Do they even have a clue?

Was quite surprised by a telephone call I received from S’s teacher yesterday. She was calling to tell me the balance of the amount *I* will have to pay for the Grade 8 trip this year.
We’ve made two installments for S’s trip, but when the first installment was due, I had called and talked to the principal about what I should be sending in for my portion. At that time, she had indicated to me that things were going really well with S and that I may not even have to take the trip with the class. The second date for installment payment came, and again, I wasn’t advised of needing to send my portion of the payment. Then, this.
I wish to heaven that this school would figure out what it wants to do.

I called the Principal last night to discuss this further. “Remember the conversation we had back in the Fall where you indicated that you didn’t think I would have to go?” She did, but I guess she had never expressed this to the teacher and/or EA. It’s fine – I will go on the trip if that is what I need to do to ensure that S can go, but I told the Principal that I was NOT comfortable with having S share a room with me.

If they want him to act like all the other kids in Grade 8, then they need to treat him the same. All of the students will be sharing rooms with other students – not their mother. It will be bad enough for him to have me along on the bus, never mind not getting to have the fun and excitement of sharing a room with a friend. (Mind you, he only has one friend in Grade 8 and I don’t know that this boy would want to share a room with S. They haven’t been as close the past couple of years… But still, he needs to be given that option, not be told “You are sharing a suite with your mother not a friend.”)
Talk about making the poor kid even MORE different than he already is.

I will hold fast to this one – I will not be sharing a room with him. I don’t want to be difficult, but if they are going to insist I’m there, they are going to have me in the background with as little involvement as needed. I’ll be there for S, but that’s it. I will even pay extra if that is what I need to do. Heck, the school should chip in some $$ towards it.
They have a staff member that is supposed to be assigned to S and she apparently can’t do her job on a daily basis never mind while on a field trip. Now I have to take three days out of my job, my home, husband and other child, plus pay $300 (or maybe even more) to have the honour of embarrassing the bejeesus out of my son, to boot. Nope – not gonna do it. They will put him in with his peers. Period.

I’m sure there will be many more discussions about this in the coming months. I’m so looking forward to it. (Yeah, right…and pigs fly!)

Truth be told, I am not upset about the trip – I like Ottawa and would appreciate the chance to revisit this city, but I just don’t like the waffling and see-sawing that is going on here. And I will not cause S any undue stress over it. Hopefully they will see my point early in the game.