Bishop Thornton Church of England Primary School

I've been meaning to blog for a while now about Timothy's experience at school. Sorry for the delay. Anyway, here you can see Tim all dressed up in his school uniform. All of the public school children wear uniforms, and from what I've seen, most are similar to this.... trousers (pants), polo shirt, and school jumper (sweatshirt). I think the girls have the option of wearing a skirt, too.

Anyway, we are thrilled with the school that we chose. Bishop Thornton is a small village just up the hill, and it's only about a 5 minute drive from our house. Tim gets to school around 8:55am, and I pick him up at 3:15. As I mentioned in an earlier entry, this school is VERY small.... only 22 students total, broken into 2 classrooms. Tim is in Class One, which includes children from Reception (pre-school) through Year 2 (first grade). There are only 8 students in this class, and Tim is the only Year 1 student (Kindergardener). Class One has a main teacher and two teacher assistants... not a bad teacher-to-student ratio! From what I understand, the main subjects like literacy and numeracy are taught in the morning, and the afternoon usually includes project work, outside time, etc.

Tim just loves school. When I picked him up the first day, he said, "I had a great day, Mom!" He often tells me how much fun he had at school, which is wonderful to hear. He has made friends with the other boys in his class, although he really misses his friend, Justin, back in Joppatowne.

Overall, I feel like his school experience isn't as structured as it was in the states. This school seems to be very open and flexible, which of course wouldn't be possible with a larger group of students. I'm really pleased with the individualized education he is getting. He is working with the older students in math and even some reading, which is great. But mostly, I'm so glad that school is fun for him. There's no doubt that this school is child-centered. The classroom itself is kid-heaven! The room is broken into centers: reading center, computer center (including a smart board that the students are allowed to play with), building center (with blocks, puzzles, and unusual building toys), etc. When Maddie and I went to visit one afternoon, there was a kiddie pool filled with bubbly water and lot of toys to play with. The class also has a playground right outside that is an extension of the classroom, where there are more things to learn from/play with out there. It's just great.

After the first week, Tim received an award for "Settling into School Well." And he has... He's even starting to develop a British accent already. Actually, it's not so much an accent as it is his intonation when asking a question. My plan is working.... :)