A Look at Schools

So sorry for the lack of blogs this week. Ethan has been off at work, and the kids and I have been in the apartment most days. We ventured out for some meals together to a Japanese restaurant (Hibachi style), and a French restaurant.... both interesting experiences.

But yesterday, we were able to schedule some appointments at the three primary schools closest to our house. Mary, our sponsor, was able to drive us around, which was a big help. All of the schools in the area are on "holiday" next week, so if we didn't see them this week, we'd have to wait another whole week. Anyway, school #1 is called Bishop Thornton, and it is closest to our house. It is also the smallest of all the schools we saw, with a total school population of 21! We were greeted very warmly by Fiona, the school secretary, and with a "Cheerio!" from a parent and member of the governing board. She was the one who gave us the tour around. We first saw the "quiet room" which is basically a multi-purpose room for library, music lessons, and project work. We then went into the Key Stage 1 classroom, which has children grades PreK-1 (aka. Reception, Year 1, and Year 2). I instantly fell in love with this class. It was pretty much everything I had learned in college and graduate school as to what to have and do in a classroom. (It was like our Reggio class, remember Vic?) The teacher told me they work in themes, which completely excites me. They do their "numeracy" and "literacy" in the morning time, and try to incorporate the other subjects in a broader theme during the afternoon.
The classroom was just inspiring: there was a construction center, a reading center, a pretend store, a small pool of water on the floor with rocks and toy dinosaurs, and a BIG tub of dirt. Some students were "drawing" in plates of sand, and another small group of students (the Year 2s) were working with the teacher aide on writing a letter. There was a stinkin' smart board hanging on the wall, yes, connected to the internet, along with a few other computers accessible to the children. We then went outside to their playground area. It wasn't a typical playground... it didn't have any equipment like swings, slides, etc. Instead, it seemed like it was an extension of the classroom. The teacher said that they changed what was out on that area based on the theme they were working on. We loved the teacher too... she seemed very knowledgeable and enthusiastic.

We next went upstairs to the Key Stage 2 room, grades 2-5 (aka. Years 3-6). There were about 14 students, and they were sitting in a circle, back-to-back, working on a lesson. (I loved that they were doing something unconventional, and yet there wasn't chaos!). The teacher was very welcoming and enthusiastic. Again, there was evidence of theme work, and use of a smart board. (It turns out that every class we saw that day had a smart board... I just couldn't get over how these small, rural schools, had this kind of technology... very impressive!)

Onto school #2, Burnt Yates. This school had more children than the first, about 40 kids total. It was again broken into two classrooms with the same grade breakdown as the first. This school had a lot more to offer in terms of space. There was a full library and a "hall," which is basically a large multi-purpose room where the students have assemblies, eat lunch, have gym, music, etc. The grounds outside were beautiful. There were 2 large paved areas, and large fields with some equipment. There was also a lovely garden area, where the teachers sometimes do lessons with the students. Overall, it seemed like this school had more to offer in terms of space, but they didn't seem as enthusiastic as the first school.

The third school we saw was Birstwith. This school has 70 students split into 3 classes (reception and Year 1, Years 2-4, Years 5-6). Birstwith had a good amount of space in the school, beautiful grounds outside, and high test scores to boast of. The headteacher was warm and enthusiastic, and overall, the school was just charming. The only issue we had is the number of students in each room. For example, the first classroom we saw (Reception and Year 1) had 21 students in the classroom. These numbers are typical for the US of course, but the students looked pretty packed into that room. There was a head teacher and two teacher assistants, which is great in terms of ratio. But I couldn't help but think that the headteacher would have to be pretty structured and "run a tight ship" to keep twenty-one 4 and 5 year olds in line. It's good of course, to have control of your class, but is that kind of structure best for my kids?

So, there you have it. From the way I wrote about it, you can tell I am a little partial to the first school. I can't believe that I'm most excited about the smallest school! At least we have some time to talk it over with schools being out next week. Leave us a comment and let us know what you think....