I have been very busy over the last couples days due to the new stage of life we are entering. We are in the process of looking for a Kindergarten school for Emmanuel. We have two schools close to our house that I decided to check out today, you think that would be an easy process. The first one has a great play ground which drew Emmanuel there, as I walked in I was greeted by the principal.
She asked Emmanuel his name and shook his hand before even addressing me, Huge brownie points!
After talking for a couple minutes she asked if I realized that it was a Catholic school, I of course had no idea. Emmanuel would still be accepted if we were not Catholic. We had a tour of the school and she even brought us into classrooms that were in session. She was open and welcoming, Emmanuel held her hand while we walked around in the kindergarten classroom ( that is a huge step forward for him). I LOVE the school and some of the teachers I meet, Emmanuel loved the school, the big thing I am concerned about is confusing him. I love the fact that they say the Lord's prayer but they also say other ones and have Catholic practices. ( I am in no way against the Catholic Religion, it is just not for us.)
I thanked her for the tour and asked if there were any other kindergarten schools in the area, she said there was one across the street.
Onward I went.
As I approached the school school I had a deep sinking feeling. There were very few windows, and the windows they had were covered in a mesh like cage. The outside of the school was very unwelcoming and cold.
I walked in and no one addressed me or Emmanuel, we found our way to the office and asked if we could have information on Kindergarten program. The lady looked at me like I was stupid and said they have an open house in May and I could get all the information then.
So I asked if I could see the school as she was like, "NOW?"
I said if it wasn't a problem and she was like sorry we don't do that. The biggest problem I have is the school has a no religion policy, no Lord's prayer, no religion classes, and no Christmas concert ( they have a celebrate the seasons concert) NOTHING.
That bothers me so much, I would like to be met half way at least. So now I am back to the drawing board, there is one more school in our district that I am going to check out, I would have to drive Emmanuel or he would need to take the bus. I f that doesn't pan out I am going to look at Christian schools and see what our options are.
Please if anyone has advice let me know. I really just want the best for my child and if I don't feel comfortable with the school I don't think I should send him there.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
September is coming
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3 comments:
Definitely if you are not comfortable with the school, you should not send Emmanuel there. On the other hand, expectation often dictates how we react to something. Having worked in a public school before, I had no expectation of there being any Christian influence at all in Riker's school. When I look around at the vast differences in ethnic and religious origin in our area, I cannot expect that the school would bend to mine. If they did, they would also need to bend to everyone else's religious views. Riker's school had a Winter concert and it turned out great. He had his Christmas concert at church and it was very meaningful to him. We also take him to Kidz Klub and Summer Adventure Camp at our church. The thing is, what are you as parents looking for in a school? Is religious training important? Learning another language? What about the school's bullying policy? What area is it in? Are the other homes in the area mostly ones you don't mind your child going to birthday parties at? Even so, to be honest, you'll always question yourself a bit. We are parents after all and we worry constantly if we are making the right decisions for our kids. Just make the one you and Evan are most comfortable with and go from there. He has a good home base, he'll be ok. And, by the way, I think it's really cool that you're checking things out beforehand...you're such a great Mom!
It's great that you actually get to choose where Emmanuel goes to school. We just have to send Rowan to the school that the School Division has decided on. It's based on where we live. We actually live about half a block from 2 elementary schools, plus the brand new middle school is within a 5 minute walk, but we won't get to choose which elementary school our kids will go to.
I hope you can make a good decision. I guess if I was in your shoes right now, I would go with the Catholic school, unless the third school you check out is really good.
Hi. I just kind of stumbled across your blog. I just wanted to put in my 2 cents. By sending your son to a Catholic school, you would most likely open up a lot of opportunities to explain to him why you believe what you do and why you do things differently. You would still get the religious based schooling that it sounds like you want too. If you felt really good about that school, I would go for it!
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