The kids and I spent a couple of hours at their new school yesterday. Registration was a long and tedious process. After filling out three individual sets of school forms, the kids and I walked around and met some of the teachers. We met a couple of kindergarten teachers and one first grade teacher. We were fortunate enough to share a few words with the new principal. Everyone was so nice and welcoming. They were impressed with our California background. I find it funny that people are so curious about the state of California. It seems to have something mystical about it. This is not the first time it has happened. Our funniest story yet actually happened in church. We had gone to the chapel on base one of the first weekends we were here. The priest asked all of the new families to introduce themselves. We along with three other families stood up. The first two families came from Japan and the other family came from Mississippi. When Jason introduced our family, he explained that we came from California. Everyone in the church was so amazed. Now, I’m not trying to take anything away from California because I will always be a Cali girl at heart but, I would think that coming from overseas would be much more interesting than coming from California. After church, people came up to us and asked us questions about our life in California. The same thing happened at the school. Everyone wants to know what it’s like, what the people do, and how the weather is. It’s fascinating to me that people want to now so much. Usually people from other states tend to ignore Californians :)
A little of track so let me get back to the new school :) We had a great first impression. The school is really nice and the teachers seem very warm and friendly. As the parents waited in line, the teachers came up to the children introduced themselves and asked questions. Of course Kalyssa and Travin pretend to be shy (because we all know that my children are shy and quiet ha ha) and Bryanna fills in the blanks :) The school holds a lot of functions throughout the year. Everything from monthly family fun night’s and holiday celebrations to raising money for cancer and helping to keep our earth a little cleaner. They also host fitness events like family 5K’s and golf tournaments to raise money or awareness for different causes.
The highlight of our day or at least for Bryanna, was meeting Miss Smith. We got really lucky and got to meet Miss Smith who is a first grade teacher and the coach of the Stockwell Place Cheerleaders. We asked some questions about the program and found out that it is only open to fifth grade students that hold a high GPA. The girls get to perform at several events throughout the year. She asked us a few questions about Bry’s previous school and her grades. She was very happy to accept Bryanna into the program. Next week she will head out to cheer camp. Needless to say, she was on cloud 9 all day yesterday.
We spent a little bit of time peeking inside some of the classrooms. Travin was so excited to see the inside of the kindergarten classrooms. He picked out the classroom that he would like to be his. The classroom had a puppet stage filled with books. I guess he thought it was pretty neat because he spent the drive home talking about how that was his classroom where he was going to go to kindergarten just like a big boy.
Kalyssa was very impressed with Miss Smith. She told me that she really liked her classroom. She said that is was decorated very pretty and that she really hoped that she could be in that classroom when school starts. This was a huge step for Kalyssa. She unfortunately is a lot like me in the sense that she is not a fan of change. Leaving her kindergarten class was very hard for her. She was very comfortable and content in her surroundings. Once she gets to that point, it is hard for her to move on but I think she has!
It was really touching to watch the kids get so excited about their new school. Leaving their old school and their friends was heartbreaking. There are many things that will always be missed but, I think they are looking forward to their brand new start. They are all very anxious to meet new friends. They are excited to plan play dates and sleepovers. As we walked out of the school building, I looked at my three kids and just had to smile. I had a warm feeling in my heart, a feeling that told me that things are going to be very good for us here.
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I must confess, I don't always respond but I sure do love to read all of your thoughts and I truly appreciate them too =) Thanks for sharing!