Final Week of Summer

We are entering our final week of summer vacation. Soon the kids will be back in school and fall ministries will resume. Our week will be busy trying to get some back-to-school shopping done, putting another coat of paint on at the center, taking our rescheduled tour of Torino with Catherine, meeting with our core group for our first fall meeting and making a hospital visit. Our newest addition to the core group was Pierluigi & Cristina this past spring and just today they have welcomed their son, Natan, in to the world. We are very excited for them!

Samuel and Emma start school on Monday the 14th...we think and presume. The school system here is well, disorganized to say the least. One might expect with Samuel entering his first year of elementary at a new school that we would get a letter in the mail with a school supply list, start day and time, name of his teacher etc. But that has not and will not happen. I'll try not to be too hard on them, however, as this year the country is revamping their educational system and we were told we would not know anything until the first day of school, because that is when they themselves would find out the changes. I have been seeking out moms for advise on what to expect the first day of school and what Samuel should bring. I think the overall consensus is to bring some basic supplies and he should receive a list his first day of additional items to get. Don't try to call the school for information (they will either not be there or they won't know anything), just stop by this weekend sometime to see if there is a notice for the start time of the first day. I was also told to expect that Samuel would have a fairly light and unpredictable schedule for the first week or two, until they get everything finalized for their regular schedule. Of course, all this advise is coming from the "old system" so, who knows what kind of ride we are in for.

Emma will be returning to her same school and teachers and we know what to expect at that level, so I'm not so nervous about that transition. Both kids say they are excited about school, so hopefully that still rings true on their first day. More posts on the school adventure to come...