So, primary school started this week. What a different experience! On the bureaucratic side, we knew before we got here that, as temporary visa holders we would have to pay for Erin to go to public school (much unlike America, where everyone is eligible for public school, as far as I know), but we had applied for a fee waiver and after some last-minute phone calls and conversations with perhaps one of the more helpful bureaucracies I've ever come across, Erin was ok'd for enrollment about 15 minutes before she was to report to school for the first day. So Rick and I madly dashed about, me packing a lunch, Rick ironing her dress (and he will attest that those pleats are a bit tricky!), and getting her in gear after she had spent the first few hours of her day expecting that she would be going shopping with mum and siblings all day. She was super eager to go.
Let's talk about those darling black shoes for a moment. I was clueless- what's a school shoe? But all the shoe stores here have them. They come in laceup or velcro and can get pretty pricey (about US $80 for an expensive pair). A friend was good enough to bring me along on her 6-year old's shopping excursion, as I hadn't a clue and wanted to make sure that my little Year 1 student would fit in with a "cool"
shoe (if there is such a thing in school shoes). It was quite emotionally stressful to consider, although, in retrospect, I realize that it's just the learning curve that had me so frazzled. How hard can it be to purchase a black shoe?
And the uniform. Aside from the dress (I'm trying to work with two, at about US $45 each) we had to invest in white socks, a hat, a sports day uniform (white polo shirt, black sports skirt), a school "jumper"- aka sweatshirt/sweater, and in a few months, a plaid school skirt, gray tights and a long sleeve polo shirt. It certainly eliminates the need for lots of everyday wear. And I love being on the school grounds with all of these kids milling about in their uniforms- it can be quite a challenge to tell them apart when they are all properly wearing their hats!
School seems to get off to slow start at the beginning of the year. The children spent the first few days with their old teachers, while the school finalized enrollment numbers, found out how many teachers they were eligible for, and put everyone in place. Yesterday, Erin found out who her teacher is and who is in her class. She will be enrolled in a Year 2/1 composite class (here, the emphasis is on COM when saying the word, and I have to think hard before I open my mouth and sound like a silly yank- which I do anyhow), where they teach both years in the same classroom (hopefully this will enable her to keep reading at the levels she achieved in her first few months in Connecticut).
She reports that they eat lunch outside on benches in the shade, and they also have, in the early mid-morning "fruito" (Aussies love adding "o" to the end of things), when they can step outside and have a piece of fruit, and then a later morning tea (snack). There is no hot lunch, and at this school, no canteen, where some schools sell food items. No more "chicken patties on a bun," Erin's number one hot lunch choice! In fact, so far, she's just had ham sandwiches on some special sweet American bread a friend picked up for us (she doesn't like the fact that Australian bread is not sweet)- she can't bring peanut butter because it's a PB free school, and she doesn't like the cheese here, so I'm working hard to identify new staples for her school lunch diet!
I have to leave in a few moments to walk to pick her up- another switch. No big yellow school buses. I love the feeling as all of the parents and caregivers (carers here) converge on the school, by foot, with strollers and various siblings hanging on. We all gather around on the school grounds outside of the different blocks where their classrooms are, and meet the kids coming straight out of the classrooms. A very small neighborhood feel.
Anne
