First day of school

For a while, we were worried that public school wasn't going to come through for Jonathan at all.  Before we left the US, I emailed a few schools to see about enrolment.  (Yes, they spell enrolment with just one 'l' here.  I don't like it, and neither does my internet browser.  It keeps auto-correcting.)

In any case, before we arrived, one school said "no way -- no short term enrolments." One school said "fine, but only if you live right in our boundaries."  And the other, a French-English dual immersion school, sent along the enrolment forms.

Unfortunately, the French school was a little too far away from the university to be reasonable.  We didn't end up in the boundaries of the second school.  And we didn't even look at the first.  As soon as we signed a lease agreement, we emailed the school that we thought we were in the boundaries of. 

And then nothing happened.

The school is directly across the park from our house, so we would walk by and see if anyone was around, and call in the mornings to see if anyone would pick up the phone.  They were taking their summer holidays very seriously.  No one was ever there.

Finally, less than a week before school started, we reached a real live person.  They told us to come by with all our enrolment information the day before school started and they would decide if we were really in their zone, and if they really had the space for us.

On Tuesday, we brought a stack of forms (proof of residence, birth certificate, Australian immunisation form -- yes they spell that with an 's' -- passport, visa, doctor information, emergency contacts, kitchen sink).  They let us enroll.  (I believe they really had no choice, by law, but they weren't going to tell us that.)

We had a personal interview with the principal on Wednesday, purchased school supplies, uniforms, paid fees, and *whew*!  We were in.  First day of school Thursday.

Jonathan was super excited about the uniforms.  He likes new clothes. 

The hat is part of the uniform. There is a large hole in the ozone over Australia, most locals are very fair skinned, and they have a very high rate of skin cancer.  If you forget your hat, no outdoor time for you. 

Because of his birthdate, Jonathan is starting the 4th year.  Looking at their curriculum, it looks like Jonathan will learn a lot of interesting stuff about Australia and its people, as well as art, writing, science, and other school type stuff.

Unfortunately, he won't learn any math.  Looks like he learned all the 4th year Australian math back in 3rd and 4th grade in the US.  He's already upset with that, because he likes math.  Hopefully we can supplement some at home.  (Mom is a mathematician.  Who better to supplement?)  I tried to explain that there were other things he would be learning that don't fit neatly into academic categories.  I don't know that the little boy is convinced.  But he is making the best of it. 

Aside from the math, all looks good.  The school is 160 years old this year, with about 200-something students enrolled.  The zone for the school is very tight -- basically it appears you must be able to prove you reside on one of the streets bordering the park in order to get in.  Apparently the Lord Mayor of Melbourne resides here, and has children enrolled at the school, but he hasn't introduced himself to our family yet.  The principal says the tiny zone means it's a close knit group.  Close knit group is good, once you're in the group.  Fingers crossed that it will be easy to make friends. 

Anyway, we are happy and relieved to have Jonathan in school.