11.26.14 – Parent-teacher conferences
I had my first parent-teacher conference last night. Yet another “first” with Fiona in school that I never imagined I’d be doing in the Netherlands, of all places. Here, they are just quick 10 minute meetings that they call 10-minuten-gesprekken.
Fiona’s was last night at 6. Since Jake is at work, I had to take both kids with me. Kind of a pain but I explained to Fiona’s teacher ahead of time my situation and she was fine with the kids both coming, they could play while we talked. At 6 it is already pitch black dark outdoors, so this was also my first time biking with the kids in the dark on the roads alone.
Front and back lights are required on the bikes here (for obvious reasons). I have one main white light on the front of my bike, and on the back of the trailer, I rigged up two red lights on either side of the trailer so anyone coming from behind knows the total width of my trailer. My red lights can blink or be a continuous light, I prefer the blinking because I think it catches the eye a little better. I gave both girls their own little light to carry (Fiona asked, and I don’t blame her, it’s DARK out!) and we journeyed to the school.
We arrived about 5 minutes early and I panicked a bit when we got there because her school building was completely DARK. Oh-oh. I was certain that the email said her meeting was at 18:00, and quickly reminded and assured myself that was 6:00 PM. I told the girls we would wait that maybe we were just a little early, and indeed that ended up being the case since right after I parked my bike Fiona’s teacher showed up and let us into the school.
I found it a little entertaining that she had the meeting spot set up on the kid’s main classroom table and we both sat down in chairs meant for 4 and 5 year olds 😉 The conference went very well, and pretty much what I expected. Fiona is “enthusiastic” about school each day. She is always the first to volunteer for new activities and is making new friends each day. The teacher told me how there is a student named Anna in another class (and is in Group 2) that Fiona plays with at recess almost everyday and sings songs about how Anna is her best friend in the world (oh I love my girl!!)
I asked if it seemed like Fiona was starting to pick up any Dutch, and the teacher told me that morning Fiona had asked her for help opening her granola bar – in Dutch! 😀 I’m glad to hear she is picking up a little bit! No doubt it will take a little time but she is a fast learner. I also asked about the testing that comes up for all Dutch school kids after the new year, and the teacher told me she would need to find out more about it. Not that I’m really concerned about how my 4 year old is testing, but the teacher told me it is meant to be a test of knowledge, not a test of “how well does she understand Dutch instructions” necessarily. So we will see what happens with that. It is not a big concern of mine but I also don’t want Fiona to seem too discouraged during the testing time if she does indeed take the test all in Dutch. The teacher did mention that her & the English teacher that stops in the room each week were a little worried about the pronunciation of some of her letters/sounds (both in English and Dutch) but would keep an eye on it, and would be something we could revisit when we meet again in February.
Of course I was just very happy to hear Fiona is doing well, as I suspected, but it is nice to hear it from her teacher. I must say it is a blessing and makes things much easier here to know how much she loves and enjoys school.
Diary of a Rig Wife 