First week of school kaleidoscope (2 days down, 2 days to go)

Forms filled out. Forms forms forms. More forms.

NO PEANUT BUTTER! NO PEANUT ANYTHING! NO NO NO A THOUSAND TIMES NO!

Three trips to Staples (and one last week, too).

Label maker! Resulting, probably temporary, sense of calm and organization.

Campaign to pry information from children about what happened at school relaunched. Children proving wilier than ever. Learned little.

School drop off in a four-dimensional craze of children. Fourth grader disappears immediately. First grader clings to my hand. Mayor Taveras visiting. Trying to talk education with him and say hi to first grade teacher at the same time. Hugs and kisses and handshakes with parent and teacher and kid friends. So good to see everyone.

Homework. Realization that middle kid has apparently forgotten how to form legible letters over the summer. Realization that oldest kid has somehow figured out that writing clearly is a useful skill. Realization that there is hope.

No bus passes. No idea if/when they may be bestowed. Resulting drama brewing?

PAC meetings. Meetings meetings meetings. PTO meetings next week. All the meetings.

Kids tired, voluntarily going to bed early. I am right there with them.

Photographic evidence of second day of school:

Henry and Leo, shady characters.

Afterschool with the fabulous Adelle.

First day of school!

Providence Public Schools starts the 2012-2013 school year today. Despite the rainy beginning, I hope that all went well, that everyone got where they needed to go, and that a great day was had by all.

I had to go to the office today, with the extra fun of being caught up in a major commuter rail delay, so my husband got the guys off to school. No first day of school photos, which at this point has become a tradition as I - the usual family documenter - have had work that's taken me away for the last couple of first days of school. So we'll do second day of school photos which has become our weirdo tradition, and I'm working from home tomorrow in order to be a part of their school year start. 

In the meantime, here's a rundown of back to school resources and thoughts:

Providence Public Schools 2012-2013 calendar

Providence Public Schools 2012-2013 school bell schedules (start and stop times for all schools)

Getting ready to go back to school: homework

Getting ready to go back to school: media consumption

For more, of course, visit the Providence Public Schools website.

And if any of you have back to school stories you'd like to share, please do!

Thinking about back to school...

School starts for my kids and their 23,000+ peers in the Providence Public Schools in a month, on August 28. Right now, we're deep into our summer routine, such as it is. Bedtime is a moving target. The guys are reading according to their own initiative (see this for the prickly relationship that our family has with required summer reading). Leo is obsessing about fantasy baseball and Henry about Legos. So their minds are at work. I am cool with them and they seem pretty cool with themselves. As Anne Lamott might put it, right now, most of the time, their minds are hospitable neighborhoods in which they are safe alone. I credit the laid back pace of summer for that.

Elias is at camp for nearly a month, totally out of my clutches. From his letters, we're getting little glimpses here and there but I don't need those to know he's learning big--about other people, life outside his family, how to take care or himself, self-reliance, coping without tv and other comforts of home, probably about archery and kayaking and I can't wait to find out what else.

The other guys are having fun at their camp (this week it's soccer, hence last night's late night scramble for shin guards). We're watching a whole lot of Olympics and pursuing the learning that comes from that, which includes frequent reference to an atlas and lots of conversation about the rules of various sports, competition, setting and achieving goals, world records, and more speculation than I ever thought possible on whether body hair really does slow someone down in the pool THAT much (if this topic fascinates you as much as it fascinates Leo, you are welcome to take it up with him and spare me another explanation of friction and milliseconds).

However, I've been in the game for long enough to know that now is the time to get our heads (mine, for starters) into getting ready for school. Because in one way or another this is an annual rite of passage for all of us with kids at school, during the coming days and weeks, I'll to share bits and pieces of our family's transition back to school during the coming weeks. What's on my mind now:

• establishing routines and rituals 
• setting up the house to encourage and invite learning 
• figuring out the best way to deal with the sometimes glorious distractions of tv and computers 
• getting our parental heads around their upcoming curriculum and learning expectations 
• school supplies, clothes, etc. 
• afterschool activities 
• figuring out schedules, buses, transportation, and babysitting/afterschool care

All that and more is on my mind, so if you're reading this, it's probably on yours too. So let's do this. Soon. Today, though, we have a sprinkler to run through.

PPSD's first day of school: time for PPPPPPP

The association between "first day of school" and "emergency" is unsettling. That said, help is good. A calm, well run first day of school (and all subsequent days) is great. Coordinating Marine logistics in Iraq might well be adequate preparation for May Col. Pete Gaynor to help ensure that teachers and students--along with their buses, cafeteria tables, books, and everything else--are in the places that they're supposed to be.

"Providence schools to get help from emergency manager," from yesterday's ProJo news blog:

PROVIDENCE -- Providence Emergency Management Agency Director Col. Pete Gaynor will assist the School Department with the opening of school Aug. 30.

Gaynor will maintain his position at PEMA while he takes on this temporary role. He will not receive any additional compensation for his service.

To provide expert logistical support, especially to schools and students most affected by the closure of five schools this year, Interim Supt. Susan Lusi is drawing upon Gaynor's nationally recognized logistics skills.

Gaynor is working with Lusi and other school leaders to make sure supplies and supports are in place to help students, parents, teachers and administrators start the year off on the right foot.

"Colonel Gaynor is a tremendous asset to the City of Providence," said Mayor Angel Taveras. "His unique expertise in coordinating large-scale operations and training in logistics management will provide PPSD with an extra layer of support in making sure that the first day of school in Providence goes off as smoothly as possible. Students, parents and teachers deserve nothing less."

"I greatly appreciate Col. Gaynor's willingness to share his skills and abilities with us," said Lusi. "The last few months have been a challenge for everyone at the department and having this extra layer of support will ensure efficient operations and a smooth opening for all of our schools. This is priority number one for our team."

Gaynor, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel, has participated in military operations in numerous theaters, including Iraq, where he was responsible for daily operations with I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) in the Al Anbar Province.

Gaynor began meeting with School Department administrators this week and expects to continue working closely with the team through the beginning of September.

--

*PPPPPPP:  proper prior planning prevents piss-poor performance

When's the last day of school in Providence?

No, really. Last day of school for the 2010-2011 academic year in PPSD? Not yet decided (or at least not yet communicated). Nor is the first day of the 2011-2012 academic year. This inconveniences and frustrates, well, pretty much everyone: families, employers and co-workers of PPSD parents, community-based summer program providers, teachers and other professional staff, the district itself, the many tens of thousands of us who are directly or indirectly affected by the public schools. Huge ripple effect.

Whatever people are responsible for determining this, get it together. I know it's related to union/district negotiations. You'd think that all involved would want to score some easily-earned good will and make these two dates known so the rest of us can get on with our lives.

Back to School on Kidoinfo.com!

Hope everyone is set to enjoy the second week of school. It's a short one for our family; yesterday off for Labor Day (which we spent delightfully at Goosewing Beach) and then Thursday out of school for Rosh Hashana. See this recent Providence Schools blog post for more on that, and Providence Public Schools' decision to keep schools open during the Jewish High Holy Days this year.

With so much focus on getting the kids back into their school routine--and on everything else! busy times lately--that I am only now posting a note here about a new piece from me, "Back to School Advice," which ran on Kidoinfo.com last week. Featuring tips for easing kids back into their school routines from Learning Community teacher Maureen Nosal, I think it helped a few of us shift from la-ti-da summer mode to a more structured routine. Helped our family, at least! Thanks, again, Maureen, for speaking with me and sharing your thoughts.

"Back to School Advice" is infused with assumptions about the ways kids and their families spend time in the summer. Because of that, I turned to a teacher working with a population of kids that's not quite the same as my own, and while that alternate--and professional--perspective serves the short Kidoinfo.com article just fine, I've been left wondering about the variety of ways Providence kids experience summer. Sadly, I don't have time to research that now, so am putting it out there as a flag for future exploration and understanding.


In the meantime, what are you tips and thoughts for getting your kids transitioned from summer to school? Has it been a big deal or an easy shift? What's working, what's challenging, and what changes will you be making to get your kids off to school with their--and your--sanity more or less intact?

First Day of School!

Our family went on vacation last week, which was great, and spent yesterday reacclimating and getting ready for . . . the first day of school! Oh, I do love the first day of school. I think my kids do; I know I do!

This year is particularly exciting because it's Leo's first day of kindergarten. We missed MLK's kindergarten orientation last week, so he and I dropped by school to distribute homework folders to the teachers, and then visited Ms. Abrames' classroom for a few minutes (thank you, Ms. Abrames, for your graciousness during our surprise visit during your prep time!). Leo was impressed to see his name already on a class list posted for all of the kids to see, and was also very interested in all of the books in the room, and the activity centers. And what really got his attention was the tennis balls covering the feet of every chair. So interesting to a sporty five year old! I think he's thrilled that he'll have so many tennis balls in his classroom.

We also had our annual back-to-school lunch. Each year since Elias started kindergarten, I have taken him to lunch the day before the first day of school. Sometimes it is just the two of us; other times, friends have joined us. This year, Kevin made it as he wasn't back at work yet, and Leo joined us too! As did our friend Harry, going in to 4th grade at King. We talked about school memories and how our summers were and had a fine time.

And today it starts. The PTO at King is hosting a back to school coffee hour so I need to be ready for that before school starts today, as I want to spend a little time with Leo in his classroom. And I'm excited to meet, or catch up with, new families and familiar friends. The boys' clothes are ready (they don't seem to care what they wear for the first day of school, but I do!) and backpacks are waiting for them. Just need to make some lunches, get breakfast into them, and we will be off! 

Best wishes to everyone who is starting school or is parent, family member, or friend to a person who is off to school. I hope that a great year awaits you, and if anyone reading this wants to comment on how it went, please do!

getting ready to go back to school (already? about time!)

Technically, we're only halfway through summer, but for those of us programmed to run according to school calendars, summer is nearly over. Providence public schools' first day of school is Tuesday, August 26, less  than three weeks from now.

This isn't going to mean the same thing to all families. Some view the approaching date with dread, knowing that fun family time is going to end. Others view it eagerly, knowing that kids will have a safe and structured place to be during the day, with breakfast and lunch provided. And of course, we'll all have our own reactions as diverse as the different families that send their kids to our city's schools.

I am feeling both eagerness and dread. I feel lucky that my kids are safe and happy this summer, with enough to eat and plenty to do. At the same time, I am excited for them to get back to their school routines--or, in the case of my son who is starting kindergarten, start their school routines! I am wondering how much homework my third grader will have. I am wondering what the newly minted kindergartener will think of school. He thinks he will love it, and so do I. He's eager to read, and I think he believes that he'll show up on the first day of school and his teacher will wave a Magic Reading Wand and presto! he will be able to read. I suspect that won't happen. But what will?

If you want to connect with other families getting ready to send their kids back to school, join in the Providence Public Schools' Back to School Celebrations that are happening on Saturday, August 16 from 10am-1pm. Backpacks with free school supplies will be distributed for students who need them, and schools, afterschool programs, and support organizations will be at the various sites to provide information and help. 

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School Parent-Teacher Organization (which I will henceforth in this blog refer to as the MLK PTO!) will be at the back to school celebration at Hope High School, 324 Hope Street. Other similar celebrations will take place at the following sites: 

• Nathanael Greene Middle School, 721 Chalkstone Avenue
• Perry Middle School, 370 Hartford Avenue
• Providence School Registration Center, 672 Prairie Avenue
• St. Teresa's Church, 18 Pope Street (corner of Manton Avenue)
• West End Community Center, 109 Bucklin Street

And here's a post from Kidoinfo sharing similar news about the back to school celebrations, with additional info about sites outside Providence!

So, how are you and your kids feeling about the first day of school's fast approach?