Kindergarten Lottery 開獎日

We planned for a sledding trip at Lake Tahoe for my big guy's birthday. We didn't know at the time that the day we plan to leave, was going to be the day of my son's kindergarten lottery drawing.

According to the district website, the kindergarten lottery would be held by the principal and a PTA member at Pupil Service. The result would be available on Feb. 3 at the participating school sites. (Doesn't it sound like a restaurant commercial? "special prizes available only at participating locations" ) Therefore, on Feb. 3, after I finished packing three people's luggages for the weekend trip (The big guy is on his own.), I called the school to check on the result.

"The result will be posted after 5 pm today on the school library window." said the office lady who answered the phone. "Oh I'm sorry to bother you. It's about 3 pm now and we are going out of town for the weekend to celebrate a birthday. Is there anyway you can help to look up my son's name? Knowing the result before we leave will be a great relief for us."  "No." said the office lady over the phone, short and firm. "Oh ok, is the list going to be posted online so we can check after 5 pm today?" "No." the office lady repeated again, "The result will be posted after 5 pm today on the school library window."

Well, I said thank you and hung up and phone. Obviously the kindergarten lottery can't be compared to the California Lottery system. The result is not available online. And I totally understand the school policy of treating every parent the same way, no exceptions. So we put the unknown aside and enjoyed our trip for the weekend.

On our way back on Sunday, we drove by the school and there it was. My son's initials and birth date on the "attending" list on the library window. I hoorayed and clapped back to the car. My little daughter who had no idea what happened laughed along. My son looked surprised and told me if I don't settle down quickly, I will get a time-out when we go home.

So, yeah, we won the kindergarten lottery. I couldn't help but glancing at the names on the "waiting" list, all 54 of them. What are their parents thinking about right now? What does it mean to be on a waiting list to a high API score school? I'm sure their parents have done all the right things at the right time. But I guess in the end, it's all about just having some luck.

So for those of you out there waiting to participate in the kindergarten registration, here are some of tips to get you through:  幼兒園新生入學註冊須知

1. Right around the December holidays, check on the local school district website for kindergarten registration dates and information. 十二月起就可以上當地學區網站查詢幼兒園新生註冊資訊和截止日期。

2. Get the registration packet and prepare all documents. Be ridiculouly nice to the school staff. And triple check you have everything before you turn it in. 盡快到學校領取註冊資料並備齊所有文件。交件前重複檢查確認，對學校工作人員客氣有禮是不會錯的。

3. If there is a kindergarten lottery involved, it means your child might not get into the high API score school you move your family close to. There is nothing you can do at this time, so just chill. 如果新生人數過多，則需要抽籤才能決定入學，沒抽中去另一個學校還是有書讀，放寬心等結果吧!

And remember, no matter what the result is, which school your child gets in, how far you have to drive, or how much you dislike the teachers, the chances are, your child will still learn, make friends, and have fun wherever he/she goes.

Kindergarten Registration 註冊中

I don't know if you have seen the Target 2010 holiday commercial. It was so hilarious and made me want to rush to Target right away. Even though I'm almost there everyday already...buying essential and unnecessary household items at the same time.

As much as I can remember, the blonde lady in the commercial was wearing full body red track suit, doing sit-ups on the big red Target ball, (my 20 months old daughter still thinks it can be kicked like a regular ball...), lifting baskets of products as weights, practicing speed-giftwrap, running with a parachute behind, and counting down days on the calendar...all for the 2 days sale starting on black Friday.

As hilarious (or ridiculous) as it might sound, I did exactly all the above things in my mind, over and over again. But it was not for the great Target sale. It was for my son's kindergarten registration.

Yes, you read me right. Now you know what kind of mom I am...a teacher mom to be exact. After being an elementary teacher for 6 years in a prestigious south bay community, I decided to take one year leave to spend more time with my own little ones. Before I could even catch my breath, my husband got a job offer too good to reject. So here we are, moving from the sunny L.A. to the cloudy northern Cal. The dream of having my kids going to the same school I teach at can't seem to come true anymore.

Learning to be a full time mom is quite a lesson for me. All of a sudden, my son is turning 5 and entering kindergarten this fall. You must think when it comes to school registration, I shouldn't be sweating at all. I should have more insights than most parents. Unfortunately, that's why I am sweating. Because I know how tideous the paper work can be. I know how unclear the deadlines are listed. I know the possibility of one little thing goes undone, my son might not be in the lottery drawing in time.

Yes, you read me right again, lottery drawing, for a kindergarten spot in a public school setting. It's not happening at every elementary school site though, only at the "good" ones. (Oh, next time I'll talk about how "good" a school can be by just looking at its API scores...) Siblings of current students get priority to enroll in kindergarten first. Then the rest available spots are for first-born kids, which means new students to the district. However, at a "good" school, there are always way more new enrollments than the spots provided. Parents buy the unreasonable high-priced house in hope to get their kids into the good neighborhood school. But the truth is, after you have done the registration right, if your childn't name isn't picked at the lottery drawing, he or she will still be overflown to a school which still have spots available. (a.k.a, a "bad" neighborhood where parents won't fight to live in).

Now, can you understand my whole mental process of the Target preparation? I got the kindergarten registration packet in time, filled out all the forms, got the oral assessment form signed by a licensed dentist, dug out all legal documents proving residency, then booked the first appointment at 8 am to turn in the whole packet. The night before the registration appointment, I had my husband double checked all forms, told my children that Daddy will give them breakfast next morning, and went to bed thinking everything was fine and ready.

Finally, the big time had arrived. Within one minute of flipping through my son's kindergarten registration packet, the lady holding a grande cup of Starbucks coffee said to me, "I'm sorry, I can't take your registration packet today." I kept my smile but raised my voice a bit, "Excuse me, what do you mean?" "Here, you are missing an utility bill, without the bill, I can't take your packet today." "But I brought my car insurance bill. On the information sheet, it indicates that the car insurance bill is one of the documents which can prove my current location of residency."

After checking with three other ladies for 10 minutes and reading the information sheet for another minute, the lady returned to the table and said, "Oh ok,  it must be new this year. You are done. Good luck. Hopefully we'll get to see you again in fall."

There it was. My son's kindergarten registration was done. It felt like I had shopped until I dropped at Target's black Friday sale. Everything on my list was in my basket already. And I didn't even need to pepper-spray anybody!

The result is out of my hands now. All we need is a little good luck. I can't help but worry - what if they lose the 3 by 5 index card with my son's name on it? He won't even be in the lottery drawing!!!