Parents Getting support from your child's school

[dmytv]

Thinking I should do this for dd next year. The problem is middle school gets out so late, (she did not go to bed til 10:45 due to algebra homework after gym) and a lot of morning time is wasted. She goes from 9 to 4. We did get a PE waiver for this year pretty easy. It was so she could take another class though. We do have on line classes option. hmmm......

 

[gymmomof1]

I've always been up front with dds teachers about her intense schedule (she is in 5th gr and level 8) and so far they have been supportive (letting her turn in homework late or making up tests after school). So imho I would let your dds school know how intense she trains and for the moment this is her passion she is persuing and what options can they provide. I believe in our school district if you train 20 hrs a week you can be exempt from pe.
Hope they are able to support your dd in this crazy hard sport .

 

[gasrgoose]

I'm interested to hear some schools are willing to work with you. Are these public schools? If so that's great. There is plenty of wasted time throughout the school day that could allow for a kid to miss 2-4 hours of the day and maintain there actual classroom work. We removed our child from a private school that would not allow our child to miss for gymnastics. She is now in a home school program. But there are several private schools in our area who are tailoring their programs for kids "that are pursuing a passion outside the classroom". I love this idea and it seems to be taking off. Most are gymnasts, tennis players, equestrians, actors, etc. There are also a few public high schools that have similar programs. I don't know of a public school that has the program below the high school level.

 

[cbifoja]

I have brought this up before, if there are so many issues and road blocks that you are finding with the schools on this, and to me it sounds like a huge headache because it sounds like most districts are not very accommodating why not look into the possibility of homeschooling?

Single mom. Like to eat non-pet food on a regular basis.

 

[dmytv]

Single mom. Like to eat non-pet food on a regular basis.

Bwahahaha!

 

[gwenmom]

I believe in our school district if you train 20 hrs a week you can be exempt from pe.

WOW that seems crazy to me to get out of 2 hrs of PE a week you have to do 20 hours in the gym! (Maybe your area has more PE than we do)

 

[ginnymac]

In our state, sports are not an excuse to miss PE at the high school level. Both school sports and outside of school sports.

 

[Gymmom495]

Single mom. Like to eat non-pet food on a regular basis.

Really??? A bit rude don't you think? As mentioned numerous times on this site, gymnastics is a very expensive sport. No one is going to fault you for having to hold down a job or even having to work 3 to pay for your daughter to do the sport she loves, but it's a bit rude of you to make comments like you did when I'm trying to offer advice to people who have the option to homeschool.
I'm not a single mom and my husband works loads of overtime, sometimes missing out on family functions to pay gym tuition and other expenses. I would just appreciate if you could play nice.

 

[cbifoja]

Not rude, a joke. You know...ha ha, an attempt at humour....trying to be light-hearted. No need to get all offended when you, your husband's hours, your familial choices, or your daughter's choice of hobby are NOT being attacked or judged.

So relax. It's okay. I am not being mean, just playful.

I mean, if you notice, several people "liked" my comments. People don't tend to "like" comments that are mean or rude. I'm also not at all a mean person. But I do like me some sarcasm and humour!!!!

 

[Fliptwisttumble]

Here's where I have to say I'm glad to live in Ontario. Ministry mandated is that all children can be absent from school for up to 4 hrs per week for sports, music, art, etc. In some locations there are public schools that are geared to athletes with flex hours. I'm not fortunate enough to live near one, but friends do, and it's a godsend.

DD is going to a new school next year (grade 4, either L8 or PNN) and we discussed at length that she would leave early three days a week, and miss half of every Friday, plus meets, the odd extra practise, etc. Not even a blink. No problem. And it's a K-8 school, so we don't have to worry again until high school.

 

[skschlag]

I know in our district, lots of kids get PE credit, are able to work classes so they get out early every day. It is nice that the district works with the families. Of course, when I suggested it to my ds, he wondered out loud why on earth would anyone want to "get out" of PE! LOL!

 

[gymmomtoo]

Not rude, a joke. You know...ha ha, an attempt at humour....trying to be light-hearted. No need to get all offended when you, your husband's hours, your familial choices, or your daughter's choice of hobby are NOT being attacked or judged.

So relax. It's okay. I am not being mean, just playful.

I mean, if you notice, several people "liked" my comments. People don't tend to "like" comments that are mean or rude. I'm also not at all a mean person. But I do like me some sarcasm and humour!!!!

We must have similar senses of humor--I thought your original comment was hilarious. Of course we've made jokes around our house about eating dog food this month (yearly dues and sign-up at the end of the month!)

 

[Jenny]

Really??? A bit rude don't you think? As mentioned numerous times on this site, gymnastics is a very expensive sport. No one is going to fault you for having to hold down a job or even having to work 3 to pay for your daughter to do the sport she loves, but it's a bit rude of you to make comments like you did when I'm trying to offer advice to people who have the option to homeschool.
I'm not a single mom and my husband works loads of overtime, sometimes missing out on family functions to pay gym tuition and other expenses. I would just appreciate if you could play nice.

It wasn't rude, you are being oversensitive. It was funny! It was kind of you to try and offer advice. Your dd is only really young and quite new to this sport so it is nice to have advice from a whole range of people with different lengths of time in this sport and difference experiences.

 

[my4buffaloes]

Check to see if your school district offers some sort of flex credit. Here my kids can write a paper to get out of PE (they also have to show that they do athletic activities a certain amount of time) and can get flex credit for a few other classes as well. My ds said no way he loves PE. My dd plans on doing the flex credit.

 

[shelovestoflip]

I think getting out of school early may be state dependent. In our state, PE is a requirement until 10th grade. Then, they can get a waiver if they have an outside sport or play on a school team.

My daughter is in 8th grade and just finished her first year level 8. She works hard to get all of her HW done before practice though there are nights where something is left until she gets home (at 9:20...not pretty that late!!)

I do worry about HS....they don't have study hall...what happened to that?!! And there are 5 required classes plus an elective plus PE in 9th grade. So zero free time except for lunch!! I have looked into having her do her required art elective this summer but, alas, that would cost money! So it's not an option for us.

As for homeschool, I'm a single, working mom and honestly, she loves school and would miss the interaction of the class.

Guess we'll see how it goes!

That being said, if you have the money and time and your child wants it, I'd say try homeschooling some of the day if you can.

 

[Twosmiles]

I think you are right on track with trying to keep her in the math and science classes live at school. Most colleges today use a lot of teamwork in their programs and she would really be missing an opportunity to interact with students solving technical difficult challenges. Having these types of skills will make or break students in college (teamwork, giving constructive criticism, providing / defending ideas). An online class wouldn't provide the same level of collaboration.

 

[HangingOn]

We met with DD's headmaster yesterday. This would be a new and unique situation for them so they listened as to why we hoped it would work. All in all, it seemed very positive and we hope they will get back to us with a way to make the shorter school day work. I really appreciate all the advice and input from everyone on the topic. Our state does not allow PE to be waived but since DD is in a private school, there may be an opportunity there and we discussed the possibility of taking a course online. Crossing our fingers that it will work out and next fall will mean DD can be in bed before 11!