School Days, School Days . . . Good Old Fashioned We Don't Know the Rules Days

Well, it has been a few days since I have posted, but it seems like weeks.  Our biggest accomplishment???  Getting 4 new olim off to school.  That's right.  Got them off to school, and then the parents high-fived!

Here is what you need to go to school.  A long list of high school supplies which we were told not to buy yet for our three big kids.  The school wants to sort of evaluate them and then we will see which classes they will attend and which books they will need.  Fine by me.  I just sent them with planners, one notebook and some pencils and pens.  Elementary aged kid had a very specific list for his ulpan (intensive Hebrew language class) that he will be attending for the first 5 months of school.  So we bought the supplies (and by we, I mean my friend and I, because I did not understand what some of these specific words meant, like, what is shmarfdim??, well, now I know)  So, everyone has their bag packed, some of them have house keys in their bags (okay, we need to make more of those) and we walk them to the bus stop.  The bus stop is not a school bus, it is the regular city bus.  With the help of one of my favorite apps, MOOVIT, we figure out which bus goes to their schools.  Everyone gets their own bus pass, we handle that situation, and get on with lots of other teens headed to school.  A bit of traffic, but we make it near the high schools.  We basically boot off our teenage children, point to a building and say, follow those kids.  And they did.  A large group of girls, with Eli trailing behind.  He will appreciate that one day.

Then we stay on the bus with the little guy for two more stops.  Pretty convenient that our kids can all take the same bus.  We get off and spot the school, which unfortunately has a Mets colored front gate.  But we can ignore that because the school seems awesome.  Now, the front gates are locked, but we follow the streams of parents into the side entrance.  Walk Leor into school but not into his classroom.  I mean, we are veteran parents already!!!  So, he doesn't speak the language and looks a little sad, like Eeyore.  He knows where the class is.  We don't want to embarrass him and kiss him or anything, but I sneak one in anyway.

Now the parents can high five and go search for the bus to take us home.  Because we need to be back at the school in 40 minutes for the opening assembly and we would really like our car.  (I mean, our rental tictac, my new car is still not allowed to be driven by us).  So, we get home with three minutes to spare before heading back to the school, we fight the rodeo happening in the parking lot which is actually a sandy rocky patch near the school.  But we can park that tictac basically anywhere.  Score!

Fast forward to the assembly.  Amazing.  Okay, let me being with the setting.  It is hot in Israel, so the schools have a lot of outdoor events, because it's not like it will rain for the opening school event.  They have this amazing outdoor but covered area with speakers and the whole shebang.  The whole school is there, with all of the students in their white shirts.  All of the 1st grade parents are there wildly waving to their adorable and small children, babies are everywhere, grandparents are all over.  Throw in a few soldiers, police officers and guards and we are all set for our first authentic Israeli school ceremony.  Okay, we have a few speakers who all spoke very nicely, welcoming everyone, and calling on each grade to cheer away, then they said a few things I missed, but no matter because I caught the good part.

Someone else gets up to speak.  And while he said more than this, this is the only thing that mattered.  He said, "We are all returning today.  Some of us are returning after two months away and some of us are returning after 2000 years, but we are all returning."  And darn it if I didn't get some dust in my eye just then and tear all up.

Then all of the new olim in the ulpan march in through the arches held up by the oldest grade, then the cute first graders do the same.  Then someone grandfather had to be asked to move form the center of the assembly because he was taking pictures of his grandchild in the middle of speeches.  Ha!  Israel :-)  And the end of the first day of school?  Every child came home and was very happy about their first day.  The older kids figured out how to take the bus home and I picked up the little guy.