Feel the love....
I had a feeling we might have to switch Sivan's school on the first day. Hell, before we even came to Israel, the idea of throwing my 9 year old into a school in a different language with almost no support for only one year after having difficulty with her schooling due to sensory issues (in a country that is all about sensory overload) was a bit....daunting.
But Sivan did great at Shprintzak, making friends right away. But as the days wore on, we could see that she was really struggling with all the noise. As she said to me today, "the first day or two of Shprintzak was fun but after that it became overwhelming". I always struggle with how much to allow my daughter's sensitivities to dictate her environment and how much to change her environment.
After some debate, and a day at the Waldorf school (which is private...yes we have to pay, but only $ compared to American private schools which are $$$$), I knew we had found a better match for Sivan's needs.
The question was how to let her current school and teacher that we were leaving. Like a dog with a tail between my legs, I told the teacher, who said she completely understood. Weight lifted. I said, we'd like to bring a treat in and say goodbye (recommended by the new school that we do so). Again, I would have happily snuck out to avoid the awkwardness but the schools insisted that she say a proper goodbye.
Now, I want to describe the goodbye that nearly brought me to tears. Let me start by saying, everyone in Sivan's class is a Hebrew speaker (native) and some know a tiny bit of English. She couldn't go to school all week because of her sickness. When we walked in today to say goodbye, it was recess, and a few of the girls saw her and attacked her. They hugged her (so much for trying to keep the germs away from everyone), and dragged her out to recess. When she came back, she had like 10 girls who just kept hugging her.
It was snack time, and the teacher called Sivan to the front and said that the class had made her a book of "brachot" (blessings). Then she said to the class, does anyone want to say anything? I'm just guessing, but having taught in America, if you say to a group, "does anyone want to say anything?"(And I mean even a group of Fulbrighters wouldn't act like this), you would not get a response like this. Nearly 20 kids raised their hands and gave her a beautiful "blessing". "Good luck at your new school" "I hope you make friends like you did here" "We are really going to miss you".
I am so reminded by how important it is to show kindness to the strangers in our land. I hope my daughter will one day be able to make others feel so welcome too.
But Sivan did great at Shprintzak, making friends right away. But as the days wore on, we could see that she was really struggling with all the noise. As she said to me today, "the first day or two of Shprintzak was fun but after that it became overwhelming". I always struggle with how much to allow my daughter's sensitivities to dictate her environment and how much to change her environment.
After some debate, and a day at the Waldorf school (which is private...yes we have to pay, but only $ compared to American private schools which are $$$$), I knew we had found a better match for Sivan's needs.
The question was how to let her current school and teacher that we were leaving. Like a dog with a tail between my legs, I told the teacher, who said she completely understood. Weight lifted. I said, we'd like to bring a treat in and say goodbye (recommended by the new school that we do so). Again, I would have happily snuck out to avoid the awkwardness but the schools insisted that she say a proper goodbye.
Now, I want to describe the goodbye that nearly brought me to tears. Let me start by saying, everyone in Sivan's class is a Hebrew speaker (native) and some know a tiny bit of English. She couldn't go to school all week because of her sickness. When we walked in today to say goodbye, it was recess, and a few of the girls saw her and attacked her. They hugged her (so much for trying to keep the germs away from everyone), and dragged her out to recess. When she came back, she had like 10 girls who just kept hugging her.
It was snack time, and the teacher called Sivan to the front and said that the class had made her a book of "brachot" (blessings). Then she said to the class, does anyone want to say anything? I'm just guessing, but having taught in America, if you say to a group, "does anyone want to say anything?"(And I mean even a group of Fulbrighters wouldn't act like this), you would not get a response like this. Nearly 20 kids raised their hands and gave her a beautiful "blessing". "Good luck at your new school" "I hope you make friends like you did here" "We are really going to miss you".
I am so reminded by how important it is to show kindness to the strangers in our land. I hope my daughter will one day be able to make others feel so welcome too.
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