I am still getting to grips with the school system here, but, as it forms part of my daily life and routine, I am getting the hang of it relatively quickly.
I have joined the parent council and am now officially class representative for Jasmine's class. I'm also on the committee for healthy lifestyles and another for fundraising. I somehow manage to volunteer myself for these things before my brain has had the chance to catch up to the reality of the commitment....*sigh* But my thinking was that, by getting involved, I would meet more of the other parents, and learn more about how the Toronto School system operates. So far, I actually enjoyed my first parent council meeting - well, any meeting that involves freshly baked, home made cookies is a good meeting in my book :-) But on a serious note, I have since started recognising more of the faces on the school run, and you can't underestimate how much this helps you to feel a part of a community and not just on the outside looking in.
As for the kids, they both got their progress reports back yesterday, and I have to say that I am so proud of them both. Ben got 'Excellent' for every subject - and has even been nominated to join the gifted program, which is for students who show signs of being advanced academically! Jasmine got either 'Good' or 'Excellent' in every subject and was noted for her artistic capabilities. Both were credited with being kind, caring students who get fully involved in the 'classroom community' and for being willing to participate in all activities and projects.
On another note, last night, me and Nick went to a meeting at another school, where Ben will have the option, once he reaches grade 4 (next year), to join the Extended French program. This is offered to all grade 4 students. It means that he will start to receive half of his school instruction in French. The aim being that students achieve a level of bilingualism by the time they go to high school. We are so excited for him (and Jasmine the year after) as it was precisely for these kind of opportunities that we made the trans-Atlantic move. Application deadline is Dec 15th....
1 comment:
You should be oh so very proud!! Would they both have to change school then? Is that a regular thing to do over there? Either way it sounds very interesting!
Anyhow, I also do these thing - offer help before thinking of the consequences. :))
I have to attend one of those meetings tomorrow which is ok but most of the others cancelled their attendence so that I'm probably stuck again with even more things to do. LOL
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