A new school year!! This year brings some changes to our house.
We have decided to allow our oldest to attend public school. We made this decision for many reasons but the main three were: 1. In our school district 8th grade is in our high school. 2. Our local Parks & Rec doesn’t offer hardly any sports for kids who turn 14 yrs old. & 3. I want him to enroll in dual enrollment (the kids get college credits for high school classes thus starting their college career early).
“Meet The Teacher” Night was 5-7pm and let me tell you…they lock the doors at exactly 7pm!! I was told we could come anytime with the 2 hrs. I had planned to be there at 5 – 5:30 at the latest. Hubby got home from work late (he wanted to go too) so we didn’t get there till 6pm. Between teachers not being in their class, where they are suppose to be so we can meet them, and the school telling teachers to lock their doors and leave at exactly 7pm (yes they said this over the loudspeaker) we didn’t get to meet every one of his teachers. It was very frustrating. When my kids were in elementary school they had the same times but the school was open till you got done, not on lock-down right at 7. Literally at 7pm the teachers locked their doors, the lights were being turned out, and teachers and administrators were leaving.
Anyways I liked one of his teachers and told people about her. As soon as I did I started receiving very bad reviews about her last 5 yrs with the high school. It was everything from “she doesn’t teach instead she befriends them and has the girls doing her hair during class time” to “she loses homework and blames it on the child” to “if she finds out that your child ‘got her in trouble’ then she bullies them by punishing the whole class and naming your child as the reason”. I tried to get his scheduled changed but they wouldn’t do anything…So needless to say I am keeping my eye on her. I didn’t put him back into public school for him to have a teacher who doesn’t teach and worse bullies the kids!! I will be on first name basis with that school. They will know my car when I pull up outside and will run and hide! LOL I am somewhat serious though. I will not have my child bullied by a teacher and not be taught anything. He had enough of that (the not learning anything) in elementary school.
The high school has an unusual schedule, at least to me. They have an A/B schedule but it isn’t just A/B every other day…there is also A/B every nine weeks or half year. My biggest complaint is that they do not have math all year. It is a half year class, meaning they have it every day for half the year. The other half year is a foreign language. Why couldn’t they have foreign language and math every other day all year? It would help with their retention. They have English every day all year. They have Science & History every other day all year. Then they have one class that is all year every other day and for the other day it changes every nine weeks. They don’t have a study hall…instead they have a half hour advisory period after lunch. In advisory period they can do their homework, go see teachers about make-up work if they missed days, or see teachers for work they didn’t understand.
So school started last week. He was very excited but nervous. His first ½ week (they start on Wed) went well. He hasn’t had any homework at all, which he is loving. I have been reviewing his work every day but it isn’t like he brings books home. I am not even sure if they have a book for every child. He does bring home copied papers so I can see what they are talking about in class though.
I am hopeful for the year but at the same time I am apprehensive. I have a vision in my head of me crashing through the doors and yelling at people. LOL Hopefully it won’t come true. If it does I will be writing about it! After all I am under no illusion that public school is the best system…and I would not hesitate to pull him out and homeschool him again if I feel that is the only way he will get a good education.
Showing posts with label Boys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Boys. Show all posts
Monday, August 27, 2012
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Camp and Gluten-free diets don't mix. :-(
Good News: My ½ week at camp went well, as far as the kids, activities, etc. The kids seemed to have a blast.
Bad News: The cook is an @#$%@^#. I emailed the Monday before camp with specific concerns- such as if they used real eggs, potatoes, etc. and if certain things contained gluten. He NEVER emailed me back! I finally called a higher-up Friday night and left a message. We were to be at camp Sunday afternoon…So I receive an email Saturday morning from the cook. He was obviously pissed off. Here was his response…on SATURDAY MORNING (when we had to leave Sunday to go to camp!!!):
“My suggestion to you is if you are concerned about any food items you can bring your own food as a replacement. The items must be in a clear plastic zip-lock type bag with the child’s name and date of packaging clearly marked on the outside of each bag. We will store the food items in the kitchen for you and have them available for you to prepare at each meal service. A microwave oven and other kitchen equipment will be available for your use. We also have a book with the list of ingredients for the items being served at camp available in the kitchen for review. I hope this helps.”
Ummm HELLOO!!!! The camp is about an hour away but I had been near it 3 times the week before. If I had known there was a book I could have stopped by and checked it. But telling me Sat morning- less than 24 hrs before we have to be there, isn’t going to help me! I also obviously didn’t read it very well because I completely missed the “available for YOU to prepare” part! But more on that later.
So we get there. The camp director volunteers to help haul my cooler to the kitchen. I go in and start unloading it. The cook gets an attitude and says “You have another cooler right?” I was like “umm no. This cooler contains things other than his food items. It is for our camp site. I wasn’t aware I needed to provide a cooler. Everything is marked with his name.” His reply “Fine! I will see if I can find something.” He returns with a clear tote. We store his food where it needs to go and I am about to leave when he says: “you are going to be here 15 minutes early to fix his food, right?” –Remember when I said that I didn’t read the email thoroughly? So this was a shock to me. Literally. -- I was floored.
So I am waiting outside for the camp director, getting really pissed off. While he drives me back to our camp site I decide to confront him. I told him I didn’t realize I would have to fix J’s food. I didn’t have to last year (as I hadn’t been at camp) and that I would need to be there 30 minutes early because I didn’t realize I needed ready-made stuff. I provided the same stuff I did last year, such as pasta for spaghetti and mac &cheese that needed to be cooked. The camp director was like “We are short-handed. He is just asking you to volunteer.” I replied that he didn’t ask me to volunteer he told me to do it. And that last year I didn’t have this problem. I also thought that he was only being like this because I was in camp, where-as last year I wasn't.” He said he would look into a solution and get back to me.
So I fixed J’s dinner that night. Thankfully it wasn’t much- he was able to eat most of what was served. I just needed to heat a g-f roll and provide a cookie for dessert. At dinner the camp director told me that they had figured out a solution and the director of activities would fix J’s food. I thanked him and told him if I was there as J's parent, without any responsibilities, it wouldn’t be an issue but I wasn’t there as J’s parent. I was there in another capacity, one that kept me separated from J most of the day.
So the cook never said anything else to me, although he gave me dirty looks the whole time I was there. And I only had to fix 2 of J’s meals.
Oh and the other thing that ticked me off…they had a white board in their kitchen with a list of allergies on it. So every kid/group that had an allergy should have been on that board; so-so from this group has a peanut allergy, etc. Well J’s name/group wasn’t listed at all!! How are you to know which kid has an allergy if you aren't listing all the allergies?!? Maybe they didn't list him because I provided most of his food but he still should have been listed because he also ate their food. His raw carrot allergy should have at least been listed, especially since I wasn't providing alternatives for that. (Oh and by the way I was right about the salad bar- it was all pre-packaged mix with carrots in it.)
The camp directors told me they hope to keep the cook. I personally hope they don’t but either way they WILL be cooking J’s food next year…come to find out they get Federal Funding…and there is this thing called the Disability Act Law that all groups who get Federal Funding must comply to…Guess who is going to be pressing this issue next year? ME!! ME!! (Hand in the air!)
The thing that really got me in the end is that all the cook needed to do was communicate.
I wasn’t asking them to provide food, just tell me what was in their food. If I read the Act right I could have forced that issue (providing food) as well. But I am not here to add extra financial burden on them. I just want them to cook the food I provide. Is that so hard?
Bad News: The cook is an @#$%@^#. I emailed the Monday before camp with specific concerns- such as if they used real eggs, potatoes, etc. and if certain things contained gluten. He NEVER emailed me back! I finally called a higher-up Friday night and left a message. We were to be at camp Sunday afternoon…So I receive an email Saturday morning from the cook. He was obviously pissed off. Here was his response…on SATURDAY MORNING (when we had to leave Sunday to go to camp!!!):
“My suggestion to you is if you are concerned about any food items you can bring your own food as a replacement. The items must be in a clear plastic zip-lock type bag with the child’s name and date of packaging clearly marked on the outside of each bag. We will store the food items in the kitchen for you and have them available for you to prepare at each meal service. A microwave oven and other kitchen equipment will be available for your use. We also have a book with the list of ingredients for the items being served at camp available in the kitchen for review. I hope this helps.”
Ummm HELLOO!!!! The camp is about an hour away but I had been near it 3 times the week before. If I had known there was a book I could have stopped by and checked it. But telling me Sat morning- less than 24 hrs before we have to be there, isn’t going to help me! I also obviously didn’t read it very well because I completely missed the “available for YOU to prepare” part! But more on that later.
So we get there. The camp director volunteers to help haul my cooler to the kitchen. I go in and start unloading it. The cook gets an attitude and says “You have another cooler right?” I was like “umm no. This cooler contains things other than his food items. It is for our camp site. I wasn’t aware I needed to provide a cooler. Everything is marked with his name.” His reply “Fine! I will see if I can find something.” He returns with a clear tote. We store his food where it needs to go and I am about to leave when he says: “you are going to be here 15 minutes early to fix his food, right?” –Remember when I said that I didn’t read the email thoroughly? So this was a shock to me. Literally. -- I was floored.
So I am waiting outside for the camp director, getting really pissed off. While he drives me back to our camp site I decide to confront him. I told him I didn’t realize I would have to fix J’s food. I didn’t have to last year (as I hadn’t been at camp) and that I would need to be there 30 minutes early because I didn’t realize I needed ready-made stuff. I provided the same stuff I did last year, such as pasta for spaghetti and mac &cheese that needed to be cooked. The camp director was like “We are short-handed. He is just asking you to volunteer.” I replied that he didn’t ask me to volunteer he told me to do it. And that last year I didn’t have this problem. I also thought that he was only being like this because I was in camp, where-as last year I wasn't.” He said he would look into a solution and get back to me.
So I fixed J’s dinner that night. Thankfully it wasn’t much- he was able to eat most of what was served. I just needed to heat a g-f roll and provide a cookie for dessert. At dinner the camp director told me that they had figured out a solution and the director of activities would fix J’s food. I thanked him and told him if I was there as J's parent, without any responsibilities, it wouldn’t be an issue but I wasn’t there as J’s parent. I was there in another capacity, one that kept me separated from J most of the day.
So the cook never said anything else to me, although he gave me dirty looks the whole time I was there. And I only had to fix 2 of J’s meals.
Oh and the other thing that ticked me off…they had a white board in their kitchen with a list of allergies on it. So every kid/group that had an allergy should have been on that board; so-so from this group has a peanut allergy, etc. Well J’s name/group wasn’t listed at all!! How are you to know which kid has an allergy if you aren't listing all the allergies?!? Maybe they didn't list him because I provided most of his food but he still should have been listed because he also ate their food. His raw carrot allergy should have at least been listed, especially since I wasn't providing alternatives for that. (Oh and by the way I was right about the salad bar- it was all pre-packaged mix with carrots in it.)
The camp directors told me they hope to keep the cook. I personally hope they don’t but either way they WILL be cooking J’s food next year…come to find out they get Federal Funding…and there is this thing called the Disability Act Law that all groups who get Federal Funding must comply to…Guess who is going to be pressing this issue next year? ME!! ME!! (Hand in the air!)
The thing that really got me in the end is that all the cook needed to do was communicate.
I wasn’t asking them to provide food, just tell me what was in their food. If I read the Act right I could have forced that issue (providing food) as well. But I am not here to add extra financial burden on them. I just want them to cook the food I provide. Is that so hard?
Friday, June 8, 2012
Really people?!?! Excluding kids based on food allergies.
J is gluten-free due to his reaction to gluten. He does not have celiac but is "sensitive" to gluten. This week I was confronted with a comment that made me very mad. I had asked about the possibility of an organization we are deeply involved in of purchasing a gluten-free (g-f) pizza. The place they were buying pizza from offers g-f pizzas for the same price as non-g-f so I didn't see it as a big deal to ask. The response was: "I do not want to start catering to all dietary needs, that could lead into a big ordeal.". Whether she intended it to or not, her response rubbed me wrong. My son does NOT have a "dietary need" - he has a food allergy!! To me, "dietary need" is not the same as allergy. And if we had an child with a more severe reaction they would HAVE to "cater to their "dietary need".
I responded and included the following: "I understand your position. However, I disagree. J is a member of this organization and it is medically necessary that he does not eat anything with gluten. It is absolutely possible for ANYONE to eat a gluten free pizza but it is impossible for J to consume non-gluten free pizza. To exclude him is unfair and directly telling him that he didn’t matter. He has gotten upset every time the organization has had a food event in which he can’t participate. I apologize- it was not my intent for my request to escalate as much as it seems to. Again I thought it would not be an issue, given where the organization was ordering from and the cost being the same."
I decided to look up the laws for people with food allergies. Here is what I learned:
"At a recent food allergy roundtable in New York City, Mary Jane Marchisotto, Executive Director of the Food Allergy Initiative (FAI) shared the most recent statistics on food allergies, saying that, “Every classroom now has two students with food allergies.” A July 2011 study funded by FAI and published in Pediatrics, found that 15 million Americans and one in every thirteen children now suffer from food allergies – a significant increase from prior data." http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2012/04/27/virginia-enacts-stock-epinephrine-law-to-help-protect-students-with-allergies/
"A food allergy may be considered a disability under federal laws such as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)." http://www.foodallergy.org/section/disability
I also called my son's specialist. I never asked for a letter stating his sensitivity to gluten because I didn't think I would need it since we homeschool. I am now requesting that letter.
In the end the organization won't provide g-f pizza for J. While I still think they are being unreasonable, considering there is no added cost or effort on their part, I am fine with it. I will once again provide my son with food, while trying to explain to him that having a food allergy is not an exclusion from participation and that other kids don't think he is weird for not eating "normal" food.. :-(
UPDATE: So we went to our event with our g-f bought pizza. And one of the members of the organization had gone out of his way and purchased gf pretzels and cookies for J. He also gave us money for the gf pizza, saying that we shouldn't have to pay for our own food when it was a organization event. I am not sure if he purchased the items out of his own pocket or if the organization paid for them. I appreciate what he did because it made me feel like someone was on my side. At the same time if it is out of his own pocket it makes me feel bad. He shouldn't have to pay it himself either- it's not his kid. But again I really appreciate it. He even went out of his way to talk to J and show him where the stuff was. He really is a sweetie! :-)
I responded and included the following: "I understand your position. However, I disagree. J is a member of this organization and it is medically necessary that he does not eat anything with gluten. It is absolutely possible for ANYONE to eat a gluten free pizza but it is impossible for J to consume non-gluten free pizza. To exclude him is unfair and directly telling him that he didn’t matter. He has gotten upset every time the organization has had a food event in which he can’t participate. I apologize- it was not my intent for my request to escalate as much as it seems to. Again I thought it would not be an issue, given where the organization was ordering from and the cost being the same."
I decided to look up the laws for people with food allergies. Here is what I learned:
"At a recent food allergy roundtable in New York City, Mary Jane Marchisotto, Executive Director of the Food Allergy Initiative (FAI) shared the most recent statistics on food allergies, saying that, “Every classroom now has two students with food allergies.” A July 2011 study funded by FAI and published in Pediatrics, found that 15 million Americans and one in every thirteen children now suffer from food allergies – a significant increase from prior data." http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2012/04/27/virginia-enacts-stock-epinephrine-law-to-help-protect-students-with-allergies/
"A food allergy may be considered a disability under federal laws such as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)." http://www.foodallergy.org/section/disability
I also called my son's specialist. I never asked for a letter stating his sensitivity to gluten because I didn't think I would need it since we homeschool. I am now requesting that letter.
In the end the organization won't provide g-f pizza for J. While I still think they are being unreasonable, considering there is no added cost or effort on their part, I am fine with it. I will once again provide my son with food, while trying to explain to him that having a food allergy is not an exclusion from participation and that other kids don't think he is weird for not eating "normal" food.. :-(
UPDATE: So we went to our event with our g-f bought pizza. And one of the members of the organization had gone out of his way and purchased gf pretzels and cookies for J. He also gave us money for the gf pizza, saying that we shouldn't have to pay for our own food when it was a organization event. I am not sure if he purchased the items out of his own pocket or if the organization paid for them. I appreciate what he did because it made me feel like someone was on my side. At the same time if it is out of his own pocket it makes me feel bad. He shouldn't have to pay it himself either- it's not his kid. But again I really appreciate it. He even went out of his way to talk to J and show him where the stuff was. He really is a sweetie! :-)
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Tagging?
So my son evidently has an issue with “tagging” his name on everything. I guess I should be gratefully he doesn't tag his territory like a dog does!! LOL
Here are some examples:
My bookcase (carved no less!): Guess who will eventually inherit it? LOL
His dresser: (2 separate drawers)
What is up with that? He keeps telling me he isn’t sure why he does it. He also wrote his name in his closet with permanent marker- still haven’t gotten that off, even though I tried stuff that supposedly would take it off (such as that "Eraser" that is suppose to get everything off!).
Anyways, thought I would share my frustration upon finding yet another “tag”! :-)
Here are some examples:
My bookcase (carved no less!): Guess who will eventually inherit it? LOL
His dresser: (2 separate drawers)
What is up with that? He keeps telling me he isn’t sure why he does it. He also wrote his name in his closet with permanent marker- still haven’t gotten that off, even though I tried stuff that supposedly would take it off (such as that "Eraser" that is suppose to get everything off!).
Anyways, thought I would share my frustration upon finding yet another “tag”! :-)
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