One thing the Basque people are never short on is finding ways to enjoy themselves and the company of others. The end of the school year is no exception, and yes teachers in all countries are always up for a good party.
Friday the 17th was the last Friday of the school year and was the all school party. According to the girls, the party started about 9:30 with all school games on the patio. I missed that part so I don't have much in the way of details.
However, at 12:30 the parents were invited. The afternoon started with graduation which consisted of the fifth graders handing the sixth graders their framed class picture. After the hugs and pictures, the incredibly awesome music teacher who is retiring, was presented with a violin. She had been talking about learning to play during her retirement. Then the festivities began.
First there were a series of musical performances, a very entertaining play by 4th & 5th graders using idioms, followed by dances done by all the grades. Here are some pictures as my video shoot didn't work out so well. (Oh, and Morgan's wrist wrap, just 8 year old drama...)
Following the dance, hunger had definitely set in. It was a beautiful sunny day and banquet tables and chairs had been set up on the grass in the shade. We joined a group that had ordered delivery of cheeseburgers, roasted chicken, tortilla patata, and croquetas. Do potatoes count as vegetables? We served the kids first. As we were serving, the teachers, who had a few tables reserved that extended off of our section, were bringing out food that made for a banquet. It wasn't large pots of things to share but rather a typical Spanish-style celebratory lunch. The "first plate" was a series of beautifully designed appetizers, or pintxos as they are known here. This was followed by "larger food" and then dessert. The kids had finished eating before all the teachers' food made it to the table.
At this point I began thinking, "this could never happen at the kid's school in the states." First off following the meal was the water gun fight. A water fight could definitely happen on school grounds in the states but I'm not so sure that the "gun" version would be acceptable. While the kids enjoyed that, under the supervision of the extracurricular activities monitors, the parents and teachers ate, and drank. Drank, yes, that's the other part that could never happen in the states. Some people brought wine and beer. The teachers even had bottles of champagne. No one by any means got out of hand. It is quite typical during the large meal eaten between 2:30-4pm in Spain that wine is served. The school patio was no exception, apparently.
Eventually the teachers headed home but several families stayed on. We were there until around 7:30pm. Once the kids had enough water, there were games as well as face painting, molding clay, and other art options.
The rest of the events to end the year were kid-only activities such as cleaning their things out of the class room, a class party and an all school field trip to Salinas de Añana. As with all school trips here, the parents are not asked to chaperone. In addition to an educational experience, the students enjoyed a salt spa, picnic, and yet another water fight. According to the Morgan it was superrequetebien. They returned tired but happy.
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Trip to school
Many people have asked the girls about school here. Now that they are well integrated into their classrooms, I'll try to get them to sit for another interview. Meanwhile I thought it would be of interest to share how we get there. In Madison we live about a 5 minute walk as the school is at the bottom of our street. Here it is a 20 minute walk, but not quite as typical as a walk through Madison. Here is our journey in pictures.
On the left is the street our flat is on. We walk up the hill and through a short pedestrian walk (on the right). From there we cross a crazy roundabout intersection and head downhill.
The blue building in the picture to the right is the library and cultural information center. The library is quite small but functional. It is not as integrated as the Madison system with all the other libraries in the area.
From there we follow a rather long street until it ends in what is left of countryside in Algorta.
We see lots of wildlife along the way. There are goats, occasionally roosters, cats, lizards and ducks. The goats and roosters are typically hanging out in the same field. As we continue our walk down the road we see our first set of cats. A couple of them come running to be greeted by the girls both in the morning and on our way home. We need to add a few extra minutes to our journey so the girls can get their kitty fix.
Our journey ends as we hit the little river and cross the bridge to their school. We typically see a couple more cats who are very skittish and several ducks.
On the left is the back of the school and the playground area for the elementary school kids. The picture on the right is the front of the school which has a couple of playsets for the younger kids. The school day begins and ends in this part of the school yard. Just as with Thoreau School in Madison, the kids line up by class to enter the building.
I hope you have enjoyed the picturesque journey between the mountains that we take daily to get to and from school. It's amazing to pass such a diversity of urban and rural settings in just a 20 minute walk.
On the left is the street our flat is on. We walk up the hill and through a short pedestrian walk (on the right). From there we cross a crazy roundabout intersection and head downhill.
The blue building in the picture to the right is the library and cultural information center. The library is quite small but functional. It is not as integrated as the Madison system with all the other libraries in the area.
From there we follow a rather long street until it ends in what is left of countryside in Algorta.
We see lots of wildlife along the way. There are goats, occasionally roosters, cats, lizards and ducks. The goats and roosters are typically hanging out in the same field. As we continue our walk down the road we see our first set of cats. A couple of them come running to be greeted by the girls both in the morning and on our way home. We need to add a few extra minutes to our journey so the girls can get their kitty fix.
As we continue our journey we reach the end of this quiet road and are greeted by a rather busy roundabout intersection. Crossing there we pass under a highway and cross the street. This area is a very quiet neighborhood with mostly flats and a few stores but not nearly as active as the area in which we are living. There is a metro stop here so on really rainy days, the girls prefer the metro over the exercise. Ok, actually, everyday they would prefer the metro over the exercise, they just don't get that option ;-).
Our journey ends as we hit the little river and cross the bridge to their school. We typically see a couple more cats who are very skittish and several ducks.
On the left is the back of the school and the playground area for the elementary school kids. The picture on the right is the front of the school which has a couple of playsets for the younger kids. The school day begins and ends in this part of the school yard. Just as with Thoreau School in Madison, the kids line up by class to enter the building.I hope you have enjoyed the picturesque journey between the mountains that we take daily to get to and from school. It's amazing to pass such a diversity of urban and rural settings in just a 20 minute walk.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Día de Paz--Day of Peace
A couple weeks ago there was a celebration on a Friday afternoon at the kids school called Day of Peace. All the students including the preschool kids participated. Each class had a word that was their contribution to a school poster. The words represented part of what was necessary in order to have world peace. Morgan was the representative selected from her class to put the word on the poster. Unfortunately I haven't been able to get a picture of the final product but it had words in Spanish such as friendship, listening, understanding...
Día de Paz-Larrañazubi from Lauren Rosen on Vimeo.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
School and Parents: How Procedure Effects Learning & Behavior
The girls have been in school for a few weeks now and we've made some interesting observations. I want to share those with you as well as my perspective/thoughts as a parent and an educator.
Assignment Notebooks
Maia wrote to her Madison classmates in response to their questions that the teachers here are really strict. She noted that they expect you to have all your books (they have textbooks that they need to complete their homework) and they do not except forgetting your materials as an excuse for not completing your homework. Students are penalized for not completing their work and awarded for doing it. The homework is graded based on effort to complete it, not necessarily on correctness and is most often corrected in class so students learn from their mistakes.
The work they are doing is definitely not busy work. It clearly is reinforcing the topics they are studying and it is teaching them higher order thinking skills. The work typically requires a level of reading comprehension/study concept, followed by the student analyzing or synthesizing information. They are asked to write in their own words to explain concepts and give their own example. They can't simply copy from the book by the time they are in 3rd grade and beyond. There is a clear progression in the level of expectation from one grade to another.
So, how do they do this and keep it all organized? Every elementary student is given an assignment notebook. This is the primary communication between the teachers, student and parent. Assignments are written on a special space on the board in the classroom and students are given specific time and direction to copy it down in their assignment notebook each day. The teacher walks around to ensure this is being done and makes a special effort to check in with the kids that tend to have trouble keeping track of things. The expectation is that the assignment notebook is the first thing that comes out and the last thing that goes into their backpacks both at school and at home. As parents, we need to look at it everyday as well to make sure that we know what our kids need to do.
The second purpose of the assignment notebook is communication between the teacher and the parents. Teachers don't have time during the day to check their email so if there is an important message to send in, it gets sent in through a note in the assignment notebook. If your child was really sick and didn't get to complete their work, that can also be put in the notebook alerting the teacher so she will go easier on the homework issue with your child for that day. They still need to complete it though. If your child has an appointment or will leave early, that too is sent via the assignment notebook.
My thoughts on this are, why don't we start with higher expectations in our elementary schools in the US? Why don't we prepare our kids for middle school by teaching them earlier how to organize? We spend several weeks in the fall starting in 3rd grade on test taking skills for standardized tests yet we spend very little effort teaching them to be organized and take responsibility for their work connecting school to behaviors outside of the classroom. The main point being that the systems exist in the classroom. Our teachers do a great job of that but it doesn't get carried home in a systematic way. Those are life skills that will help a child in all aspects of what they do and learn.
As a former 7th & 8th grade teacher I remember the transition being incredibly hard for parents and was dumbfounded by those parents who didn't understand why it was so important for students to remember to bring their materials to class. If those expectations start earlier, our students are prepared for the rigor of middle school and high school.
In my opinion the assignment notebook is a transformative experience. They start this as soon as students enter primary school. I have learned that this is in all primary schools not just where our kids attend. By high school, there is no such requirement. It is assumed by then that students have developed their system of organizing and taking responsibility in their own ways. In Madison, I know high school students may purchase schedulers/assignment notebooks especially designed for the school with important dates (school events, breaks, etc.) indicated. There is no such thing in our Madison primary school. Why wait?
So what would a first grader write? Perhaps together the class could generate ideas of three important things they learned that day. The teacher could write it on the board and the students could copy it. I would have loved to know more about what my kids were doing in school at that age. The typical answer I got was "nothing." Or how about a suggestion for what to continue to practice with your kids at home to continue to build on what they did in school? Perhaps not all families will do this but the suggestion certainly doesn't hurt.
Some parents don't live close or have the opportunity to stop in school. Those parents have many fewer avenues for communicating with the school and the assignment notebook would be a potentially great way for them to stay a little closer to what their child is learning and have it come directly from the child.
What changes have we seen? An organized motivated child takes responsibility seriously. That child is concerned about making sure that the work is done and done well. She seeks additional systems to keep herself organized. This is the child that probably doesn't "need" the notebook but likes having it and feels mature using it and taking responsibility for her actions. Her parents like keeping up with what she is doing and have an opportunity to ask more specifically about her activities.
A disorganized child who cares what the teacher thinks, struggles. She finds it hard to develop a system to remember to bring home all the books she needs. Yet, with a suggestion, she developed one. As soon as she finishes with a subject for the day, she puts what is needed for homework in her backpack attached to the back of her chair. She is proud of the responsibility she has taken. The teacher does help check to make sure that her assignments are written correctly in her notebook. The parents ask to see it as soon as she arrives home. For a student less inclined to share an assignment notebook, a system of signatures between the teacher and the parent could be developed making sure the messages are getting shared between home and school.
What we have seen in just three weeks is some change in the amount of effort as a result of higher expectations. While the content practiced isn't always done well or right, the process and organizational procedures are in place. The disorganized child is beginning to develop systems for better organization with respect to school related content. While she may not like taking the responsibilities expected of her she is understanding that it is her responsibility to do so.
Parent Involvement
This is an area that has been a bit of an adjustment for us but it certainly helps us to understand some of the differences in parents in our Madison community who come from other countries into our district. There are clear lines drawn between parents and the school building and learning in the classrooms.
It seems that each teacher has an additional classroom assistant to help with kids that need academic support. The classes are up to 25 students per class at all age levels of primary school. Parents are not invited into the classrooms to assist as they are in in the US. The school is a gated area and we wait outside the gates until the bell rings or we are otherwise invited in to pick up our children. Similarly for a school event during the day, we wait outside the gate until we are invited in for that event. When the event is over, the students are in a line with their class and head back to the classroom. They generally don't get to go visit with their parents at the end of the event.
What we observe is that the students are more orderly. The expectation is that order is not disrupted and the children are not distracted by their parents presence. This separation is a bit of an adjustment for all of us, although Morgan has more than once run over to hug me and then gotten back into line. I haven't seen many other kids do that with their parents.
I'm a strong believe in parent involvement in our schools as it is their kids education that is at stake. What's curious about all this is that there is still a partnership between the parent and the school, although it is much more through the assignment notebook and requested meetings with the teacher. All teachers have one afternoon a week designated as "office hours" for which you can request an appointment or they may contact you requesting to meet about your child.
It is out of concern for your child that they require order and maintain high expectations for behavior. I'm not sure how well orderly behavior works in larger elementary schools but I may try to investigate that a bit. My sense is that the physical distance between parents and their child during the school day is common for all schools, not just the one our girls attend.
So, we would love to hear from you how your school works and if you are part of Madison schools experiencing the same as we do at Thoreau, what you think about the ideas/experiences we are taking away from here.
Assignment Notebooks
Maia wrote to her Madison classmates in response to their questions that the teachers here are really strict. She noted that they expect you to have all your books (they have textbooks that they need to complete their homework) and they do not except forgetting your materials as an excuse for not completing your homework. Students are penalized for not completing their work and awarded for doing it. The homework is graded based on effort to complete it, not necessarily on correctness and is most often corrected in class so students learn from their mistakes.
The work they are doing is definitely not busy work. It clearly is reinforcing the topics they are studying and it is teaching them higher order thinking skills. The work typically requires a level of reading comprehension/study concept, followed by the student analyzing or synthesizing information. They are asked to write in their own words to explain concepts and give their own example. They can't simply copy from the book by the time they are in 3rd grade and beyond. There is a clear progression in the level of expectation from one grade to another.
So, how do they do this and keep it all organized? Every elementary student is given an assignment notebook. This is the primary communication between the teachers, student and parent. Assignments are written on a special space on the board in the classroom and students are given specific time and direction to copy it down in their assignment notebook each day. The teacher walks around to ensure this is being done and makes a special effort to check in with the kids that tend to have trouble keeping track of things. The expectation is that the assignment notebook is the first thing that comes out and the last thing that goes into their backpacks both at school and at home. As parents, we need to look at it everyday as well to make sure that we know what our kids need to do.
The second purpose of the assignment notebook is communication between the teacher and the parents. Teachers don't have time during the day to check their email so if there is an important message to send in, it gets sent in through a note in the assignment notebook. If your child was really sick and didn't get to complete their work, that can also be put in the notebook alerting the teacher so she will go easier on the homework issue with your child for that day. They still need to complete it though. If your child has an appointment or will leave early, that too is sent via the assignment notebook.
My thoughts on this are, why don't we start with higher expectations in our elementary schools in the US? Why don't we prepare our kids for middle school by teaching them earlier how to organize? We spend several weeks in the fall starting in 3rd grade on test taking skills for standardized tests yet we spend very little effort teaching them to be organized and take responsibility for their work connecting school to behaviors outside of the classroom. The main point being that the systems exist in the classroom. Our teachers do a great job of that but it doesn't get carried home in a systematic way. Those are life skills that will help a child in all aspects of what they do and learn.
As a former 7th & 8th grade teacher I remember the transition being incredibly hard for parents and was dumbfounded by those parents who didn't understand why it was so important for students to remember to bring their materials to class. If those expectations start earlier, our students are prepared for the rigor of middle school and high school.
In my opinion the assignment notebook is a transformative experience. They start this as soon as students enter primary school. I have learned that this is in all primary schools not just where our kids attend. By high school, there is no such requirement. It is assumed by then that students have developed their system of organizing and taking responsibility in their own ways. In Madison, I know high school students may purchase schedulers/assignment notebooks especially designed for the school with important dates (school events, breaks, etc.) indicated. There is no such thing in our Madison primary school. Why wait?
So what would a first grader write? Perhaps together the class could generate ideas of three important things they learned that day. The teacher could write it on the board and the students could copy it. I would have loved to know more about what my kids were doing in school at that age. The typical answer I got was "nothing." Or how about a suggestion for what to continue to practice with your kids at home to continue to build on what they did in school? Perhaps not all families will do this but the suggestion certainly doesn't hurt.
Some parents don't live close or have the opportunity to stop in school. Those parents have many fewer avenues for communicating with the school and the assignment notebook would be a potentially great way for them to stay a little closer to what their child is learning and have it come directly from the child.
What changes have we seen? An organized motivated child takes responsibility seriously. That child is concerned about making sure that the work is done and done well. She seeks additional systems to keep herself organized. This is the child that probably doesn't "need" the notebook but likes having it and feels mature using it and taking responsibility for her actions. Her parents like keeping up with what she is doing and have an opportunity to ask more specifically about her activities.
A disorganized child who cares what the teacher thinks, struggles. She finds it hard to develop a system to remember to bring home all the books she needs. Yet, with a suggestion, she developed one. As soon as she finishes with a subject for the day, she puts what is needed for homework in her backpack attached to the back of her chair. She is proud of the responsibility she has taken. The teacher does help check to make sure that her assignments are written correctly in her notebook. The parents ask to see it as soon as she arrives home. For a student less inclined to share an assignment notebook, a system of signatures between the teacher and the parent could be developed making sure the messages are getting shared between home and school.
What we have seen in just three weeks is some change in the amount of effort as a result of higher expectations. While the content practiced isn't always done well or right, the process and organizational procedures are in place. The disorganized child is beginning to develop systems for better organization with respect to school related content. While she may not like taking the responsibilities expected of her she is understanding that it is her responsibility to do so.
Parent Involvement
This is an area that has been a bit of an adjustment for us but it certainly helps us to understand some of the differences in parents in our Madison community who come from other countries into our district. There are clear lines drawn between parents and the school building and learning in the classrooms.
It seems that each teacher has an additional classroom assistant to help with kids that need academic support. The classes are up to 25 students per class at all age levels of primary school. Parents are not invited into the classrooms to assist as they are in in the US. The school is a gated area and we wait outside the gates until the bell rings or we are otherwise invited in to pick up our children. Similarly for a school event during the day, we wait outside the gate until we are invited in for that event. When the event is over, the students are in a line with their class and head back to the classroom. They generally don't get to go visit with their parents at the end of the event.
What we observe is that the students are more orderly. The expectation is that order is not disrupted and the children are not distracted by their parents presence. This separation is a bit of an adjustment for all of us, although Morgan has more than once run over to hug me and then gotten back into line. I haven't seen many other kids do that with their parents.
I'm a strong believe in parent involvement in our schools as it is their kids education that is at stake. What's curious about all this is that there is still a partnership between the parent and the school, although it is much more through the assignment notebook and requested meetings with the teacher. All teachers have one afternoon a week designated as "office hours" for which you can request an appointment or they may contact you requesting to meet about your child.
It is out of concern for your child that they require order and maintain high expectations for behavior. I'm not sure how well orderly behavior works in larger elementary schools but I may try to investigate that a bit. My sense is that the physical distance between parents and their child during the school day is common for all schools, not just the one our girls attend.
So, we would love to hear from you how your school works and if you are part of Madison schools experiencing the same as we do at Thoreau, what you think about the ideas/experiences we are taking away from here.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
School-Colegio Larrañazubi
The girls started school last week and it was an adjustment for all of us. They both have a significant amount of homework and there is definitely an "academic language" barrier to work around. Dean and I are both increasing our vocabulary as we also are taken back in time to elementary science concepts, some of my college Spanish linguistics, and then there is math where division problems are set up "upside down and backwards" from how we do it in the US.
The school here is much smaller and it is very family oriented in the sense that the teachers see the school as a big family where all the teachers know all the kids and are in regular communication with parents via an organizer that all the kids carry. They use it for writing down their homework daily and as a place for teachers and parents to communicate/pass messages.
More importantly I suspect that you would like to hear from the girls what they think so far so I decided to interview them. Below are their answers.
What time does school start and end? How do you get there?
Morgan: school starts at 9am and ends at 2pm. We walk and if it is raining really hard we can go by metro. It takes 20 min. to walk there and there are lots of kitties along the way and you have to dodge dog poop on the sidewalk.
Maia: I walk very carefully because there are some busy streets. There are some little kittens and there is one that waits on its porch every day for us.
What subjects do you study?
Morgan: math, English, Euskera (Basque language), language arts (Spanish), music, physical education. My favorite is music.
Maia: Basque, social studies, science, math, music, language arts, during English I read in English, and while the other kids go to religion I do handcrafts. We have recess before and after lunch.
What is different about gym class?
Morgan: It's in a different building. One time a week you have a double hour and you shower after. There is only one teacher. There is a game where you stack mats and you have to hide behind them. There is one person who counts to 30 or 40 with eyes closed and while you are hiding, after they count they look for people behind the mats. If they find you but say the wrong name you don't have to go in the middle but if they say the right name you have to go in the middle. If she says a special word then you have to run and touch her back while she is counting and run back behind the mats.
Maia: Gym class is more competative as we are on teams and if your team wins you get a prize. Once a week we have a 2 hour class and we have to shower.
What is different about how you do lunch at school?
Morgan: we have recess then lunch then recess. Lunch is at 2pm. After lunch you go home or do after school activities. We use actual plates, cups, and silverware. We all have a specific spot at our table. They serve the first plate. When most people have finished that one they serve the next plate. Then we get fruit or yogurt for dessert. After lunch you take your plate and put everything on top. Then you take your silverware and put them in water filled buckets, you dump your liquids in a bucket, you scrap your leftover food into the trash, you put your plate and cup on a cart on top of the others.
Maia: The food is fresh and much healthier than at Thoreau and for dessert we always have fruit or yogurt. We are served our food.
What do you do after school?
Morgan: Sports, theater, and painting. And every Wed. instead of staying for lunch we eat at home and go to Sopelana for an art class where we do painting, clay, drawing, and all those fun things.
Maia: I go to PE twice a week and theater once a week. I also have an art class. I have LOTS and LOTS of homework everyday.
What do you like the most?
Morgan: recess because you get to just play with your friends.
Maia: we have our own laptops in fifth grade. I also like my teachers.
What do you like the least?
Morgan: lunch because the food isn't that good. You can't bring your own lunch and the food is all new flavors.
Maia : exams, I have one tomorrow and I think I won't like it.
What other similarities and differences are there between school in Spain and in Madison?
Morgan: everything is different. In Madison you name the teachers Mr./Mrs. LastName but here you call them by their first name. To get to the music room and gym you have to walk outside. I miss having art at school but I like art in Sopelana.
I went on a field trip with 3rd & 4th grade classes and we walked to a port where there was a sailboat. We saw a movie and then we got to tour the sailboat. The sailboat traveled from Bilbao, Spain around Northern Europe and the captains Name was Unai Basurco. They did that trip to save some animals that were going extinct because of pollution in the water. They talked to people along the way that save the animals to find out how to protect them and find out what they do. There was a spoonbill bird that one man protected because the bird would stick their heads in the water with their eyes closed and would end up eating trash instead of fish.
Maia: Both are public schools. Here, we call our teachers by their first names, we have bells that indicate when it is time to switch classes. The littlest kids at the school here are 2 years old and the oldest kids are in 6th grade. There is only one class per grade here. There is no play structure at the playground. It is like the upper playground at Thoreau. At recess we are separated by age. Everything is in Spanish here. Here there is only one school bus and about half of my friends ride the bus and half walk like I do.
We encourage any comments or questions that any of you have. The girls are happy to share/investigate as they learn and experience more.
The school here is much smaller and it is very family oriented in the sense that the teachers see the school as a big family where all the teachers know all the kids and are in regular communication with parents via an organizer that all the kids carry. They use it for writing down their homework daily and as a place for teachers and parents to communicate/pass messages.
More importantly I suspect that you would like to hear from the girls what they think so far so I decided to interview them. Below are their answers.
What time does school start and end? How do you get there?
Morgan: school starts at 9am and ends at 2pm. We walk and if it is raining really hard we can go by metro. It takes 20 min. to walk there and there are lots of kitties along the way and you have to dodge dog poop on the sidewalk.
Maia: I walk very carefully because there are some busy streets. There are some little kittens and there is one that waits on its porch every day for us.
What subjects do you study?
Morgan: math, English, Euskera (Basque language), language arts (Spanish), music, physical education. My favorite is music.
Maia: Basque, social studies, science, math, music, language arts, during English I read in English, and while the other kids go to religion I do handcrafts. We have recess before and after lunch.
What is different about gym class?
Morgan: It's in a different building. One time a week you have a double hour and you shower after. There is only one teacher. There is a game where you stack mats and you have to hide behind them. There is one person who counts to 30 or 40 with eyes closed and while you are hiding, after they count they look for people behind the mats. If they find you but say the wrong name you don't have to go in the middle but if they say the right name you have to go in the middle. If she says a special word then you have to run and touch her back while she is counting and run back behind the mats.
Maia: Gym class is more competative as we are on teams and if your team wins you get a prize. Once a week we have a 2 hour class and we have to shower.
What is different about how you do lunch at school?
Morgan: we have recess then lunch then recess. Lunch is at 2pm. After lunch you go home or do after school activities. We use actual plates, cups, and silverware. We all have a specific spot at our table. They serve the first plate. When most people have finished that one they serve the next plate. Then we get fruit or yogurt for dessert. After lunch you take your plate and put everything on top. Then you take your silverware and put them in water filled buckets, you dump your liquids in a bucket, you scrap your leftover food into the trash, you put your plate and cup on a cart on top of the others.
Maia: The food is fresh and much healthier than at Thoreau and for dessert we always have fruit or yogurt. We are served our food.
What do you do after school?
Morgan: Sports, theater, and painting. And every Wed. instead of staying for lunch we eat at home and go to Sopelana for an art class where we do painting, clay, drawing, and all those fun things.
Maia: I go to PE twice a week and theater once a week. I also have an art class. I have LOTS and LOTS of homework everyday.
What do you like the most?
Morgan: recess because you get to just play with your friends.
Maia: we have our own laptops in fifth grade. I also like my teachers.
What do you like the least?
Morgan: lunch because the food isn't that good. You can't bring your own lunch and the food is all new flavors.
Maia : exams, I have one tomorrow and I think I won't like it.
What other similarities and differences are there between school in Spain and in Madison?
Morgan: everything is different. In Madison you name the teachers Mr./Mrs. LastName but here you call them by their first name. To get to the music room and gym you have to walk outside. I miss having art at school but I like art in Sopelana.
I went on a field trip with 3rd & 4th grade classes and we walked to a port where there was a sailboat. We saw a movie and then we got to tour the sailboat. The sailboat traveled from Bilbao, Spain around Northern Europe and the captains Name was Unai Basurco. They did that trip to save some animals that were going extinct because of pollution in the water. They talked to people along the way that save the animals to find out how to protect them and find out what they do. There was a spoonbill bird that one man protected because the bird would stick their heads in the water with their eyes closed and would end up eating trash instead of fish.
Maia: Both are public schools. Here, we call our teachers by their first names, we have bells that indicate when it is time to switch classes. The littlest kids at the school here are 2 years old and the oldest kids are in 6th grade. There is only one class per grade here. There is no play structure at the playground. It is like the upper playground at Thoreau. At recess we are separated by age. Everything is in Spanish here. Here there is only one school bus and about half of my friends ride the bus and half walk like I do.
We encourage any comments or questions that any of you have. The girls are happy to share/investigate as they learn and experience more.
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