We almost missed the bus the first day of school so my camera didn't have time to defog.
Emma 8th grade, Eliza 4th, Brandon (James' good friend) 6th, and James 6th
...can I just say that I LOVE having a school uniform!!
Tessa on her school bus (van) with Miss Ella, the bus helper
We have had a great start to this school year! The first day of school was August 18th
and now we feel like we are into a good routine.
In 8th grade this year there are 64 girls and 42
boys at our school. Some of the parents
are in an uproar that the school would allow this to happen, but Emma doesn’t
seem to mind. There are two 8th
grade teachers who have taught at all girl schools before so they are teaching
a track of 18 girls. Emma loves being in
the “all girl” track. She has boys in
her HS Math class and she says that is enough.
She passed the math test at the beginning of the year to skip a math
level, which she is happy about but it makes her homework load heavier. The 8th grade NJHS is made up of 9
girls and she enjoys meeting and planning (things like service projects) with
them during lunch every Wednesday. She
is looking forward to the school play auditions and for her modern dance class
to start up in a few weeks. She is going
to start guitar lessons in October and promises to keep up with her piano
lessons and practicing. Emma has many
babysitting jobs on Friday and Saturday evenings.
James was sad to find out that none of his friends from last
year are in his 6th grade classes this year. But he has made some new friends and sees his
old friends at lunch and recess. He also
passed the math placement test which puts him in a 7th grade math
class. He is excited to take up guitar in
October with Emma and is a good piano practicer. James is on a co-ed touch rugby team. He was nervous to give it a try but came home
after the first practice loving it! He
decided band is not for him, so we have a trumpet for sale. He starts back up with his scout troop this
week.
Eliza was excited to start 4th grade, which is
the last grade before middle school here, so she feels like the big girl on
campus! She is in an after school choir
program on Thursdays and piano lessons on Wednesdays. I start teaching a
Zumba kid’s class at her school tomorrow (every Monday) for 3rd and
4th graders. She has
recruited several of her friends to take the class with her. Her model agent keeps her very busy. She has worked long hours the last two
Saturdays modeling winter coats and party dresses and loves every minute of it.
We decided not to have Tessa go to Kindergarten at the
International school this year. She is
going to do one more year at the Wonder Center preschool. This school is my favorite thing in Shanghai;
I can’t even describe how much I love it!
Tessa rides the bus and has 24 classmates and six teachers. Tessa’s head teacher, Sue, is my good friend
and is basically having Tessa do a kindergarten curriculum with her, in a few
months she will help me decide if Tessa should do Kindergarten or 1st
grade next year. I teach a creative
dance class at Tessa’s school every Thursday afternoon. It is such a highlight to my week!
