Common Ground Coffee House #115

Gina, I'd take my honor child and go home, just as soon as EVERY single member of the school staff and admin that had ANYTHING to do with my child had heard about the incident and my displeasure, all the way UP to the district superintendent AND the school board.

I have a very low tolerance for such stuff. And I'd consider calling my attorney. Nothing gets a school's attention like bringing in an attorney.

 

Typically I'd agree Ann, but the school has already demonstrated that my kids need a way to contact me. That problem was already being addressed through administration, and I have a funny feeling that this situation is something they jumped on as "retribution" because they sure didn't seem too thrilled about administration coming down on them.

They also had only given her one day of ISR. They told me this on the phone. When my daughter came home, she told me she had two. When I said no, I talked to the principal and he said one, she said they called her back into the office after I called them again and added another one.

That sounds more like an attempt at retribution than them just really wanting to follow rules.

MK, I hinted about the law in a roundabout way a couple weeks ago when another honor student of mine texted me because her glasses got broken. She was born with a birth defect and wears glasses over contacts, so this was a major issue. It happened because of safety issues at the school, but the principal said they would accept no responsibility for it. I contacted administration, who agreed with me, offered to help, and has apparently pressured this particular school to get more disciplined. It's been a MESS, with fist-fights breaking out right and left and students unable to hear teachers over the noise in classrooms, but is now being addressed and things are changing.

I already called the admin again and am setting up an appointment, but the more I think about this, the less likely it is that I'll send her back to that nuthouse. It's only a few more months before she hits high school and changes schools anyhow.

 

ooooh! Middle School! Well that explains it. Middle school is a zoo! Doesnt' matter who's middle school, if it is public, it will be a zoo! 90% of kids and staff alike totally lose their minds when they walk in to the building and the parents aren't far behind them! This is why I'm homeschooling my middle schooler. Our middle school tainted my older ones until I grew a backbone. They ain't gettin' my baby!

This school does realize that there are FEDERAL laws they have to follow concerning bullying, harassment and other school safety issues right? If they don't, I bet the school board does. And one of your kids has an eyesight problem that the feds would most likely consider a disability (cause if she can't see it interferes with her ability to benefit from a "free appropriate public education")? Oh yeah, I'd have a field day with them. And retaliation? Oh yeah, thats another huge no no.

You gotten a call back yet?

 

Middle school can be nuts, but there is no reason for it to be physically and emotionally hazardous to attend school in a civilized country.

There have been two times where a student felt I was being unfair and said so, then asked if they could go to the office and report it. I SAID YES and wrote them a pass. You HAVE to allow for the possibility that you are wrong, or at least let someone else step in and look at things from the outside if a student honestly feels they aren't being treated right.

Anyhow, schools are shut down because of weather. hehe

They will reopen on Monday or Tuesday and we'll work on it then.

This was perfect timing for an ice storm. :thumbs:

 

I was just looking at all the pink on the radar out where ya'll are at. Is it really yucky?

They are almost saying that it will pass north of us. Which is good because while I don't mind snow, ice is a different story!

 

Gina - you are making my head spin with the school stuff - so sorry you alll have to go through all that and hope they resolve it soon!

We are now expecting freezing rain on Sat. I'm assuming that's more than "light wintry mix"??

 

Freezing rain is BAAAAD stuff. It freezes on contact with the power lines, the trees, the ground etc. It causes way more problems than snow does.

A wintry mix is likely to be rain, sleet and snow all mixed together or one right after the other.

 

Wintry Mix is what we call the period between the end of November and March.

I agree Cuz freezing rain is dangerous, even for us Northerners who are used to it, but for you Southern folks you might as well close up the town until it passes.

In Michigan we have an Automatic Snow/Ice Removal System in place that has worked well for years...It's called April. :tongue3:

Michigan's Official State Song...Slip-Slidin' Away, Slip-Slidin' Away.

 

It hasn't snowed yet, it's just pure ice. Yesterday it seemed around 60 degrees, but today everything is covered in ice. Every surface, every leaf, every tiny little detail. It looks really cool if you're looking out the window, but it has pretty much immobilized the area.

It's very peaceful, quiet, and shimmery. I love it!

We'll probably wake up to a blanket of white tomorrow morning. :thumbs:

 

Good Morning Everyone!

Today is grocery shopping day! Just in time to stock up before the rain comes in.

Gina how are ya'll doin' today? Snowed in yet?

 

We are definitely snowed in. There are no people or vehicles going by, so we're still enjoying peace and quiet! I also asked for the television to remain in the off position today to further be able to soak in the quiet.

Well, as quiet as it can be when ya got five kids running around in random circles because they don't know what to do if they can't watch television or go outside and play because the world has become a giant slip-slide, which would technically be okay if the doctor's office wasn't closed.

Lunch time! We're having breakfast for lunch. We have breakfast for breakfast too. At this rate we'll have breakfast for dinner. hehe

Hope everyone's enjoying today!

 

We've got snow here too. About 8 inches in some places.

I love it. I like getting some snow in the winter.

 

Welcome to Monday!

Man alive! I go away for a weekend and miss allllllllllllllllllllllllll the fun that went on in the General Discussions forum. I'd be sad about it if I weren't to busy laughing at some of the stuff Gina posted. :laugh:

What a busy weekend! Saturday started out with dh in a dental chair, went on to basketball, then Walmart where I purchased my b'day/Christmas/Valentine's day gift (ha and maybe this year's b'day gift too! lol) and finally ended up with the high school beauty pageant, where once again the girls on either side of my dd were chosen and she wasn't. (man am I glad I'm done with that for at least the next 3 years! I hate beauty pageants!)

Then Sunday was marked by a reception for scholarship recipiants at one of our local universities where my dd plans to attend. Yes, this means she won a nice scholarship.

So, while ya'll were busy arg---debating, I was out wishing I could get off my feet for a while!!

What was my present? A nice new tv for my kitchen. Yes, if they want me to cook, I have to be entertained. Remember I said NEW tv, which should have implied that my dh has known this fact for some time. Only the tv he first bribed me with was only about 4" square and where I had to hang it lately kept a constant glare on it. Not mention my eyes are changing rapidly what I could see easily in the past (with correction) I can no longer veiw well now (mostly without correction for various reasons).

So we've been watching tv prices drop for a while now. And then when I went to do the monthly shop, Walmart had an Emerson tv for a price I wanted to pay: $338. So we got up there and after waiting for more than 30 minutes and my dh having a small but polite temper tanturm, we ended up with a similar sized Sanyo for the same price (they knocked it down because we had to wait so long for a sales clerk).

Funnily enough, I have had no problem getting my kitchen cleaned up since it got installed. :laugh:

 

Hmm. I could probably clean my bedroom a LOT more if there was a tv in there. WAIT! There IS! And I DON'T! :laugh:

I'm getting nowhere with the school district, so as of today I let them know daughter number two won't be returning for now.
I'm on a rampage...unless I move, I am dedicating myself to making sure that kids can go to this school and be able to
1. Sit in class AND hear the teacher, both at the same time
2. Have adequate adult supervision
3. Feel safe from physical violence
4. Feel safe from verbal assault
5. Have people in authority that they can trust to help them if they are facing physical and verbal assaults from kids or staff

 

Go for Gina! And if you fear retaliation from the district for pulling your dd out, go join the HSLDA (www.hslda.org). Best $10 a month I spend.

Good Morning Everyone!

I'm going to try out the new tires I have on my car by allowing Chris to drive to B'ham to his doctor's appointment this afternoon. Anyone want to ride along?

Before that I get to clean up this house and vacuum up all the dog hair (again). One of our dogs thinks its spring time and is loosing all her undercoat. I have vacuumed almost daily for the last two weeks and if I had time twice a day, and I still can't keep up with the amount of hair she is losing. I brushed out half a Walmart sack from her over the weekend and it still didn't help! How much hair can one dog have?

Ya'll have a good day!

 

Yep, I loved HSLDA when I was there. Unfortunately, the person assigned to us and who helped us most passed away recently. :flower:

But yes, planning to join before pulling her officially.
The principal already made a comment that I can't just pull her out and homeschool her, that there are laws and such. I had to kinda chuckle, after expecting no less from the guy. All of a sudden he's worried about her education. HMMMM

I'm glad your'e keeping all that hair to yourself. I sneeze when students come around me who have dogs at home. I'm that allergic now. It only gets worse over the years. YUCK!

 

Yep, yep, Gina - go for it - and do HSLDA first!!! Wonderful!! Was it Chris Klicka who had helped you before? So sad - what a terrific family.

Enjoying the beautiful rain here - not freezing rain this time, but beautiful all the same. Yes, I love rain! :tongue3:

 

Ann, I know exactly what you are saying and that just might work and be the end of it. I would definitely say that this principal knows he is giving Gina a load of crock. But I know of cases in "easy" states where the district was hungry enough for money that they sent social workers to the home and generally made life miserable for the family until HSLDA could straighten it out. Sometimes if HSLDA can get on the phone with the social worker right at the moment they can settle things but that won't always pan out if things are already in motion and sometimes it ends up in court before it's all over. If the parent can march into the office and declare they are pulling the child out and give the principal their HSLDA attorney's name and phone number if they have any questions, that usually nips it. It's been quite a long time since we were in leadership in our umbrella group though, so maybe things have lightened up a bit as more and more people are homeschooling and I'm off a bit here. Certainly hope so. Keep us informed, Gina!