Emily and Katie started back at Shanghai Community International School last week. Emily is in 6th grade (middle school) and Katie is entering 3rd grade. Both girls seem to really enjoy meeting new friends and seeing old ones.
The classes sizes for International schools are small, about 15-17 kids. I've said this before, but the biggest benefit of being in Shanghai is exposing the girls to an international education. Even though their classes are taught in English, they have Mandarin language classes. And the PE classes include badminton, ping pong and rugby. Katie is even taking a fencing class after school! The students have access to more supplies than they are able to have back home. Emily will get her own school-issued laptop next week, to keep all year. And all the classes have SMART Boards. The middle school kids go on a yearly China trip. In October, Emily and her classmates will go for a week into central China to a wilderness camp.
That said, no matter where they are or what school they attend, Emily & Katie are still just kids. There will always be "nice" kids and "not so nice" kids. Being at a private school does not shield them from many of the same growing pains they would have back home. The greatest benefit is they meet kids their age from all over the world. They all learn together about their host country, and how to work together.
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First day of school 2013
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Getting on the upper school bus for the first time!
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| My first locker! |
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| Swimming pool at SCIS upper campus |
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