Julie

Let him know that we are all behind him, i have 2 at school, one has fitted in and loves school, made loads of friends etc etc
My eldest is struggling with the system and had it hard in the uk with being bullied etc. She goes to school as i drag her, lucky the school is 2mins round the corner from our house, but if she had the choice she would stay at home, even after afew weeks here.

See how he gets on, i spoke with the school after a couple of weeks and they have arranged a councillior and extra support in class and at playtime, they have been brilliant with her and i allow her home now for lunch which is helping.
I do think sometimes the older they are, the harder to settle, but with a little help they adjust to the system really well.

If you need to talk feel free to PM me, my daughter is 10yrs, came home all shy tonight as one of the boys likes her
she is getting there and makes it easier, but he may just need his mom

good luck

I'm sure you didn't, and please don't take it as criticism .... just a remark addressed to those who haven't had to do this yet!

My boy was 14 when we arrived, and I wasn't even in the country for his first day at school! I think his dad went with him on the bus the first time, but it wasn't one of those yellow school buses, which was why he could do that.......

Reece will soon make friends, but be prepared for complaints that "they are not like" his old friends from home. This of course takes time, but I'll warrant the kids make friends sooner than we oldies every time!

I know I've been there with my 9 year old last year. My 12 year old fitted in so well at the new school and made stacks of friends but my poor son just wasn't even given the chance. I was on the parent council and I volunteered at the school for everything so I could keep an eye on him. When I was dishing out pancakes on Shrove Tuesday I saw exactly what he was up against. I spoke with the teacher and she was so supportive but the only suggestion was to put him in French Immersion where the kids who wanted to learn were! So I drag my son half way round the world and this is the best they could come up with, just confuse the hell of the poor boy by making him learn a foreign language. He struggled his grades went down his attitude changed and ended up in a fight which I got called in for. It got to March break and the Friday they were breaking up I just went with my motherly gut instinct and took a leap of faith and spent 2 1/2 hours with the Principal telling him I wasn't happy my son's experience and that basically it was down to the demographics of the catchment area. I kept my daughter there but put my son in an out of boundary, overly subscribed, very popular, academically achieving in a posh area school. Well first day he comes home and tells me a kid came up to him in the playground and said "you look like someone who could do with a friend" and that was it. Aidan ever since has introduced my son to softball in the summer, hockey in the winter and everything else in between. He's never been happier. I of course found myself trying to get 2 kids in separate schools some 15kms away from each other that start at the same time and finish the same time every day. But as the rest of the mothers know there is absolutely nothing you wouldn't do to make your child happy. So if it does get bad, remember you are never, ever, trapped there is always a way out and school has to be right for them to flourish. It'll be fine and everything will work out just listen to your kid and do whats best for them. Hope it all works out and you're not alone, we've all been there. Cheers, Lesley x

Oh I had tears in my eyes by the time I had finished reading your post. I hope today is a good day for him and dont worry kids make friends quicker than us adults, I expect he will have a special friend by the end of the week.

I hope your sons getting on a little better at school.

I too remember my daughters first day at school here. She never cried at nursery, she never cried at primary, she never cried at middle - in fact at middle school, she asked me to walk with her the 1st day, saw her friends at the corner and said - Oh you can go now Mum and ran off.

Elementry here - she was nervous. (she was 10) I took her and she was to come home on the bus. I waited with all the other Mums and kids for school to start, the bell rang and these tears just started rolling down her face Oh My God! I had never had to deal with that before and here I was abandoning her for the day. I took her into her class and spoke with her teacher. I went home and paced the virtually empty home with no one to talk to (hadn't discoverd BE yet) and worried all day. The bus stopped outside our front door and this excited kid bounded in the house non stop yakking

So I really hope you son does settle in quickly, as soon as you feel he is happier, it'll make you feel happier and help you settle quicker.

poor we mite and poor you it must be so hard, but it will all be fine in the end, good luck to both of yous fingers crossed he comes home a happy chappy and you can relax more

aww the poor little love .. , i am dreading that part of it really .. james will be about 8 so hopefully wont be too bad and olivia will only be about 3 so that will be a lot easier
i hope reece has a better time tomoro , am sure he will though xxxx