Can you help an Australian moving to CT? Tips needed.

[nana053]

Originally Posted by sydneybeach

Hi, We're a family from Sydney Australia moving to CT.

I'm really keen to hear how things are done in the US. Granted, they won't all be the same but just give me your experiences. THANKS!

I have a 9YO boy who'll have to start school in January 2011 n the US. His Birthday is November 2001. What grade will he be going into? I realize he'll be starting after everyone else.

I have a few questions & maybe you can give him a helping hand to settle in & fit in?! Thanks.

Do most kids of this age bring their lunch from home or do they get it served at school?

Do most kids catch a school bus? Get driven or walk?

Is there a stigma attached to any of these? *I* don't care about it but I know he will! He'll do anything not to stand out!

How do you think an Australian boy will be received at a new school?

In Australia all the kids wear a school uniform. I'm sure in the US 9YO boys wear jeans & t-shirts without much thought. Is that about right? Do kids this age care about brands/clothing labels?

ETA- What sports to the kids do? my son does Taekwondo. Hope to find a good school there as well.

Poor boy, I really feel for him. I know I'd be so nervous starting a new school, let alone in a new country.

OK, Thanks for all your thoughts!!

Any other tips you can give us would be much appreciated.

9 years old would probably be 4th grade here.
The bus or driving or walking or biking will depend on where you live in relation to the school. We are in the Houston area and kids either take the bus or are driven mostly, but there are some schools in our district where kids walk or bike too. There is no stigma attached to any of the ways you get to school, but your child will probably form friendships with others on his bus if he takes the bus. He will still form friendships with kids who use other forms of transportation too.

As far as uniforms, some school districts have uniforms and some do not. Usually though, it's not a uniform in the same way that school uniforms are in other countries. My grandchildren were specific colors of polo shirts that button in front and specific colors of shorts or pants. They can choose from several colors. Jeans are ok as pants in our school because navy is one of the colors they can wear.

Whether the kids care about brands and labels will again depend on the particular area and school. Ime, most boys do not care about this at this age, but often girls do.

Taekwando is great and you should be able to find a school in your area. Kids play soccer here too and CT is big on soccer (football). Baseball is another big sport here at this age. Our Little League team just went to the US championships so we had a parade for them.

Kids prefer different things in terms of lunches. My granddaughter buys lunch at school 2 to 3 days a week and brings her lunch the other days. The school lunches are not very good, imo, but kids like them especially on pizza days.

Note that January is the middle of our school year. I am not sure of the school terms in Australia. Here things begin in late August or early September. This might make it hard for him because the kids who are in school already know each other and have formed friendships. Depending on the school, though, the teacher might assign a buddy to help him when he comes in.

I have found that kids are usually pretty accepting if the teachers and adults in the school are. My son back in his school years had friends from other countries who moved here and even some who spoke very little English when they started. We were in Evanston, IL near Chicago though and there were lots of foreign students whose parents were at Northwestern University.

You might want to post on the state forum and city forum where you are moving as well to get more specifics.

Good luck!

Dorothy

[nana053]

Originally Posted by chicagojlo

The public elementary school my daughter attends doesn't serve lunch. Again - it varies by school and district.

You live in a very unusual district. The federal lunch program is available in all public schools though I suppose if you have NO children who would get free lunch they would not have to serve lunch.

[chicagojlo]

It's very possible that there aren't any kids entitled to free lunch in our district. It's a wealthy 6,000 person village with one elementary and one middle school, and shares a high school with the next village.

[icibiu]

Originally Posted by sydneybeach

Hi, We're a family from Sydney Australia moving to CT.

I'm really keen to hear how things are done in the US. Granted, they won't all be the same but just give me your experiences. THANKS!

I have a 9YO boy who'll have to start school in January 2011 n the US. His Birthday is November 2001. What grade will he be going into? I realize he'll be starting after everyone else.

Most 9yo are in 4th grade, however, the cut-off date (at least in my area which is fairly close to CT) is usually sometime in October so he may get placed in 3rd grade. School districts are usually VERY VERY strict about their cut-off dates and even if you miss it by a day they will not make an exception. Your saving grace maybe that since you are coming from another country and he does not have a language barrier they may allow him to take a placement test. If they dont allow him to take one right away maybe you can make a push for it if your son is not challenged at all in the 3rd grade after a few weeks.

I have a few questions & maybe you can give him a helping hand to settle in & fit in?! Thanks.

Do most kids of this age bring their lunch from home or do they get it served at school?
He'll be fine either way, although sometimes cafeteria food is not all that desirable. I would suggest packing his lunch the first day and giving him some lunch money anyway so he can at least walk the line and see if he wants to eat it.

Do most kids catch a school bus? Get driven or walk?

Depends on the district and how far you live from the school.

Is there a stigma attached to any of these? *I* don't care about it but I know he will! He'll do anything not to stand out!

I grew up in an urban area (NYC) if you took the bus to school and were not in kindergarden you were DEFINITELY going to be teased about it. Few parents drove their kids to school, most kids walked or took the city bus; alone. I did a year of high school in the suburbs and my first day I was HORRIFIED to realize that I had to take the school bus only to find out it was totally normal, it's totally standard in the burbs. Unless the roads are hazardous in your area (no sidewalks, low visability, etc) you will not be eligable for the school bus if you live less than 2 miles from the school.

How do you think an Australian boy will be received at a new school?

Americans LOVE the accent! He'll be well recieved and I wouldn't be surprised if a few girls end up crushing on him. Also IME unless your child is socially akward "the new kid" is usually the main attraction at that age and most children will want to be his friend.

In Australia all the kids wear a school uniform. I'm sure in the US 9YO boys wear jeans & t-shirts without much thought. Is that about right? Do kids this age care about brands/clothing labels?

Most public schools do not have uniforms and I agree that at that age boys don't care about brands names and such. The exception to this maybe in very affluent areas. On the flip side in lower income areas a lot of the schools are adopting a "uniform" of two choices of pant color (say khaki's or black jeans) and a plain shirt in a choice of two or three colors.

ETA- What sports to the kids do? my son does Taekwondo. Hope to find a good school there as well.

Taekwondo, no problem. Other popular sports are soccer, baseball and american football. (Although at 9 the american football leagues are usually private leagues called pop warner)

Poor boy, I really feel for him. I know I'd be so nervous starting a new school, let alone in a new country.
Try not too worry too much, what a fun adventure he'll be having

OK, Thanks for all your thoughts!!

Any other tips you can give us would be much appreciated.

.

[sydneybeach]

Thank you so much for all your thoughts. When we know more I'll post this in the Ct forum. I really wanted to get an overall view of the US not just CT at this point. Which you've all given me, so thanks again!

My son is obsessed with all things american at the moment So I'm sure he'll try to adopt your accent asap. Although if i tell him the girlies prefer his aussie accent he may very well try to retain it. LOL. Socially awkward he is not.

FinsterRufus - hoping to be back home by the time he's reaching Y9 or Y10. Uni in Australia is getting really expensive as well, no where near US standards though, yet.

I'm thinking he may be best in the 3rd grade again although he'll have just finished Y3 here. The curriculum will be different & a little revision will not hurt! We'll see what the school thinks though.

Thanks!

[andthentherewere3]

Originally Posted by sydneybeach

I'm thinking he may be best in the 3rd grade again although he'll have just finished Y3 here. The curriculum will be different & a little revision will not hurt! We'll see what the school thinks though.

Thanks!

Just to clarify, the first year here is kindergarten, the second year is 1st grade etc. Not sure if you have something before first grade or Y1 or not. So a third grader here would be entering his fourth year of school. Good luck!

[sydneybeach]

Thanks PP, yep it's the same here. Kindy then Y1,2 3 etc.

[wanderintonc]

9 is kind of old for 3rd grade. My 9 yo is in 5th grade in CT. Lots of 4th graders are 9 too. The cutoff date here for K is Dec 31st, so it's not unusual for kids to be young like my dd.

A lot of things will depend on what town in CT you end up in. Everything goes by town here, so what is true in one town's schools may not be in another. In general, buses are offered if the child lives a certain distance away.
How kids feel about clothing labels depends again on where they live. In my working-middle class city, it's not so important-it's probably moreso in Fairfield co and places like that. Most schools don't wear uniforms so jeans and shirts are pretty normal.

[andthentherewere3]

Originally Posted by wanderintonc

9 is kind of old for 3rd grade. My 9 yo is in 5th grade in CT. Lots of 4th graders are 9 too. The cutoff date here for K is Dec 31st, so it's not unusual for kids to be young like my dd.

A lot of things will depend on what town in CT you end up in.

The bolded is definitely true in Ct. In the smaller towns and suburbs, most parents will hold back their 4 year old from starting kindergarten, especially if it's all day kindergarten. But you don't see that as much in the cities of Ct. We held one of our sons back one year because he would have only been 4 at the start of his kindergarten year, and we felt that would have been too long a day for him. But in regards to your statement that 9 is kind of old for 3rd grade, my youngest will be 8 at the start of third grade, and we didn't hold him back. I don't see how your dd could be 9 in fifth grade, if she turned 5 by Dec. 31 in kindergarten, which is the minimum age. Fifth grade is 10-11 year olds.

[wanderintonc]

Originally Posted by andthentherewere3

I don't see how your dd could be 9 in fifth grade, if she turned 5 by Dec. 31 in kindergarten, which is the minimum age. Fifth grade is 10-11 year olds.

She is nine now and in fifth grade, she'll be 10 next month. She was four when she started K, her birthday was after school started but before Dec. 31st, which is the cutoff.