My youngest daughter (16) has just quit school due to some really nasty bullies. This started 2 years ago & hopefully now will finally stop.
My 2 girls are totally different. The eldest has always been a target for bullies, but keeps to herself & usually gets by OK. She has just graduated year 12 & started work doing a traineeship in IT. Only 4 days back from our trip & she started her first full time job. No surprises there as this is what she wanted.
The youngest, however, was going to be a Sports Teacher. She couldn't get the electives that she wanted at her school, so needed to transfer to a senior only school. There are 2 in the area. One was already closed for enrollments before we went away & the other one is the local senior school that her sister went to.
There is a long story as to why I didn't want her to go there, starting 2 years ago where a group of kids from the junior school made her life a living hell. She is a bright bubbly girl who makes friends easily & has never been the target of bullying. Always the centre of attention, so much so that her sister is always jeolous of her. The crux of the matter was the boyfriend that she got rid of & all the nasty girls that just would not leave her alone. We went through sheer hell with her & eventually she agreed to change schools.
The change was great, she immediately changed back to the happy girl she was instead of the horrible broody creature she had become. It was a pain as it would take her a long time to get to & from school each day, but it was worth it.
Then earlier this year, she started getting phone calls from the ex-boyfriend. She eventually agreed to get back with him because "He has changed so much Mum". We were very wary but gave her the room she needed. She eventually saw that he was a very manipulative controlling person who was obsessive about her, so decided that even though she still had feelings for him, it was in her best interests to break it off.
This is when all the niceness gave way to a bitter twisted boy & his bitter twisted friends. He immediately started up with one of her ex-friends (one that is known for her very loose morals) to "get back at her". Then the phone calls & text messages started & didn't stop.
While we were away was when they were at their worst. It was during this time that she said she was going to leave school as these people would be at the school she was going to go to.
She decided to do a hairdressing apprenticeship & applied for a few while we were away. One gave her an interview a couple of days after we returned & hired her on the spot.
Her reasoning for this course of action was simple. Hairdressing was always the second choice for a career & she said that in 4 years she will have a trade behind her & then if she still wants to, she can go to Uni as a mature age student. She will only be 2 years behind her peers as she won't have to do the HSC, plus she will have a job that will be easy to get work while studying.
Being a bright girl, she didn't want to apply for any old apprenticeship either. Nothing near home was good enough for her, as she wants to NOT be known for working out West. So........where did she apply for? Double Bay. It is a long trek each day, but she is at a salon that looks after many celebrities. She is hoping too, that training in a more prestigious salon will mean that she can command a higher income later on.
So now, 1 week after returning we have 2 children with full time jobs. Neither of them have cars, one of them has a license & needs a car for work, so Hubby & I now only have the use of one of our cars until No1 daughter gets her own.
My 2 girls are totally different. The eldest has always been a target for bullies, but keeps to herself & usually gets by OK. She has just graduated year 12 & started work doing a traineeship in IT. Only 4 days back from our trip & she started her first full time job. No surprises there as this is what she wanted.
The youngest, however, was going to be a Sports Teacher. She couldn't get the electives that she wanted at her school, so needed to transfer to a senior only school. There are 2 in the area. One was already closed for enrollments before we went away & the other one is the local senior school that her sister went to.
There is a long story as to why I didn't want her to go there, starting 2 years ago where a group of kids from the junior school made her life a living hell. She is a bright bubbly girl who makes friends easily & has never been the target of bullying. Always the centre of attention, so much so that her sister is always jeolous of her. The crux of the matter was the boyfriend that she got rid of & all the nasty girls that just would not leave her alone. We went through sheer hell with her & eventually she agreed to change schools.
The change was great, she immediately changed back to the happy girl she was instead of the horrible broody creature she had become. It was a pain as it would take her a long time to get to & from school each day, but it was worth it.
Then earlier this year, she started getting phone calls from the ex-boyfriend. She eventually agreed to get back with him because "He has changed so much Mum". We were very wary but gave her the room she needed. She eventually saw that he was a very manipulative controlling person who was obsessive about her, so decided that even though she still had feelings for him, it was in her best interests to break it off.
This is when all the niceness gave way to a bitter twisted boy & his bitter twisted friends. He immediately started up with one of her ex-friends (one that is known for her very loose morals) to "get back at her". Then the phone calls & text messages started & didn't stop.
While we were away was when they were at their worst. It was during this time that she said she was going to leave school as these people would be at the school she was going to go to.
She decided to do a hairdressing apprenticeship & applied for a few while we were away. One gave her an interview a couple of days after we returned & hired her on the spot.
Her reasoning for this course of action was simple. Hairdressing was always the second choice for a career & she said that in 4 years she will have a trade behind her & then if she still wants to, she can go to Uni as a mature age student. She will only be 2 years behind her peers as she won't have to do the HSC, plus she will have a job that will be easy to get work while studying.
Being a bright girl, she didn't want to apply for any old apprenticeship either. Nothing near home was good enough for her, as she wants to NOT be known for working out West. So........where did she apply for? Double Bay. It is a long trek each day, but she is at a salon that looks after many celebrities. She is hoping too, that training in a more prestigious salon will mean that she can command a higher income later on.
So now, 1 week after returning we have 2 children with full time jobs. Neither of them have cars, one of them has a license & needs a car for work, so Hubby & I now only have the use of one of our cars until No1 daughter gets her own.