Getting a kid into Kindergarten.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by psicodude

The OP's kid is going into Kindergarten, which means he/she is probably 4 years old. Very few parents would be comfortable sending their 4 year old child alone on a bus for an hour a day.

Are we talking about a dedicated school bus with only other children or a regular Calgary Transit bus with members of the general public? I assumed the former, but if the latter, then I withdraw my earlier comment.

[psicodude]

No, transit buses are only used in high school. It would be a regular bus. 4 or 5 years old seems awfully young to be alone on a bus.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by psicodude

No, transit buses are only used in high school. It would be a regular bus. 4 or 5 years old seems awfully young to be alone on a bus.

I disagree. I rode the bus to school starting at age 5, walking to/from the bus stop about 100m away from my house each day. It was no big deal at all.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by psicodude

No, transit buses are only used in high school. It would be a regular bus. 4 or 5 years old seems awfully young to be alone on a bus.

When I was 5 I waited at the bus stop by myself everyday for a school bus and this continued until I got a car. This was before bus drivers were supposed to know what stops kids got on and off at and before cell phones. It was also only blocks away from where a child killer abducted kids.

We have far too much fear these days. Every kids parents wait at the bus stop with them until the bus gets there and wait when the bus drops them off. Its kind of ridiculous. In terms of statistics its probably more dangerous to have to walk accross a busy street like elbow drive to get to school than to take a school bus. Parents driving is probably more dangerous than a school bus. Also many people by choice send their four and fiver year olds on buses to get to private and charter schools.

I don't think fear of school buses is a good reason to oppose bussing. There are lots of negatives about it but the save the children argument doesn't fly with me.

[para transit fellow]

My general observation from another community: I don't understand why parents work to get their kids into the nearby school then drive their kid each day instead of walking 5 minutes they used as their argument for choosing the school.

In one community we drive a kid in a wheelchair to a school that is two blocks away. Every morning, 3 cars from that same street travel to the same school. (One of those driving parents feels the school's disability parking space nearest the door is unfair to those without a disabled kid...)

[Ashartus]

Originally Posted by Slava

The ratio for K-4 is 17-1. How do you figure that more kids don't hurt though, despite all of the evidence to the contrary?

If it really was 17 kids in a class then sure there'd be room for a few more, though each additional kid limits some of that one-on-one time with the teacher. My wife teaches grade 3 and has 29 kids in her class, and that isn't out of the ordinary talking to other teachers I know and seeing the classes at both my wife's school and the schools my kids are in. At that number it starts to get pretty unmanageable for the younger kids, particularly when half of them don't speak much English or have special needs.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by para transit fellow

My general observation from another community: I don't understand why parents work to get their kids into the nearby school then drive their kid each day instead of walking 5 minutes they used as their argument for choosing the school.

In one community we drive a kid in a wheelchair to a school that is two blocks away. Every morning, 3 cars from that same street travel to the same school. (One of those driving parents feels the school's disability parking space nearest the door is unfair to those without a disabled kid...)

I don't understand why parents insist on walking their kids the 5 minutes. I've had to field a few phone calls from the school panicked about them "concerned about the kids supervision" this year. They're fine. I trust my kids to walk 5 minutes in broad daylight now and again. Sometimes I even let them play outside and they're out of my sight as well. Please don't call child services on me....I practice what I call "letting them experience childhood" and them not needing me hovering over them 24 hours a day!

Originally Posted by Ashartus

If it really was 17 kids in a class then sure there'd be room for a few more, though each additional kid limits some of that one-on-one time with the teacher. My wife teaches grade 3 and has 29 kids in her class, and that isn't out of the ordinary talking to other teachers I know and seeing the classes at both my wife's school and the schools my kids are in. At that number it starts to get pretty unmanageable for the younger kids, particularly when half of them don't speak much English or have special needs.

I wrote a lengthy post last night about the student/teacher ratio, but deleted it. I am firmly in the smaller class sizes camp because I think that teaching children the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic is best accomplished in a small classroom with lots of individual attention. There are a lot of factors that go into student success, but small class sizes and the individualized learning that goes with them is pretty hard to argue against.

[Russic]

Originally Posted by Slava

I don't understand why parents insist on walking their kids the 5 minutes. I've had to field a few phone calls from the school panicked about them "concerned about the kids supervision" this year. They're fine. I trust my kids to walk 5 minutes in broad daylight now and again. Sometimes I even let them play outside and they're out of my sight as well. Please don't call child services on me....I practice what I call "letting them experience childhood" and them not needing me hovering over them 24 hours a day!

To be fair, you live in an absolute hell hole, and your neighbours (while handsome and undeniably manly) cannot be trusted.

They get upset over this? That's unfortunate... our proximity to the school has me more than excited about my kids walking every day when the time comes. Thanks for laying the groundwork for me and other parents that don't want to drive kids to school!

[fundmark19]

Originally Posted by Slava

I don't understand why parents insist on walking their kids the 5 minutes. I've had to field a few phone calls from the school panicked about them "concerned about the kids supervision" this year. They're fine. I trust my kids to walk 5 minutes in broad daylight now and again. Sometimes I even let them play outside and they're out of my sight as well. Please don't call child services on me....I practice what I call "letting them experience childhood" and them not needing me hovering over them 24 hours a day!

I don't think I can have you set up my kids RESP anymore now that it is pretty clear that you are working for Satan. How dare you let your kids experience childhood. What's next little johnny and suzie are going to open up their presents on Christmas morning and the tag that normally says from Santa is crossed out with Dad & Mom and the gift is going to be a crack pipe

I also can't wait for my daughter to walk to school. There are a lot of kids that seem to walk still in Cochrane down my street. Judging by the amount of footprints on my front lawn from them using my snowpile as a fort it seems to still be acceptable. I am sure in 6 years I will have to hire a personal body guard that is licensed by the school board to allow her to walk the 3 blocks. Don't even get me started about what hoops I will have to jump through if she ever wants to ride her bike!

[Rathji]

We are (or were at the beginning of last year) outside the zone for McKenzie Towne School, despite living in the community. We knew this and went to register on the first day it opened. We were not there until almost noon, and from what we gather from parents we knew in that line behind us, we were one of the last people who got in. I have no idea if it is a first come first accepted type thing though, so who knows.

On the topic of class sizes, I am fully with you Slava, for elementary school kids. I strongly feel that reading is the primary skill which gives kids the most advantages in their schooling, and even a slight delay can snowball into bigger issues in later years. Reading and other basic skills come really easy to some kids but can be a challenge to others. In a larger class size, the chances of those kids falling through the cracks, even for a couple months, increases.

[ma-skis.com]

Originally Posted by Barnes

We picked a preschool that offers bus service to the three catholic schools in our immediate area for before and after care. He's been going there for the last 2 years. Now, we are completely #$%&ed. The one near us is full. Understandable but frustrating. One of the others that his preschool buses to is not full but wont register him because the alternate school in Deer Run is our designated overflow school.

check to see if that alternate school has any programs or options (language, music, different approach to teaching, science focus etc) that could give you a reason to enroll your kid in the alternate school that Deer Run doesn't offer. If there is something special, then you can approach them to take your kid for that reason.

Might be a longshot though.