Dearham School: Day Two

Frankie was so excited to go to school today. There is some sort of jumping and running contest going on this afternoon, Reception vs. Year One, and she couldn’t wait to get there. We got out of the car and she literally ran all the way up the long, sloping driveway to the school.

There is a nice man, Mr. Bell, that directs traffic outside of Dearham. When she passed him by he said in a loud, booming, sing-sing voice, “MOOOOR-nin’!”

She yelled right back, “MOOOORNIN!!”

Once we were inside. She wanted to show me that she knew where her cubby was, where her bookbag was supposed to be stored, and where the parents were supposed to drop off their kids. She didn’t get a chance to follow through on her plan, though, because the second we arrived at the door to her classroom, one of the kids yelled, “THERE’S FRANKIE!!!” and no fewer than ten kids raced over and swarmed around her, talking to her nonstop and trying to help her hang up her coat. (I thought it was very cute, but it made Frankie a little grumpy. She’s an independent lady, that one.)

On the way out, several very nice parents stopped me to ask me about Frankie’s first day, if I was liking the school, and how I was adjusting to English life. There were very sweet and welcoming. One parent said that her son Jack came home totally excited about the new American girl with the “deep accent,” and couldn’t stop talking about Frankie.

I think Dearham is going to be a good school. Frankie’s accent and status as “the new girl” has made her sort of a mini-celebrity--- That must be so weird for her. I think she’ll probably be glad when all of the attention dies down a bit. Overall, though, so far so good!