Our new school is Stonehill International - it has about 300 students from 30 different countries. Today was orientation and the boys seem to be very happy with our choice. When we came in September to review housing and schools, Stonehill stood out as the best school amongst the schools we saw and 'the best match' for our boys. The majority of kids at Palm Meadows seem to got to Indus International School which is marginally closer to home but appears to have a very big focus on achievement for the 'school' rather than the student (that was our impression) and is on quite a small, bad country road. In comparison, Stonehill had a great feel amongst staff and parents, along with great facilities.
Tennis Courts and the horse riding school is to the right.
Our only concern with Stonehill was the distance to get to/from school - it takes just over an hour to get there and in the afternoon to get home, it's even longer !! That said, the bus is fully air conditioned and goes directly to/from Palm Meadows - so safety doesn't appear to be an issue. I plan to do pickups twice a week, to limit the boy's weekly 'bus time'. The school day at Stonehill is much longer than we are used to - 7.45am to 3pm, with compulsory extra curricular activities on two afternoons a week until 4pm (I think). My understanding is that there is no homework in primary school, apart from reading, so all work is done at school. The list of extra curricular activities is very long and the boys are currently eyeing up horse riding and a musical instrument - oh dear God ........
So, today was orientation and the boys first glimpse of their new school. Thankfully, it all went well. They both went to their classrooms when their names were called from the large group of parents, teachers and children - no tears or hesitation. They liked their teachers, their classrooms, the cafeteria, the playground, and most importantly, the sports facilities. The pool was also a big hit and to have so much space for ball games and running around was fabulous. The Scottish and English sports teachers may be a bit of a concern though -although hopfully there will be no discussion on cricket or rugby!
One big difference at the school is that children as young as 3 were starting - it was weird that Max was in the 3rd set of names called..... they were so little !! The second big difference for me is the class sizes - Jack' s has 10 kids and Max's has 8. There are no cracks for these boys to fall through now !!
As we left, both boys said, "thank you SO much for choosing that school - it's great." Long may this positivity continue.
One big difference at the school is that children as young as 3 were starting - it was weird that Max was in the 3rd set of names called..... they were so little !! The second big difference for me is the class sizes - Jack' s has 10 kids and Max's has 8. There are no cracks for these boys to fall through now !!
As we left, both boys said, "thank you SO much for choosing that school - it's great." Long may this positivity continue.
Part of the Junior school playground.
The walkway between the primary and secondary schools. Along the left is the primary school library, multi-purpose hall with a rock climbing wall, kitchen for children to learn in, science labs exclusively for primary, music rooms etc
One of the Junior School play areas
The cafeteria with a different menu each week
Ovals for all sports
Secondary School
Basketball courts
Swimming pool
Tennis Courts and the horse riding school is to the right.
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