Tuesday, we took the boys in to see their school and for Zane to do his placement test. For all my teacher friends out there, his eyes LIT UP when she said, "This is what we call a MAP test. It will test your reading level, language and math skills." Not going to lie - I reacted too. She saw Zane's reaction and said, 'Do you know what that is?" He said, "Yes, we take them all the time!" His courage restored, he went off ready to show what he knows!
There was another child testing as well. They both left and they told us they had 2 hours to complete the test. Within 10 minutes the other child came walking back (teacher friends can relate again!!!). Greg and I looked at each other both thinking that this would stress Zane out. We worried that he would rush through because the other child was done. But afterward, he said he did not even see the other child leave! He said the reading was easy, but the math had stuff they had not worked on yet, like harder multiplication and division. We told him he had plenty of time to work on those skills!
While he was testing, one of the employees gave Alden a little tour of the Kindergarten area. They have a winter camp going on and Alden was excited to see some of the children and activities they were doing. He was a little shy at first, but as we started to see more and more of the school he became very excited!
The sign outside the school. Like our neighborhood, it is gated and guarded.
Some of the art around the school.
While it was chilly and windy, it was still very sunny!
This is the special projects room for kindergarten.
One of the outdoor play areas. She said they get 45 minutes for outdoor play!
Another of the Kindergarten outdoor play areas.
The kindergarten lunchroom. Once a week they go to the BIG cafeteria to help them transition to primary, but other times they eat here. Alden LOVED this room! I love that they get one hour for lunch break! (again teacher friends - can you imagine!!!???)
This will be Alden's classroom!
Zane finished up and was brought to us during our tour. He spent about an hour and ten minutes on his assessment! He was able to see some of the primary area, but most is under construction as they are remodeling to meet the needs of all students. They did not have access ramps, wider doorways, etc., and are working to update their facilities. One area that is being updated is the cafeteria and the entire staff is very excited about it!
One outdoor area for primary. There is a chicken coop in the back where a chicken lives and they let it lay and hatch eggs to see the life cycle!
Another outdoor play area for primary. Zane was so EXCITED, but very disappointed that the board was not set up correctly.
Garden area where they grow fresh veggies and herbs that are used in classrooms as well as the cafeteria!
Outdoor learning area.
Mango tree that will bloom in a few months and have fresh mangoes for students in December!
They do not have air conditioning, but instead use this. She describes them as similar to a humidifier, circulating cooled vapor.
The library, with not only Portuguese and English books, but about 5 other languages!
Before we went to their school, we went to visit a vet and were so impressed. This two-story facility just opened last week, has an English speaking Vet (as our Portuguese is not proficient enough to try to describe his anxiety and back issues), has a grooming facility and a pet supply store downstairs.
The vet was very knowledgeable, would like to see Chewie get off some medicine by incorporating acupuncture (we will see) and did everything he could to help out! We expressed our concern about not being able to purchase the prescription food Chewie has been on for a few years for his back. He was able to provide two supplements to add to the Mobility food we found. This will make it almost the same! We were pleased! Plus, check out this view!!!
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