Witherlea
September 27th
It is a moment we will always hold dear, the morning we dropped Lilly and Jack off for their first day at Witherlea Primary School. There is nothing quite like patting your kids on the head, wishing them luck and watching them walk onto an unfamiliar campus in a foreign country. After a day of pacing, our anxious minds were quickly put to ease when at pick-up they both responded that their first day was "Great!". Apparently, just like back in the US, the teachers here instruct them it is best to summarize the first day of school with a single word. After some badgering, we were able to get a few more details. Armed with their accents, they were an immediate hit with their classmates and were constantly asked questions about America and happily fielded requests to repeat random words and phrases in 'american'. "We call them 'flip-flops' you can them 'jandals' (japanese sandals)" was the reoccurring pattern of conversation for the first few days.
Although Jack and Lilly started on August 24th, one day after school started back in Charlottesville, they joined the New Zeland school year about halfway through Term 3. The school calendar runs year-round on 4 roughly equal 10-week terms. Each term is separated by a two-week holiday break, with the exception being a 6 week Summer Holiday between Term 4 and Term 1. Due to the seasonal flip in the Southern Hemisphere, Term 1, the new school year, begins the first week of February.
Witherlea is organized in mixed-aged classrooms or 'syndicates'. Lilly was placed in a Year 5/6 class "Kaurai" with Mrs. Crosbie and Jack is in Year 3/4 "Kowhai" with Mrs. Anderson. Kindergarten is the equivalent of preschool here in NZ, so Year 1 "Ferns" are the American equivalent of kindergarteners. Interestingly, the Ferns will add new entrants throughout the year. When a preschooler turns 5 they move on up and join the primary school Year 1s on the very next day.
School uniforms are standard in New Zealand and just like everywhere else shoes are optional. Jack has been taking liberal advantage of the 'no shoes, yes service 'policy. Nice hats! Yes, due to a thinner ozone layer, less atmospheric pollution and a closer proximity to the sun in summer, the UV rays here are more intense. Therefore the wearing of a sun hat is compulsory for Term 4 and Term 1.
There are a lot of similarities to US schools (Scholastic Book Fair )and just as many differences (Pizza Friday replaced with Sausage Sizzle). There are no food services and the kids eat their packed lunches outside or in the classroom on a rainy day. The layout of Witherlea is campus-like with separate buildings for classrooms and offices and only one large multi-purpose room. Group singing is an important part of each day at Witherlea and their playlist is incredible. Hearing 120 3/4th year New Zealanders belting out Blue Moon and Footloose at the end of week Hui (Maori Assembly) is priceless. I'm working on getting video. By far the kid's most treasured part of Witherlea is the playground. It looks like something a person with no background in liability law would design for an orangutan sanctuary. They find it to be an absolute blast.
Witherlea's campus backs up to Harling Park, a Japanese-styled water garden, and the Wither Hills Farm Park. It is through these two parks that the kids will take their Wednesday Walks (hikes). Each Wednesday, the class will go out for an hour or so hike through the surrounding areas. Physical activity plays a major role in the school day as the kids are encouraged to come a half hour early to school to play and are given a full hour for recess. One might wonder who is responsible for watching them during these extended periods and the answer is no one. They are completely self-sufficient during free play as the teachers are busy prepping and preparing their lessons.
Meredith is attending Witherlea Kindy (kindergarten which is really preschool). She goes 4 days a week for 2 hours in the afternoon. Similar to the primary school classrooms, the preschool class is very much open air and the kids move freely from inside to outside during free play times. She has chosen to concentrate on play-doh.
Lilly, Jack, and Meredith have adjusted quite well to their new schools. They are all busy making new friends, appreciating the differences between countries, picking up NZ lingo and taking part in the young kiwi traditions.
