Happy
Valley School, Santa Cruz
Happy Valley School is the wonderful
elementary school where Daphné and Alban started in September
1997, Tom in 1999, Charles in
2000 and Alexander
in 2003. (Nicholas went directly to Junior High
when he arrived in Santa Cruz in 1999). The school was founded in 1863, five
years before the University of California was founded in Berkeley. Which is not
to say that there are many similarities between the two. For example, the
Berkeley campus is up to about 30,000 students, and Happy Valley has about 135
pupils. Or again, Happy Valley remains free for pupils, which cannot be said for
Cal.
The photo on the left, taken in September 2003, is a charming study of what
happens when you let young and old maniacs loose together in Santa Cruz County.
The big bearded guy in the back row is the teacher, Dan McGuire, who is a very gentle and loving teacher: how else would we have that
picture? Here is Dan doing what he loves, the Happy Valley School
Rail Faire.
The luck we had in stumbling on this truly caring environment was the high
point of our arrival in Santa Cruz. On
the far right is the school's suitably modest gateway. It is a modest place.
Four Happy Valley boys, including Charlie, were on
the same competitive soccer team for the
fall 2005 season.
On the right is Alban as a very fetching caterpillar in the School's
production of Alice in Wonderland in June, 2001. There's a shot of Tom in
the same production here.
Below, in October 2000 it was Charles' turn to receive a diploma,
for "gentle manners", among other things. These certificates of
appreciation dot the walls of Alex's and Charlie's rooms at home.
The pictures in the table below are official class pictures.
Alban, who did not
speak a word of English when we arrived, spent four years there and
blossomed. Daphné moved on to junior high after two years, and was getting
straight As before she graduated. Again, she did not speak a word of
English when we arrived. Charles started Kindergarten in
2000, and Alex in
2003, and happier kids at school would be hard to imagine.
We'd like to list each moment of encouragement and help that they all
received, and identify each responsible care-giver one at a time. But
they're all exceptionally good with kids, and we have been exceptionally lucky.
Thank you all.
|
Alban, front row right, September 1997 |
Daphné, front row left, September 1997
|
|
Alban, third row center, and Tom, front row right
September 2000
|
Charles, front row middle, September 2000 |
|
There's a little fire station in Happy Valley, and the
firemen and women have children at the school. This lovely shot shows what happens when the firemen come to play
with the children. Our two youngest came home full of giggles and wet through.
It's not often you can get rained on by a fire truck!
|
Alexander, half standing on the left, starting kindergarten
September 2003 |
