lots of orientation

we had 2 orientation meetings of 2 hours each, this week. for the first one, the kids were told to bring a notebook and pen and the parents were told to bring a checkbook! we wrote checks for all kinds of things – cafeteria, book deposit, locker deposit etc. they went over the basic way the school worked (rules on how to enter and exit, what to always carry with you and what never to forget).

the second meeting went over the very complicated schedule – 2 different week schedules A and B and actual day to day class schedule. quite overwhelming. we had another tour of the campus led by a group of seniors called “peer leaders”. they were amazingly confident and well spoken, an impressive example of what these children can become. i learned that the teachers were very strict with the younger kids so that they would all be well behaved when they were older. they also talked about fountain pens. they said some of the teachers were very strict about it – you had to use a fountain pen or your homework would be ripped up. what? this was the first i heard about this. a fountain pen? what do you mean? you don’t mean those ancient pens with the tips you dip into ink – with the big feather? well sort of. the teachers are very adamant that the children use fountain pens – the ones with a real tip – like for calligraphy, with ink cartridges and insist that the writing is better. it forces one to be very neat – because the ink will smudge otherwise. pencils are outlawed. this may be a problem for jj who is left handed. Print this post