Kdg Orientation and the 1st day of school

Paton went to his kindergarten orientation on Thursday. It was a great was to get introduced to the school , teachers and kids. He brought all of his supplies and got to sit at his new desk. He seemed happy, but he usually isn't overly emotional, so I couldn't really tell. In this first picture, he looks a bit nervous.

Here are the 3 musketeers on the first day, Tuesday, September 2nd. It was a big day for everyone and we were all up early and excited. For Jimmy it was his first day at the new Edison and his first day taking a bus to school.

For Payton, it was his first day of kindergarten, enough said.

And for Rea, it was her first day with out her boys after a whole summer with them, and her first day without Payton, after a 3 yer lifespan. I think she cried harder than all of them when it was time to go :0(

Payton's day went well, again, not overly excited, but he enjoyed his day and was happy to show us his homework and tell us about a few things they did. Here is a picture of Jim getting Payton from "the box" on the first day.

Now poor Jimmy, this was probably one of the most messed up days the poor kid has experienced! The "fun" (said in a VERY sarcastic tone) began at 6:50 am when he got to the bus stop. This is where he (we) waited, and waited and waited and waited, for a bus that NEVER showed up!!!

Jimmy ended up spending the first day of 5th grade with tthe 5th graders at Thorp. He was so calm and good natured about it, but I knew where he would have rather been.

It was a good learning experience for him though, and he made new friends that might live in our neighborhood.

So the 2nd day rolls around and the bus fails to show for day 2. Today we decide that Jim will drive him to school and so Jimmy gets to class in the middle of 1st period. At least he made it! Jim picked him up on Wednesday since the bus didn't show at the school for over an hour.

By this morning, not being hopeful the bus was coming, it was a pleasent surprise to hear it picked Jimmy up and even better to hear that it was a new company and they were driving the route with an Edison parent and plan to make this work.

So after a few frustrating days, it looks like there is a little light at the end of the tunnel and we are going to continue to chug along.

The New School

we went on a tour of the new school. i honestly can say while i am not happy about having to move from our comfy, cozy school home, i am happy with the school. don't get me wrong, i don't like the location. the neighborhood is crowed and parking will be a problem. the distance and direction isn't something i am a fan of either, but the building it self is nice.

at first it was intimidating. it's huge and very sterile. it doesn't say "i'm a warm and friendly place for your child to be nurtured and welcomes." in fact, i was thinking it was more like "becareful little one, we'll try to keep you safe by having you walk through a metal detector every day." or "get used to it kid, it's better than county"

i know that probaby sounds awful, but i didn't have much to go on.

The gym is huge. The whole school can comfortably fit.

The music room can also fit the whole school and there are acoustical ceilings.

The primary grades have bathrooms in the classrooms, the other classrooms are a good size and will be fitted with smart boards. The 2 schools will be kept separate and run on different operating schedules.

And we have a mother goose. Since the roof is "green" a momma goose has decided to take up residence and raise her babies. How sweet!

It's definately not what we signed up for, but change can be good and there is no sense in going into something with a closed mind unless I want to get closed results.

Here we come Albany Park. Make way for Edison!

The Vote Is In, We Are Out

BOARD OF EDUCATION 300 protest decision to 'turn around' 8 failing facilities, close others; magnet overhaul plan OKd
February 28, 2008
BY ROSALIND ROSSI Education Reporter/rrossi@suntimes.com
Over protests, tears and jeers, Chicago School Board members Wednesday approved plans to shake up 18 schools -- the beginning of what could be 50 school closings over the next five years.
With 300 protesters scattered inside, upstairs and outside of Board of Education headquarters, board members doled out stiff medicine for two of the system’s nagging problems — chronically low-scoring schools and dwindling enrollment.
» Click to enlarge image
Carman Soto speaks out Wednesday before the Chicago Board of Education voted on its plan to shake up 18 schools. (Brian Jackson/Sun-Times)
RELATED STORIESStudents walk out in protest
RELATED PDFMap of schools that are closing
By a unanimous vote, they approved plans to “turnaround’’ four flagging high schools and four of their feeder elementary schools; to close, consolidate or phase out eight half-empty elementary schools, and to relocate two others.
In doing so, they primed CPS to attract more middle class and high-scoring kids by creating three new magnet schools, opening a neighborhood school in Edison Park, and doubling the size of Edison Gifted, one of the top-scoring schools in the state.
“We heard some very impassioned comments today,’’ said School Board President Rufus Williams. “Change is hard. I understand that....But we’ve got to get better and get better right now.’’
Subhed
CPS officials insisted they had finetuned some plans in response to public hearings and emerged with a better set of recommendations.
But some parents walked away feeling they had been steamrolled. They accused CPS officials of using stilted statistics, of courting kids in “gentrified’’ areas and marginalizing poor ones, and of experimenting on children. CPS changes didn’t go far enough, they said.
Rev. Charlie Walker derided plans for the third major attempt to fix Orr High School since Mayor Daley’s 1995 city school takeover.
“You keep dropping the ball,’’ an angry Walker told school board members. “We need to get a grand jury to investigate the school board.’’
Edison Gifted parents also were miffed. They had fought relocating Edison’s 300 kids into Albany Park Middle, saying Edison’s youngest students would be intimidated by all the teens in the building and needed their own school. CPS officials said Edison kids would have a separate, sectioned-off area of the building instead.
“We never asked for a Berlin wall,’’ said Edison parent Matthew Farmer. “We just don’t want to be guinea pigs for a politically expedient social experiment.’’
A handful of parents supported CPS plans. Catonya Withers said she that last year she fought a summer “turnaround’’ at Harvard Elementary, but now was thrilled with the results. “Welcome change. Don’t be afraid of it,’’ she advised.
Subhed
Parents and little kids walked up to protest plans for Andersen Elementary wearing large yellow stickers that said “excluded’’ on their foreheads.
Andersen parents said plans to eventually replace their school with a second campus of popular LaSalle Magnet meant Andersen kids would be “excluded’’ from boutique programs and extra resources offered new LaSalle kids.
In the end, Board members voted to “turnaround’’ Harper High, the three small schools on the Orr High campus, and feeder schools Fulton, Copernicus, Morton and Howe; to close Gladstone, Johns Middle, Miles Davis and Midway for lack of enrollment; to fold Carver Middle and Irving Park Middle into other schools; to phase-out Andersen and De La Cruz; and to relocate Edison Gifted and DeDuprey Elementary.
Also approved was a magnet overhaul plan that gives college prep high school principals the power to handpick five percent of freshmen, despite lower overall admission scores, if they meet certain criteria.