long week

Wow, has it really been a week since I last wrote here? What's been happening?? Alot. Second week of school & let me tell you a little about that situation. Remember in the Spring how our then school was giving me the run around about Feefer going to kindergarten there? And how Lib didn't have a spot in the ECE (Early Childhood Education) class because 27 neighborhood kids had applied for 21 spots...and neighborhood gets preference over siblings (according to that particular school). Although the principal assured me that the most important thing is to "keep our Cory families together" when I spoke to her with another mom who is notorious for her vociferous nature, such was not the case when I spoke to the principal by my lonesome. Every time I went to the office to check on Fi's status, I was told by said office staff that "we haven't heard anything." And so it was all Spring until I called at the beginning of August when the school office staff returned to work. The first thing the woman said to me was, "You did fill out a choice form, didn't you?" and then, "I don't know what happened. I'll have to investigate." and then, "We haven't touched the waitlist yet." First of all, what?!?! Did I fill out a choice form? OMG. Have I not been to visit the office nearly weekly for 3 months? And besides that, have we not been a family at this school for 5 years???? This is the same office staff who did not code our kids as being siblings so that we weren't put at the top of the waitlist (because siblings have preference over neighborhood for all other grades except ECE). This is the same office staff who us has seen us at the school, or in the office almost weekly, if not more often, FOR FIVE EFFEN YEARS!!! The littles have been born & grown up going to this school, if only to participate in their big sister's events. It's THEIR school. It's what they know. Funny how I used to think this was such a good school -the next best thing to private school. Hmmmm, apparently the elitist attitude is getting out of hand.

Cut to the week before school starts...I'm scrambling, calling schools anywhere close to our house, trying to get the girls enrolled at one school. See, Maddie could have stayed for 5th grade at our former school, but I was having a heck of a time finding a school that had room in both kindergarten AND ECE. I was literally looking at having to go to three separate schools!!!! Craziness. We were on the waitlist at two other schools (ever since I started to feel the sting of exclusion in the Spring at Cory). Hadn't heard from either one yet. I left a message for one school. Physically drove to the other. Filled out the paperwork then & there for Lib to go to all day ECE (it's what was available). Talked Maddie (didn't take too much persuasion) into transferring to the new school & filled out her paperwork -done deal. Finally, I had to make an appointment to have Feefer tested for the "advanced kindergarten" program they offer because it was her only shot at going to the same school as her sisters (it was the only kindergarten class they still had room in...there are only 6(?) elementary schools that offer A.K. in Denver Public Schools). She went for the test on the Friday before school started. We had our fingers crossed all weekend because we never heard anything on the Friday.

Monday morning on the drive to drop off Maddie at the new school, I listened to a voice mail from the woman at the testing center. YES! Fiona did indeed test into the advanced kindergarten program!!!! I was driving, yelling, pumping my fist in celebration. Maddie told me I was embarrassing. It was -squeeeee- a good moment. (smile smile smile) Dropped Maddie off, picked up paperwork for Feefer, filled out the paperwork at home & drove back to the school to drop off Feefer for her first day!!!! It was faaaaabulous!

We had only to wait for Lib's paperwork to be processed. And that's another story. But, get this. In the woman's voicemail from the DPS offices, she mentioned that Fi would probably be at Cory that afternoon for kindergarten, but that she really wanted to place her in the advanced K class. ???!!!!! What???!!! Really? How interesting that Cory NEVER once called to tell me one word about whether or not Fi got into Cory. Oh there's more, but I'll save that for another day. I've got to hit the sack...morning comes all too early now.