School Information between homes

[baileybug]

Hi there,

Our son goes to kindergarten every other day. Half of the time he lives with me, the other half with his father. (we transfer mid-week) Information is put into my son's backpack by the teacher into a ziploc bag everytime he attends.

The problem is, with us each having access half of the time, information from the school on days my son is with my ex, is not getting back to me. I always photocopy everything that comes to my home, and put it into a separate folder for my ex in my son's backpack. But there have been two events recently my son has missed out on because I never recieved the information -even though my ex swears he left a copy for me in the bag.

Does anybody have any idea how to remedy this situation of missing information?

Should I involve the teacher? Should I ask her to make extra copies of info and put it in that extra folder? Or maybe even go so far as to have an extra set of the information waiting for me at the school that i would pick up on days my son is not with me? Or is that too much to ask of the school/teacher? I don't want tick off the teacher, but I feel so bad for my son when he misses out on stuff.

Any help/ideas/comments would be appreciated.

[logicalvelocity]

Baileybug,

The problem is, with us each having access half of the time, information from the school on days my son is with my ex, is not getting back to me. I always photocopy everything that comes to my home, and put it into a separate folder for my ex in my son's backpack. But there have been two events recently my son has missed out on because I never recieved the information -even though my ex swears he left a copy for me in the bag.

Does anybody have any idea how to remedy this situation of missing information?

Ask the teacher to provide two copies of all documentation and insert each information into individual zip lock bags ie one labelled mom and one labelled Dad. Each parent is not to touch the others ziplock bag. You could even offer to pay the teacher a small fee for the extra photo-copies.

Should I involve the teacher?

The teacher and the school should be aware of the living situation of the child and as such the the child is rotated between homes. The school should also have both parent's work and telephone numbers and be aware of the current custody regime of the child.

Or maybe even go so far as to have an extra set of the information waiting for me at the school that i would pick up on days my son is not with me? Or is that too much to ask of the school/teacher? I don't want tick off the teacher, but I feel so bad for my son when he misses out on stuff.

When the teacher sends home bulletins they always make extra copies as the same information is generally sent to all students. You could also send a book of stamps with self addressed envelopes and ask the teacher to mail the information to you.

lv

[today]

I share a week to week regime as well. I also ran into the very same issue. The paper work simply was not getting back to me when children with thier Mom. I had a difficult time getting the school on board at first. I don't believe they did not wish to co-operate simply they are very busy and often understaffed.

Right now they e-mail me at the begining of every month the schedule of all activities for the month as well as the news letter for the month. This gives me a heads up on what to expect for the entire month.

Report cards are generally sent home with children, the two simple solutions are have a copy faxed to you or have one put aside at the front desk at the school and pick it up. This can be done with all documents on weekly basis. I finnd the schools try to accomadate but need a little reminder from time to time. I understand it it rare for both parents to take a real active interest.

Another method is to communicate through e-mail once week/month what ever suits you with the school or teacher. I've found all the above methods work well for myself and have had comments from the school staff that they actaully appreciate the interst of the parents as it helps the student as well.

[seekinganswers]

We do the same thing - at the beginning of the year, we just ask both schools to send home two copies of everything with the kids ... in our case it is my step-kids mom who keeps things from us - meaning we, and the children lose out on participating in events, reading all info, etc.

I also find that it helps to remind the school from time to time - seems they need to be reminded that in all families both parents are equal, with the right to the same information about their children!

Don't worry about ticking the teacher off, just explain like you did here, that sometimes things don't seem to make it to your home, and you want your son to experience all school has to offer - that isn't offensive at all!