Schools
As the sun rose on Monday, the home in Fairlington was waking. As usual Georg was already awake, Maria lay sleeping by his side. Georg knew he couldn't get out of bed without waking her; but he had an urgent need.
So as gently as he could, he sat up and swung his feet over the side of the bed. He stood and quickly walked to the bathroom.
And as predicted, Maria had woke. She lay there trying to get the sleep out of her eyes. Soon she heard voices from the hallway.
"I can't believe the children are already awake."
In a few minutes, Georg opened the bathroom door. By now the voices in the hall were louder. He too couldn't believe the children were awake.
"You know Maria, this means no married moments this morning."
"Yes, I do know. We will make up for it tonight. Now I must take your place in the bathroom."
"And as soon as I dress, I'll go see the children."
Georg asked his children. "Why are you awake so early?"
"We're anxious to see our schools."
"I see. Remember the man told us we can't see them until ten o'clock."
"We know. After breakfast we'll find things to do."
Luckily, Katia and Connie had planned ahead. Their breakfast meal this morning consisted of a bowl of fruit, pancakes and crisp bacon. And afterwards the children either read or played a table game.
By nine forty-five, the two families were ready to leave the house. The first stop was the Garfield Elementary School.
Even though they had seen it before, the children still made comments about its size.
Georg led them on the sidewalk leading to the front door. He paused until everyone had reached the door.
"Children, let me and Hugo enter alone; we don't want to overwhelm anyone."
So the children and their mothers waited patiently on the walkway.
As soon as the men entered the school, they were immediately greeted.
"Good morning gentlemen, welcome to Garfield Elementary School. I'm Charlotte, the principal's secretary. Have you come to register your children?"
Georg spoke. "Yes, your custodian told us we could register them starting today."
"Are your children with you?"
"Yes, they are outside with their mother."
"Please tell all of them to come inside; I'll take you to meet with the principal."
Hugo stepped out to tell them and then held the door open for them to enter; they were very quiet.
They were taken to a large room not far from the front door; it had several rows of chairs. A woman greeted them.
"Good morning everyone, I'm Valerie Mitchell, the school's principal. Please take a seat so I can tell you about my school." After everyone was seated, she asked.
"Are you the families my government brought to America?"
"Yes we are." Georg answered.
"I thought so. My school and the high school have taught many children from Europe. At both schools you will first have a class which teaches you how to read and speak English. You will be able to advance to other subjects as soon as the teachers think you are ready.
"Mathematics is usually your first subject. You'll be amazed at how soon you are able to be in other classes. Now let me show my school. The room we are in is a multi-purpose room. It can be a place for meetings or a place for physical exercise on rainy or cold winter days. Now follow me and I will show you the rest of the school."
The little girls saw their classroom. It was a big room with four large tables with chairs for eight students. In all the other classrooms they saw unusual desks; the desk and the chair were attached by a piece of metal.
The principal stopped to explain. "These desks are very old. Most elementary schools in America use them. Since you stay in one classroom all day, the height of your chair can be adjusted to fit you; your feet need to be able to be flat on the floor. The top of the desk opens to store your books for each subject and your personal supplies. I will give you a list of what each child needs before you leave.
"My school doesn't have a cafeteria; the food store supplies lunch. Each child receives a sandwich, a piece of fruit and a carton of milk. Now follow me back to the big room we were in and you can tell me about each child, so I can place them in the proper grade.
Once they had arrived there, everyone sat; the von Trapp children were near their parents. Hugo and Connie's children sat near them. And Valarie asked.
"Parents, please tell me your name and then introduce your children and tell me a little about them."
"I'm Georg von Trapp. My seven children are all from my first marriage whose mother died from Scarlet Fever when the youngest wasn't even two yet. My new wife, Maria, taught them last summer. I'll let her tell you about them."
"Hello Maria, all my parents address me by my first name."
"Valarie, as Georg told you, I taught them last summer. All of them are advanced for their ages. Gretl is the youngest, she turned five last February but she can already write her alphabet and numbers one through ten. She can read simple words.
"Marta is seven. She can read primary books and can write about the story. She also knows how to add two and three numbers. She did very well in the science class I had for the older children on the maturation of a frog."
"From what you have told me, neither girl needs to attend Kindergarten. I will place Gretl in First Grade and Marta in Second Grade. The first two weeks of school are the time when the teacher assesses each child's knowledge. Almost all children need a review of what they learned the previous year.
"Maria, please tell me about the next oldest."
"That would be Brigitta, she's ten but she's very advanced for her age. She reads as well as I do and she can always answer questions about what she has read. Her arithmetic skills are very good as well.
"Then I will place her in sixth grade. Now who's next?"
"Her brother Kurt he turned eleven recently."
"Kurt, do you mind having your sister in your class?"
"No I don't."
"Maria, your other three children look older, I'm sure they belong in our high school."
"Yes, they are older. We plan to visit their school next."
Valarie then acknowledged the others. "I'm Hugo Schwarz and my wife Connie. I listened to you place Georg's children in a class. I believe all my children will attend your school. No one is old enough to attend the high school."
"Tell me their names and ages."
"Our oldest is Martha, she's eleven. Next is Andrew who's nine. Carolyn just turned eight. Mathew is six."
"Martha will be in the same class as Kurt and Brigitta. Andrew will be in third grade, Carolyn in second and Mathew in the first grade."
Both parents thanked Valerie and left the school. "Georg, there's no need for us to see the high school, we'll go on home. Your other children can come with us as well."
"That's fine. I don't think we will be too long."
The two groups separated. As they saw the high school again, Maria reminded the children.
"Don't be spooked by its size; I'm sure the principal will put you at ease."
Georg led them up the four steps to the front door; he held it open as Maria entered first. The children followed her. Georg let the door close behind him. They were immediately greeted.
"Welcome to Washington and Lee High School. Have you come to register your children?"
"Yes we have."
"Follow me. The principal, Mister Anderson will speak with you in his conference room."
The family entered a large room with an over-sized table with enough chairs for everyone. The principal stood to greet them.
"Welcome everyone, my name is Kenneth Anderson. All the parents address me as Kenneth; the children can address me as Mister Kenneth or Mister Anderson; it doesn't matter to me.
"And I know you, sir, are Captain von Trapp. I'll let you introduce your wife and children."
"My wife's name is Maria. We met when I hired her to teach my children. We married before we left Austria. The children are from my first marriage whose mother died from Scarlet Fever."
"Tell me about them."
"I'll let Maria tell you."
"Kenneth, the oldest girl, Liesl, is sixteen. She has completed secondary school in Austria. She speaks English well but doesn't read it very well.
"Friedrich is fourteen. He can also speak English but not as well as Liesl does. He's an excellent student; he excels in all sciences. He has a goal to find a cure for Scarlett Fever.
"Louisa is thirteen. Her strengths are reading, writing and art. Like her sister and brother she knows she needs English classes."
"Children, my school can help you with your English. I have a teacher who is a German immigrant. She came to America when she was a child. She remembers how difficult it was for her to learn English. She has some very creative ways to help you learn faster.
"You may want to stop by the library and check out a few early readers for children. They will help you learn some basic words. I'm looking forward to seeing you on the first day of school which is Wednesday September ninth."
"Thank you, I know my children will be looking forward to the day school begins."
"You're very welcome." He also thought. None of them have any step-mother issues.