Anonymous wrote:Can parents of current and former AAP kids who attended center schools tell us about how they introduce students in newly-blended classes in 3rd grade, with students from various schools? It's quite a transition and I wonder if centers organize anything other than the AAP orientation and the usual teacher meet and greet?

Our Center school has a 3rd grade picnic at the beginning of the school year. They have pizza and snow-cones and have activities (Sharks vs. Minnows) for the children and parents to engage in.

The 3rd grade teacher made a big effort to get the kids to learn the other kids names (in that classroom). My kid was in a trailer (with all the 3rd grade AAP kids and 5th AAP too). It was kind of off-putting to be new to the school and in a trailer too, but they didn't want to put the reg. classrooms out there and make them feel inferior. Anyway, there was nothing to socialize the AAP kids and parents separately... which was fine.

There is back to school night and chatting at the bus stop... and opportunities to get involved in thePTA.... that's about it. It all works out.

The centers do not. Some will have "playdates" arranged the summer before, but frankly within a few days the kids have a lot of friends. FYI: for the kids in the center that have been there for years (as it is also their base school), they may only know a few kids in their class. My child knew 3 kids in her 3rd grade class because so many new kids were starting, even though she'd been at that school since kindergarten. Friends from other schools said their kids knew more people at the orientation at our own school than we did!

Can parents of current and former AAP kids who attended center schools tell us about how they introduce students in newly-blended classes in 3rd grade, with students from various schools? It's quite a transition and I wonder if centers organize anything other than the AAP orientation and the usual teacher meet and greet?