First Day of School (Grade 3)

Beth is in the inaugural 2/3 composite class this year, with just a handful of peers she knows from previous grades. Her two best friends are in a different class, their parents having opted out of the composite class offer.

There are 12 Grade 2s and 12 Grade 3s under the tutelage of what parents have described as the "best teacher in the year" and even "best teacher in the school".

So far so good.

This morning, I greeted a few school mums whose children have been classmates with Beth before, or whom I know through numerous interactions at school.

I also met a new mum whose daughter is feeling sad because her former Grade 1 friends are now in a different class.

Beth looked lost, flustered and defensive/sulky, the expression she wears when she's not sure of her place in the world.

So different from some of the other kids with their confident manner and smiles.

But I know she'll be fine once she has settled in and knows what's expected of her.

Had a chat with two mums. One is wondering if she has made the wrong decision letting her son be in the composite class after she saw the class list. The other is more optimistic. Not realizing the implications of the 2/3 class till the last day of school last year, she is perhaps less burdened by the whats and what-ifs.

It'll be interesting to see how the composite class works out, and I fancy our little network of parents will grow really close by the end of the year.