Yesterday was our visit to Lucas' ecole maternelle. He will be starting school in September.
As far as first impressions go, this school is wonderful. The teacher who is also the directrice (Noelle) handled Lucas firmly but nicely. He willingly went to her even though he was grumpy when we left the apartment. She managed to catch his full attention, he even started babbling in baby talk to her - all this within the first 10 minutes!
After explaining school rules to us ( as a non working parent, I will bring Lucas at 8.45 am every Mon, Tues, Thurs and Fri - there is no school on Wednesdays and drop him off in his class. Lucas will have a place to hang his coat and bag, and a change of clothes. The teacher advised me to bring him a snack but nothing too filling. In September Lucas has to be fully toilet trained but accidents may still happen; hence the change of clothes. She advises against the pacifier but says we can leave it in Lucas' bag, just in case. But it is better to start weaning Lucas off the pacifier now. (Lucas is down to his very last pacifier from Mothercare, and it will be interesting once that one breaks and we have to throw it away...)
As Ecole Maternelle Henri Du Parc is a public school, we need to pay only 18 euro a year. We actually considered private schooling for Lucas (39 euro a month) but I am happy to let him stay in this school. Henri Du Parc is less than 10 minutes' walk from where we live - even when we move, its an additional 5 minutes away. The private school for Lucas would have been a nightmare as it is downtown, near Jardin Massey.
Fred & I wanted another choice in case we didn't like the school allocated to Lucas but it looks fantastic, it was clean, the teachers were friendly, there was a huge gymnasium and outdoor play area - for Lucas that is important. There is even a herb garden. I liked that Noelle spoke TO Lucas and made eye contact with him.
Lucas will be in a class of 30 kids - he will have so many friends by September :)
Besides the usual arts and crafts, gym sessions, music classes et al, Lucas will also be taught Occitane - a dialect of this region as part of his syllabus.
Noelle was agreeable with Lucas starting off September with only morning sessions (845 - 12) for him to get used to going to school. If Lucas adapts fast, he will be attending school 845 - 12, I will pick him up for lunch at home and then send him back to school 2pm - 5 pm. For now it doesn't seem practical for Lucas as he is still napping in the afternoons at 2 pm - 4 pm.
My baby is going to school soon... I am happy yet sad at the same time. I will have more time to myself but will miss being with Lucas.
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Ok I didn't know you need to visit the school. Do you ask the school or they send you a letter for the visit? Do they assign you the school or you could choose any school you want?
ReplyDeleteYou need to register at the City Hall and a school in the area where you live is allocated to you. You may request for another school but you have to have good reasons for doing so and priority is given to the residence in the area of the school.
ReplyDeleteYou will receive a letter with the school phone number and you need to call the school for an appointment to check out the facilities and the teachers.