Saturday, April 12, 2008

Registering for kindergarten...

Otherwise known as more paperwork than I filled out to get into college! I ran over to the elementary school Keith will be going to yesterday and picked up the registration paperwork. Oh. My. Goodness. I feel like I'm back in school taking final exams! To be accepted into kindergarten, they need the following:
1. Registration Form
2. Proof of Residency in the District
3. Birth Certificate
4. Affidavit of Support (if applicable) (I don't even know what this is, so I'm going to assume it's not applicable)
5. Physical & Current Immunization Record

Whew. I'm tired just typing that out. I know, I know, it doesn't look like much. But trust me, it is. There's the registration form - name, address, parents, emergency contacts, you know, the basic drill. Then there's the "Home Language Survey" where they need to know what language(s) the child speaks, and if the student "has attended any United States school in any 3 years during his/her lifetime". That confused me too, so I skipped it. What's a United States school? A school in the US? Why don't they just SAY that? Anyways, I skipped it. Then there's the consent to let them take pictures of your child, then the "Parental Registration Statement" which the parent fills out and says whether or not said child has ever been (or is currently) suspended and/or expelled. I really hope that they give this to students entering ALL grades, not just kindergarten. Then we have the "Consent to Release Student's Records Request for Permission to Collect Personal Data." I feel like there's some punctuation missing in that title. I didn't understand that form, either, so I skipped it too. I think it had something to do with Special Education. I guess they'll tell me if Keith NEEDS it filled out, right? Then there's the health history that the parent fills out. Two pages. Then there's two pages of health history that the doctor fills out. AND the one page dental history that the dentist fills out. And a "Medical Statement for Children with Special Needs in Child Nutrition Programs" - I skipped this one, because Keith eats anything and everything. Then a form about school buses, an immunization record form (Pennsylvania has a Medical and a Religious Exemption, and the Religious Exemption includes a strong moral or ethical conviction similar to a religious belief - it's on the back of the green immunization card), and then the last form. I needed help on this one! It's the "Parental Input for Student Placement Form." It's a piece of paper divided into four boxes. In each box is a question (does this sound like some crazy math word problem yet?!?). Actually it's not a question, it's an unfinished sentence which I, as the parent, am supposed to complete.
1. As a person, my child is:
2. As a learner, my child is:
3. My child would benefit from a classroom that is:
4. My three main expectations for the school year are:
I think my main problem with that page is it REALLY makes me feel like I'm back in school, and honestly, December 9th, 1997 was one of the top ten days of my life. For those of you who couldn't figure out (thanks, but really, I'm not that young!), that was the last day I ever set foot into a classroom in college. Last day of school, last day of finals, you've got it.

I thought I was done!

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