New Campus

So if you follow the blog you know that we have been waiting for the new school to open to the elementary kids.  Well, that day has come!  School started January 5th with an orientation-like day meant for the kids to see their classrooms and tour the new school.  The school is MASSIVE.  In true Dubai-fashion it is an amazing facility like none I have ever seen.  I have to say though that the massiveness can be a little daunting.  It has really made me miss the cozy little halls of Westwood Elementary.  Yes everything is state of the art and very modern.  The classrooms are bright and huge and the cafeteria has little booths in it for the kids to eat!  Each teacher has a new huge red leather cozy chair to sit in!  The school has amazing playgrounds with swings!  Outside Blake's classroom is a fountain!  While all this is great it just feels more like a college campus than an elementary school.  The 3 kids classrooms are very spread out and the first few days I left the school feeling stressed from trying to get them all to their classrooms on time.  Each day is getting easier though. I think that by the end of the month we will have a routine and they will be able to find their way around without me.  As with everything in Dubai we will all have to adjust.

 Here are some pics of the kids and the new school.

This is the new preschool playground. No more sand!!

Luke's classroom.

Olivia's room-

Gorgeous view from Olivia's classroom...(hahaha) 
If you look closely you can see Ski Dubai-People this
is what much of Dubai looks like!

Blake's room...Her teacher collects the lanterns from all her travels...
I need to say again that Blake has an amazing teacher!

Cool view of a courtyard from Blake's room..
There is a fountain! Only in Dubai!  If you look straight
ahead you will see glass double doors...Through those doors
is Luke's classroom and our meeting spot in the afternoon.

3rd grade playground.... 

Elementary pool....Kids will swim this year at school!

So you might be wondering about my drive..has it improved?  Well, at this point I am not sure.  In the future it could!  It is so close!  It is just that the roads around the school are a mess and the traffic and parking are....hmmm.....CRAZY!  My friends all joke that "if this were the US this school would never be open because of the roads around it!"...But this is Dubai and they have a different way of doing things.  I know they will work out all the kinks and things WILL get better!  They have to!  As for now I will keep taking it one day at a time.   The most important thing is that the kids are happy and they are!  Every morning they get to play on the big playground before school.  After school they all meet me on the same playground, play some more and then we trek home.