News in Brugge

People had asked us if Leah was going to go to school here and it got to sound like a good idea. Cyndi found information on what Belgium schools were like and we did a search in the golden pages and found a primary (lagere) school just around the corner. We went to visit and fell in love with the opportunity. She will have a special teacher to teach her Flemish (aka Dutch) and will begin in a small regular class of 10 students. The school is international with students from all over the world, but she will be the only American in the Primary grades. She will have gymnastics lessons, swimming lessons and, in January, ice skating. They have school parties and a special school Christmas party with St Nicholas and Swartze Pieter visiting. The school is called Basisschool Sint-Jozefsinstituut. It is a free Catholic School with students ranging from kindergarten through high school on Zilverstraat just 0.2 km from the house. Leah is very excited about going to school and has already been introduced to the other students who look very friendly. In keeping with the general subtlety we had walked nearby and never knew the school was there. I am including some pictures from the school's web site at http://www.basisschoolsintjozef.be/

Some older boys chalking a greeting at the closed door of the school prior to opening. The school is 3 stories like most buildings.

A student walking to school (just outside the front door)

Leah's future class/classmates on the second floor