but the decision is not. Rambling ahead….
The tour went well. The administration office is only two days old and it is very nice. The admin and principal were extremely nice. The classes were spread out with 3-K being in one building, 1st in another and 2nd-3rd in yet another building. 4th-12th is at another campus. Most everything was taken down for the summer. Only strings hanging from the ceiling, tape on the walls and desks pushed to the side where carpets could be cleaned. Very few children were there for the summer day school. We didn’t really meet any of the teachers. The A/C was out in one of the rooms. It wasn’t an overly impressive visit to say the least. But everything was clean and organized. Nothing jumped out at me and said this wasn’t a good place to be.
I don’t know, I guess I just thought I would get an overwhelming sense of “being home” if that was the place she should go. I suppose I just didn’t feel the peace I thought I would just “knowing” that was where she was supposed to go.
We got to talk to the principal at length. I liked everything she talked about. I especially appreciated how integrated faith is into the curriculum. This is something I hadn’t heard yet…as an example she said they might even talk about how God and math are similar in that it has no end and no beginning and also is the same every time. Neat huh? They said they try to build Scripture into the lesson wherever possible and are specifically trained for that.
They pray and do all the pledges. They take frequent field trips…usually once a month. They have accelerated classes and a tutoring center if they are lagging behind in an area. They have several enrichment programs including Spanish class, music, art, Bible, and PE.
I was very happy with all the programs, discipline, security, etc. There wasn’t anything that I could point out that I was unhappy with.
I guess right now the two things holding me back are the travel time and cost. It was 13 minutes there vs. 3 for the public school. That’s an extra 40 minutes a day of travel time. And I do think about the level of education they receive there compared to (our) public schools.
And we are still going back and forth…is it better to have a really good foundation of faith built into the education or is it better to do extra work at home and let her learn from situations in public school as well as be a good influence to her peers.
Honestly, I really felt a pressing of the Holy Spirit the other night she should go to the private school. I guess in my head I want it all to make sense. So I could spout at 3 reasons why she should go there. But I know it doesn’t really work that way sometimes. And I’m really looking for confirmation from others around me praying about it and I just want complete peace about and I know I don’t have that yet. At this point, I’m just planning to pray a whole bunch about it. Really, I don’t know how else to handle it.
We originally registered Matthew and Leila in a Montessori school close to where we live in Pickering. Matthew had just turned 4 and Leila was 21 months and they had programs for both kids so it would mean one drop off and one pick up…plus they had the added benefit of a day care for the before and after school hours. The Montessori system is completely private so it worked out to over $1200 per month for the two kids. We tried it out over the summer but Matthew was not happy…there was nothing specific he complained about but we could tell he was not enjoying it. For the money we were paying we wanted to be sure that he was getting something positive out of it but it didn’t seem to be the case. Then, our babysitter suggested we meet the principal of Our Lady of Wisdom where her two children were students. We did not think he would allow Matthew to attend the school as we live out of the district but we explained our situation and he agreed to take Matthew as a student. We pulled both kids from the Montessori and sent Leila back to the sitter full time. We registered Matthew for JK less than a week before school started.
From Matthew’s first day at the school I knew God had meant for him to go there. He was happy and loved telling me about the songs he learned and what Madame (it’s a French immersion school) taught him that day. He would sings songs like, “God made this beautiful world for us, because God loves us so. In it we can laugh and play and praise God as we grow.” in the car on the way home. He would tell me the prayers he learned and would remind me to thank God for getting us home safely. The environment was completely different than the Montessori and exactly what he needed. Leila couldn’t wait to start school there. We commute from Pickering every day which means I spend at least one hour in the car before arriving at my office but I cannot imagine pulling the kids from their school now.
I truly believe you will have your moment of peace when you find the right school. Our Priest always reminds us that God is always talking to us and that sometimes we need to turn off the noise around us so we can hear Him.
I’ll ask the Holy Spirit to be with you as you make this decision. Remember, you have plenty of time – not only is God not on a deadline, but you can move Emma anytime you like. It doesn’t have to be done by the first day of school, I bet some kids transfer in during the school year.
EDW’s last blog post..They say misery loves company
If you don’t write a blog post about this, let me know what and how you decide. I will be making this same decision next year. I have been struggling with the public/private/christian school issue since my 5 year old was born. I’m actually glad to see that I’m not the only one.