Who stole my kid? The words of a parent

Hello, Staff at Cire.

Ok, who really stole my anxious child? A child who hated school? A child who said,

“If you don’t let me go to Cire, I will drop out of school and just work at my burger shop every day.”

I wanted to share something from a parent’s perspective with you. Amy has always hated school. The only time she liked going to school was in the very first year of prep.

In her previous all-girl school, Amy was just a number with stupid parents who forced her to wear a, as Amy would put it, “Stupid itchy, daggy, school uniform”.

Amy had friends. But she is like her mum in the way that too many friends are overwhelming, and one good friend is better than many or no friends. Friends would come and go, and she would make a new friend, but then they changed schools or were not the right fit for her. She was never a nerdy kid who wanted to read a book, she was just a child finding her way through life.

Over the past two weeks of school holidays, we have hardly seen Amy. She has been either working 30-plus hours as an assistant store manager at Burgertory in Boronia, at Melbourne Cheer Academy, driving to get her 130-driving practice in, or visiting past and present peers from Cire.

Our 16-year-old child, who suddenly has grown up, is independent, self-motivated and has many kindhearted friends.

So who is this kid? Where did she go? How did she grow?

I strongly believe the opportunities she has been given at Cire in the 1^st term have changed my now young lady (most of the time) and have helped her so much in becoming a young adult. Yes, we still get attitude at home. She cannot follow more than one instruction at a time, like Amy, pick up your shoes and put them in your room. We still have to say, “Hey Amy, remember your shoes? Where do they belong? She can not see anything right in front of her face. Or when she is driving the car and slows down in the roundabout because another car is coming towards her, and if I tell her to keep going, she will scream at me, “Mum, I know”.

For the very first time in her education, Amy said,

“Mum, I’m really excited to go to school tomorrow, I can’t wait to see my friends, and I can’t wait for new challenges.”

She also said,

“This is the first year I have been invited to other people’s houses for sleepovers or just to chill. Normally, I am the one who invites people to our house.”

I want to thank you all now because I know she wants to go to school, she is happy at school, her social life is now a proper social life, she has changed in a positive way (most of the time), and I love how she engages with the staff and students at Cire. I wish we had found you earlier.

I know Amy has a long way to go academically, but I think she is trying.

From what I can see, she is happy and healthy at school, home (sometimes), cheerleading and at work, so thank you, thank you, thank you.

From a mum of a very sassy 16-year-old. Her mum, Nicole.

In other good news, the school has recently acquired a new campus in Monbulk, previously Mountain District Christian School. This new addition to the school’s campus list is set to open its doors in early 2024, just in time for term 1. We’re inviting expressions of interest from prospective students and families now; click here to submit your interest. With this new campus, Cire Community School will undoubtedly continue to provide its students with an exceptional learning experience.