First Days of School

I've been a little slack on updating the blog, and for that I apologize. However, I'm also not sorry because me not on the computer means I'm out doing other things. With real people. A little scary, but it's ok.

Us here in Harlow have been doing things like shopping, going to the pubs, watching cheesy romantic comedies and planning trips. We're going to London this weekend which should be good. We're also going to Dublin in November for a weekend. That should be a good time. They have a Tim's there!

The school system in England is...well, very different. At least here in Harlow it is. I'm in a very posh school that has high expectations. At the staff meeting yesterday, I was tempted to just leave and run home back to Canada. There's just so much to comprehend and grasp. But I've been reading the manual and things are getting clearer. In general, there are some similarities: the students are the most important, help those who need it while finding extra for those who are advance, etc. One of the biggest things is how behaviour is dealt with. Remember Harry Potter and how everyone's in Houses? Well, this school is like that. Everyone's in they're own grade but within that grade and the school, the students are separated into four houses. Good and exceptional behaviour is given a token, to be given at the teachers discretion. At the end of the week, the house with the most gets special prizes, in both the classroom and school as a whole. Bad behaviour is a bit more complicated. There are different coloured cards and they mean different things. I guess it's like soccer/football.

The head teacher (think principal) is a little strict/nice but overall a nice person. The teachers are all really nice to me, and I'm liking my teacher. She's sweet but the students know she's in charge. The students are very nice too, at least in my classroom. They'd say things to me like how they liked my accent and ask me questions about Canada and Newfoundland.

Two weird things: the parents wait for the children outside and most of them walk. There are also short assemblies every day. I guess it's an equivalent to announcements, but more general.

Well, the girls want to watch a movie, so I'm keeping this short. I'll give more details later.

Live from England,

Amy