For those with school going kids....
 

This applies to people with state school going kids only. Do any of you have communication issues with the teachers or staff in the school? Does anyone in the school speak English that you can communicate with? Do you feel lost when it comes to school meetings etc?

Not 1 person in my daughters school speaks English, but I've always been able to communicate fine with her teacher. My spanish is ok so she understands me. But it's the school meetings I dread! When it's one on one, her teacher talks nice and slow, and pronunciates!!! But when it's a group meeting the director talks so bloody fast I can't get up and get so lost! Then I feel like an absolute ass sitting at the back nodding along when I haven't a clue what's going on! :confused:

I have a big school meeting tomorrow and I'm dreading it :ohmy: Just wanted to see if anyone else is in a similar situation!

Re: For those with school going kids....
 

Well yes. Meetings I found a real frustration. I can keep with the gist of what's being said but not the fine detail...as you say, one person might take the trouble to speak slowly and clearly but once someone chimes in and the discussion speeds up, well.......... and from a selfish point of view this means I can't contribute adequately to the discussion and end up appearing a real thicko, when in fact I had years on PTAs before moving to Spain!
Much against my preferences, I ended up backing out. :(
(and actually my son's at a British international, but overwhelmingly Spanish and AMPA meetings are conducted in Spanish, no reason to be anything else!!)

Re: For those with school going kids....
 

Oh wow really? I'd have thought they were in english! I presume all the staff speak english though right!? But yes, meetings are such a pain. I'm friendly with a few of the mums, and one of them is Polish so im hoping since she was in my position a few years ago, that she will take the time to explain the gist of things to me afterwards! But I will absolutely DIE if they single me out to ask me a question! :( Which im sure they will since there will only be 10 parents or so there and the meeting is primarily about the progress of the kids. Obviously with my DD being the only non native speaking child, they will need to discuss her progress with me! :confused:

Re: For those with school going kids....
 

:huh:our school meetings at secondary school are held in Valenciano :blink: - sometimes one of the teachers will then translate some of it into Castellano

at the primary school my girls went to, quite a few of the staff could speak reasonable English, but they weren't allowed to - I think it has relaxed a bit now though

when we first came here I dreaded the meetings too - then when I started to feel a bit more confident with my Spanish I joined the AMPA commitee

for quite a while I couldn't join in the discussions although I understood them, so I just let them talk for what seemed like hours on end & round & round in circles............ then I would say 'disculpe - no hablo español bien pero........................' & then say my piece giving my opinion - & as often as not got my way ;) ... including having the AMPA meetings held in castellano - one committee member was determined that they be held in Valenciano - I flipped (in Spanish ) & won that one - she stormed out & to this day - years later - will cross the street to avoid me :tape:

I got away with the 'no hablo........' for a few months, but by then I was able to butt in & join in :D

¿poco a poco eh?

Re: For those with school going kids....
 

But hopefully not at an open meeting?????
And yes, I was surprised meetings in Spanish, not hugely but nonetheless surprised. Particularly given none of the staff were ever there at any meetings I attended:ohmy:..... and I guess the staff all speak English, but some it's probably worse than my Spanish. My 10yo's Spanish teacher speaks better English than my Spanish, which is good but embarrassing at the same time:D There are fewer Extranjeros in his year than in his year in the state school in the village!! Only him in year 5 (cuarto), and in a friend's older two children's years only 2 & 3 respectively. So when I said overwhelmingly, I MEANT overwhelmingly:lol:
Anyway, back to your problem. Surely you don't have to discuss individual children at a joint meeting? Anyway, from what you've said in other posts her spoken Spanish must be good - so it'd only be if she's not catching up with Lengua, Cono etc.... and at 6 (if I remember correctly) I doubt she's any different from the rest?

Re: For those with school going kids....
 

quinto ;)

I remember that they do sometimes discuss individual performance for the littlies - istr that they did when dd2 was in infantil, anyway

but you're right, at that age there's not likely to be that much in it - though I do very clearly remember the infantile teacher telling the Spanish mums that they should take a leaf out of the English mums' books & get their kids to bed earlier, because the 3 English kids in the class were progressing faster simply because they weren't so tired!!! :lol:

Re: For those with school going kids....
 

No, cuarto. He's year 5 UK stylee..... cuarto Spanish styleee !

Re: For those with school going kids....
 

Well like Lynn said, in infantil they tend to just have group discussions (which I hate :p ) But yes, her spoken spanish is very good, and her reading and writing, so it will be very little! I just feel so insecure being the only non fluent parent!

Funny you say that, my DD scored 3rd highest out of her class of 20 in the last educational evaluation and she goes to bed the earliest of all her classmates!! I guess it pays off! How on Earth they spanish kids function I will never know! DD is like a witch unless she gets her 12hrs every night!! :rofl:

Re: For those with school going kids....
 

Agreed. :nod: (not that she's a witch, you understand, ..!!!!!!!!)

Re: For those with school going kids....
 

I'm easily confused........

so what year is he actually IN in the international school?

Re: For those with school going kids....
 

Year 5, same as if he were in school in the UK. Only mentioned cuarto to identify his age - since the school systems are different it often confuses:rofl:

Re: For those with school going kids....
 

oh I see.............


it depends when they were born though doesn't it?


when my dds moved to Spanish school from International, some friends did the same a term later

one of them had been in dd2's class in International, but was the year above in Spanish - she was born September & my dd the following July - under the UK system that puts them as age-appropriate for the same school year - but in the Spanish system, as they were born in different years (1998 & 1999) they are in different school years

Re: For those with school going kids....
 

I think he was in the equivalent school year in the state school here when he started as he would have been in the UK (if you see what I mean) and has moved into the same school year in the British/International system that he would have been in had he started in the UK instead of Spanish state school.:blink: My head hurts!
DoB feb 2002 - year 5 UK. Would have been cuarto if he'd remained with his classmates in the village. He's usually the oldest in his year by a reasonable margin.
What confuses on top of that is that one of his friends in the village had to repeat so is a year behind, hence only two years ahead instead of 3; he's 12. Confused.com ;)

Re: For those with school going kids....
 

With regards to school years it depends on when your child was born.

Here in Spain they start infantil in September of the year they have their 3rd birthday irrelevant of whether they were born before or after September and do 3 years in infantil before going on to primaria in September of the year they have their 6th birthday (primary).

They then do 6 years of primary: primero, segundo, tercero, cuarto, quinto and sexto (1st to 6th year or year one to year 6 UK - if they don't have to repeat any years for bad performance)

Then they go up to secondary school in September of the year they have their 12th birthday which is the same as year 7 in the UK, where they do 4 year obligatory (primero, segundo, tercero & cuarto - years 7, 8, 9 & 10 UK) and can do 2 years bachillerato (equiv. A levels) which is non oblig. (primero & segundo Bach. - this is in effect the same as years 11 & 12 UK, except year 11 is when they do GCSE's and they don't do A2's until year 13)

If a child gets through their entire obligatory schooling and stay on to do bach. without having to repeat any year they will have finished their A levels one year ahead of kids in the UK.

The difference between the two systems is the fact that in the UK the schools go from Sept to Aug birthdays, whereas here they go from Jan to Dec. Birthdays.

Anyway after all that and in reply to your main complaint, I'm sorry to have to be a bit blunt, but what do you expect?

You do after all live in Spain! I live in Mallorca and all our school meetings are in Catalan as it is the language they teach in here, therefore I made the effort and learnt Catalan.

If you were in England and had a Spanish child in the school your children were attending would you expect the meetings to be conducted in Spanish?!

I don't mean to offend but "When in Rome"....

Re: For those with school going kids....
 

only if their birthday is Sept to Dec - my elder dd is in last year obligatory & will be getting her 'graduado' this year - she is in the age-appropriate year & has never been held back - in the UK she would be doing her GCSEs this summer alongside all her old schoolfriends who were in her class when we still lived there - her birthday is Feb - born in 1996

my younger dd is the first year ESO - also never been held back & in the age-appropriate year. So 3 more years at school after this one before she graduates - she was born in July 1999

they have a cousin in the UK who was born Feb 1998 - so if he was here in Spain he would be in the year above dd2 - & in his second to last year of obligatory education from next September - in the UK he starts his first year of the 2 year GCSE courses.............. so he's effectively in the same year no matter where he lives


HOWEVER - dd2's friend if she was still in Spain, would be in the same year as my nephew if he was here - she was born September 1998 - so she WOULD graduate the year before my dd2

as it is, she is back in the UK & will graduate/do GCSEs at the same time as my dd2 will - they were in the same class in International school here, too