The boys began school one month ago and I promised a friend a post about some of the similarities or differences in the education system here. It's mostly surface stuff and first impressions, though. This blog will also have some of the other stuff the boys have been involved in lately.
1. Students begin grade school on their 5th birthday. Kindies are separate and run more like a preschool / daycare. They are placed in a New Entrants class (yr. 0) that grows as the year progresses and more children turn 5. Many classes here are combined grades however (splits), not because the school is small (almost 300 kids), but because most teaching is done in small groups and individualized as much as possible.
So, Xavier's class is a year 1/2 and works as part of a pair of classrooms that are team-taught, where the teachers plan and teach together, splitting children into small groups in reading, writing and maths. Yes, they say "Maths" with an "s". (And with the kiwi accent, I was puzzled for the first part of the parent / teacher night because I kept hearing "Mass"!)
Xavier's teacher also likes for the children to address her by first name.
Jackson is in a year 3/4 with a very strict teacher who makes them draw a red line frame around their page with a ruler and red biro (aka ball point pen). And they must take their shoes off outside the classroom. So the kids wear socks (Jackson) or bare feet (all the rest of the kids!). Funniest thing so far was his individualized spelling list . . . after being assessed, one of his first spelling words was "Mum" NOT Mom. Hmmm, he was so confused!! LOL
2. The kids eat lunch outside every day. There are benches and sun shades. Hats are mandatory. Sunscreen is provided in each classroom.
3. School policy is that all children are expected to bring water to drink. I haven't really seen juice boxes here at all, and they do have shelf-stable milk in the same size box that doesn't need to be refrigerated, but it's $2 per container, so that's NOT happening. Oh, and they request garbage-FREE lunches. Seriously. Even the yogourt container and wrappers all get sent back home. There is no garbage can to put it in. Even at the school fundraiser, you were expected to bring plates and cutlery from home to reduce the garbage for the event. Keeping NZ clean and green.
4. Kids are allowed to bring scooters to ride around on during their morning tea and lunch break. (I haven't had the guts to let the boys bring them yet . . . especially since they go on the bus). I haven't been at school yet during recess, but from what I've seen other places, it's not really a "hands to yourself" kind of policy. The kids seem to be able to play wrestle etc with each other as well. I'm still a bit unclear about what's OK here and what's not, but it's less strict than Canada. That's why Dave has been rolling his eyes for years, about my uptight, rule abiding behaviour. LOL (It's ironic here though as Dave got a speeding ticket for doing 56 km in a 50 km zone the other week so obviously the police are picky about some rules)
5. The school has a pool. Each class has swimming lessons 3 times per week for the first 2 months of school. The second week of school there was a triathlon. Xavier's class ran a couple of laps of the field and then ran to the pool, jumped in and swam (or hopped) two widths and then jumped out and ran back to the finish line (Yes, in bare feet the whole time!) Can you spot him in the goggles? He ran the whole way with them on, see the middle of the first photo!
Jackson's grade and up brought their bikes (all 200 of them!) and ran, then biked, then swam. They just increase the distances for the older kids. Yes, Jackson was serious about his start.
6. Kids can sign up to participate in Saturday morning sports on a school team in a league organized by clubs. Really, the system is kind of confusing to me, but Xavier is playing t-ball and Jackson is playing cricket! After playing some cricket in the park with Dad, now Xavier wants to switch to cricket too...
OTHER STUFF ABOUT GROWING UP HERE:
The boys are still nearly inseparable. Yes, this is a photo of Xavier sitting on Jackson, who is not complaining at all.
The boys have been sharing a room for so long now, that I'm sure Xavier will not want his own room when we get back home . . . only time will tell
There's a model train club here that runs on Sunday afternoons for a $1 a ride. Whoo Whoo!
Lovely babysitters, this was their night out for a nice dinner with Dave's parents for their anniversary. We were treated a lovely Valentine's dinner out the week before. Thanks!
He actually has pretty good technique . . . mini-putt and 10 pin bowling family fun. I have to watch Xavier every second with those bowling balls, so no time for photos!
A short ferry trip from the wharf to Haulashore Island for Auntie Kim's birthday with the whanau (minus me, who was hard at work trying to sell cots, carseats and pushchairs . . .)
You know your boys are growing up when . . .
Yes, there were band-aids, "sticky plasters" involved . . .
And then the pit stop on a 5 hour drive was the skatepark in a little place called Reefton. Very small town. Very large skatepark. Scooters in tow, the boys tried it out for the first time. See how I carefully put them in long sleeves and long pants?? Still, one band-aid was involved. Problem is that our knee pads / elbow pads are all in our garage in Canada . . . may still have to invest in some here. (Ironically I've never seen any kids wear pads here, maybe they just sell band-aids instead?...Dave) Argh! I thought the scooters were for the nice smooth bike path that runs by the seashore.
We went for a couple of short hikes in Arthur's Pass for the day with my parents and Jackson kept asking to go on a long 4 hour hike - straight up the mountain. Yeah, right. So, I suggested if the hour long hike wasn't enough for him, he could carry our pack!
They are growing up . . . in NZ!
What a wonderful experience, and looks like they are having so much fun, thanks for sharing, Ruth
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