Graduating Primary School

Well, school is over for another year and we are really gearing up for Christmas now. It has been an exciting time for the kids in our Crazy Cave – especially for our middle child, the Cavegirl, who has finished primary school and is moving on to high school in the New Year.

The Caveman and I usually hover around the school at the end of the last day, just to see the celebrations (and tears!) that come from the kids who are leaving. For the kids in younger grades the holidays are something to cheer about, but for those who are leaving primary school forever, it can be quite sad. 

Even some of the parents have tears, especially the ones whose youngest child has finished their primary schooling. I was mostly okay yesterday, watching my daughter hug her friends and shed a couple of tears, but I know I will be a mess when my littlest Caveman finishes primary school in another five years. All of our children have attended the same school (the first starting in 2004) so I expect to feel very emotional the day I walk out that school gate for the last time.

The common joke among the parents is that the kids who are sobbing as if they’ll never see each other again are usually the same ones you will see walking around at the shops together a couple of days later. These days, with mobile phones and social media, it is easy enough for them to arrange to meet up regularly … and, in a town the size of ours, they are likely to run into each other occasionally anyway. 

Some of them, though, won’t see much of each other after that final day of primary school – we have a number of public and private high schools in the area that they can move on to, and many of those kids have friends they won’t be attending school with anymore. 

So, for my Cavegirl, this is the start of a new era. After the holidays she will start at the same high school her older brother goes to and find herself stepping into a whole new world. She is looking forward to high school (with only a little apprehension) and I know she will cope with the changes – and challenges - very well.

In the meantime though, we can relax and forget about routines for a whole SIX weeks. Hooray!