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redjam

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Everything posted by redjam

  1. There's a fun drama club on Saturday mornings at Goose Green School (http://www.eastdulwichacademy.org/drama/). If your daughter is 10 she's actually old enough for Guides, which don't tend to have as big waiting lists. I think you have to go through the centralised Girl Guides registration process if you want to join a local group and they will tell you where there are places (I'm not 100% sure about this as my daughter started at Brownies so it was a more straightforward process to 'graduate' up, but I'm sure someone will put me right if that's incorrect!).
  2. Just to pick up on your question about secondary school experiences in London - I think a few years ago a lot of people did move out of London when secondary school approached but I think in more recent years, as people have cottoned on to how good the local schools are these days, this has become less of a 'thing'. I can't think of anyone off the top of my head who moved away at the end of my daughter's primary school years, whereas I do remember people moving out when she was in year 1 and 2, i.e. a long way in advance before they actually went to look round the local secondaries! So I do think the reputation has (rightly) improved a lot these days and London schools are now seen as being good places to learn (though whether that will change again as the funding cuts kick in, who knows?). But right now, I think London is a pretty good place to be a teenager. That said, Brighton is also a cool place to live and the accessible size is attractive. I don't envy your decision but best of luck either way!
  3. dbboy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > > I agree that buses rammed full of school children > can be infuriating, however once children got > given free travel on buses it was inevitable that > they would be rammed on the way to and back from > school. Wouldn't you use something if it got given > to you for free, I would. > > Er, school children on buses aren't the problem; that's the solution. If they weren't on buses they'd be picked up in cars, which would add far more congestion to the roads. Not all kids live within walking distance of secondary school. (And yes, I know they can go by bike, and plenty do, but secondary school kids often carry a lot of stuff to school - instruments, books etc - so it's not always practical or safe.)
  4. It's maddening. Keep meaning to write a moany email to TFL about this, not that it would make any difference but it might make me feel better. There are so many kids who want to use it on their way home as it stops near several big secondary schools (my daughter is one of them) but they never seem to run any more buses at peak times and consequently they're nearly always full. And yes, it's ages till the next one arrives. Infuriating.
  5. My daughter started at the East Dulwich Academy of Music and Performing Arts at Goose Green School (Saturday mornings) when she was eight and still goes now, a year later. She didn't know anyone when she went and is a bit shy but she really enjoys it and it's helped her confidence. It's quite a busy environment when you first arrive as there are lots of different activities going on at the same time, but the actual classes themselves aren't large. Would recommend. eastdulwichacademy.org
  6. GregDickinson Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Does anyone have any information about the plans > for the multi-purpose sports facilities? As new > local residents overlooking the site, we haven't > had the chance to to attend any of the > consultation meets yet, but we're concerned that > this could mean floodlights being used for evening > 5-a-side football. Hmm, if you're new to the area, you must have known about the school being built (it's been on the cards for years). Isn't that a bit like moving next door to a pub and then complaining about the noise? I don't know how late kids play football (not that late surely?) but I'd have thought a bit of incidental light pollution is a small price to pay for enabling local school kids to make full use of their sports facilities and be healthy and active.
  7. Ah, I feel your pain, your post brings back traumatic memories of a similar experience a few years back. We did manage to get a 24-hour passport (this was a while ago) so I flew out with one daughter as planned, and my husband and other daughter spent a day running around the country - Peterborough, I think - sorting out the missing one, then joined us a day later. The whole thing was eye-wateringly expensive and hideously stressful. One bit of advice is check your return flights if you miss your outbound ones: my husband bought two replacement outbound singles, and thought he could use the return portion of the original flights for the way back. But oh no: when the four of us rocked up at Geneva airport to go home at the end of the holiday, having just about put the passport trauma behind us, my husband and daughter were informed that they weren't allowed to travel as they hadn't used the outbound portion of the original flights. I have no idea why but yep, there it was, hidden away in the small print. I don't mind admitting I started sobbing in the middle of Geneva airport at this point, as did both my daughters (turns out Swiss officials are utterly unmoved by unhinged crying Brits). So we had to buy yet another two single return flights. I think our mistake ended up costing us about an extra grand, all told. Not sure any of this will make you feel better (!) but at least you're not the only muppet in ED who has screwed this up. Needless to say, it's not a mistake I will make twice.
  8. Hi James, can you also give us an update on the possible closure of the sorting office on Silvester Road? Your last post on the subject said you were going to have a follow-up conversation with Royal Mail at the beginning of March. Many thanks for anything you can do to help prevent this closure going ahead.
  9. > > Walking past the other day it > wasn't obviously open. I agree - Kanella & Co needs a bit more 'presence' from the street. But it looks great inside - popped in Saturday for a nose and it's a lovely space. Hope it does well.
  10. Heaps of lovely parents in the area; endless kids' activities. Have a look at the SE22 magazine online for a taste of what's on offer. Having a child will automatically plug you into a ready-made social whirl (if that's what you want!) - babies, like dogs, seem to be an automatic passport to meeting other people. Saffron's right, though - if you're moving back, think about primary and secondary schools now as it's amazing how quickly it all comes round. I moved here one week before my second baby was born, not knowing any other locals, and now nearly a decade later I feel so settled here socially it would be a very hard wrench to move away. Love the fact that everything I need is within walking distance.
  11. Absolutely agree with previous three commenters' posts. I went to the meeting at the Hamlet school the other week and it is painfully obvious that all local schools are going to have to make serious cuts in staff, increase in class sizes, reduction of extra-curricular activities and options etc if this funding formula goes through. Babyelephant, yes, the government keeps telling us they've been spending more on education, but what they're forgetting to mention is that this is against the backdrop of growing numbers of children, not to mention a whole host of other rising costs. When you take into account the increasing numbers of kids in the system; inflation; increases to NI contributions, teachers' wages and pensions (not funded by central government); apprenticeships levys etc, they are already set to suffer a 6.5% shortfall in spending in real terms by 2019, according to the IFS. And this is set to get much worse if this new funding formula goes ahead, and will disproportionately affect London schools. This is not something that just sharing a bit of photocopying can solve. London schools have been a real success story over the past ten years or so - I still remember the time when everyone used to move out of London when they had secondary-school age kids but now people are falling over each other to get places. Let's fight to stop this progress being jeopardised.
  12. It's just a bit of a daft question. If you want to compare exam results, they're easily searchable online. Other than that, how do you define 'best'? Everyone's definition will be different, so you have to go and look at them to see which you and your child prefer. And it's very unlikely that you'll find one parent with experience of both schools so how can anyone on a public forum help you compare? I don't know anything about either of them apart from the fact they're both blooming miles away!
  13. Last year 6 or 7 kids got into Kingsdale from Heber, at least one via the waiting list (remember: it ain't over till it's over - there's always a lot of movement on waiting lists). Also remember that Charter ED is due to move into its new building next year so I believe they will be taking more pupils in the 2018 intake. I'd be very surprised if you find yourself in a black hole if you live in the part of ED that is near the primary schools you mention, now that Charter ED is up and running and taking the pressure off other school places.
  14. If it's true it's an infuriating decision - what is a simple five-minute walk to pick up a parcel is going to become up to an hour-long round trip to Peckham, by the time you factor in waiting for buses. I've emailed James Barber and would suggest everyone who feels strongly about it does likewise.
  15. Any feedback on this, James? The other thread is now saying it's been reported in the press that the sorting office is to close. It will be a great loss to the area if this is allowed to happen. Mrs D Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > James,there is another thread on here about the > sorting office on sylvester rd potentially > closing. Do you know if this is true or not? It > would be a great loss to the area if it is.
  16. I agree with Burbage's point - building a play area (however 'natural') seems completely incompatible with the place being a nature reserve.
  17. Some great ideas here - thanks so much everyone. I'll be following them up.
  18. Cats never poo on hard surfaces like pavements and I've never seen cat poo on a lawn either. They go on bare earth like flowerbeds and bury it afterwards (often rather inexpertly, admittedly). So not great for gardeners but you won't step in it.
  19. P68, I absolutely agree that Helen Hayes did far more by standing up and being counted, and I applaud her for it. But Derwentgrove was talking about virtue signalling in a wider sense, and it always makes me rather cross. S/he seemed to be saying that by contributing to a debate on the EDF, we are virtue signalling. But we're not all MPs; we can't all vote in parliament. All we can do is add to the public debate, attend demos, sign petitions, join protest groups, support our MP (if we agree with them). It might not be much but for most of us (with jobs, kids etc) it's the best we can do. To denigrate that as self-indulgent virtue signalling is just a way of trying to stifle debate.
  20. I agree - 'virtue signalling' seems to be a lazy pejorative which actually means standing up for something you believe is right. If that's the case, it's something we should all be doing. I'm very pleased Helen Hayes voted the way she did. If she hadn't, I'd have voted Lib Dem in the next election; as it is, I'll vote for her again despite my reservations about Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour party as a whole.
  21. Thanks for these helpful replies. Yes, she's hugely into Minecraft and apparently has already got the Hopscotch app and has done the Minecraft Hour of Code (who knew? I'm evidently not very closely monitoring her screen time!). I'll be looking into these other ideas too. Anyone else's kids use Kodu? Looks like you can only use it on a PC but we've got a Mac...
  22. Just wondering if any forumites can give me some advice/inspiration for how to encourage and develop my daughter's love of coding, as it's an area I really don't know much about. She's really into Scratch, drawing very elaborate pictures, making up stories and animations, programming quizzes etc. But she's starting to talk about some other coding programs she's encountered at school or via friends (Kodu and Espresso Coding which I think comes from Discovery Education) and I wasn't sure what I should be encouraging as the 'next step' from Scratch. Anyone have any words of advice or know of any local coding clubs where she could be taught a bit more?
  23. I'm in my forties and still have no sense of urgency in the morning - my kids are always nagging me about being late. (I operate on a 'just in time' principle - as long as they haven't actually shut the school gates, I figure the kids can run up the stairs and catch up with their class.) Can you come and write me a morning timetable, edanna?
  24. Blimey, I've obviously missed a trick, worldwiser. How do you check your broadband speed? I just tried tapping it into google and found a site called broadband.co.uk which said I've only got 58mb at the moment (wifi is back on here) but is that the best way to test it? I've no idea how reliable these sites are. Don't know how you've managed to negotiate such a good discount - I kicked up a huge fuss last time and was only being offered absolutely paltry sums in compensation - less than ?3! Any tips on how I can claim something back? Though I guess if I'm leaving Virgin (which I fully intend to) it may not be worth the hassle...
  25. That all sounds highly irregular. Our lovely old nursery, Blossoms, had nothing like that (this is going back a bit so maybe it's different now but definitely not when we used it). The one we briefly used before - which shall remain nameless (not Piplings) - had more dodgy T&Cs, though still not as bad as these. And actually it turned out to be a rather weird place and I think the T&Cs were a sign of that. I would say trust your instincts. It certainly doesn't sound reasonable to me and I'd worry about what it says about how the place is managed. I know this probably isn't what you want to hear, and God knows it's hard to find reliable childcare, but you're going to be dealing with these people day in and day out and you want to feel that it's a nice, straightforward, fair organisation. Be interesting to hear from anyone who has kids at Piplings...
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