Friday, April 12, 2019

School in Grenoble

The school bell rang at 4pm on Friday 12th April indicating that the girls French schooling had come to an end! Of course we had two vastly different reactions - Ella was ecstatic to be finished and Katy (along with her friend Naomi) were in tears at being separated.

In review, Katy began school first and although at times it was boring, overall she enjoyed the experience, making a new friend in the process. Ella's time at school was a little shorter than Katy's due to issues with her enrolment. I would say she enjoyed the first week but after that it became a real struggle.

One afternoon we discussed the similarities and differences between school here in France and back home in Aranda. As you can see the differences overwhelm the similarities.

Similarities
  • under desks
  • ninja and tips (touche)
  • floss and fort nite dancing
  • kindy celebrates 100th day
  • after school care
  • swimming lessons
Differences
  • language barrier
  • smaller school ~150 students arranged in 5 classes of ~27-30 students
  • start and finish times
  • come home for 2 hours at lunch 
  • 3 course hot lunch can be requested 
  • play ping pong and have circus equipment at breaks
  • no school Wednesday afternoon
  • write in cursive and in pen
  • no extension lessons or band
  • blackboards (no smart boards)
  • no chrome books
  • no PE lessons
  • no school uniform
  • small bitumen area (size of two netball courts) for play area
  • no ovals or playground equipment
  • skiing excursion
  • no front office
  • no canteen
  • principal teaches
  • no clubs

Now back in Australia, we hope in time that the girls can look back on this unique experience and appreciate the opportunity it provided.

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