L'ecole
Sadie and Brewster attending school in France was a high priority for adventure in France. I wished for them to have an authentic experience using their French language skills that they acquired in their Dual Immersion Program. I wanted to go before Brewster started high school. He is in 8th grade and Sadie is in 5th. Unenrolling them from the Park City public schools was quick and easy. Their schools were very supportive. The only paperwork required was a notarized letter stating our dates that we'd be gone and my intention to continue their educationIt was difficult to find a school in France though.Always in the back of my mind, I thought if I couldn't find a school, I'd home-school them. However, as my friend Whitney reminded me, the goal of my adventure was the French school experience. I am talented at many things, but teaching 5th and 8th grade are not on that list. And selfishly, I did not want to spend all-day-every-day with my wonderful energetic children. I wanted them making French friends, learning at a French school.In Park City, Sadie's 4th grade French teacher is from Chamonix and she assured me that I just had to go to the Mairie de la Ville (town hall) when I arrived and with the "right" visa, they would assign me to a neighborhood school. Sounded easy enough. I researched the schools near our apartment in Aix-en-Provence and found a primary school 3 doors down called Ecole primaire Jules Ferry. Brewster would be in college and our neighborhood school is where Cezanne studied, College Mignet. I was excited.I practice patience, but I couldn't wait. In December, I emailed the college received this response:Mrs Hutchinson,As for now it’s impossible for me to say if we’ll have space or not in 4ème (more or less the equivalent of 8th grade) next September. It’s much too early.But I must tell you that in case of space available, I will give priority to students who are meant to stay one full year or more, which is not the case for your kid.Not exactly what I was looking for....I continued my search and emailed a few private schools for back up over the next few months and either received messages that they were full or worse, no response. I started to worry. I was not panicked but concerned.In the middle of June, I was home in Chicago for a few days and I had dinner with my parents who are extremely supportive of my adventure. They were excited about my apartment and plans to go to Paris and the Alps with Matt in late August. And when we inevitably reached the subject of school, I quietly said that I hadn't quite nailed down that detail."What?" My dad looked up from his burger. "The kids aren't enrolled in school?""It will work out. It has to" I explained wishing that I had more of a concrete plan. I explained that the French teacher told me that I had to get their first and then find a school. But honestly, even when I said that plan out loud, it didn't sound good to me. We were arriving in Aix-en-Provence on a Wednesday and had plans to go to Paris to meet Matt on Saturday for a week of travel. I was not leaving myself very much time to find a school. But I felt like I had exhausted all my options.
Back to Utah, I googled all the schools in Aix-en-Provence and started cross checking with emails that I had sent and distance from our apartment. There was one school that was near by and I hadn't emailed them: Ecole Privée Val Saint André. I went into my sent email folder, copied & pasted my standard email and pushed send. The next day, I received a response that there was room for them! I couldn't believe it. I googled everything that I could find on the school and quickly learned it was a small international school with favorable reviews. The following day, they sent me an application along with the tuition information since it was a private school. I held my breath when I opened that document. There was a cap on what we could spend for a semester for school, but it was reasonable. I was quite certain that we could swing it, and in two days, the kids were registered and tuition wired.Our one missing piece was solved! Someone at a school would be expecting us when we arrived....I was excited!The school sent us about 20 pages of information all in French. I had no idea what time the school started, if the kids had a uniform or any of the fine details. I had a moment of compassion for all the families in my town who do not speak English for their first language. It's a disadvantage! Before we left for France, I spent an afternoon with Chrissy Nichols - Sadie's French teacher next semester - and we went through all the information. She was immensely helpful.We went to Target to buy some blue collared shirts which were their uniform. It was news to Brewster that he had to wear a uniform. He was not happy. It was sinking in, and he shut down and walked out of Target. Sadie couldn't hold back her excitement to wear a uniform. I was dealing with two different kids with two different personalities. The ride up to Park City from Target was quiet and difficult, I said to Brewster that I wished I had found a school without an uniform. But we had to go with the one school who responded to us. It's not like we had a lot of options.So flash forward. A few days ago, we went to the school to meet the headmaster. The kids were nervous. Of course! They will be going to school in French. Hard not to be.We were greeted incredibly warmly. The headmistress is very gracious. She spoke to the kids in French and it was a proud moment for me to witness their language skills. The three of them had a conversation for over a half an hour. They asked questions and she shared many details about the school day. They have orientation next Monday, 3 September and start school on Tuesday. Sadie will go to school from 8:30-4:30 and Brewster will either start at 8am or 9am and finish at 4pm, 5pm or 6pm depending on his schedule. They have longer days because neither of them go to school on Wednesdays.They were excited about this fact! And.....only the primary students where a uniform. Brewster does not have to! He was so relieved and I was too....we were all so happy! We had a quick tour of the school and noticed the simplicity of the classrooms. They have sport off campus 3 hours a week and need to wear white collared shirts and blue track pants. We went to H&M in Aix-en-Provnce that afternoon and dropped them off at the school to have the VSA patch sewn on.
Back to Utah, I googled all the schools in Aix-en-Provence and started cross checking with emails that I had sent and distance from our apartment. There was one school that was near by and I hadn't emailed them: Ecole Privée Val Saint André. I went into my sent email folder, copied & pasted my standard email and pushed send. The next day, I received a response that there was room for them! I couldn't believe it. I googled everything that I could find on the school and quickly learned it was a small international school with favorable reviews. The following day, they sent me an application along with the tuition information since it was a private school. I held my breath when I opened that document. There was a cap on what we could spend for a semester for school, but it was reasonable. I was quite certain that we could swing it, and in two days, the kids were registered and tuition wired.Our one missing piece was solved! Someone at a school would be expecting us when we arrived....I was excited!The school sent us about 20 pages of information all in French. I had no idea what time the school started, if the kids had a uniform or any of the fine details. I had a moment of compassion for all the families in my town who do not speak English for their first language. It's a disadvantage! Before we left for France, I spent an afternoon with Chrissy Nichols - Sadie's French teacher next semester - and we went through all the information. She was immensely helpful.We went to Target to buy some blue collared shirts which were their uniform. It was news to Brewster that he had to wear a uniform. He was not happy. It was sinking in, and he shut down and walked out of Target. Sadie couldn't hold back her excitement to wear a uniform. I was dealing with two different kids with two different personalities. The ride up to Park City from Target was quiet and difficult, I said to Brewster that I wished I had found a school without an uniform. But we had to go with the one school who responded to us. It's not like we had a lot of options.So flash forward. A few days ago, we went to the school to meet the headmaster. The kids were nervous. Of course! They will be going to school in French. Hard not to be.We were greeted incredibly warmly. The headmistress is very gracious. She spoke to the kids in French and it was a proud moment for me to witness their language skills. The three of them had a conversation for over a half an hour. They asked questions and she shared many details about the school day. They have orientation next Monday, 3 September and start school on Tuesday. Sadie will go to school from 8:30-4:30 and Brewster will either start at 8am or 9am and finish at 4pm, 5pm or 6pm depending on his schedule. They have longer days because neither of them go to school on Wednesdays.They were excited about this fact! And.....only the primary students where a uniform. Brewster does not have to! He was so relieved and I was too....we were all so happy! We had a quick tour of the school and noticed the simplicity of the classrooms. They have sport off campus 3 hours a week and need to wear white collared shirts and blue track pants. We went to H&M in Aix-en-Provnce that afternoon and dropped them off at the school to have the VSA patch sewn on.
For all the parents out there....you know what I mean when I say, what a relief to have that visit behind me! I want what my children want and I am so impressed with their courage as they begin this journey at a French school.The next day, we left for Paris to meet Matt and spend our last week of summer traveling to Paris, Chamonix and Annecy.