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I have determined that once you enroll a child in school, the school owns your child during school hours. The evidence for this began to pour in when Sequoia was in Kindergarten, but this week sealed the deal.
I would be walking Sequoia home and she would mention the trip to the library that day. I was surprised to be finding out about my child walking into town from my child, afterward. The only time the school required a full-blown permission slip was for the field trip into the city via bus, and for the school sleepover. (Yes, the kindergarteners had a sleepover.).
The phenomenon has continued in first grade. I would have been quite surprised, had I been home the day the first graders showed up on the doorstep ringing the bell as they walked around town visiting everyone’s house, the kids then taking them on a tour of the garden if their parents were home. (I have no idea why; all I know is, the kids piled up at our door to watch Flash bark.)
But last week I learned of the reverse manner in which the school owns my child. I must formally request permission from the Direktor, in writing, for my child to miss only two days of school–even one, it turns out–for a purpose other than illness. And so when I wanted to take Sequoia out two days early in order to leave early for Spain for fall break, I had to submit a written request.
The Direktor approved the request: She wrote a statement, she signed the statement, she dated the statement.
She then stamped the statement.
And then there was a Second stamp; that stamp was dated by hand.
But there was no notary seal, so I’m not sure if it was official.
