Ohope Beach School

Tomorrow will mark the end of the girls' first 3 weeks at their NZ school, Ohope Beach.  To call it a dreamy place does not do it justice.  Part of my wonder about the place can be chalked up to the differences b/w schooling and educational philosophy in the US and NZ, but even of it stems from the special charm of the school itself.

First, the grounds sit directly across the street from a gorgeous, quite untainted, South Pacific Ocean Beach.  Each of the girls have spent time on the beach during a school day or two.  The layout of the school also gives it this sunny, sandy vibe I associate with beach living.  All the classrooms open towards a center courtyard.  No hallways, no cafeteria or gymnasium.  Kids eat at picnic tables in the courtyard.  They do "gym" outside, in the lush green field behind the school or across the street at the beach.  The rules are quite relaxed.  The only strict rules I've detected so far include a check each day for "brain food" in their lunches (no cafeteria) and a clear "no hat, no play" rule.  Each kid has his or her own school-issued navy blue hat.  They remind me of the Crocodile Dundee hat with the wide brim. 

It is very sunny here and I guess the skin cancer rate is high, thus the "no hat, no play" rule.  They must wear their hats anytime they are outside and they look so stinkin' cute out there.  Lilly is quite appalled by her hat and does not want me to get a picture of her wearing one.  I love to see the kids wearing them.  Another very different practice is that many kids simply DO NOT WEAR SHOES.  They go to school every day, downtown, riding bikes, pretty much everywhere, barefoot.  We've also seen a number of adults ambling about in all kinds of unexpected places with naked feet.  To be fair, more kids than not DO wear shoes to school, but it is a sizable number that just don't.  I wonder if they own any.  It's not a racial thing or a money thing that I can discern.  Ohope is in an affluent, suburban environment.  It's just a different ethos. 

In theory, I love this ethos--he carefree attitude it conveys, the simplicity, the lack of material concern it implies.  All great and good for the girls to see and realize that a shoe wardrobe is not a necessity.  The problem is that both girls, expecially Lilly, have taken to this lifestyle choice with a vengeance.  And I worry about them hurting their feet.  I hate to be so momish, but I do.  Today Rich and the girls and I all went to this shopping area, with a huge parking lot and a strip of stores, to find Annie a wetsuit.  It was the most American style shopping area we've been to since we got here and it included large swaths of concrete  And Lilly, unbeknownst to me, stepped out of our car shoeless!  It felt very strange going into a nice store and a public bathroom with my little barefoot urchin. 

The girls look forward to school every day and have been surprised how easily they've adjusted from attending their beloved Homestead to Ohope Beach.   I am so thankful for this experience.