Sophie's Started School!

The big news? Sophie completed her first full week of SCHOOL!

She is going to the Evropská základní škola Brno-- European Basic School. Thankfully, it is a bilingual program (i.e., half the classes are in Czech, the other half in English). Sophie is the only native English speaker in her class of 16 (only four girls!). But the teachers and administrators speak English, which is critical because the culture, norms, and rules are decidedly Czech. There is a strict bell schedule, no toilet paper in the bathrooms (you bring your own!), and a not-quite-endearing Kafka-esque love of bureaucracy (e.g., Sophie's health forms are not adequate; we need a Czech doctor to fill out Czech forms . . . but they don't tell you until the forms are due, etc.)

All that said, Sophie seems to be doing very well despite the drastic move from her groovy progressive school back in the states. She likes the classroom, she is making friends, and she is eager to learn Czech. Fortunately she does not need English-language instruction (English class is pretty basic, and occasionally incorrect.). But getting on track with european math will be great for her, as will the swimming, art, and music classes. AND, her teacher is very nice, if not a little distracting for the dads (. . . when's the next parent-teacher conference?!). She (Sophie, that is) also likes the tradition of wearing "bačkory" (slippers) in school.

Our biggest complaint is our long commute to school (~45 min walking and on the tram!). But even there Sophie sees an opportunity to learn; she wants to make the commute by herself eventually. She says by mid October; her parents think 2010 would be about right.

So overall, now that (most) of the forms are completed and the school-supply shopping is done (this picture doesn't even include the SEVENTEEN little exercise books #523, and seventeen little plastic book covers she turned out to need. . . we got it wrong the first time) we are relieved and even pleased with the situation. But mostly, we are proud of Sophie for handling the situation with such poise and enthusiasm.





(http://www.ezscejkovicka.brno.indos.cz/soubory/english/indexEN.htm).