First Day of School

Tuesday the 4th of January was Kate's first day of school at WISS (Western International School of Shanghai). I went with her and we talked to the principal and her teacher. Everyone was so friendly and very helpful. It was a trial day to see if they were comfortable with Kate and her daily routines. Kate knew there would be "no problems" of course but we had to make sure. All went well and she was anxious to go back on Wednesday!

The boys started at BISS (British International School of Shanghai) on Wednesday. I had to get their picture. The boys uniform is very similar to what they had in Switzerland. It is Kate's first time to wear a uniform and I love it! We don't have huge discussions in the morning on what she wants to wear.

This is a picture of Kate's school - WISS. I will try to get an angle shot some other time so you can see a more realistic size. It was the ugliest day we have had since being here. I was getting pretty spoiled with the sunshine. The smog was horrible and it really made me feel like it was hard to breathe. Now I think that was more mental than anything but I definately felt different.
I had to ride the bus with Katelyn to make sure all went smoothly. Kate was not too thrilled about it. She sat in the back with some new friends and I sat right up front. I saw this guy riding his bike and carrying all this paper that looked like shredded paper. I was disappointed that I didn't have my camera. Then I remembered that I could take pictures with my phone. So I got it out and had it ready to go in case I saw something interesting.

We had to make a stop to pick up some kids. I was thrilled when I saw the guy on the bike pass us. We caught up to him and I was able to get this picture.

This picture, I was able to capture another school bus from WISS pulling in front of us. It is also a good close up of the "shredded paper".

It was a fun experience. There is a bus monitor that is super nice! She checks on the kids and makes sure they are buckled in. It's great that there are seatbelts! It is interesting, the bus monitor is a teacher's assistant at the school. The bus drivers will park the buses at the school and stay there until it's time to take the kids back home. The drivers sit around and talk or take a nap. It is a job and probably considered a good job I think.