Sorting out the school thing...

Five+ inquiries to the support staff to know the protocol for: sick days, missed school lunches, lost and found, ordering school shirts, getting a ball off the roof; four trips to the book store one town over to get the right textbooks and then workbooks (two different things..); three meetings with the teachers to understand nuances; two kids who are loving school, and one mom having fun figuring it all out!

The back of the school yard

The front of the school

Jonty's thoughts on school here:

Discipline:"There is no drama or kids being loud and misbehaving in class.  It is so quiet,  it's a lot easier to learn.".  The teacher is strict!  On day 1 she said there would be no warnings for misbehaviour: one strike, and your dad or mom, or grandparent would have to come and speak to her at the end of the school day.  This caused a ripple of fear through the class--a threat that does not seem to carry the same weight in Canada! Last week, some kids in Jonty's class entered the classroom giggling.  They had to leave and try again, as the classroom is a quiet space for learning. Still not successful, extra homework.
Jonty is a kid who responds well to structure and consistent rules--strict works for him!

Respect: Here there is a notable level of respect for teachers.  Students and parents revere them.  They are addressed by: Senhora Professora (Mrs. Teacher). Students often greet their teacher with a kiss on each cheek (traditional Portuguese greeting, and a sign of respect to your elders). Jonty does not...yet. ;)

Homework: Jonty gets about 30 minutes of homework everyday, Gabi about 15 minutes twice a week. Jonty has never really had homework before. "I don't love it mommy, but I have to do it".  He does not want trouble with his teacher, so gets it done!

Math is fun, no matter the language

My observations on school:

Roles & Responsibilities:  
Teachers, teach!
Support staff (5 lovely women who know all the kids by name) wear bright pink tunics and are responsible for staffing the locked gate during arrivals and departures, getting the kids to lunch and class, supervising at recess, helping students/teachers with the school day, cleaning the school, calling parents if a snack is missing/child is sick/issue that needs their attention, and probably many other things I don't realize.
There is no school secretary or office--administration happens at the board office.
Parents ensure kids arrive on time, with a snack, and do their homework.  They enter the school only if they have a meeting with a teacher; there are no opportunities to volunteer (maybe a union thing? adequately funded staffing? most parents work?).

The Building: At this small school, in the heart of downtown in this small fishing village: Grades 1&2 go to school in the morning and Grades 3&4 in the afternoon because there are only 8 classrooms, and there are 14 classes. The kids only leave textbooks and binders on shelves in the classroom--nothing is left in their desks.  The school and yard are surrounded by 15 foot high metal fencing.  There is no gymnasium or auditorium--with such great climate, gym is outside on the basketball court!  There is the public library next door where assemblies can take place.

Gabi's Gym Class - ends at 5:15pm twice a week!

Dense Urban Living: There are no school buses. Being that almost everyone lives in an apartment here, I would guess that the ~300 kids live within a kilometre of the school. This builds community--we see kids from school out and about all the time!  I love that a few kids get picked up on motorcycles for the steep trek back up the hill.

Sick Days:  If a child is sick for more than 3 days, their absence requires a doctor's note. To report an absence, the parent fills in a little card and sends it into the school the next time the child goes. There is no office to call!

Reading in Portuguese, Writing in Cursive, Reading Cursive in Portuguese!

Curriculum: In grade 1, Gabi is working on 28 main words (writing, reading and context). They do not print here--she is learning cursive!  She has been working hard on this, especially considering she is registered as: Gabriela Elizabeth Magalhaes McCann--which she has to write out multiple times a day! There is no playtime aside from recess (she misses Ontario's Kindergarten play-based learning.).  She noted: "We sit in our desks all day mommy, we don't get up and move around. I miss carpet time."

For Jonty, from what I can tell, he arrived slightly ahead in math, and the rest seems similar.  Thank goodness he did French Immersion before coming.  Day 1 homework was determining the masculine and feminine form of the Portuguese words. Fortunately, the concept was not foreign to him, otherwise it could have gone something like this: "But that is so stupid mom, how can the sun be a boy and the moon be a girl? It makes no sense. I'm not doing this."

Learning Support: Both kids are getting ~1.5 hours of extra Portuguese language support from the librarian.  For Gabi, its included in her school day, for Jonty, he goes in early twice a week. We are impressed!
To date in their academics, my kids have not needed extra help. When Jonty first learned he was going to get support, he was hesitant: "But mom, I feel stupid. I don't like being the kid who needs extra help." He came around quickly; what a great way for my kids to experience and build tolerance in someone else's shoes! Like classmates back home who get support, they are not dumb--it's just helpful to learn another way.

Their Portuguese is coming!
#força