School strategies for parents

Hannah goes to a new school in September.

It's a scary prospect for me because I'll be losing my little girl, but she seems very relaxed about the whole thing.

The school is doing its utmost to try and make her feel welcome before she gets there.  There have been netball and hockey sessions for the new intake that Hannah's attended and athletics sessions we've opted to miss.  There's a welcome meeting and a taster day to look forward to in June and Year 7s start a day earlier than the rest of the school, allowing them to get lost and make mistakes without an audience of older children.

The one thing the school has done so far though that has impressed me is to encourage the current Year 7s to write a penpal letter to the Year 7s of September. 

The letter Hannah received was beautifully decorated and full of useful information like: 

"Do your homework as soon as you get it."

"Have an emergency £5 in your bag for emergencies."

"Don't roll your skirt up."

and, my personal favourite:

"Don't do your blazer buttons up because people will just stare at you."

Hannah's penpal also included her telephone number and email and she'll be the one showing Hannah around the school on the taster day.

Hannah's still very blazé about the whole thing but knowing Hannah's penpal put time and effort into the letter and probably does care about Hannah, makes me a little less intimidated by the whole experience.