Did you miss me, kids?

Apparently, yes. Today was the first day back after the holidays, and I was immediately greeted by Binti, a seven year old from Mayotte, who latched herself to my waist and demanded "un bisou, Martin!" This was followed by a day of relatively productive teaching - the kids, used to holiday lie-ins, were subdued slightly by tiredness - and it seemed that some of the English I had taught before the break had been retained, which was a relief.

I now have a few extra pupils, namely the children of a travelling family who have arrived in town from their previous home, which I gather was near Paris. I don't know if the picture is the same across France, but my school is particularly adept at welcoming these temporary students, who receive extra classes with Katrine, a specialist teacher for travelling children, in addition to their ordinary lessons. Kids being kids, the new arrivals are immediately accepted based on their merits alone - if they're fun or cool, they're in. Academically, they seem to adapt pretty quickly too, which I was surprised at. Also, in French, they're known as "les enfants des voyageurs," which, although being a relatively bog-standard description, sounds pretty epic to my ears. The Children of the Voyagers. Whoosh.

Today was school photo day, and each pupil got an individual snap (as shown above), as well as a photo with siblings and class picture. I was invited to join the CM2 photo, and so I should be receiving a copy of that in a few weeks. (Brief observation: the individual photos are taken sat at a desk, before a book of each child's choosing. Studious!)