New School…
Melissa wrote a few days ago about her kids’ first day of school…and about how glad she is that they have great teachers, and that she’s looking forward to volunteering again this year in the classroom.
Her post made me nostalgic for Maya’s old school, Eagle Peak Montessori. Maya started Montessori school when she was 2, at Springfield Montessori, where she went through Kindergarten. We are big fans of the Montessori method of teaching, and were thrilled to find out that she could continue her Montessori education, because one of our local school districts was opening a public charter school. Public = Free. (as free as any public school is nowadays…) YAY!!! So, we worked to get her enrolled in 1st grade, when the school was only going into its second year of existance. When they first opened, Eagle Peak was housed in some empty classrooms at a local church. The district was planning on moving them to a new site the next year, so the church made plans to lease out those rooms to another small school. But then, they found pesticides on the site where the school was to be built…which took a year to clean up and retest and get paperwork and permits and get this and that done. In the meantime, the church allowed Eagle Peak to put some portable classrooms in their parking lot, and the learning continued. By the time Maya went into 3rd grade, Eagle Peak was finally relocated to their new home, in the shadow of beautiful Mt. Diablo.
Starting a school from scratch takes a LOT of work. Work on the parts of the administrators, the teachers, the district, the planners, the parents, the school board, the builders, and the I-don’t-know-who-all-people.   Making it as seamless as possible, so the kids don’t mind that they’re in portable buildings in a parking lot, that takes a lot of work as well. Work from administrators, teachers, parents, everyone.  Some families put in an incredible amount of work, as did the administrators, and the teachers. Their dedication blew me away. And Maya thrived there.  I loved the school, and I ended up serving a term on the school board, as well as that worst of all tasks, fundraising. (shudder). I loved the feeling of community, the fact that being at such a small school, I knew so many families. And as Ted and I both moved a lot as kids, we loved that Maya was staying at one school for her entire elementary career. Some of the kids came over from Springfield, so she was in 5th grade with some children she had known since she was 2. Pretty awesome. And the teachers…the teachers all put in so many hours, and worked so hard to make learning fun and amazing and wonderful for the kids. Not that every lesson was fun and amazing, that’s not going to happen anywhere…but they worked to foster a love of learning, and a feeling of confidence in the children. I loved her being there, in the hands of these wonderful teachers.
And now…now she’s in 6th grade, in middle school. Because we were out of district at her elementary school, and she is now in district, none of her friends go to this school. She vaguely knows a few kids, but that’s it. And when we look around, we don’t know the families. We sort of know one family, from many years ago, and Ted’s boss has a daughter there. Out of over 1,000 kids, that’s not many people for us to know. And the volunteering is way down (not really complaining on that one, as I put in well over 100 hours each year volunteering at Eagle Peak…and yet, kind of complaining, because I really liked being so involved in my daughter’s life…), so I’m not sure how well we will ever get to know the other parents. And how well will we get to know her teachers? I suspect not well at all. We haven’t met any of them yet, and probably won’t until back to school night in September. Then there will be parent teacher conferences…and that’s probably about it.
Maybe this is a good thing. Maybe we need to be weaned from this involvement in her school, so that when it’s time for her to go to college, we don’t try to get jobs there and follow her around for the rest of her life. That might be kind of pathetic. But it’s a big adjustment, for all of us. We miss Eagle Peak.
(We’re still hoping we’ll be able to move in the next few months, which would throw her into another new school…where her best friend goes, but she wouldn’t know anyone else at all. Blech.)
11 Comments
ML
Change is so hard. I can see where you’d miss the involvement and interaction. I hope you start getting to know a few more people.
Gina
My sister teaches 5th grade, and she appreciates it when parents make an effort to stop by and at least say hello. Then she knows that she is dealing with a family that cares about their child’s education.
I say go and introduce yourself!
Py Korry
I suppose the good news is that things are getting better at the new school! And even if we move, she’ll do just fine there ’cause Miss Jackie will be there.
Autumn's Mom
I think it’s the natural progression of things that we become slightly less involved in the day to day and let our kids try their own wings. Or maybe it’s just me. and me not liking to go to school. I haven’t volunteered in Autumn’s class since 4th grade. And even then, it was only for parties. I admire your dedication when it comes to Maya’s schooling. And I also think in a school that size, unfortunately, it is going to be more difficult to get to know any parents. That is my only saving grace about living in a town the size of a pea pod. I’ve known the same parents for years, and If I don’t..I know someone who does.
geez, sorry, that was a mouthful.
laluna
Each year they get older is each year of gradually letting them learn to fly on their own. it is probably one of the hardest thing a parent has to do.
Cherry
Both parents and child are going through changes and adjustments right now, but she’s still your baby no matter how old she gets.
J
Cherry, we were joking yesterday about how worried we were about her after her first day didn’t go great…because she’s our only child, or as my MIL says, our “oney oney”…Maya said, “What if I were your twelvy-twelvy?” And I said, “I’d tell you to suck it up.” 🙂
But since she’s our oney oney, she got hugs, a little card, and jamba juice. And her second day went better than her first, thankfully.
hellomelissa
poor sweet maya! i hope it turns out to be a wonderful and enriching experience for her. middle school SUCKED HARD for me.
yeah, i feel just so lucky to be wrapped in the cocoon of a small and loving country school where hugs flow freely and everybody’s looking out for my kids. small towns can be so bad in so many ways… mainly gossip.
best of all about our school? the 375 student population encompasses grades k-8! hopefully we’ll have many more years in this fantastic atmosphere.
Karen
Those are tough changes, your previous school sounded so wonderful and it’s remarkable how involved you were. Getting to know other families and parents is so important, but I’m sure that will come as Maya adjusts and makes new friends. Middle school can be a tough time – I don’t remember my years too fondly. But you’re obviously so attuned and involved in your daughter’s life, however big the school is or however involved you may/may not be with the school itself, it won’t matter. I’m sure it will all be just fine.
C
Maya sounds like she’s the type of girl who will be able to adapt to her new school environment. It’s tough being the new kid in school sometimes. I remember moving at least five times when I was a kid because my parents were always relocating for Dad’s work. I went to kindergarten at one school, grades 1-3 in another school, and grades 4-6 in yet another school. After that, it was high school, then college and then university (but the last ones didn’t matter because I was already an ‘adult’ by then).
I remember my first day in my new school. I don’t know why my parents moved me in the middle of the school year. I was nervous, anxious, and kept getting tummy aches (to which the doctor told my mom it was stress). My teacher was great and introduced me to the class. It was actually kind of neat being the new kid. I made friends easily and I’m sure Maya will too.
She is very fortunate to have wonderful parents who are involved in her life like you and Py are.
Maya's Granny
I’m glad her second day went better than her first. And think it is wonderful that you got to have her in Montessori for so long and got to be such a vital part of it.