Middle school

Morten is turning 12 this summer and thus going (in the dutch system) to the next school; the middle school.
Depending on his grades sofar and the socalled Cito toets he's about to do (with ALL the other 11 yr olds in the Netherlands) he can entry at a certain level.
Sofar the sings are good.
He did a trial Cito and got 546 points (out of 550) so can practically enter at all levels he wishes.
So...
the circus of picking the right school has hit us this week.
Tuesday night Robbert and I went to a presentation at his present school about all the things that await him and us next year on an emotional, social and intellectual level (in short from being the oldest, coolest kids from the school, back to the no-no's, carrying a way too heavy bag and struggling with hours of homework.
And on top of that chances are we are going to enroll him at an English speaking school that will lead to a dutch diploma but also an international baccalaureat. Thanks to all our aupairs out there, our children speak some reasonable english at the moment and at least understand 70% of what is being said (untill you tell 'm to stop fighting of course).

Wednesday afternoon he had some trial lessons at a so called Montessori school and yesterday evening (he was ill so stayed at home) Robbert and i went to a presentation (and some workshops) on the former mentioned school. It was sooooo cool.
I wish I had been at a school like that.
They also take Chinese as of grade 1, go on fieldtrips to Germany, Scotland, Spain, Wales, help out at orphanages in Rumania (!), have pre scholarships at the universities of Leiden and/or Rotterdam, you name it.

A bit overwhelming yes.
and those 8 times a week sports trainings or matches he has now, may be difficult if not impossible to fit in.
we will see.
He's going over next wednesday for some trial lessons AND he despite the above mentioned cito exam had to do their own entry exam, but I wanted to say a big thank you to Galia, Myff, Abigail, Jamie, Austin, Rachel, Melissa, Chelsea, Ally and Danielle on forehand!!

ps; you should hear caroline talk english. she is hilarious. No wait you should hear her sing in english. THAT is hilarious.

Galia

When Caroline was 3 months old and I started my own firm, Galia became our very first au pair. Today she visited us in the company of her husband and 2 children.
Crazy!
Both for us and her :)