Tanza

As a Heber parent, I've always found the school are very quick to respond and good at communication. You can email direct to the school office and it will be passed onto the relevant teacher - in my experience I've been emailed back the same day. Similarly, when I've emailed direct to the Head (expecting an email back in a few days or so)I've been surprised and actually a bit taken aback to be phoned within hours by him. The school tracks the children's levels so it will be easy for them to to tell you the progress your child has made. In terms of encouraging your child, I am sure you are already doing this but reading to your child and listening to them read to you - every day - is probably one of the most important things you can do to boost your child's levels. Depending on how old your child is, you might want to get them going on times tables too. Just doing that kind of practice at home really does help your child at school. In the long run, it is what you do at home (reading, times tables, cultural, sporting activities etc)that will make biggest difference to your child's school career. Whether you complete a worksheet correctly or not isn't going to make a jot of difference.

I am really at my wits end about how to tackle the dog fouling that is happening on a daily basis outside my house in Melbourne Grove. I just wondered if anyone has ever successfully tackled the problem - or is it just part and parcel of city life? Just now, I've found another steaming pile right by my front path and my husband is clearing it up yet again. I've even had it actually on my path. Without exaggeration, I have it right outside my front gate several times a week. Right outside - by my front gate. On Weds a repair man leaving my house caught an owner with her dog in action fouling right outside my house and said "I hope you aren't leaving that there. I nearly stepped in it." The woman swore at him - and didn't clear it up. I'm not at home the whole time, so hard to know if it's always the same dog/owner. I'm also puzzled why it's always outside my gate - are dogs really such creatures of habit?? I've called the council numerous times to clear it up. And it's so regular we are now clearing it up too. I've also contacted our MP. I've put up polite notices to politely ask dog owners not to foul the street to no avail. I feel a little better now I've ranted on the forum. Any advice appreciated.

I see a crowd of girls getting on at Denmark Hill - and they join more girls already on the train - all heading into Victoria.

Someone we know has also had their car keyed when they parked at this end of Melbourne Grove - a BMW. Our car - much less desirable has (fingers crossed) always been fine and we park at this end of the road too.

My son says that a laptop is the same as a computer so no need to bother with the Minecraft PE APP mentioned in his/my first post. He says, "As you already have a laptop go to minecraft.net and then buy an account costing in the region of ?16/19 which then allows you to download the Minecraft game. Good specs for a laptop used for Minecraft would be a fairly new graphics card and a computer compatible with Java."

My ten-year old son, an avid Minecrafter advises that you buy an APP called Minecraft PE (pocket edition)which costs ?4.99 and is made by Mojang. He says with this you can play on your ipad, iphone, tablet etc. Like Medusa, my son advises that in the longer term your son will want to play it on a computer. This is because there is more flexibility via a computer. Apparently "you can't build contraptions with redstone on a tablet/iphone" and "because you can't access the 'mini-games". (Minigames are spin-off, multiplayer games that all the boys we know spend inordinate amounts of time either playing or more bafflingly watching YouTube videos of other kids playing these games online.)

Until I read this thread I had never noticed the rats by the bridge in Dulwich Park. Now we (10 year old son and I ) stop and count them on the bridge whenever we are passing - 13 is our top score so far.

A few months back I was at the bus stop outside Denmark Hill station and a tall, teenage boy was standing a few people in front of me in the crowd waiting to get onto the bus. Looking to my right, I noticed a middle-aged lady running at full tilt towards us and by dint of much wriggling and gentle elbowing she managed to push through the crowd to reach the boy. I inadvertantly laughed out loud because the disparity between her joyful expression as she greeted him and the bored, unenthusiastic response she received was astounding (to me as the mum of a 10 year old). I laughed because I saw the future for my son and me being played out in front of me. The lady heard me laugh and misunderstood - she turned to me and apologised and said, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to push in front of you. It's just you see - that's my son!". Pointing to the boy who had already turned his back on her. Before I could put her right - the the bus doors opened and we all piled in.

There's an article in Southwark News reporting that The Irish Shop is to close after 20 years. The owner is quoted as saying "The overheads are now too much on Lordship Lane. Shops open up and they just don't last. Business has been terrible for a few years. The supermarkets started doing the Irish stuff and they can do it more cheaply than we can."

Buses running fine - although 185 too packed to get on.

I am taking a 9-year old boy although we probably won't stay for the whole thing - I reckon one late night during the summer holidays for his age group isn't going to be too much of a problem. If anyone else is going feel free to pm me as my son is always delighted to meet fellow Minecrafters in 'real' as opposed to 'virtual' life.....!

fyi - this amazing sounding event is on this Friday at the V&A - aimed at fans of Minecraft. http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/f/friday-late/

Hello - does anyone know of anyone making the journey to Wilsons from East Dulwich Station? I see there is a direct train to West Croydon and the bus goes from there straight to the school gates, so in theory it's possible, just from looking at the train times and the fact that the kids have to be at the school for 8.25 makes me doubt that it's a realistic option from this end of East Dulwich. Would love to be wrong about this though as we loved the school. Ballerina208 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I have 4 children, the boys went to Wilson's and > the girls to Newstead Woods. The journey is > straightforward and easy for both schools, Forest > Hill for Wilson's and Penge East for Newstead. > They made great friends on the train with girls > and boys from different year groups and schools. > They tended to leave the house between 7.20 and > 7.40 and get home between 4.20 and 4.45pm. Getting > up early is just what they did in term time. > I don't think it matters how long a journey is, > what matters more is how complicated it is, one > train to school and a walk is really okay for > secondary school children, a complicated journey > involving several buses, trains and walking > perhaps not. > there are very few children who would not cope > with the journey, I grew up in Suffolk and > everyone had to travel some distance to secondary > school and long walks to primary school for that > matter, it's all a part of growing up. Good luck > with your secondary transfer, if the school feels > right to you and your child then the journey is > just a means to getting there!

Will direct message u

(I have had a huge response, many thanks to the East Dulwich forum - so no more photographers needed) I am looking for a photographer/s to do regular monthly work photographing billboard poster sites. This would involve 3-4 days work every two week period (so up to around 10 days a work a month)every month. It would include some basic photoshopping. The fee would be ?1250 every month. If you are interested please email me with your details/your website. Minimum requirements are DSLR, a 24 to 70 zoom and a tripod.

In case anyone is looking for a great place to take kids over Easter - try the Light Show at the Hayward Gallery - handily right by the 176 bus stop on Waterloo Bridge. Good for kids of any age - light is used to "sculpt space". But from a kid's perspective it means lots of brightly coloured rooms (bright green, bright pink, bright blue) that you can explore as well as lots of other unusual exhibits including a room where real water fountains appear to be in slow motion, you see them flow drop by drop). It's very popular so you might need to book, kids under 12 are free. ttp://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whatson/festivals-series/light-show

Deniseb - are you anything to do with Cherry Tree (apart from being a parent?) Are you related to the owners? Or anything to do with the management of this nursery? I note how well informed you are about the nursery, the plans, where people's children move onto after attending the nursery - even to the point of defending the whereabouts of the manager saying, "the manager doesn't need to be there all the time because there are about 10 highly qualifed staff which are first aiders and are always floating around the building." I may be speaking out of turn and if so, I apologise but we have seen on other threads that it's not unknown for businesses themselves to post. When I look at the posts about Cherry Tree from satisfied parents, while there are a few with a posting history, they are outnumbered by posts from people who only post about Cherry Tree and about nothing else. I see that Cherry Tree has received a very positive Ofsted report - which is something to be applauded. So, I think that if people from this nursery are posting under the guise of parents they are probably doing more harm than good. Anyway - that's my two-pennethworth! (In the interests of openness - I did send my son to this nursery many years ago - too many years ago for my experience to be relevant, however any posts I made in the past were never made out of spite)

After 10 months, yep 10 months parked opposite my house, not moving (not even to do the odd paranormal investigation), the hearse has finally moved on to a better place. I have heard a rumour it might only have passed on to Playfield Crescent.

I live very near the garage in Melbourne Grove (the Colwell road end) and this garage makes no noise at all.

We've tried and failed, just couldn't get it to work. Sigh. Anyone managed to do it? Looks great and you can sign up for more free online tutorials into coding. But it's all descended into disappointment and bad moods in our house (mostly mine) and my 8-year old has now given up.

We are going to this on Sunday so the excitement is building in our house. We are going by train from Euston and arriving at lunchtime at the Studios. What's the cafe like there? Is it ridiculously over-priced/long queues/child-friendly options?

I am hearing anecdotal reports about people in East Dulwich sending their kids to the Kent Grammar schools via the train at Forest Hill/Denmark Hill. I'd really love to know if many people are doing this, how long the commute is and how successfully it is working for them. How do the children cope with the travel, doing homework at the end of the longer day and in terms of (presumably) not having local friends? I've noticed girls travelling into Victoria via Denmark Hill and then getting the bus to Greycoats Hospital School in Pimlico. So I wondered where else in London kids are travelling to from East Dulwich and how that journey is working out? (This question is a genuine query, I'm hoping my child will get into a local secondary in due course, but I'd be very grateful for any insight into the state school choices further afield other people are making. It is a tricky question to pose at the school gates without seeming to be making a judgement about other people's decisions.)

Yawn. Good troll attempt tho.

I'm probably way behind the times on this but has anyone been to the Space Station 65 Mechanical Theatre in Northcross Road yet? It's in Time Out as 'Critic's Choice' for things to do with kids. http://www.timeout.com/london/search/?flag=Family+friendly&date=next7days&submit=1&type=Events

duffy10 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Where do you get the 659 from in ed ? Northern Pup was referring to the 6.59 train from East Dulwich. We were also on this train this morning (and then Jubilee line to Stratford) and it was super quick, we were there in and through security in under an hour. It was quite a long walk through the park to the Velodrome, as other posters have pointed out, but we were so early the stroll through the park was lovely.