After four years, it comes to an end

[Dennis]

Tomorrow is Joe and Frances last day at their daycare/school. Joe's been going there over 4 years and Frances 2.5 years. It's like losing family members. We thought they'd be there until they started kindergarten.

They start at their new school on Thursday. We took them to see it last week and they said they like it, but I don't know if they really understand what's going on. A bunch of Joe's friends are also going there so that will help, and one of the teachers from the old school got a job there. I'm sure they'll adjust just fine.

We're just really sad about the whole thing. It didn't have to happen this way. After everything that's happened the last 6 weeks, the old school is staying open after all, but there was no way we could stay. But that's water under the bridge now. It's time to move on.

Dennis

[TtownAnne]

How did the school end up staying open??? I'm sure they will do just great, regardless. These are resilient little creatures!

[Clare]

They'll do great at the new school! I know what you mean about it being like family though. The carer who used to be in the baby room when Emily was at daycare is now back doing relief work and looking after Sam. She got all teary when she saw Emily a few weeks ago, she said she misses them so much when they grow up and move on.

[kim]

How did the school end up staying open???


i'm curious too!


i am sure the kids will love the new place :nod: new toys, new friends, what's not to like? :lol:. i understand how you feel though. i will be sad when i take mine out at the end of year.

[Jayne]

I am sorry it all has to come to an end. I know how much you all loved that place. I am sure they will have a fantastic time at the new center! :hug99:

[Dennis]

How did the school end up staying open???

To sum up a really long story, it is being bought out by another school. The other school is building a new facility farther out and they are going to move our old school out there once the new building is ready. They worked out a year extension on the current lease to have time to build the new school. However, there's a good chance the new building won't be ready in a year, so they would have to move to a temporary location first.

The entire situation was handled extremely poorly. They first announced they were considering this buyout about 5 weeks ago and said we would receive all the info about the other school - brochures, website address, etc. We received none of it. There was hardly any communication from the director about the status of the sale or lease or anything, although we're starting to think it might be more because of the director's incompetence rather than intentionally trying to mislead us, but we're still not sure.

The upshot is we figured even if it all works out perfectly, we're not going to the new location because it's too far out, so we had the opportunity to move to the new school now with a bunch of Joe's friends, so we took it. Plus a lot of kids and some teachers are leaving - there are only going to be 6 kids left in Joe's room tomorrow (they had 17) - so it's not going to be the same school anymore. And because of how everything was handled, we don't trust the director, so we felt we had no choice.

The dropoff this morning was hard. We've known these teachers for so long. I'm sure the pickup this afternoon is going to be even harder.

[Dennis]

i am sure the kids will love the new place :nod: new toys, new friends, what's not to like? :lol:

And let's not forget the pool!

It's funny because talking to some of the other parents who are switching to the new school, we are seeing how it has so many benefits over the old school. It's cheaper (over $400 a month for us), they are only closed on major holidays (our big gripe with the old school was how many days they closed), we get 2 weeks of vacation credit, they have instructors come in to teach activities like karate, dance, Spanish, etc., the hours are better, and so on. I'm sure it will work out, it's just a hard adjustment.

[Mandi]

I think they'll do great. :nod: It might be rough the first day or two, but they'll bounce back.

[Stacey]

Wow, the new school sounds great. It's nice that the kids are transitioning over there with some of their friends. :nod:

[Melissa]

I'm sure they will be sad at first, but this is the first in a long time of major changes that they will have (ie switching from elementary school to middle/junior high school). It hurts at first, but they will thrive.

[Mary DK]

Dennis, I know what you mean :nod: Eliot is done at his "little school" (like he calls it) and starting kindergarten this fall, he's been there since he was 18 months and Ian will be starting at a new school closer to us (the only reason we left Eliot there it was b/c it was his last yr before moving on to the elem. school).
Anyway, the last day it was hard saying goodbye to everybody knowing that we weren't coming back :(

That new school sounds great!! I bet the kiddos move into their new classes with no problems at all :aok:

[gulp!]

I'm sorry, Dennis. I'm sure it's hard to say goodbye to that old school, but darn, the new one sounds pretty great! And for less money? Score! :nod:

I can't even begin to imagine what it might be like not to have our nanny- she's so much a part of our lives. I hope this new school gives you and the kids everything you want, and lots of happy memories. :)

[Karri]

The new school does sound great! That has got to make it easier :) saying goodbye is hard, though. I worked at the same childcare center as a teacher all through college and then was the director there for a year after I graduated and it was so hard to leave. I saw a 3 month old end up in kindergarten. So I know what you mean.

[Dennis]

Thanks everyone. The pickup was about what we expected. We got Frances first and she was fine. Then we got Joe and he melted down as soon as he saw us. He just clung to Mary and didn't want to say goodbye to his teachers or any of his friends. We talked to a few of the teachers on the way out, and that was it.

I feel really bad for the teachers as well. They are going to have to reapply for their jobs with the new management. Hopefully things will work out for them. One of Joe's teacher said she's looking for a new job but she's afraid if they find out, they'll just lay her off.

We'll see how things go at the new school tomorrow. Should be interesting.

[Nadine]

Good luck!!

[Dennis]

The dropoff at the new school went pretty well this morning. Surprisingly, it was Frances who was really clingy, not Joe. I'm going to pick them up early today. And we found another perk of the new school - they take credit cards, so that means miles!

[Jayne]

I bet Frances warms up really fast. That is one heck of a perk considering how much you pay out in DC :lol: Fantastic. I hope they both have a great day!

[Mandi]

Glad that the drop off went pretty well. :aok:

[Dennis]

The day went surprisingly well! Joe's teacher said he got a little teary at naptime, so she sat with him until he fell asleep, but otherwise he was fine. Frances' teacher said she had a great day. They both said they had fun!

[Melissa]

Dennis, that is wonderful!!! I'm glad they both had such good days (even though Joe got a little teary).

[Clare]

Yay! I'm so glad that it went well :)