Welcome back to the new school year!
Did you survive the last minute rush of covering new books, naming stationery and ironing summer uniforms? Perhaps you were super-organised and you’ve had polished shoes, full pencil cases and crisp shirts hanging in the cupboards since before Christmas! I at least managed to have everything clean by then, which was a good start for me.
Speaking of good starts, we all hope and prepare for them don’t we, with varying degrees of excitement and trepidation. Term 1 is a frontal assault of newness, when it comes to school – whether continuing at an old school or starting at a new one, like two of my Dancing Wombats (one an expected transition, one not – see my blog (When Life gives you Lemons). Our kids all face new teachers, new students, new surroundings, new expectations, new beginnings, new challenges, new… Well, you get the idea! But with all that, there will be familiar things nestled within the unfamiliar, providing some sense of continuity and comfort. Or perhaps it’s the other way around, depending on your state of mind. It’s usually a question of degree.
And remember, things change for parents too. I think that it’s really important to acknowledge this, although it can be easy to overlook in all the child-centred activity and excitement of families preparing to return to school.
After ten years of walking my Dancing Wombats to and from school every day, this will be the first year that I see them all off from home – either to the tram, the bus, or simply walking. It will be a huge transition for me, not strolling with my littlest Wombat and our dog to the local primary school, watching him zoom along on his skateboard, chatting about this and that, catching up with other parents and students en route. I’m sad about that. I’ve been extremely fortunate to have had this time with my kids – in quality and quantity! (although I usually run a mile from using these descriptions!) – and I’ll really miss it. I suspect our dog will, too!
I was a bit worried that my littlest Dancing Wombat was not going to make an auspicious start at his new school. He spent the “Meet the teacher” interview hunched, silent and eyes cast down, hidden within his hoodie, then finished the interview early by sliding under the table and through the legs of his chair before dashing out of the door. “Yes, he does find transitions hard,” we explained sheepishly, before trying to hasten politely after him.
The parallels between this little Wombat and his oldest brother were striking. As I wrote in December (Reflections – the year that was), we needed to settle the vexed question of a new school for one of our Wombats. As our preferred option was not available, we applied at our local secondary school and duly fronted up with said Wombat for an interview with the Deputy Head.
Anxious Wombat tapped anxiously on his knee most of the time, making little eye contact and saying even less. We, his anxious parents, tried to project calm confidence and allow maximum opportunity for our silent marsupial to speak for himself, which he mostly chose not to do. At least he didn’t disappear out the door (which has been known to happen!).
Luckily, there was a happy ending to the first chapter of this new school book, with our Wombat being offered a place in the school’s accelerated program. What a boost to his self esteem! And, bonus, the class sizes are small, with only twelve students in this program. Now we’re wondering – will he handle the work expectations? Work is a “four letter word” in this Wombat’s vocabulary! Hmm. Let’s not start worrying about that right now. Don’t we have such a habit of moving the goal posts! One thing at a time, we need to keep reminding ourselves!
However, while it’s early days, our concerns about the new beginnings for both these Wombats have proven unfounded. So far, so good. Compared to where we were this time last year, things are significantly better. Watch this space!
Free-running Wombat fronted up to the start of Year 7 with all the enthusiasm of a sheep visiting an abattoir. However, given that the beginning of school also coincided with the end of his long, curly locks, perhaps this was only to be expected!
Our Dancing Wombat daughter danced off to Year 11 with bright enthusiasm, looking forward to seeing friends who she had missed over the holidays. There are so many other things she has to deal with, it is heart-warming to see her positive approach in the face of these difficulties, and her optimism as she looks into the new term.
Of course, there are new beginnings for me with different compositions of students – new and old – in my classes. But that can wait for another day. In the meantime, I hope that you have all had a successful start to the new school year – whatever form that takes. I look forward to sharing our many journeys as the year progresses.
Happy wombatting!
