The CHRONICLE recently caught up with the principal of Abbotts College Johannesburg South, Marion Kohler, to get some tips for the back-to-school blues.
“Being a mother of teenage boys and a principal of a high school has taught me a few lessons about the start of a school year. The first is that my expectation of a perfectly seamless start to the year is just not possible!
“One would like to imagine that the principal’s sons are highly organised and efficient, excited and ready to walk through the school gates on the first day of the new year.
“You hope books are covered, stationery is packed, school attire is ready and waiting, grocery shopping is done for the menu and you’ve prepared for lunches. Organised and feeling good as a mum!
“Unfortunately, this is often the wish but not the reality, even in the principal’s household, where my own two sons tell me not to panic. ‘Mum, we do the same thing every year. Why do you think this year is any different? Can we go and play games now?’ I should trust them more,” said Kohler.
“Putting the principal’s hat on becomes a very different picture. I am there to calm parents like me. Perfection does not exist! Phew, thank goodness. As parents, we have the best intentions for our children and we often feel the pressure of not doing enough or being imperfect.
“Just know that you are not judged by the teachers if the seamless start to the first few weeks has not occurred in your household. A few good tips from the ‘inside’ may assist with a calmer, more rational approach to those first few weeks at school.”
Here are some tips Kohler gave to assist with a calmer approach to back to school:
• Try to allay any anxieties your child may be having, especially Grade Eight learners going into high school and learners who are going to a new school.
• Finding friends to sit with at break can be a challenging prospect for the introverted child. In my school, my teachers are on the lookout for these learners and are always willing to try to connect new learners with others who may have similar interests or subjects.
• Many parents, myself included, order textbooks late in the year from the supplier the school has offered. Buying textbooks is a financial commitment and many will await year-end bonuses or 13th cheques to assist with this purchase.
• If your child does not have all the stationery requirements, this is also not the worst thing that could happen.
• There may be times that a learner’s timetable is incorrect – especially in the senior grades.
Kohler wished both the parents and the learners the best for the year ahead.
