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Madeleine Goes to School! |
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Blog Archives: 2005 www Archived Index
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We finally got Bebe Trio's school photos and here they are!
The wallet-size photo. She looks a little stunned.
The entire class. Also on the Firsts page.
The entire class in their "silly" pose... um... they're three, y'all! On December 17 Madeleine performed in her first Christmas concert! She had been running around the house singing All I Want For Christmas and Felice Navidad. Natasha, her music teacher, did a great job of getting the most she could from the tiny choir. A good time was had by one and all. Maman Trio and the Grand-parents were there and brought back these pictures and video for you to enjoy.
Madeleine looks so happy as she plays her bells with the other children.
I know this is blurry, but you can clearly see how sick she is (hint: her nose is running). Now for a little video (they are all over a minute long & notice evidence of her cold -- she had missed several days prior to this):
This is the big event that we've been anticipating for several years! This is the big event that caused us to leave Korea! This is it! Madeleine has started school!
Mama & Papa Trio spent many long hurried hours debating the merits and demerits of sending Madeleine off to school this fall. Originally Madeleine was registered with Colette, the only French school in Saigon. But that would have meant a two hour commute each day. Her grand-maman Chauvin weighed in saying that Madeleine was still pretty young to be going to such a structured school with all that extra commuting. She also pointed out that Madeleine still needed help in the bathroom, and didn't ask for the things she needed. Also, she thought that Madeleine had had many disruptions during this past year and that sending her off to Colette could be too stressful. There is no rush here. There is nothing wrong with waiting, she said. Grand-maman is an early childhood expert with many years experience, so we listened and considered her thoughts. We decided to hold her out of Colette until the spring. Then... Mama Trio received a notice suggesting Madeleine was still on the list at SSIS. We both had the same thought... Should we send her to SSIS? It would be free (and after our summer, free sounded pretty good). It would be easy. Madeleine would get swimming instructions. The classes would be small -- only 12 students. The down side would be that Madeleine would be learning English earlier than we thought. The upside of that, though, is that we could counter it by speaking more French at home, i.e. Papa & Mama Trio would have to make themselves speak more French. We visited with Ms Daley, her new teacher. We visited the new facilities at SSIS. We hemmed. We hawed. We hemmed and hawed. Then, we decided to do it. Ms Daley was very convincing. And now we have the pictures to prove it and a new page on the website, too! Check here for updates on Madeleine's progress at school.
This is Madeleine's breakfast before going to school. Little did she know what was in store! She had visited Ms Daley and she had visited the classroom, but nothing could prepare her for the fun-filled day ahead!
Look at the smile on her face! She is so happy and oh so ready to go! Just like a big girl! That school uniform just too cute! She loved it immediately and eagerly put it on. She's always loved her valise and now she has a little book bag to love too!
Madeleine's so excited she's running for the gate! Isn't she cute with her brand new bike helmet on?
That's right for the short ride to SSIS Madeleine gets to ride with Giang on her brand new motorbike! I got on just behind Madeleine for the first day! And, for the record, we won't let Madeleine take a motorbike anywhere but to and from school. Giang drives at a snail's pace, too.
Here's Madeleine making the long walk in from the parking lot along with all of the other boys, girls, parents, and nannies. The air fairly crackled with nervous excitement!
And we're still walking along that interminable walkway!
That's the estimable Ms Daley Madeleine's new teacher. They'd met before and Madeleine's happily being led to her new class. All of the big kids had to wait, but they took the little ones to the classroom right away.
A short pause for Ms. Daley to explain something to other inquisitive nervous parents and allow Papa Trio a chance to slip further into Madeleine's background as we transition from home to school.
Ms Daley helping Madeleine find her spot along the wall (the tags have the children's names on them) and place her shoes and bag there. You can see another child's bag already in place.
Mama Trio and I are waiting at the line-beyond-which-parents-cannot-go, although the woman to the right has clearly violated that rule... and... and... Madeleine is about to enter the classroom where her life will be forever and irrevocably changed! Bye Madeleine... have a good day at school... No, no, I'm not choked up, I just got something in my eye. |
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