Catch Up Post-- Term 3

Hello trusty blog readers! 

Apologies for not having posted anything for months. We had a relatively busy August and September, with the kids in school during their third term (3rd quarter). The poor kids have been in school since 2021. They did three quarters in America, to get in here in time for the second term (quarter). As we noted here, we took a quick winter trip, then it was time for the yet another term/quarter of school. With that came a lot of changes. 

When we arrived here, the school suggested that our girls continue in the grade they had left in the United States. So we enrolled them in 3rd and 6th grade (again). We discovered in their first term here that it was not the right fit. So after a lot of back and forth with the school, we managed to move both girls up a grade. Lauren started year 4 on the first day of term. Her transition was very easy and quick and it was obvious right away it was the right fit. Lauren's new teacher is fantastic and just right for Lauren.

It took a week or two longer to get Caitlyn moved up to year 7. This was a little harder to pull off, as she would have to transition from the junior school to the senior school. Australian schools typically have a junior (or primary) school that goes from pre-K to year 6. Then there is the Senior school (which seems to be a mix of middle and most of high school) with years 7-10 or 7-12. Sometimes the year 11 and year 12s are in their own school. Those years are viewed as preparation for Uni (university). I'll have Caitlyn do a post about the differences between junior and senior school later. But I can say that from the outside, the Senior school seems more rigorous. I was also excited because Caitlyn can take Chinese. She chose to take it of her own free will (I swear) and seems to really enjoying it. She finally gets the gift we were giving her by making her go to Chinese school all those years in a row. Some other 

Term 3 lasts from the end of July until the end of September here. That means it covers both of the girls birthdays, which is a little crazy.  we are used to Lauren having a summer bday. Another big difference is that at the Junior School, parents are allowed to bring in food (of any kind really) for a kid's bday, so that was also a new experience for me as a parent, since the schools in Howard County don't allow that.  

Other highlights from Term 3 (July/August/September):

1. We were dog sitters for a week and took care of Cooper, a 7 month old puppy.  We all learned that dogs are definitely more demanding than cats:

2. We celebrated a second father's day.  That falls in early September in Australia.  We took Mike out on a boat on Lake Burley Griffin and made him do all the work (oops) and drive the boat.  It was nice, but I bet we would all like it better when it was warmer out.

3. The girls performed their instruments (C-Trumpet, L-Cello) in a school Band's concert and a school "Gala" and discovered that Caitlyn couldn't read things far away and likely needed glasses.