Tuesday, May 9, 2017

A new start

We visited the elementary school today with Luke, Anna and Henry. It was a basic school, nothing that I was really blown away by. At the same time, I liked what I saw.

The Principal was very nice and friendly. She gave us a tour of the school and we got to see the bottom level and upper level of the school. Luke was more interested in the upper level, since that's where the older kids are.

I guess I was waiting to have some sort of gut feeling but I didn't really get any. It was sort of a "one way or another" sort of feeling, not really a pull to go to this school but I wasn't repelled either. I was hoping that I could walk out of the school with a confident feeling that we made the right decision.

But when the Principal went in the office to send home some paperwork for us, I silently put my thumb up, then sideways (neutral) and then thumbs down to the kids. They knew I was asking for their honest opinion about the school and I know I can get an honest answer from them. I got a thumbs-up from all of them--even Luke! He said out loud, "I think it's great!" That's a big thing coming from non-committal Luke!

Things that I liked:
  • Good quality education is important but I didn't get the sense of panic or stress about it, which is what I get from our current school.
  • The classroom sizes are small. The students were friendly but not hyper. The teachers seemed to have good control over them but not overly controlling either. At our current school, you are punished for talking in the hallways.
  • They have a library at the school. The kids especially liked this. Our current school doesn't have one.
  • They have a HUGE playground! Again, our current school barely has anything. They have four swings for 50 children playing at a time. At least at this school, everyone will have a chance to play and they won't be left standing around.
  • They seem to have a good Special Ed program. This, I heard from our social worker, who is familiar with the school.
  • Most of all, it will be a fresh start. I hope and pray that it will be a positive experience for Luke, who has been through so much lately. He barely even talks to people anymore. He doesn't trust them. I pray that he will be able to open up next year and gain some friendships.

I looked to Dennis and he gave me his nod of approval. I knew he hadn't exactly been blown away either but he would have objected if he didn't like it.

So we enrolled the kids right there.

It is official. All five of my little flowers have been transported to different gardens today. May they grow, prosper and may there be very few (if any) weeds to stunt their growth.



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