Today was the last day of school for Quincy and Tabitha. They finished their grading period quite some time ago so it seems like they have just been wasting time for the past couple of weeks. They have been watching movies, playing games, going to the beach, etc. When I asked my French friends why they stop grading so long before the last day of school, I was told that it was because the school needs to allow the parents and students time to dispute their grades before everyone leaves for the summer! Hmmmmm.... I didn't know you could do that! Max and Calvin still have school tomorrow morning, all day on Monday and Tuesday and then all day on Thursday. Crazy schedule....
This afternoon, I went over to the home of one of my bicycling buddies. Alix and her husband and 14 year old daughter are moving to Portland, OR in late August. They are all fluent in English as they lived for a couple of years in Sweden and are very excited to be moving to America. They did have many questions about the American school system however which I tried to answer as well as I could. Their questions were very interesting as they were mostly about things that are so second nature to us that we never give them a thought.... like, why do we have a percentage grade, and a letter grade and a GPA? Why do we use the word "grade" for our marks as well as for the level we are in in school? What is a credit? How can some grades be weighted so that you actually end up with a GPA higher than a 4.0? Why are only 2 years of a foreign language required?.....
We then spent this evening at the "Kermesse" or school fair at ÉCOLE NICOLAZIC. Nicolazic is where Max and Calvin will go to school next year. It is a five minute walk versus the 20 minute drive that we currently have. We are very excited about this prospect. Nicolazic is supposed to be a very good school and we have had good first impressions. Tonight was their annual fair where each class performed a little dance and they had games, food, etc. We were able to meet lots of fellow parents and the kids were able to see who they already knew at the school and to meet some new kids. We met a few parents who really spoke excellent English and one absolutely nutty Irish woman who was so thrilled to meet us that she was almost jumping up and down with excitement. It was really quite fun! The kids ate "hot dogs" which were actually odd little sausages wrapped in a baguette and smothered in a spicy brown mustard and of course, cake (gateau - the standard fare at all gatherings). Josh was happy to see that they actually served beer instead of wine and champagne at this get-together. This is a picture of the school - a stately old "house" that used to be the home of monks.
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