Tuesday, May 2
The stress level was elevated this morning for the first day of school in France! Most classes started at 8:15 AM and some students had to stay at school for their classs until 6:00 PM. For HS students, they choose specialities and options and these classes are usually later in the day.
They have 55 minutes for each class and a 5 minute break between the classes. There are also two 10 minute recess breaks and 1.5 hours for lunch. Student in the high school can eat in the cafeteria or go home for lunch if they live close. After eating lunch, they are allowed to go to the park across the street where there is a soccer field, a skate park, and lots of grassy space. They can also choose to hang out in the courtyard or to go to different rooms or to the library to do work. High schoolers here are treated more like college students in the US! High school is only for 10th-12th grades, so 9th graders are still in the middle school. The two schools are connected, but the middle schoolers must stay on their side of the courtyard.
WIth some help from their exchange students, our BHS students were able to find their classes and they quickly became familiar with the somewhat confusing building. The opinions at the end of the day were varied! There are those that love the school with the access to the courtyard outside and the movement of changing classes more often. There are others who prefer the shorter school days at BHS and said that in general, our teachers are nicer. Tomorrow is Wednesday, so French schools all close at noon! Students have 1-2 classes in the morning and then they are free! Most plan to go into Rouen for a bit more shopping and walking around for the afternoon.
Here are some images from our long day at school.
Hanging out in the courtyard.
Sorry our lunches aren’t that elegant
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