We were able to put Kate into Junior Infants. Her teacher's name is Ms. Devane. She LOVES it! She has homework every night and you'd think she has died and gone to heaven! School starts at 9:30a.m. and she is released at 2:10p.m.
Because Jack is 7 years old, they put him in 1st Class, reassuring us that it's equivalent to 2nd grade. It seems to us that so far, 1st Class is a mix of 2nd semester first grade and beginning 2nd grade. One of the other Intel wives made a Facebook page for those of us who are over here from NM. With our fretting of the school putting Jack into 1st Class, I posted a question on that page asking if anyone else was experiencing the same thing. A few replied that they were told 1st Class is equivalent to 2nd grade and another person said his son had completed Kindergarten in Corrales last year so they put him in 1st Class here. But after a few weeks it was apparent that it was way too hard, so they moved him back down to Senior Infants. So we let Jack start in 1st Class. His teacher is Ms. Dooley.
Rathcoffey School is a Catholic school. Uniforms are required. I guess it's nice not having to have Jack and Kate decide what to wear each day, but it was a bit of a pain to buy the clothes (mostly because school season in the stores has passed) and if they get something on their school shirt, it has to get washed that night. Kate likes to wear a skirt or a "penni" (jumper), but on Wednesday she has to wear a track suit (sweatpants/swishy pants and a polo underneath the school sweatshirt) because Wednesday is P.E. day. There are only about 200 kids in the entire school - Junior Infants thru 6th Class. There is one class per grade and on P.E. days the kids ride the bus to the community center for P.E. Jack starts school at 9:30a.m. and is released at 3:10p.m. That 40 minute break in between picking up Kate & Jack isn't really long enough to run into the nearest town, but too long just to sit outside the school. Sometimes I drive around exploring the roads (hoping Luke takes a nap). Other times, we come home and I get something quick done.
Last week Luke started playschool (as they call it here). He goes Mon-Wed. from 9:10a.m. - 12:10p.m. They feed him a snack but no lunch. His school, Little Toppers, is about a 2 minute drive from our house. His teacher's name is Ms. Rachel. He seemed to like going. In fact, he was upset with me the first 2 days when I came to pick him up because he didn't want to leave.
So now we leave the house just after 9a.m.; take Luke to Little Toppers, then I take Jack & Kate to school. At 12:10p.m. I go pick up Luke. We then pick up Kate at 2:10p.m. followed by picking up Jack at 3:10p.m. Now that Jimmy has his own car, I like it when we get home at 3:20p.m. and I don't have to get out again!
Here are some pictures of their schools and their first day!
Jack
Kate
The road to the school - it's slightly wider than a one lane road, but not by much. There are a few pullouts along this road for when you meet another car coming. (and yes, I do have to think about which side of the road to pull over to, because instinct tells me to go to the right!)
This is known as Rathcoffey Castle. (We can actually see part of this from our bathroom window upstairs!) This is up on the hill on the road in the previous picture. Luke likes to shout, "Raffcoffey Castle!" every time we drive by it. A castle was built there in the 12th century and later a mansion (those ruins above) were built in the 1700s incorporating the original castle into the structure. (Thank goodness for Google!) Here is the website I found:
At Rathcoffey School on their first day
Mama (because both Jack & Kate walked right on in) and Luke (I think because Mama was upset) not doing so well.....Jack did fine the first couple of days of school, but after that he would get upset and clingy. I've now stopped walking to the gate to make him go inside the schoolyard by himself. Then I hide behind a tall bush and watch him. He's not yet going off to find his classmates, but he's not standing there crying :)
The school building and front gate
the playground for 1st Class-6th Class
Kate's classroom is on the left hand side but her room faces the back of the school. Her playground is the asphalt there in the front. Jack's classroom is in the part of the building on the right. I think his part was built in the '30s and Kate's addition was added in the '90s.
I could see part of this round tower from the main highway that goes into a nearby town. So one day on our way to get Kate I took that road. There is no historical marker but across the road is an old stone barn and fields full of dairy cows. Jimmy's manager told us that it was unusual for a round tower to be built without a river nearby, but perhaps there had been a river near there at one time. Again, thank goodness for Google, because I discovered that it is called the Taghadoe Round Tower and Monastic Settlement. They believe the round tower dates back to the 8th century!! Unbelievable...... Here is a snippet about it if you'd like to read more:
Luke
Little Toppers
Luke's classroom is on the right hand side, not the front window but the one behind it.
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