Promotional Exams

School life is a little bit different nowadays, since this is the end of the term here, so I thought I would update you a little bit about what`s going on nowadays. As I said, now it`s the end of the term which means that after having revised the week before this week, now they had exams. By exams I mean tests (not oral exams) that were very carefully prepared. A few teachers typed all the exam questions, which then they gave to the teachers to check if they were alright.  After the tests were printed they were locked up in the I.C.T (Internet and Computer Technology – I think) Center, so that the kids wouldn`t see it. Because of the exams this week I was mostly helping in the nursery. Imagine that even the smallest ones had “exams”: even in the playgroup, where the kids are about two or something like that, they were writing some tests (which mostly consisted of coloring and stuff like that). In the nursery, things were similar, too: only a few students were writing the exams at a time with the help of the teacher (that`s what I was helping with, too), while the others were mostly playing around. I had the feeling, that at this age the exams are mostly for the parents: so that they can see how much the teacher has taught to the kids – even though the exam questions are answered with the help of the teacher… 

Well, now next week will be mostly busy just for the teachers: they have to finish all the marking before the graduation, which is coming next Saturday, and which is going to be a pretty much fun ceremony. Although the next term only starts in September, we will still be busy during the rest of the summer: Since most parents are working, they can`t really look after their kids during this summer period, so we will come back to school just a few days after the graduation to start the vacation classes. The good news is that from that on I will probably start to teach photography to the older kids, which I`m really looking forward to! It will be really nice to see how they can use their creativity in this way!