School's In!

On Monday, all staff members began their back-to-school work. There are just under 200 staff members, with teachers from the Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle, and High School buildings. Our superintendent greeted the group and then the Teachers Association led us in a team-building activity about being survivors in a snowstorm. It was a fun way to get to know some new people, and my group did well! 

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent in professional development sessions for the First Steps reading framework. While the information wasn’t entirely new, the staff members who facilitated the training did a great job. I spent time with the Spanish teachers and English Language Learners teachers, and left the two-day training with some new Spanish vocabulary and phrases. I think I’ll have more Spanish teachers here than I first guessed. Even the cab drivers are teaching me, and I certainly have given them a few good laughs! 

The students arrived on Thursday for a full day of school. I was a bit surprised to find parents and students arriving very early in the morning, as the campus is an “open” campus, though the buildings are not. The entire campus is set behind a large wall, so you can’t really tell there is a school there from the street view. This is intentional for security purposes. There are guards and security along the gate and all parents, visitors, staff, etc. must sign in there. The library media center, gymnasiums, swimming pool, and fields are all for community use, which is why the campus is “open.” Classrooms open to hallways that are outside rather than inside, similar to what I have seen in many schools in China and Japan.

Students line up on the basketball courts, just like they do at Ivy Hill. Because there is school security taking care of traffic, I was able to be outside with the classes to greet students. Kids were running up to one another giving hugs and kisses, sharing stories of their (winter) break, with plenty of smiles to go around. I helped a few crying kids inside each morning and spent the days visiting classrooms to introduce myself and overseeing some of the lunchroom routines… we have some work to do there! The kids have been eager to introduce themselves to me, and usually greet me with a "hello" and a kiss on the cheek. And they call me "Miss Kristy," which is going to take some getting used to! They were amazed when I told them the kids at Ivy Hill called all teachers by their last names. 

On the first day of school we had a whole-school assembly, where all new staff and students were introduced. Mrs. Polito had suggested a book that I read to the whole school called The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. The kids loved it and I enjoyed reading it. I hope we can do some activities between both schools for International Dot Day on September 15^th. That would be fun!

I have to say, learning the students’ names here is going to be a bit more of a challenge for me. There are more students at this school than at Ivy Hill, but the names are a bit different than those of which I am familiar. We have lots of kids named Sophia, Isabella, etc., but we also have so many other South American names that are new to me. I will be working hard to learn them all by October! I met students who have lived in Peru for their entire lives, as well as those from Australian, New Zealand, England, Canada, India, Poland, Russia, Argentina, Cuba, Ecuador, Bolivia, Columbia, Uruguay, Brazil, and the United States. Most of the kids introduced themselves by name and nationality, which I thought was pretty interesting. I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone here, though I miss everyone in the US already!