The 1st Day of School & A Tazon of My Own By Leah Katherine Saal
Today was our first day at the Thomas Jefferson School. The children are full of joie de vivre, and seem to enjoy school. The faculty are very professional and were welcoming to us. The school facility itself is impressive with many ancillary rooms and spaces to go along with the classrooms. I am sure that Kenny will post the pictures of our tour along with commentary for all to view.
This week is comprehensive exams for the semester, so it will be interesting to observe. Students at the school are graded on a 1-7 point system for each subject. The way that I understand it, any student with a 6.5 or higher in a subject is exempt from the comprehensive exam. It is very unusual to be exempt from them all, and most students take 4-5 out of 7 of them each semester. However, one of the children in my home (Conne) is exempt from them all. :)
Along that vein, I studied with Sebastian tonight and learned quite a bit of 6th grade Chilean history. I was already a huge fan prior to, but I have a renewed appreciation for the universality of literacy strategies regardless of content or language. I know very little Spanish, which is what the content was written in, but I was able to use several of them to both bridge the language barrier for myself as well as classify information in new ways for him to aid his comprehension.
When Christina arrived home from work tonight, I was rewarded with a gift from the family. My very own tazon (Coffee Mug)! I am very excited as it signifies me as a (semi permanent) member of the family. At each meal, every member of the family has their own signature mug to use when drinking their cafe or tea. For instance, Ange's mug has Minnie Mouse, Sebastian has a Chilean football club mug, etc. Each breakfast (desayuno at 8-9am), afternoon snack or teatime (once at 5pm), and dinner (cena at 9pm), the Pena family gathers around a fully set table to eat together. It is a custom in Chile to eat every four or so hours. There are two more eating times with snack at 11:00am and lunch (almuerzo at 1-2pm). Some families only have a large once instead of once and cena. Families gather over bread, avocado (palta), cheese and fruit at breakfast and snack times. When I return home, I will be able to drink coffee and remember sharing the day's events and learning new things around a table filled with food and my Chilean family.
Today was our first day at the Thomas Jefferson School. The children are full of joie de vivre, and seem to enjoy school. The faculty are very professional and were welcoming to us. The school facility itself is impressive with many ancillary rooms and spaces to go along with the classrooms. I am sure that Kenny will post the pictures of our tour along with commentary for all to view.
This week is comprehensive exams for the semester, so it will be interesting to observe. Students at the school are graded on a 1-7 point system for each subject. The way that I understand it, any student with a 6.5 or higher in a subject is exempt from the comprehensive exam. It is very unusual to be exempt from them all, and most students take 4-5 out of 7 of them each semester. However, one of the children in my home (Conne) is exempt from them all. :)
Along that vein, I studied with Sebastian tonight and learned quite a bit of 6th grade Chilean history. I was already a huge fan prior to, but I have a renewed appreciation for the universality of literacy strategies regardless of content or language. I know very little Spanish, which is what the content was written in, but I was able to use several of them to both bridge the language barrier for myself as well as classify information in new ways for him to aid his comprehension.
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| My Nuero Tazon |
When Christina arrived home from work tonight, I was rewarded with a gift from the family. My very own tazon (Coffee Mug)! I am very excited as it signifies me as a (semi permanent) member of the family. At each meal, every member of the family has their own signature mug to use when drinking their cafe or tea. For instance, Ange's mug has Minnie Mouse, Sebastian has a Chilean football club mug, etc. Each breakfast (desayuno at 8-9am), afternoon snack or teatime (once at 5pm), and dinner (cena at 9pm), the Pena family gathers around a fully set table to eat together. It is a custom in Chile to eat every four or so hours. There are two more eating times with snack at 11:00am and lunch (almuerzo at 1-2pm). Some families only have a large once instead of once and cena. Families gather over bread, avocado (palta), cheese and fruit at breakfast and snack times. When I return home, I will be able to drink coffee and remember sharing the day's events and learning new things around a table filled with food and my Chilean family.
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| The table set for breakfast including my new mug. |
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