<!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; Normal 0 0 1 189 1079 8 2 1325 11.1282 &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; 0 0 0 &lt;![endif]-->Was your child born in 2005? 2006? If so, now is the time to register for a kindergarten or universal pre-kindergarten spot. If your child will be going into kindergarten, the application process began February 1st; March 12 is the deadline to register. For upcoming pre-K'ers, registration begins today and runs through April 9. During this time, parents of prospective students can find an application, as well as a pre-k directory, online. Pre-k spots are given by lottery, with priority reserved for zoned siblings. Notifications will be sent out in early June.

Night Owl's little sister is eligible for pre-K next year, so we'll be first in line when the applications hit the PS29 office. As a zoned sibling, she's supposed to be a shoe-in, but I can't help but feel uneasy. The year we entered the lottery for Night Owl (2008) was the first year the lottery process had been centralized, and a glitch in the system caused even a few zoned siblings to fall through the cracks. I didn't hear of any such snafus with the lottery last spring, but last year's kindergarten registration was marked by overcrowding and kids being shut out of their own zoned schools, particularly on the Upper East Side. We can only hope the process this year goes more smoothly–at Night Owl's school, the office does not report any unusual volume of kindergarten registrants so far.

Any reports from the registration front at your school?