First Day of School for Princess Amalia: December 10, 2007

[ashelen]

you might be right, but growing up in Argentina in a private school like she sis I want my daugher in a private school, so I wassurprise Maxima did not choose a private school, may be che can not have an opinion to this?????she has to do what her husband id?

[Marengo]

Well, there aren´t that many private schools around here in the Netherlands, to put your child on one of these schools would probably be judged as extreme snobism.

I think it is customary to send a child to school after they became 4. You usually start in group 1, and go to group 2 but the kids who get´in a class halfway, like Amalia now will finish what is left of group 1 this schoolyear and start in group 1 after the summer too. So Amalia will probably be 2 1/2 years in ´kleuterschool´.

[prinsesbeagle]

Agree with Marengo: sending her to one of the very very few private schools would have been seens as snobbish. Only a very small few percent of the kids here go to private schools and esp at such a young age there is no need for private schools.

As for not chosing a 'lutheran' school, I am sure that also has to do with wanting her to have an upbringing where she will be in touch with a broad variety of people. It could have offended many people to send her to a 'lutheran' school (or any other 'religeous' based school).

[Marengo]

Well, they are not lutherans of course, but Dutch Reformed. I think most public schools are of some religion (most of them Dutch Reformed, Reformed or Catholic). I believe Willem-Alexander and his brothers went to a school without a religious background too. Note that these kind of schools usually have religious lessons too, explaining what religions are around etc.

[zembla]

Originally Posted by lucien

Schools start here in august/september too,depending on the part of the country you live in as holidays have been divided in North,Middle and South with a difference of 1 to two weeks,to avoid traffic jams and such if all would go at the same time.

But,like in Amalia's case,as soon as children reach the age of four,regardless the time of year,they start attending in what we call here group 1,a mixture of kindergarten and elimentary education.Hope the explanation is clear enough?

That's interesting...I know in America if your birthdate is after a certain deadline you have to wait a year before entering the first wave of schooling.

[ashelen]

i can understand your point of view, specially if you have such a good public schools in Holland, why to send it to private?
in Argentina like in the US is better to go to private school, is where you can have a good education,it is not a matter of snobism, it is a matter to learn and be educated

[zembla]

Originally Posted by ashelen

i can understand your point of view, specially if you have such a good public schools in Holland, why to send it to private?
in Argentina like in the US is better to go to private school, is where you can have a good education,it is not a matter of snobism, it is a matter to learn and be educated

That's true...it's unfortunate that the best public "free" schools only exist int he best communities but most of those children attend private.

[ashelen]

Yes, It Is Unfortunaltelly And Sad Because You Want The Best Education For Your Kids But Sometimes It Is Impossible To Afford, It Is So Expensive!!!!! And It Is Not Only This About Payingthe Tuttuion, They Want Donations, And Heavy Donations!

[poppy7]

On the schools front in the UK and Ireland, you go to school at 5. When I was a child it was 4, but for some unknown reason (it isn't law) it kind of transgressed to being around 5 (at least where I live). You generally go to 'play school' for a few mornings, each week though from the age of 2. I don't know if Kindergarden is the same, it is always such an American concept here, even though it obviously derives from Germany. In Ireland you got to secondary school at 12, in the UK at 11. In the UK, your general education finishes at 16, and you then either leave school, or go on to college/sixth form and do you’re A levels (3 or 4 subjects). At 18 (or 19 if you take a gap year), if you did your A levels, you go to University, which lasts 3 years. In Ireland you can leave school at 16, but your general education isn’t completed until you’re eighteen.

As for Amalia and her bodyguards. My brother went to school, for a few years, with the son of an ambassador, and he had a bodyguard (the ambassador represented a volatile country, but I can't remember where right now). Apparently no one knew the bodyguard was really there (he never was in the classroom). The biggest deal was the ‘official car’ that used to pick the son up. The other children in the class, absolutely loved getting invited back to the son's house, because they got to ride in his car (shallow, but hey that’s kids.).

I don’t know what the security is like, in general, for the DRF, but I am sure her bodyguards will probably just patrol the grounds of her school etc,

[ashelen]

YES, i AM SURE SHE WILL HAVE BODYGUARDS, ALL DAY IN THE SCHOOL. AND I DO NOT THINK IT WILL BE DIFFICULT FOR HER TO ADJUST TO SCHOOL , HER PARENTS TRAVEL A LOT AND THEY PROBABLY STAY AT HOME WITH BABYSITTERS, SO THEY USE TO BE FOR SOME DAYS WITHOUT MUMMY AND DADDY. PROBABLY THE FIRST COUPLE OF TIMES THEY WILL GO WITH HER PARENTS, BUT PROBABLY AFTER IT WILL BE TH E BODYGUARDS AND BEBYSITTERS!

[poppy7]

Amalia, and her sisters, have a nanny (and maybe more than one), who more than likely lives with them. There is really no other way that her parents could carry out their official engagements without one. I am sure they don't spend all day with them though.

[ashelen]

yes, i agree with you and knowing the way of thinking in Argentina , I am sure it had to be diffiuclt for Maxima to get use to live her daughters with the nanny /s but like you said not other way with their schedule of work! and i am sure when they arrive home they give them plenty time to the girls, they do not have the worries about to do the things of the house, cooking, cleanning, ironing, etc... so they can dedicate to their girls plenty time, good qulity time, i am sure she is a great mother!

[TLLK]

Originally Posted by poppy7

On the schools front in the UK and Ireland, you go to school at 5. When I was a child it was 4, but for some unknown reason (it isn't law) it kind of transgressed to being around 5 (at least where I live). You generally go to 'play school' for a few mornings, each week though from the age of 2. I don't know if Kindergarden is the same, it is always such an American concept here, even though it obviously derives from Germany. In Ireland you got to secondary school at 12, in the UK at 11. In the UK, your general education finishes at 16, and you then either leave school, or go on to college/sixth form and do you’re A levels (3 or 4 subjects). At 18 (or 19 if you take a gap year), if you did your A levels, you go to University, which lasts 3 years. In Ireland you can leave school at 16, but your general education isn’t completed until you’re eighteen.

As for Amalia and her bodyguards. My brother went to school, for a few years, with the son of an ambassador, and he had a bodyguard (the ambassador represented a volatile country, but I can't remember where right now). Apparently no one knew the bodyguard was really there (he never was in the classroom). The biggest deal was the ‘official car’ that used to pick the son up. The other children in the class, absolutely loved getting invited back to the son's house, because they got to ride in his car (shallow, but hey that’s kids.).

I don’t know what the security is like, in general, for the DRF, but I am sure her bodyguards will probably just patrol the grounds of her school etc,

I wouldn't be surprised if the school has undergone some hidden prepartions for her arrival. Perhaps the room has a way to quietly alert security if there is an issue. I'm sure that the principal and staff have been briefed on what to do should a security concern arise.

[DUCHESSSA]

<in Argentina like in the US is better to go to private school, .>

Ashleen,

I am a product of the Argentina's public education (grammar, HS...5 years of the Dental college)....and I will not change the knowledge I received for any provided -at that time- by the private schools.
I remember my years in college in New York and I laugh at "how
easy those years were."
In the 50s, 60s and 70s, the Argentinean public education was fantastic; unfortunately, it has changed.
I believe Maxima Zorriegueta is a product - at least at the university level - of the public education.

Duchesssa

[princess olga]

Amalia's dad, alexander, when he was a kid, went to the Nieuwe Baarnse School, a non-religious public school in Baarn. Definitely, definitely a rich kid school, but that had more to do with the location than anything else probably. Baarn is a town in one of the most affluent parts of the Netherlands, het Gooi. And Beatrix and her family lived there at the time, in her gorgeous tiny castle named Drakensteyn.

I had a friend at the time who went to school with Beatrix's sons, and she said that the body guards used to sit all day in their cars while the princes were in class, but wouldn't go into the building. Wonder how that will work with Amalia, probably something similar.

[DUCHESSSA]

Originally Posted by ashelen

in the publicschool you were missing too many days of school because of teacher's strike!

While in grammar / HS...Máxima attended the Northlands School.



Duchesssa

[carlota]

i thought amalia started school much earlier (?) in fact, i think there were pictures of the school she attends. perhaps this is the first "official" day?

can't wait for pictures!

[Jo of Palatine]

Originally Posted by lucien

It differs extremely indeed.The eldest children of my brother,12 and 11 respectively,are in 3rd grade and 2nd grade gymnasium in München,the youngest,9,skipped a class and will follow next year.Here in The Netherlands that wouldn't be the case untill the 12th year of age.I think even within germany rules are different,and Bavaria stands out as having a very strict and extraordinary high level of education,would be dubbed "oldfashioned and too strict" here,but it does work wonders for the children and their future chances,imho.

If you yourself have a higher education level and your kids are healthy, then it's okay in Bavaria. But if you have a traumatised child then the problems start and your kid may very fast end up on the lowest end of education. Am myself a mum in Bavaria...

[Jo of Palatine]

Originally Posted by Verde Esmeralda

I also find it very interesting that Amalia is going to attend a public school, and not some posh-exclusive school. But I am wondering how the relationship between the little Princess and her schoolmates could develop.

Just wanted to add that Wassenaar is one of the poshest "villages" in the Netherlands, where "normal" people can't afford to live. Thus, even the village school is much more posh than others...

[Verde Esmeralda]

Originally Posted by DUCHESSSA

I believe Maxima Zorriegueta is a product - at least at the university level - of the public education.

Duchesssa

Not really, Duchessa. Máxima attended Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA) for her education in Economics. The UCA is private, and nowadays not really the cheapest among them