First Day of School

We all had our first day of school on Thursday Oct 5th. Steven went to English Kindergarten and had very little trouble with Mom leaving (once he found out that one of the teachers was in charge of soccor - he showed her his Cleats (which Mom had told him NOT to wear to school) and thankfully it is ok for him to wear them to school occasionally. His teachers were very friendly, but when I met up with one of them toward the end of the day and asked how his day was going... she said I should pick him up as early as possible because he was not having a good day. Of course we all kept in mind that he is still adjusting to everything being new, his classmates mostly speak French and Arabic to each other and his little body is still recovering from jet lag. That night at dinner he prayed and asked for God to help him have a better day at school. I was so proud. The next day was French immersion and believe it or not, he had an AMAZING DAY!!! His class went on a field trip and saw more of the city than I ever have. They stayed on the busses and pointed out the shapes of road signs (they are learning about signs and shapes in French). That night when we were being silly and I was tickling him he shouted out "Arret! Arret! Which means "Stop!" in French. I, of course, didn't know what it meant, but Steven told me, and we looked it up online to confirm it. I told Steven that from now on, he is in charge of teaching me French.


Abgial and Gillian are in the same second grade class and did famously. They even came home and did their homework with a minimum of complaining! They are still excited about their Arabic and French classes even though they don't know what is happening while they are in those classes. (They are held like electives, like PE and Music - in the afternoons.)

I attended all of my classes (except the first one, because I was busy trying to buy supplies for the girls) and I am delighted with the groups of students in my classes. All of my classes are currently High School, I think they will add in the Middle School classes next year. On Friday the two drama classes put on a small plays for the elementary students and were a big hit! My substitute, Mrs. Plant did a fantastic job with all of my classes and I take over tomorrow (Monday). I'll write more about my classes when I have had a chance to teach a bit.