Last Friday we received a call from council about a placement in a school 2.7 miles down the road. It was not the one we wanted but was still pretty close to where we are so we set to check it out. The weekend passed and Monday came so I called the school to schedule a visit to meet the headmistress and tour the school. The headmistress Mrs. Whitelaw was busy and had to call me back. Unfortunately I think she stayed busy for the day and had to have a secretary call me back later in the day. We scheduled the visit for Tuesday afternoon. So the kids were very excited to have a look see around the school.
We arrived at the school 15 minutes early. The children were getting ready to come in from after lunch recess so the kids got to see what some of the routine at the school was. They saw all the children in their uniforms, a much different sight than they are used to seeing in the states. Once we found our way into the school, we signed in and waited for two of the school children to come and take us on the tour. Both girls that came were in Year 5, Paige's class. They were very sweet little girls and excited to know Paige might be joining them. They took us on a tour which took just a few minutes because the school really is that small! The classrooms are much different than we are used to. In order to get from class to class, you had to pass through an area to the back of each classroom. There were no doors closing off the classrooms to the "hallway" where we were walking. To me this would cause a distraction but the kids were all focused on the teachers. The Year 1 class was still outside when we arrived there. They had not come to the door quietly so they had to reset and try again. Great to know that they expect the children to follow directions and do it right. The class seemed pretty large. Probably normal class size in the US but at base the class sizes were always smaller. Once we were finished with the tour, we went to meet with Mrs. Whitelaw. She answered all the questions we had and was very nice and helpful. We discussed a start day for the children and decided Monday would be the best day. It would be the first of the month and also allow everyone to get ready for the children in the class. It also gave me time to get their papers ready and filled out for the school. We talked with the nurse about Paige's Bee Allergy and decided to meet up to set up a plan for her in case she did get stung during the school day. The children received their first OFFICIAL pieces of Uniforms... Green sweatshirt for Mathew, Green Fleece for Paige, Book Bags and PE bags. Uniforms seem to be pretty easy to follow there. They are not as stringent as other schools in regards to shoes, hair, bags, jackets, but they do all look put together and nice.
I have been working on getting the entrance painted. I took it from a dirty white with holes in the wall to a "Lovely Green" color. That is the name of the color LOL. It puts a bit of character into that area and breaks up the closets from the walls. I do need to get more paint for the second coat on the upper part of the walls. It has not been too bad to paint but the height in certain areas are a bit hard to get to. I was at one point standing on top of the coat closets. I am hoping by this weekend it will be done. Ill just have to make a quick run to B&Q.
We are looking at having some visitors this weekend as well so we need to get this done and then the things put away in that area. Next week Ill be able to work on the kids rooms while they are in school and hopefully get them done or at least most of it done!
I can't wait to share photos of the kids on their first day of school all dressed and ready to go!
No comments:
Post a Comment