bought. Do the schools  here not keep records from year to year?

Then we went to Auchan this am for the extra school stuff and it was like a battle field...litteraly...with their check lists! I am sure I have never seen so many variations of rullers,scissors ,ringbinders etc.....anyway hopefully done now untill next year.....untill the youngest comes home after music and declares she needs a flute(recorder) or bongo type drum....

[Mistral]

You're lucky, we don't usually get the equipment list until there's nothing left in the hypermarkets and we have to stock up in the maison de la presse. At least the primary selection isn't too bad, it's mostly pens and book covers (we never did find the small orange one they wanted last year) But I'm not looking foreward to next year when the eldest starts college, then all hell lets loose. Between grand format and maxi format, petits carreaux and grands carreaux, with or without spirals .....

 

Don't worry about the flûte. They generally don't start that until 6eme (they they play them in the classroom next to mine with the windows open...  )

[SaligoBay]

Mistral said: "But I'm not looking foreward to next year when the eldest starts college, then all hell lets loose. Between grand format and maxi format, petits carreaux and grands carreaux, with or without spirals ....."

Just done it, all that and more - classeur rigide, classeur souple lutin (STILL don't know what that is!), feuilles simples, feuilles doubles, gomme à this, gomme à that, stylo encre, stylo bille, pencils in HB, 2B, 4B, 6B, brushes, a million pochettes en plastiques (about half an oil rig's yearly production, I reckon).  Oh yes, and the recorder (flute à bec)!

The problem is that each subject teacher produces a separate list, and the secretary just types the whole thing out, so there's a lot of redundancy.  As a result of this lack of coordination, the GOOD news is apparently that sixième is the worst, and there'll be lots left over to use next year. 

There was something on the news about it a while back, the hours that are spent countrywide getting all this stuff together.  And teachers often ask for things that don't exist, like cahiers of odd sizes and numbers of pages, so parents and children all get stressed and worried because they can't find them.

It is odd that with a so-called national curriculum there isn't a standard set of stuff to buy.  

[Val_2]

If you are worried now about buying stuff, wait until they get to education superieur/uni etc. Yesterday we moved my 19 year old into her studio appt some 100km from home. Although it was furnished with the necessities there were still some large items to buy,food to get in and school requisites. All this with the monthly rental,keeping her car full of petrol and insurances galore. No wonder we  both cried at parting time last night. One of her new course books alone costs the equivalent of nearly £45.  However,if parents didn't support their kids through their education,goodness knows what sort of future they would have.

[Mistral]

"And teachers often ask for things that don't exist, like cahiers of odd sizes and numbers of pages, so parents and children all get stressed and worried because they can't find them"

 

I heard something about that on C+ today, but the man was complaining that teachers ask for a 200 page cahier when they come as 196 pages. Having been at too many discussions on "what are we going to ask for?" I know that most teachers assume that parents will understand that 196 is perfectly acceptable. The thing is, they don't, they are worried about getting it wrong, maybe there is a miracle 200 page cahier somewhere. The other thing he was complaining about was that 24x32 maxi format cahiers don't exist. Well, I'm sorry they certainly exist here. Our pupils have been using them for years. The reason is quite simple, A4 photocopies fit in much better that in a normal grand format. You don't get bits of paper sticking out and getting ripped of in the bag.

The problem is that each subject teacher produces a separate list, and the secretary just types the whole thing out, so there's a lot of redundancy. 

My school, has decided to write common list for the bits and bobs and each subject then adds on the specific equipment needed for that subject. In my case; cahier, workbook and green protege cahier in 6eme (hist-geo ask for blue, French for red- so the 6emes don't get the books mixed up)

It is odd that there isn't a standard set of stuff to buy

And upset our liberté professionelle!!!!! There are 6 English teachers in my school and the whole meeting on what to ask for takes at least an hour with a lot of shouting and sulking and sometimes people walking out. Just think of the hassles it would be if we had to ask every English teacher in France.

[Lebrouillac]

Just catching up again, but listen to this!

For the last three years we have provided stylo's of various descriptions, HB pencils and all the trousse stuff which is normal, together with an agenda and various classeurs and inserts.

Last week Alexandra trotted off to school with all the stuff that we have had to provide in the past, only to come back with a note saying that Perigueux 3 is supplying all the schools with classeurs and agenda's made out of recycled paper, etc, etc, but could we please provide the flexible classeurs, the loose leaf paper and the clear pochettes and inserts.  This is the first time this has happened!   Also they are not happy with the see through inserts, they must be cardboard (I ask you!).

Oh and by the way, please note that your chld must only have a red, blue, black and green stylo - no other colours at all.  The last Maitresse didn't care what colour they wrote in, provided they were happy!

We have said no very firmly, having spent a fortune on Dolphin classeurs, agendas and stylo plumes and that Alexandra will use what she has got!  Lucky for us we keep supplies of paper and pochettes!

Clare

[Dick Smith]

"Oh and by the way, please note that your chld must only have a red, blue, black and green stylo - no other colours at all.  The last Maitresse didn't care what colour they wrote in, provided they were happy!"

What other colours are there? Or do you mean those horrible pink and silver things? Ever tried reading work done with those - it's a nightmare.

I agree with Mistral on the difficulty of achieving consensus. In England I have seen major rows erupt over the number of lines per page in an exercise book order - with people actually doing calculations on which size of exercise book gives a longer total line length - and as for A4 versus small format, that can lead to physical violence. And that's the teachers.

[Mistral]

What other colours are there? Or do you mean those horrible pink and silver things? Ever tried reading work done with those - it's a nightmare.

Or when you're correcting and you have to change from red pen (sorry is that still allowed in the UK ?) to another colour so the pupils can see what you've written against pink or orange.

A lot of my older pupils (especially the girls) like to use various shades of turquoise if they can't use pink or orange.

Child #2's list asks for blue, red and green pens without specifying if they should be ballpoint or ink but at the bottom reminds you to check that their stylo effacable works. (not that they asked for one anywhere in the list) does this mean that they should have ink pens?

Most teachers don't seem to like black pens. I don't know why. Our three are rarely asked to buy one and my 6emes always ask if they can use one.

[Lebrouillac]

Or when you're correcting and you have to change from red pen (sorry is that still allowed in the UK ?) to another colour so the pupils can see what you've written against pink or orange.

I use green.  It shows up against the blue, purple or pink!

Child #2's list asks for blue, red and green pens without specifying if they should be ballpoint or ink but at the bottom reminds you to check that their stylo effacable works. (not that they asked for one anywhere in the list) does this mean that they should have ink pens?

La Maitresse specified blue, red, green AND black!  Blue has to be stylo plume (which has upset one of the mothers as her precious little girl has got one with purple ink!!!!!) and no effacers or Tip-pex.  The red, green and black can be any sort (stylo bic or those new ones that are cross between bic and plume and roller ball).

The one plus point this year is tht she has banned those metal rulers which means relativel peace and quiet in English this year

Clare

[Dick Smith]

I once had a kid who did her homework in yellow. Nice.

Red is still allowed, but frowned on by some teachers. Kids like it, especially if you use a fountain pen and a really vivid crimson. I also used to use a lot of rubber stamps - great fun, even the big kids wanted stamps on their work. My own preference was for green fountain pen (I habitually have a red, brown and green example - pretentious, moi?) but it wasn't always easy to read. I agree with no Tip-Ex - some kids can spend the whole lesson painting out the three words they actually wrote, and then use it to stick the pages of their exercise book together. Nasty.

[Mistral]

Oh yes, I try to ban tip-ex. They spend more time blanking out and then waiting for it to dry than working. I quite like the mice though.

I use a lot of ruber stamps too. I had a set of winnie the pooh stamps and I would get the 3emes begging for the stamps with the "nounours" instead of the "boring" ones.

I don't use fountain pens. They're not easy to buy in France (unless you go to a specialised shop) and anyway, my fingers get covered with ink using a ballpoint. I'm a bit like kids in nursery school, you can see from my clothes and hands what I've been doing. (last year I managed to draw all over my T-shirt  white board marker- much to 6eme E's amusement)

I still correct in red. I tried orange one year but it wasn't visible enough and I use green for pronounciation so if I start underlining in green, they'll think it was stress accent.

[Lebrouillac]

Hi Mistral

Was it you who sent me a whole load of stuff for English - going on a picnic I think it was.   I only ask cos I have lost it all and wondered if you could send it again.  Due to start English again in a few weeks and this time am going in fighting

Clare

[Mistral]

Yes, it was me. I'll send it again. If you like it, I'll send you you ISBN for the book (I'm assuming  it's still in print) My first lessons are tomorrow. 6eme, 3eme LV1, 3eme LV2 and 3eme Insertion. New books for two of them and no book at all for one.

What levels will you be having? Is your school following the system (from dear old Jack) of teaching a younger class each year? Should be on CP by now