It's time! Our youngest is also going from primary to secondary school this year. This means that next year we will no longer have children in primary school; the end of an era! I'm not too concerned about it, but Lotte is of course busy with the transition to secondary school and what you need for that. I will list what is useful to have when your child goes to secondary school.
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It will not only be a change for Lotte, but also for us. Secondary school is different from primary school. What also struck me about Luc is that when he was six months in secondary school he suddenly seemed much older. Children really change as they transition from primary to secondary school.
By the way, I'm completely okay with it myself and can't imagine that I'll shed a tear. Unlike a friend of mine who found it really difficult when her youngest left primary school. I will have to get used to the school Lotte goes to. That is because that is a different school than where Luc went and also a lot further away. But that's fodder for another blog 😉 . Now I would like to discuss what children need when they go to secondary school.
You may think that this is no longer necessary, because most secondary schools use Magister, for example. However, there are also many schools that make a paper school agenda mandatory because it is simply better to learn to plan. And certainly during the transition from primary to secondary school, a lot changes when it comes to plans for your child.
Nowadays, a laptop or PC is also indispensable. I will not say that your child necessarily needs their own laptop, but it is very handy. Children are increasingly working on laptops and when I see that Frank and I are sitting behind our PC all day, it is a requirement here that they have their own digital resources.
Especially because online lessons are still given, having your own laptop is very handy at the moment. This is even used in primary school (if, for example, Corona has been diagnosed in the classroom and everyone is in quarantine), but in secondary school they often receive a mix of online and offline lessons. If you are going to buy a laptop for your child, keep in mind that it also has a webcam. At Lotte's school it is mandatory to be present with a camera, otherwise 'absent' will be noted after your name.
We now have Lotte's laptop at home. A few weeks ago I came across Gobytes.nl where we found a refurbished laptop for her. A fast, good laptop and yet not too expensive. At first I was a bit hesitant about that, but because we had to buy a new expensive laptop for Luc's new school last year, this was a nice alternative.
Incidentally, I also had contact with the company a few times by email to ask some questions about the laptop to which I received a good answer. For example, about the webcam. It wasn't in the description, but I thought I saw something in the photo, haha. They also asked us explicitly whether we knew that this laptop is slightly thicker than standard laptops. I thought it was great that they pointed that out to us! Lotte doesn't have to take the laptop to school yet, so that doesn't matter to us luckily. Furthermore, this refurbished laptop also comes with a warranty, so if there is something wrong with it, we can simply return it to the supplier.
The books your child needs for his or her studies always depend on the study program and the school. So don't just look around yourself, but wait for the list that will be sent to you from school.
Hint: As soon as it is known which books your child will need when she goes from primary to secondary school, do not wait too long to order the books. Before you know it there is a run on the books and something is no longer available. And nothing is more stressful for your child to start a new school and not have all the things in order.
Indispensable (as has also been proven with us) is a good backpack. We bought Luc a good backpack for high school students during his transition from primary to secondary school. And that turns out to have been an excellent purchase, because now - 5 years later - he still uses the backpack at the MBO.
When buying a backpack, keep in mind that your child may need to be able to take the laptop to school in the coming years. A backpack with a separate compartment for a laptop is ideal, and completely natural if it has reinforcements to protect the laptop. Because before you know it, a new laptop is otherwise a used laptop!
Usually the calculator is also on the list that you get from school, but I want to mention it anyway. Starting high school without a calculator is not really convenient.
As far as the small necessities are concerned, not much has changed over the years. If your child is going from primary school to secondary school, he or she will probably have everything necessary in the pencil case. Just to be sure, check together whether a pencil, pen, eraser, ruler, steps and triangle are present. And possibly a course angle meter, Luc needed that too!
A never-ending story… at primary school it is a matter of checking every year whether all gym equipment still fits and this continues when they go to secondary school. It is often the case that they wear high school shirts with a logo or something similar on it. But you will also receive more information about this from school. In any case, you have to provide shorts and sneakers yourself.
Have you gone through all of the above points about what your child needs to transition from primary to secondary school? Then there are only two things left to do. Cover books and enjoy a very nice summer holiday!
