For instance, the little girl that we brought home from the hospital just a few weeks ago, it seems, has entered JUNIOR HIGH!!!!
How could this be??
Yet, it is true.
I know we raise them to be adults and to send them out into this world one day, but it's just happening so, very fast!
I remember this like it was yesterday.
But, it wasn't. And, this is Lena now, in front of her new school.
Boooooooo hooooooooo!!!!!
OK. I'll snap back to reality now.
I thought I would write about what it's like to be in Junior High in France.
The first big change is that our daughter now carries a cell phone.
There is a very good reason she carries a cell phone. She walks alone to and from school more times than I care to think about.
It's the same story here as it is in the USA. There are more elementary schools, so they are often closer to your home. Then, there are less junior high schools as they bring several elementary schools together into one bigger school. So, Lena's junior high school is quite a bit farther from our home. Only, there are no school buses here, and we don't own a car. So, she walks.
Because we don't want to pay for school lunches every day (which we have heard are TERRIBLE, unlike the food at the elementary school), Lena comes home for lunch every day. We've arranged for her to walk with a friend to and from school in the morning and at the end of the day, but during the lunch hour, she often walks alone. It takes her about 15 minutes to get home, after walking through the main 'drag' of our neighborhood.
This is why we bought a cell phone for her. She exits the building and calls to let us know that she is 'on her way'. It's very reassuring to us that we know where she is and what time to expect her to arrive.
But, for Lena, she could care less about safety. She just LOVES having a cell phone! Can't you just see the joy in her face holding that phone?
And, the class schedule is so very different. Here's what Lena's week looks like. They have this crazy system where they call one week an even week, and the next week an odd week. You have to keep track of which type of week it is, and then go to the right class based on the schedule.
MONDAY
8:55-9:50 CDI (I have NO IDEA what this is) on even weeks, no class on odd weeks
10:10-11:05 French
11:05-12:00 Technology (computer skills)
12:00 - 1:30 LUNCH
1:30-2:25 German
2:25-3:20 History and Geography on even weeks, Study Hall on odd weeks
3:35-4:30 History and Geography on even weeks, "Life of the Class" on odd weeks (she goes to her home room to receive any papers that need signed or information that needs to be passed from the school to Lena or from the school to us, her parents)
TUESDAY
8:00-8:55 Earth Science
8:55-9:50 French
10:10-11:05 History and Geography
11:05-12:00 German
12:00 - 1:30 LUNCH
1:30-2:25 French
2:25-3:20 Math
3:35-4:30 Math on even weeks, no class on odd weeks
WEDNESDAY
8:00-8:55 Technology
8:55-9:50 French
10:10-12:00 Physical Education (GYM)
THURSDAY
8:55-9:50 English
10:10-12:00 Swimming
12:00-1:30 LUNCH
1:30 - 2:25 Math
2:25-3:20 Earth Science on even weeks, French on odd weeks
3:35-4:30 French
FRIDAY
8:00-8:55 German
8:55 - 11:05 Math
11:05 - 12:00 Music
12:00 - 1:30 LUNCH
1:30-2:25 English
2:25-3:20 History and Geography
3:35-4:30 Art
Each of these classes are in a different room. Lena has had to quickly adjust to several new things:
-packing her backpack with the right books and notebooks for the classes she has each day
-carrying an often 'crazy heavy' backpack full of the books she needs for each class each day
-find all the classrooms in this rather large, spread out building and getting to them on time
-make sure she is on top of which homework needs to be done for which day
-get to know many different types of teachers and figure out how to please each one
One saving grace here is that she travels with the same class everywhere she goes. She is the 6th section of 6th graders. That group, about 23 kids, follow this exact same schedule together.
The other really incredible change has been the amount of homework. Lena is busy studying each night.
I really don't think I studied like she is studying now until I was in college. It really is remarkable what they expect of kids in this country. We've been warned how junior high is a different story here, and it is true. The teachers are clearly getting tougher and expecting a lot more of the kids.
While the adjustment to junior high has been huge, I have got to hand it to Lena, she has handled the change with grace and met the challenge head-on. I'm so thankful that she is willing to work hard and that she is so very adaptable. I think she's going to end up having a great year!
Before I close, look who got their 'duds' at Taekwondo tonight!!!
He tells me he plans to be a black-belt. All I can say is, "Watch out world!!!!"
2 comments:
I TOTALLY know what you mean about the BIG difference btwn elementary and jrhigh! It's crazy complicated! Carla has had to adjust quite a bit as well, but overall has been having a good attitude about the challenge. Go, Lena (and Jill!)!! :)
This post so resonated with what we see here in the CR. I've been amazed at the differences in schooling from what we were used to in the States. Lena's every-day-is-different school schedule looks much like some of our friends here! I'm sure she'll more than rise to the challenge. What an interesting experience this is for all of you!
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