School is in Session!

All 3 kids started school this week--Gabi and Jonty are at the elementary school, and Catarina is at pre-school in a building beside them. 

GETTING READY: 
On the Friday prior there was a mandatory 1.5 hour meeting, where all students and the parent "responsible for their academics" met the teacher.  Expectations for the year were outlined, schedules handed out and questions answered.  Then the kids went off for a little school spirit activity - Rah rah rah!

We expected some differences in the school system here in our little village--that was part of the appeal! But we didn't see this one coming:

• grades 1&2 go to school from 8:15am-1:15pm, with lunch until 1:45pm; afternoon extra-curricular activities (Music, English, Gym) 3 times week
• grades 3&4 go from 1:15pm until 6:45pm, with lunch at noon, and morning extra-curriculars twice a week (Music, Gym)

WOW.  The two kids schedules do not line up at all!  How can two working parents make it work?! 

This means a number of daily trips to school for me, albeit 400m away.  Hmm, I'm working through this big change in our trip's expectations...

Parents provide the school supplies, even the photocopy paper. So an hour and $150CDN later, with multiple questions to the staff and FaceTime calls with my cousin to figure out the lists, we were set.  Workbooks to be picked up at the board office the following week by the parents.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
Over the weekend, there was much anxiety in our house: "I don't understand Portuguese! How will I know what to do?  I don't want to go!". My kids have never been hesitant about new opportunities. As this adventure is optional, I am more sensitive to their struggles than usual. To see them anxious has cast significant doubt for me: what the @#$* were we thinking moving here?! 

My kids amazed me Monday morning: after looking at the ocean and watching the sea gulls, Gabi and Catarina were ready for their big day.  Both even had a hop in their step as we headed off.  Gabi was so brave: at the moment where she had to go in alone, she gave me a hug, a dazzling smile with a twinkle in her baby blues, and said "See you after lunch"!  My heart flooded with pride for my determined, confident girl: she knew she was going to be ok.  One of those moments that gets burned into your memory forever.

Catarina marched into her school, hung up her backpack on her hook and marched into the classroom.  Could it really be this easy?! Haha, optimistic...it has not been like that since...

Jonty got to spend the morning with Mark and I--we hiked up a mountain, saw pools of fish in the cove below, and ate some tasty fruit.  I then got a call from the school board saying his lack of Portuguese warranted his going down a grade. We agreed to switch to grade 3. At the end of the week, he got bumped back up to Grade 4 (#Jontyisasmartcookie), and the teacher noted that his comprehension of Portuguese had grown exponentially in just 5 days. Let's hope this move is for the best!

How many sleeps until Christmas holidays?!