Hi everyone!
Jesse and I have written down enough questions that we have a complete set to post. Here they are, in no particular order:
- What should our next step be, with respect to the visa process? We now have passports that are valid for the next five years, and we have read all the visa instructions that we received via email. Is there something that should be a priority right now though?
- How many classes are there at each grade level?
- Does BES host parent-teacher interviews? If so, how often? And what is the process like?
- Do we need adapters for electronics that have a three-prong plug? We will be bringing some items that have plugs like that, and it would be great to be able to use them in our apartment right away.
Thank you for any guidance you can provide. We're on our last March Break for a while. Next year, Settimana Bianca!
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Hello Jesse, Justine, and all! Spring has arrived in Milan! The temperature is up to 19 and 20 and we have bright sunny skies! It was time.
ReplyDeleteI have created a timeline for the visa procedures and I will post them as soon as I can remember how to add a new thread to this blog. Right now the priority is to make sure you have a valid passport.
About grade levels.... We have two sections of each grade level from Year 1 to Year 5 and one class each of Year 6 and Year 8. Next year we will have one class of Year 6 and one of Year 7. (We don't have a Year 7 this school year.)
It is ironic that you should ask about parent conferences. In our last faculty meeting I introduced the idea of inserting two days with no students into the calendar so that we could have parent conferences in the first semester and then student-led or at least three-way (with student present) conferences in the second semester. I was thoroughly trounced by the faculty who had no interest in having two full days of conferences. I remain committed, however, to introducing student-led conferences and will look for another strategy, possibly via a pilot program with two or three teachers. In the meantime I will devise a system for tracking parent conferences to make sure that there is sufficient school-home communication.
Currently a conference can be requested by the parent or the teacher and held at any time that is convenient to both. Some teachers schedule them before school, others after school, and others still during their planning periods.
As far as electronics are concerned, remember that we have 220 volt electricity in Europe. That means that any electronic equipment from N. American must use a built in or external step-up converter. Moreover, it is my understanding that in addition to a different current, we have different cycles here in Europe, which means that equipment run on a voltage converter tend to burn out over time. I will check with Matt, our IT coordinator, about this. Keep in mind that most or all laptops have a built in voltage converter and work effectively anywhere.