It’s not a big deal at all. [name]Just[/name] be sure to be up front about it from the start so that the teacher knows. As a college professor, I can certainly attest to having seen some rather interesting names. When it comes to the subject of nicknames, I don’t mind using an individual’s preferred nickname and will happily oblige so long as it is appropriate and professional. I don’t think the professional/appropriate aspect would really apply to the elementary setting, but I can see it coming into play in middle/high school.
I knew a guy in high school that went by “Chicago” and his teachers never had a problem with it. Everyone thought that was a pretty cool name and it fit him well. Another guy I knew went by [name]Coop[/name] and his last name was [name]Cooper[/name]. No one had a problem calling him [name]Coop[/name] either. Like someone said earlier, teachers have the student for one year, so you might as well make them happy and call them by what they want. 
@mythian I guess that’s what I’m most concerned about- some of the nicknames I like may seem odd as they’re unrelated to the given names and that was much more common a century ago. I think now people just think that’s weird, especially if it’s a nickname like [name]Clover[/name] or [name]Maple[/name]. I guess by high school/ college, it will be up to the child to decide what to be called and to talk to his/ her teacher about it anyway.
I was determined for none of my kids to have nicknames because my given name is [name]Melanie[/name] but my parents called me [name]Mindy[/name] (not my middle name or anything). The teachers were fine calling me [name]Mindy[/name], and when I tried to switch to [name]Melanie[/name] I couldn’t get it to stick. But as an adult, I am [name]Melanie[/name] on everything official and get a lot of questions about where [name]Mindy[/name] came from, etc. so I was NEVER going to do that to my kids.
But now I have one whose nickname has nothing to do with her given name - best laid plans
I wouldn’t worry too much about it honestly. It’s your choice as to what name you call your child by, even if it is a nickname. I’m sure you’ll find most teachers to be perfectly okay with using your preferred nickname. You may run into a couple that won’t and will call each child by his/her given first name, but for the most part, I think everything will be okay with that.
And I love the name [name]Clover[/name]. [name]One[/name] of my secret loves is a [name]Clover[/name]-type combo: Cloverlyn. I’m not sure if I’ll ever use that name as I have some others I love a bit more, but if I did, I’d definitely use the name [name]Clover[/name] as a nickname.
What if mum calls the child Pookie?
I have had a [name]Paige[/name] who went by “[name]Hunter[/name]” (her middle name), a [name]John[/name] who was called “[name]Gino[/name]” (instead of [name]John[/name] [name]Jr[/name].), and a [name]Joseph[/name] who was strictly referred to as [name]Jojo[/name] (his full time teacher had even put in on his desk name tag, but this was elementary classroom). I think it’s pretty commonplace to just as students/parents what their name preference is.
[name]Every[/name] teacher I ever had asked the class to tell him/her what they went by as he/she called roll on the first day of school. It’s a non-issue.
Nicknames or going by a middle name isn’t a big deal. You can have your child’s nickname put on the class list so that the teacher knows from [name]Day[/name] 1 what to call them. Older kids are pretty good about telling the teacher what they want to be called. I’ve taught two Christians and both wanted to be called “[name]Chris[/name]”. I had another student who’s first name is [name]Daniel[/name] but goes by [name]Danny[/name] and [name]Danny[/name] is what’s on the class list.
[name]Hope[/name] that helps.
From my experience, teachers typically say “If you have another name or nick name you prefer to go by, let me know when I call your name” then they take attendance with the given names and kids who are [name]Alexander[/name] but go by [name]Alex[/name] say just that. Most teachers write it down and boom done. It’s the simplest way to do things from the start and it’s what I intend to do when I become a teacher.
I knew a girl named [name]Elizabeth[/name] who went strictly by Reka ([name]Ray[/name]-ka). It’s really no big deal.
You don’t happen to teach on the South Shore in Massachusetts, do you? I was in high school about 7 years ago where this exact thing happened.
The only issue I have ever seen with a child going by a middle name verses their first is on official testing, where you have to use your legal name. Many elementary students I have seen have gotten confused on what name to write because they are never referred to by their legal name and will write down what they are called instead. That test is then invalid because it legally isn’t the child. But as long as your child knows their “legal” name you are good to go.
I think it’s best to go by your given name. then there is no confusion when your given name is on documents, letter, & roll or when you’re called up to the front office. Most kids today tend to go by a nickname or a middle name. A nickname is fine if your name is [name]Madison[/name] and you go by [name]Maddie[/name] it’s okay because there is no confusion because your nickname is similar to your given name. Although if you’re [name]Robert[/name] and you go by [name]Ethan[/name] it might be a bit confusing. We had that problem in my art class freshman year. It does make sense to go by a nickname especially if you have more than one person with the same name as you in your class. Although some names don’t have a nickname.
In grade 8 we had two girls with the same 1st name. At the beginning of the year the teacher called them [name]Jen[/name] L & [name]Jen[/name] S.
Students called [name]Jen[/name] S [name]Sheriff[/name] because that was her ln (spelled different) and [name]Jen[/name] L was called Laffi because her ln was [name]Lafayette[/name]. The teacher just caught on to it and started calling them the same. He was only 27 at the time so pretty easy going.
As others have said, don’t worry about the teachers they will adapt. Most won’t have a problem with using a nn.
Then I call her Pookie. That’s pretty easy, right? 