Earthquake School Dilemma

Post Reply New Topic

Schools across Christchurch are beginning to reopen now, and with this comes dilemmas. St. Thomas of Canterbury College (my school, that is) has been merged with Catholic Cathedral College for obvious reasons, and with the 500 new students at my school, it will be like beginning a new school. I live in a small town called Rangiora which is 30KM north of the City, and my parents are very concerned about sending me back to school. With all of these problems, I am uncertain whether I wish to return to St. Thomas's. There are two Public schools here in Rangiora, but I really have enjoyed the Private School experience. I am simply not sure whether I should return or not.

WP seems to be a very good place to asking what some may consider to be rhetorical questions, and I do not really expect replies, although they would be cordially welcomed.

If you've never been to a public school perhaps you should try it. Take the rest of the school year in that school and hopefully by next year your private school will be fixed/safe.

Only you know what your concerns are about going back to your old school, and I can simply imagine that the issue is the extra 500 students. That alone would be enough to make anyone nervous and you would not be alone in that. At least you have the added advantage that you know your way around the school, etc. Perhaps you want to take some time off, to allow the school to get sorted, for the new kids to settle into the school, etc, Give it a week or so and then perhaps give it a go, if it does not work, then it can't hurt to try another school. Ring the two public schools close to you, get them to send you out information about the schools, and then organise a time for you and your parents to go and meet with the prinicples of each school. Having met with the principles, been shown around the school and experienced what your current school will be like with 500 extra students, you will then have the information needed to make an informed decision about what you want to do, and where you want to go to school. The extra students may not be a big deal if the school can work out ways to accommodate you all in appropraite ways, but I can imagine that is something they have been working on from just after the quake hit. The schools will have done all they can to ensure the least disruption possible for all students concerned, but extra students does make changes for everyone. Perhaps take some time to visit the other schools, give your school time to settle into a new routine and then try going back to school, then you know what your options really are. I do not think you can say that it will not work when you have not tried it, but I can imagine that I for one, would not want to be there on the first day back when the extra students are present for the first time. You also do not know what the other schools are like until you actually go and visit them, speak to the principles, etc.

Good Luck