School visit

After a couple of 'coolish' days where it rained a fair bit, today is much hotter. I'm sitting in the office of our house - it is a closed in verandah - and there is a slight, very welcome breeze blowing. The girls are all under the house (one of the coolest spots), playing with dirt and mud, along with several other kids who live around here. It is only 12:30, and some of them could be at school, but there seems to be a very lax attitude to school here. If it is raining, most kids don't go because they would have to walk to school and it is just so muddy. I can understand that, but wonder what happens in the wet season when it rains for months.

Speaking of schools, we went for a visit to Florence Young Christian School this morning. We met up with the Deputy Principal and head of primary to talk to her about Brianna, Millie and Sophie going to school there while we are here. She took us on a little tour of the school, which goes from Prep(kindy) to high school. We were taken to Lovelyn's class (yr4), which is in a leaf hut. It is a small, open building, probably half the size of our classrooms, and there are 38 students crammed in, all sitting at little wooden desks. When it rains, they have to move somewhere else because everything gets wet. There was a blackboard at the front, on the only wall of the leaf hut. There were a few pieces of student work displayed, but I didn't get a good look them.

Yr 4 class

We (all six of us) walked to the front of the Yr 4 class, and were introduced. Then the Deputy Principal asked us if WE would like to sing a song or something! I guess we could have if we'd known earlier, but the girls were freaking out enough as it was, so we declined, and they sang for us instead! The children sang two songs, both of them beautifully, even though they were quite shy(lots of giggles and smiles hidden behind hands).

Then we were taken to the library - a very small room with very old books. There were three or four shelf racks, and then the rest of the books were in piles or boxes, still to be sorted. Apparently the library has recently been relocated to this larger room. I feel guilty for the large amount of books I have at home and wish I could have brought more with me.

The DP then asked what what we would like to see next, so I asked to see the yr1 room, for Sophie and Amelia. This class was in a far more permanent building - one of a whole block. Their class was also very full - about 6 kids were sitting on the floor doing their work because there wasn't enough room at the desks. This classroom was decorated with brightly coloured drawings and things, which was lovely to see. They also sang for us before we left.

Yr 1 class

We spoke briefly with the DP about whether there was enough room for our girls or not. We mentioned that we were both teachers, and would be willing to come along and help sometimes. She seemed quite interested in that (especially in the primary department), but will get back to us this week when she has spoken to the teachers about whether they can fit us in.

Brianna hopped in the car and declared that she didn't want to go . I can completely understand her reluctance - the unknown is so scary. We are doing our best to encourage Bri to get the most out of this experience. We'll see how we go. Sophie and Millie, on the other hand, are looking forward to school. It is much easier knowing your sister will be with you though!

Late note: We just found out that there is no room for the girls at Florence Young Christian School. It's a bit of a surprise considering we were told differently earlier in the year, but I don't mind. We'll continue to 'go with the flow'!