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January 16, 2007 Aren't I Paying for This? 
You know you live in a competitive neighbourhood when mothers are lining up in a freezing rain/ice pellet storm with their three- or four-year-old children at 5:30 in the morning to get them a spot in a public kindergarten class. Since registration didn't open until 9 (they started handing out numbers at 8:30, but threatened to make people wait outside) and I got there at 8:50, I figured I'd be ok. Even the existence of multiple lines, including an hour-long wait to get your place-number and a chair, didn't dampen my foolish optimism. Three hours later, when I was chipping the ice off my car and had just been told that we won't even know if Frances got into that school until late March, and whether she got into full-days or half-days until May or June, I found myself wondering ... Did I really just register her for kindergarten, or did I apply to get her into grad school without realizing it? And if so, does she need to write the GRE, or will they take references from her daycare teachers? Posted by Andrea at January 16, 2007 6:50 AM under The World EMAIL this entry (comments fields are below this section) Comments Oh my!
Posted by: ccw at January 16, 2007 8:03 AM
Wow! That seems crazy! Something to look forward too, I guess. Posted by: Wendy at January 16, 2007 8:05 AM
That's craziness! Posted by: Casey at January 16, 2007 8:14 AM
That's completely and utterly crazy!! Posted by: LauraJ at January 16, 2007 8:16 AM
I'm completely stunned. Where we're at we're guaranteed entry into our "home school" (based on zoning) public or separate schools. Good luck and I hope you get the option that works best for y'all! Posted by: Miche at January 16, 2007 8:29 AM
Poor Andrea! What a terrible day to have that fall on, the only nasty day of the winter (so far). I felt annoyed chipping the ice off my car to go to the dentist, but I think you had it worse. Also, what Miche said. If our neighborhood school used that process I'd have been stuck, because we moved here the last week of school in June, two months before Snuggly Girl started JK. I did have a quasi-competitive experience getting into public French Immersion, but after much angsting it turned out they had enough spaces for everyone our year. The previous year they had held a lottery. Posted by: Madeleine at January 16, 2007 10:25 AM
Yup. Been there. Only it was to get her into day care with not a snowball's chance in hell. Posted by: Mad Hatter at January 16, 2007 10:27 AM
I'm sorry you had such a bad day. I am still completely shocked that you had to line up for registration in your own area. Wouldn't it make more sense to let the area children have an early registration, and then open up the competition for any leftover spots??? Posted by: Sue at January 16, 2007 10:42 AM
Man, that's nuts. In my neighborhood everyone can go to the public school (though I think they may ask you to wait a year if they determine your kid isn't ready)and all kindergarten is full days. What happens if she didn't get in? Posted by: Megan at January 16, 2007 11:19 AM
Sue, this was just for the area kids. Megan, if she doesn't get in to this one, she'll get into another one, I guess. And we'll have to see what happens based on how far it is from home and whether it's half days or full days or what have you. Posted by: Andrea at January 16, 2007 11:52 AM
Wow...that is a bizarre system. Here in Newfoundland you're guaranteed a spot in the neighbourhood school you're zoned for ... if not, what's the point of a public school system? I did have to wait because I wanted my eldest to go, not to the neighbourhood school, but to the school in the next neighbourhood over, but even that didn't involve line-ups, just putting in an application and waiting to hear back. Oh well, however you get there it's a huge step, so congratulations to you and Frances as you approach this next milestone! Posted by: TrudyJ at January 16, 2007 12:06 PM
That's nuts. We did the line up thing for preschool but for your area public school, that's shocking! Posted by: Jen at January 16, 2007 8:52 PM
Oh no. I knew I shouldn't have checked in for an update. This scares me... Grad school might be easier; fewer (but probably not none) parents to deal with. :) Posted by: NotSoSage at January 16, 2007 11:27 PM
Go Berserk |
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