This week the boys new school had 'back to school' sessions for the parents to meet the teachers and get an overviews of how the term/year will run. It was lovely to meet the teachers and some of the other parents to reconfirm our choice of Stonehill as the perfect school for our boys.
Jacks teacher is Miss Katie, and she is from Southern California and is new to Stonehill this year - her last posting was in Mexico. She had Jack nailed on day one as a wriggler and that she had the discipline in the class already sorted. Lovely to hear for this Mum !! She seems funny, strict, kind, and gentle along with being a very competent young teacher.
Max's teacher is Miss Sylia and she is not quite so young but is just as delightful - her personality reminds me a lot of Max's teacher in Sydney, Miss Lennox. She is caring, and fun but also strict and a very experienced teacher.
Along with these two wonderful teachers we met the gorgeous Music teacher Miss Tanya who all the children love and I secretly want to become (she is divine). The Art, IT, Library, Language, Host Country and PE teachers. They all seemed SO keen and eager to teach and be a positive influence on our children's lives. I cannot tell you how happy we were leaving the school after meeting the staff. The timetable provides the children with exposure to all of the above classes multiple times a week plus the boys will choose 2 extra curricular activities to commence in the coming weeks.
The boys are loving school and are even happy with the long bus rides daily and are not happy if I go to pick them up - 'Mum, we want to go on the bus with our friends!!' Jack has come home every day talking about something that he has done during the day, which I just love. The IB program follows a Unit of Inquiry each term and the daily tasks are mainly driven by the children - they have to meet the core principles but the children are key to how that process takes shape. It sounds quite 'soft and fluid and not necessarily very controlled' but at this point we are thrilled with the kids interest in all things 'school' and can see that this type of learning really works. I appreciate that it takes more resources and we are very lucky to be able to offer this to the boys at this early stage in their schooling. We are so keen for the boys to learn the principles of research and learning and this process seems to build those foundations perfectly.
Jack's Unit of Inquiry this term is 'Healthy Lifestyles' and Max's is 'Rights, Roles and Responsibilities'. After two and half years of Jack saying he learnt 'nothing' at school each day (I do know this wasn't true) it is delightful to hear him be so excited about his school and what he has learned each day. He has come home talking about Pablo Picasso and his art, the science experiment to determine how far germs travel, how to write his name in Mandarin, how well he did in the 'beep test' in PE, and these are just a few in the first 2 weeks. Max is still set on 'nothing' gets done at school but it will come.
To have dedicated classes and teachers for discussions on their Host Country, India, and to understand the festivals and traditions is just wonderful. Computer classes on a variety of applications not just iPads will hopefully make them better than most of us at using technology. Music and Art by trained and passionate teaches is just so enlightening for them. These are all great steps for the boys because they are influenced by these wonderful teachers whose energy and knowledge is infectious.
It is also really nice to hear from many of the existing and new parents how excited and happy they are with the school. There is another International school closer to Palm Meadows where a number of ex-pat children go and the main reason for attending Indus v Stonehill seems to be the distance. However, we have also met a number of families that are not happy at Indus and a number of families that have moved there kids to Stonehill after being at Indus - so maybe that extra long bus ride is not such a big deal after all. The eduction and experience is paramount.
Being happy at a new school was a big hurdle for us to jump and we can happily say that we are all very happy and that is such a huge relief to Mike and I. xx
Jack's Unit of Inquiry this term is 'Healthy Lifestyles' and Max's is 'Rights, Roles and Responsibilities'. After two and half years of Jack saying he learnt 'nothing' at school each day (I do know this wasn't true) it is delightful to hear him be so excited about his school and what he has learned each day. He has come home talking about Pablo Picasso and his art, the science experiment to determine how far germs travel, how to write his name in Mandarin, how well he did in the 'beep test' in PE, and these are just a few in the first 2 weeks. Max is still set on 'nothing' gets done at school but it will come.
To have dedicated classes and teachers for discussions on their Host Country, India, and to understand the festivals and traditions is just wonderful. Computer classes on a variety of applications not just iPads will hopefully make them better than most of us at using technology. Music and Art by trained and passionate teaches is just so enlightening for them. These are all great steps for the boys because they are influenced by these wonderful teachers whose energy and knowledge is infectious.
It is also really nice to hear from many of the existing and new parents how excited and happy they are with the school. There is another International school closer to Palm Meadows where a number of ex-pat children go and the main reason for attending Indus v Stonehill seems to be the distance. However, we have also met a number of families that are not happy at Indus and a number of families that have moved there kids to Stonehill after being at Indus - so maybe that extra long bus ride is not such a big deal after all. The eduction and experience is paramount.
Being happy at a new school was a big hurdle for us to jump and we can happily say that we are all very happy and that is such a huge relief to Mike and I. xx
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