Switching to Catholic school- tips?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be prepared to pray at parent events

Wut

It’s a Catholic school. What were you expecting?

[Anonymous]

Pp back with real tips: if you are Catholic, make sure they know the prayers the school kids use and the hymns. Buy fewer clothes bc uniforms will be there five days a week. Get involved in the parish now (if there is one) through CYO sports or Scouts or something.

[Anonymous]

Make sure you know the uniform policy, down to the socks and shoes. I would do some work xtra readings and writing over the summer. All age appropriate. Maybe write some postcard//letters.
There will be a very specific class list for supplies, so don’t by anything ahead of getting that list. Be prepared to by supplies that will be donated to the school (pencils, glue, tissues).
Many schools require a certain number of volunteer hours from parents. Some are during the school day and others are after school activities or special events (field day, book fair). Most schools require you to take a class and have a background check before you’re allowed to volunteer. Look for those dates.

Agree with PP re CYO activities.

I hope you find it is a good fit for your child and family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would deeply investigate what they do to protect kids against sexual assault.

More than most public schools do - they have completely reworked things these days.

We spent time at the school attached to our parish in the pandemic. Differences were: stricter behavior expectations, like scolding a kindergarten kid for silently fidgeting in Mass on zoom. Also much more proactive at combating bullying. Classes were small (under 10 kids), but no individual attention really because it was very “On this day we teach X in Y manner because ‘‘twas ever thus.” No centers, but that could have been Covid. They used cursive and referred to me as Mrs DHLastname constantly.

The community was close knit so it was a little hard to break in but when we did we were IN in a way that felt kind and caring.

Definitely not a perfect cultural fit for us, even though we practice at the parish, but we could have been happy there for years if we needed to be.

What do you think public schools do and what is your experience of what Catholic schools do?

[Anonymous]

My switched to a Christian ( not Catholic) school for 4th and is about to finish up 5th. We are Christian but very liberally minded. We’ve been super happy, love the smaller classes, better behaved kids and more personalized instruction. There is definitely more hell/heaven discussion than I would choose and one teacher told her in 4th that only humans go to heaven. We have a beloved dog and my kid was incensed because we talk about our dogs being in heaven or going to heaven. No reason to tell a 9yo otherwise imo. When we’ve had the odd issue the admin has been good about getting it addressed which I appreciate.

[Anonymous]

2nd and 4th grade now, or will they be 2nd and 4th grade when they enter the school?

Anyway, I would put my main effort over the summer into making sure anyone entering at 3rd grade or higher has the multiplication table memorized. Work on calculation speed and accuracy of addition and subtraction for both children.

Start cursive now. It takes a long time to learn and get comfortable with it, and if your kids have been in public school, any instruction they've had was likely desultory. I really, really like the model used by the Cursive First curriculum for instruction.

I would also suggest basic familiarity with the Bible, including (for Jews) the New Testament. Enough to know some of the basic stories and some of the main characters. Jesus, Moses, Mary, etc.

Other than that, just work on whatever aspect of your child's education seems weak. Am at a Protestant Christian school, but know people going through Catholic, and the schools usually do pretty well.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, all. My kids are finishing 2 and 4 so will be interning 3 and 5. They have a math tutor now so I assume that will stay the same. Not because they are behind per se but for enrichment. (They say it is too easy in public.) we are Catholic and received first communion so even though we are not super strict I don’t mind the praying and education. The reason I am switching is the incessant testing, poor teacher morale (they are quitting in droves and both my kids have been affected by this) and also it just seems like public schools have zero discipline and i do not like how they respond to kids that are disruptive and sometimes violent in class (eg they do nothing and my kids are scared). Also my school / PTA etc does not encourage much parent involvement and it is so hard to stay informed on what is happening with them.
I did not plan to send them to Catholic schools but it seems like the best option but I guess you don’t really know the culture well til you are there. Thanks for the tips esp about getting involved and learning the prayers. Will do!

[Anonymous]

I would send my kid to a “bad” public school, homeschool or move before I’d send my kid to a Catholic school. I disagree with quite literally everything they stand for.

[Anonymous]

Each week there is a troll poster who will ask a seemingly innocuous question about Catholic schools or Catholicism just to bring out the anti-Catholic hate. If this happened with any other religion, these threads would be shut down.

[Anonymous]

Lol public school vs Catholic school lol

OP good luck with that .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks, all. My kids are finishing 2 and 4 so will be interning 3 and 5. They have a math tutor now so I assume that will stay the same. Not because they are behind per se but for enrichment. (They say it is too easy in public.) we are Catholic and received first communion so even though we are not super strict I don’t mind the praying and education. The reason I am switching is the incessant testing, poor teacher morale (they are quitting in droves and both my kids have been affected by this) and also it just seems like public schools have zero discipline and i do not like how they respond to kids that are disruptive and sometimes violent in class (eg they do nothing and my kids are scared). Also my school / PTA etc does not encourage much parent involvement and it is so hard to stay informed on what is happening with them.
I did not plan to send them to Catholic schools but it seems like the best option but I guess you don’t really know the culture well til you are there. Thanks for the tips esp about getting involved and learning the prayers. Will do!

You have got up he kidding.

Child abuse ??

College acceptance

Lol no Catholic school is not solving your problems troll

[Anonymous]

Catholic school was a big transition from public but honestly our experience was fantastic. Religious instruction was taken seriously, although there were students who were not Catholic. However, it's important for parents to realize most schools don't treat it as a minor or incidental part of the instruction. But our experience was really fantastic with the teachers and the school and instruction.

[Anonymous]

Catholic schools expect a lot of parent involvement. There seems to always be something going on at school that needs donations of food, supplies or volunteers. This is not a bad thing but defienately something to be ready for. In our family the good out weighed the bad. We started in Catholic school, moved out of the area and switched to public. We are back to Catholic for high school because of all of the reasons the OP listed in the original post.

[Anonymous]

Understand that the teachers are poorly paid, may not be certified in the area in which they are teaching, are forbidden from being gay, likely have terrible health care, and have no organization to back them up if they have a mean principal. I would look for a regular private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would send my kid to a “bad” public school, homeschool or move before I’d send my kid to a Catholic school. I disagree with quite literally everything they stand for.

Well, of course you would. Isn’t it great there are choices for people who believe in different things?