Smart Autodoor

[ali-s]

This is the question DD asked me last night.

 

It seems she has spent the week watching DVD's in class. the lessons last 50 minutes so the pupils do not even see the end of the film they are watching before going to the next "lesson" to watch another DVD. Back in the good old days when I was at school we did work the last week of school and then on the last day we were allowed to take in board games, books etc to play and share.

 

Today is the last day of school and many of her friends are either not going or are going to catch the school bus and then go to the beach for the day, hopefully catching the school bus home this afternoon.

 

School is finishing at 2.45pm today an hour earlier than normal, However there will be only 1 school coach available at that time. On normal school days there are 5 coaches. Those pupils who can't get on the one and only bus will have to wait an hour for the other buses. There is going to be a lot of pupils hanging around the school and the town unless parents can pick them up. Natalie will have to wait a while for me to collect her if she can't get on the bus, I am hoping to get out of work early. Home is a about 4 miles from school on a road which although not busy has no pavements and as it is straight vehicles bomb along it very fast. There is no one she could walk with either as we live out in the sticks. Some of the pupils if they decided to walk which I very much doubt would have a 7 mile walk on a really busy, fast road with no pavements.

 

Natalie is in a grump with me this morning as I have told her yesterday wasn't the last day of school, today is and she is going to school.

 

So, back to the question. what is the point of the last week of school?

[bluekarin]

That just sounds like very poor management by the school. If the school is breaking up early, then surely they should make sure there are enough buses to get all the pupils home safely.

 

The last week of school here does seem to be a time wasting time. The kids don't really do any lessons and tend to watch films. They bring in board games on the last day to play. It would be much better of the kids broke up for summer a week early, then the teachers can get on with organising for next year.

 

Actually, an extra week of summer holidays with the kids at home!?! Nah, I'd rather the extra week of them still in school especially considering how they are arguing right now. Its going to be a loooong summer.....

[migsy]

That sounds very irresponsible of the school to let them out an hour early if they know the busses won't be there.

 

When I was at school we worked right up until the bell on the last day. That was in the days of 'O'-Levels which were really hard, but don't get me started on that.....

[Seagazer]

I can't believe how much earlier Scotland breaks up for the summer holidays! Wow!

 

My YS's got a great last week, they're going away for 3 days camping and doing lots of adventure things. Come back, go to Colchester Zoo for the day and then on the last day they're having some birds of prey brought to school by Eagle Heights (birds of prey and a few other small animals/chicken place near here).

 

I bet the week before though they will probably be mostly watching dvds

[patsylabrador]

I'm always amazed by how much general wandering around by school kids goes on during school hours in term time anyway. I snuck out on one occasion at lunch time when I was at school, got caught of course and got into all sorts of trouble. Now no one seems to mind. I remember working up to the very last day, even if was sort of housekeeping tasks it was still work related.

[Guest]

That is odd. The school should re-arrange the buses if it is closing earlier, have you spoken to them about it? Perhaps they have done something by now?

 

I always thought that the point of the last week of school was to give the kids a chance to let their hair down and recharge their batteries. OK there isn't much educating going on, but I think it's to show them that there is a fun side to school and I like to think of it like it's a reward for putting in all their effort throughout the year.

 

It probably also gives the teachers a chance to do some marking and chase up any outstanding work etc.

 

I didn't enjoy my last weeks at school because I found them pretty boring, there was no structure and there's only so many card games and videos you can watch!

[Alis girls]

it gives parents a welcome rest before they break up and becomethe bain of your life

[ali-s]

Natalie did go to school I threatened to check her feet for sand when she got home. I gave her extra dinner money so she could buy her mates ice creams at lunch time.

 

The first lesson the teacher had a DVD ready but the class rebelled. They asked to spend the time outside in the sunshine playing rounders . Two more lessons playing rounders against the PE staff and a game of tennis in another lesson. I think on the whole she enjoyed her day.

 

I don't expect them to have proper lessons in the run up to the end of term but the Scottish school year starts in May and not after the Summer holidays so they are only a few weeks into work needed for (for Natalie) Standard grades next Spring and sticking on a DVD is a cop out. DD and her class mates organised themselves with the activities today, I am sure they could have organised something to do every day this week had they asked/been allowed.

 

Natalie was lucky enough to get on the bus but she forgot her house key. She was sat on the porch step when I got home from work.

 

Ah well, 6 weeks and the holidays will be over

[Couperwife]

oh my word a WEEK watching DVD's

 

I teach on the last day of school

 

admittedly its normally "fun" stuff - could be playing on Macromedia Flash (animation) or Fireworks (graphics) or making games in Mission Maker - but they all do stuff on the computer - I dont like them just messing about

 

actually the Boss would go mental if they were left to watch DVD's. she is usually around school on the last week

 

the little darlings seem to prefer having to do stuff thats work based rather than being left to "play"

 

cathy

x

[AJuff]

We teach right up to the last day of term. I spend the last hour dismantling the classroom and giving children work to take home.

[migsy]

My kids do learning up to the last day too. It is nice things like day trips or a special themed day, but they do normal stuff too. They have to be legally at school, so I think it is right that they should be learning something. That is what school is for. Just watching DVDs all day seems wrong. There really is no point them being there if that is all they do.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

The state schools in Edinburgh (not sure about elsewhere!) change to next year's timetable 3 weeks before the end of this term. They generally get taught right up to the end of term (with a few days of other stuff).

[docsquid]

We did have lessons up to the last day, but we also had special activities too: like cataloging the library and replacing the spine labels that had fallen off, and putting everything in catalogue order etc. Cleaning and checking the sports equipment and putting stuff aside that needed repair. We also did a whole day when the sixth form taught the lessons, and the teachers had a day off - of course you wouldn't be allowed to do that now. However we learned a lot from doing it, and the other kids enjoyed being taught by sixth formers too. I spent a whole day teaching Biology lessons.

 

We also organised tennis tournaments and inter-form rounders and netball tournaments. There were also fashion shows from the art and design students, concerts from the music students. On the very last day of school ever, we came in fancy dress and sixth formers were allowed to park on the tennis court (otherwise we weren't allowed to drive to school). We went round saying goodbye to all our teachers and friends. It was so much fun I wouldn't have missed it for anything!

 

Only on the last day did we take stuff off the notice board, clear out our desks and generally make the classroom tidy for the class moving in next year.

[Ygerna]

Well, my DD's school finished for the summer today, but from what she has been telling me, not a lot of work has been done this week. I am rather disappointed in this. I send her to school to learn, if I wanted to take a weeks holiday to cover this last week, it would be unauthorised and yet, they don't actually seem to make any educational progress this week, as 'its the last week'. Even more annoyingly, tomorrow is an 'inset day'. I have no problem with inset days in theory and our school does try and tag them onto the begining or the end of holidays but, when they dont actually work for the previous 4 days anyway...

 

When I was at school, we worked right up until the last day, this was then spent emptying lockers and drawers, collecting books and work etc. Certainly no DVD's or games though.

[Hen_Pecked]

If there wasn't a last week of school, then it would just run continuously?

[Janty]

We finished yesterday and we worked up until Tuesday afternoon.

Wednesday and Thursday we had activities planned by each year group. These included watching a performance of the school play and inter-class tournaments.

On the final afternoon my year group had the Year 7 spoof awards followed by individual class parties organised by their class teachers.

 

Although we were off time table, this was structured time and we were told in no uncertain terms that DVDs before the last two days were not allowed. We had one DVD during the two days but this was one of the optional activities that we ran on the Wednesday afternoon.

[Chicken Licken]

We finished yesterday and whilst yesterday did not involve much academic work we did work up to Wednesday on normal lessons (Still trying to get coursework out of year 10!). Holidays at last now!!!

[LuckyChickenLover-]

We broke up Friday last week (kids at my school got an extra week off because of building work, but we got online homework). We didn't watch any DVDs until the last two days, and we certainly wouldn't be allowed to watch them for a whole week.

[Valkyrie]

I remember my two hating the last week in school. Really boring, not anything to do unless they took in their own board games - then run the risk of some oik set on destroying other children's property. Some used to wander off into the nearest village/town or around the school fields. Some teachers had already gone on holiday and quite a few "lessons" were unsupervised. OH's cousin (a teacher) always took her children out before school finished for the term - sometimes the 2 weeks beforehand.

When I was at school the last few days were taken up with putting on a talent show and we all assembled in the hall to watch and vote. So the week consisted of rehearsing for those competing and useful encouragement by their friends. I remember one entry was Peters and Lee - where they mimed and the one with the long blonde wig kept pawing the one sitting at the piano with sunglasses. The nuns were not amused. We, of course, loved that one! Other than that the other treat was to watch a film in the hall - but then our school was very small in those days compared with now - lucky if you would get a whole year in the hall let alone the whole school and the teachers.