Primary School Question .

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senni said:
.. Are we not in a democracy ?? Does a principal rule with no Accountability ?? really ??
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I did not state that 'a principal rules without accountability'. I offered an opinion that you do not have a right to expect for your point of view to be upheld. If you don't like how a school is managed, you know what to do.

The principal is accountable for the smooth running of the school. It would be chaotic is the principal had to take into account all individual preferences. This principal would seem, on your account, to have 'dropped the ball' on the way in which this decision was communicated. buit that's in the past and can't be revisited.

In my daughter's school, there has been a significant turnover in teachers, people on temporary contracts getting permanent positions in another school, people taking career breaks, people retiring. My daughter's class is the only one for which the teacher for next year has yet to be announced. My wife, my daughter and I don't like that uncertainty, but that's something for my wife and I to deal with.

I was talking to the principal of a different school last week. 2 days before the school breaks for the Summer holiday he gets his confirmed teacher numbers for September and they're significantly different to what he had been planning for. So now he has to start again.

School principal ? I wouldn't do it for twice the money.
 
I will do a letter to the board of management with the view that ... communication was void in the implementation of splitting up all the first classes ..

Hopefully in the future this principal may learn to send out notes to us , the parents communicating new changes, whatever they are..

Communicating is key ... properly and not through a six year old..

The dept needs to change this system fast
 
OP asked for guidance. IMHO whilst this is perhaps a traumatic incident in your young child's life now it will be long forgotten soon enough. Life throws many different paths at our children including some neither they nor we fully can control. Personally I feel these challenges will be character builders on how to cope with the adversities of life. Maybe at six in a smaller class your child will make new friends and experience new things. For sure once primary ends the whole process will start again and again at university DG that you get that far.
Lining up for a moral battle and talk of democracy on what is a relatively minor issue seems a bit over the top. Take a deep breath and explain to your child that sometimes we are placed where we don't want to be but if we are brave and open we can experience exciting new things. The existing friends (if they really are) will still be there after school and at break. If you find at a later date the experience is negatively impacting your child's learning then by all means get your self in gear for a campaign to change it.
 
OP, you want opinions, and mine is that you are making this a far bigger deal than it really is. Classes are split all the time in primary schools - its very common, happened to me twice. Did you expect them to stay in the same class forever, and on to college together too?!? Yes, your son is in one class and two friends in another. Next year it might change again.

When I was younger, we moved a lot as my family grew. I clocked up 4 different primary schools in total. With each new school I went to, I lost my existing friends and had to start all over again. First day of school was met with anxiety but I always got through it. I now have a few different groups of friends, but I can honestly say none of my close friends are from primary school - its all from 1st year onwards. That might be in part because we moved so much but it hasn't done me any harm! In fact, I reckon its part of why I am so sociable, having to make new friends. I was a bit of a target, big glasses, awkward etc. so yeah, I reckon it helped.

There are only a few things you as a parent can really do:

1 - Talk to principal re: notification going forward. (Remember that even if you had been told, theres still nothing you could have changed about it).
2 - Explain to your son that as he gets older and goes into new years, he won't always have the same people in his class - and highlight this is a good thing because he will make more and more friends and get to know everyone. Explain he will still see the other two at activities etc.
3 - On first day back at school, have a quick word with his new teacher, explain his anxieties (and yours), and ask her to sit him with someone who is friendly.

At the end of the day, he will be fine. This is a life lesson for him, it will not scar him as you fear. You can't shelter him from this unfortunately.
 
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