A Sudden Reprieve...

So today would have been Henry's first day of school! He was supposed to go to WCSA (Watsonville Charter School for the Arts) We went to the "Back to School Picnic", filled out his emergency card, even met his "new" Kinder teacher Miss Monohan.

But, no. Things have suddently changed. Yesterday morning, out of the blue, I get a call from Linscott Elementary.

For those of you who don't know, Linscott is one of the best public schools in the county. Someone said to me it's like a private school where you don't have to pay. Linscott was Matt and my first choice for Henry. Unfortunately Linscott was the first choice for at least 50 other pairs of parents! And even worse, siblings get priority and everyone couldn't help but point out that this was an "unusually heavy year for siblings". This meant that there were even less than the normal handful of spots for incoming kids like Henry. Matt and I signed Henry up for consideration, kept our fingers crossed, and pursued other options. Of course, the lottery for incoming kids came and Henry was not chosen. We then proceeded to get Henry into WCSA.

Then I get the call yesterday that lo and behold there's an opening. Long story short we jumped on it and Henry is now going to Linscott. I say he's got a "Sudden Reprieve" because Linscott doesn't actually start school till Auguast 29th! (For those of you interested) click here for a calendar.Even though this means Henry gets to enjoy a bit more vacation, it doesn't mean the same for me. If you peeked at the calendar you may have noticed School Clean-up Days.

One of the things that make Linscott unique is that they require a specific number of hours of parent participation. This has proven to not only help your child be a better learner but has also helped to create a closer school community. They require from us parents the following:

• One session in each childs classroom per week.


• One monthly 2 hour parent meeting per month per child


• Four hours of work per year on scheduled clean up days


• One classroom or school-wide suppport job or one school-wide committee per family or the equivalent per year


• Participation in one school-wide fundraiser per year.

Heh...it didn't seem like alot when we were trying to get him in... :P

Anyway, if you peeked at the calendar, you will see that the first scheduled "clean-up days" are this Saturday and Monday. I guess I'll have to roll up my sleeves this weekend! I've also met with Henry's teacher and I've signed up for a support job already. I am the official Kinder Classroom Photographer. It was either that or Snack Scheduler (aka snack lady).

Anyway, that's it for now...till later!