Day 34 - 8th September - First day of school and more Flowers, lots of flowers, music from a cello, children coming up and saying "Hi". This was how we started our first day at school. The Grade 8 students (about 12 or 13 of age) brought in the Grade 1 children (about 6 of them being at grade school for the first time) and introduced them to the school and gave them each a flower. We even caught Julian singing for the first time ever in assembly. This was a sound led by the music teacher who was also on her first day at the school. Julie and I dropped them off, attended the opening day assembly and then spent the next 4 and half hours going to the freight forwarders, the Canada Customs, then the warehouse to collect our tin trunk. We had sent this from UK with all our winter clothes and other things that we need for our trip. Then we collected the boys from school. We were anticipating a good report but they seemed a bit stunned by the difference to Christchurch. All the new things were a bit overwhelming. The next dayin the morning, Sammy was crying and Julian was not at all keen on going. However, a brief word with their teachers who were wonderfully empathetic with both the boys and they seemed to cheer up almost at once. Day two seemed much better and we were met by Elizabeth, one of the older memebers of staff again as we entered the school in the morning. She had met us in the evening to check how the boys were doing and to report on her observations of them throughout the day. It was very comforting to know someone was so interested in how they were fairing. Not quite what we have been used to. Julain was singing "O Canada" (the national anthem) on the way home from school!! The boys have a playground which is like the wildlife areas at St Saviours and Christchurch but with more trees, a climbing frame like the one we have in Acton and lots of fallen tree trunks and bits of wood to build forts and other boys hiding places. British Health and Saftey would not like it at all!! Day three at school saw them both bouncing out at the end of the day Julian with a Squash (vegetable) in his hand which his class had help harvest from the school garden. Telling us he liked his german teacher and now knew the french alphabet. Sammy was very pleased that they had, like Julians class, spent all afternoon painting on wet paper to produce an abstract. He has already commented on the fact that they have more time to do their work and complete it and he didn't feel as rushed as the lesson are in England to get it done quickly. The timetable is run on very different lines from that which we are used to with main lessons taking and hour and a half. So there is plenty of time . Sammy is enjoying his german lesson as they are concentating on animals and he keeps trying to spot wasps, as that is his favourite German word at present. So it looks like they are starting to adapt to the different format and we are hoping that this will be a very rewarding experience for them both. Lots of new ways of looking at learning which will refresh some of their (especially Julain's) ideas of what school is for. I have just made a batch of apple flap jacks as there is a parents coffee morning at the school so it will be nice to have some time to speak to some of the other parents and perhaps arrange for their children to visit with the boys after school some time. We haven't seen many other children since being on this trip and this has meant that the boys have had to rely more on each other which has had some high spots like sitting on the doorstep tonight eating their tea and chatting to each other about the chipmunk that lives under the front step! It has also had it's low spots like lots of fighting! We are hoping that the school will bring them a littel peace before we set off on our travels again.