School

The girls are starting school tomorrow. After another long, relaxed beach holiday with Steve’s family, learning new expressions from their older cousins like ‘oh crap!’ and ‘oh fudge!’, they had a couple of days at their new school’s holiday program last week to help them with the transition, and befriended a little girl going into Grade 2 called Alexis. The kindergarten playground is separate from the primary school one, so they might not see very much of Alexis this year. Many of their friends from preschool are continuing too though, so there will be some familiarity there. And of course, they have each other.

We have bought their size 6 uniforms, including summer dresses, shorts, logoed tops and hats and shiny new black shoes. They were so excited and proud, they wore their dresses for the last few days of preschool. I am expecting no more battles about what to wear in the mornings.

We are both busy at work so won’t have time for the school’s parent service, Tea and Tissues, after the drop off at the school. But we will both take them in. However much they have already started their educational journey at their fulltime preschool over the past two years, we are all conscious that this is a milestone in their lives. I’m optimistic about it: preschool set them up for being eager learners, and I expect that that will continue.

Steve says he remembers his first day of school going into Grade 1 very clearly. He sat on the steps looking over the playground crammed with primary school boys of all ages, running around, making a lot of noise and hitting each other. He cried his eyes out at in the realisation that he was going to be stuck there.

I can remember a first day of school at the same school that Lara and Rhea will be going to and feeling nervous and new, though it was Grade 4 that I remember because my kindergarten was located at a different school then. I hadn’t been back for more than twenty years before the orientation we’ve already had, and yet very little has changed, and it still smells the same. Walking down the corridor where the girls’ classroom is, I remember one of my old classrooms being a few doors down, and how our French teacher would sometimes switch to talk to us in English when she had something serious to say, which I remember thinking was strange and (because of her French accent) rather funny.

The girls will continue on with the bilingual program that I did, and that they started in preschool, which I hope will give them a rich perspective on our multicultural world and country, as well as being good for their brain development. Learning a bit of French is a bonus.

I was encouraged by the Principal’s welcome to the new parents, telling us that she had just returned from an education conference in Finland where the message was ‘let the children play.’ ‘Well,’ she said, ‘the children play in our school.’ I know that this is what research outcomes tell us is important in the early years, for the development of all-important problem solving, social skills, creativity and healthy bodies. She added that her school produces confident young adults. That’s good enough for me. Also, she said, the children are worn out after school and will sleep well. Bonus.

Just a few nerves all around in the meantime. . .