Bilingual schools

[BAwithkids]

really fell in love with "boutique" schools where class sizes are smaller and the kids known at a one to one level by all directors, teachers etc. Our eldest son attends Newland College in Caballito whose teachers have a scarily excellent level of English and a pure love of teaching - we couldn´t be happier. Fees 1800 per month plus extras for the 8.30 - 4.30 day - it sounds like a long day but they pack a lot in although with extra curric. activities, homework and play dates there isnt much time for much else than dinner and sleep. They have a kindergarten but we didnt find it had any real English value to add so we kept our kids in a pure Spanish speaking kindergarten to immerse them fully before English commences at 5. Good luck in the search..I doubt you will be disappointed if you have the funds to pay.

The "boutique"/small schools are very appealing to me. I'm more interested in finding a nurturing environment where they'll get supported learning Spanish than a high-end academic environment (they're fine academically now, and I'm sure can catch up after a year away). My older daughter is very shy in new situations, so a warm place is really important to us. Newland sounds great, but I'm a little unclear on the kindergarten - was there a choice of bilingual or Spanish only? The fees are higher than I'd like, but doable for a great place. Also, is it common for kids to come mid-year? Thanks so much - this is really helpful.

 

[BAwithkids]

Since you all are so kind to reply, I'd love to know if it's easy to find kids for English-speaking playdates. I want my girls to make Spanish-speaking friends, but also want them to just be able to relax and play without the language barrier... They both usually get along great with other kids - we just have to find them!

 

[Kulamama]

Hi BAwithKids,

I am wondering what school you decided on for your kids? My oldest (4) is also very shy and I'm trying to locate a warm/friendly bi-lingual school for him. We move in a few months so hoping he can start in the spring when schools in Argentina start up again.

 

[Kulamama]

I should also add---if anyone else has recommendations on a school they love (small/bilingual/warm and friendly) I would so appreciate any advice. My son is 4 years old and pretty shy. We plan to settle in Palermo or Belgrano as both neighborhoods are fairly close to my husband's office.

Thanks so much!

 

[ElQueso]

A bilingual school here means usually that they have two sessions of classes - Spanish morning or afternoon, and another language (depending on the school) the other part of the day. All schools here (as far as I know, at least the private schools, I don't know much about public) have classes in at least one other language, but that is to learn the language itself. The bilingual schools actually teach other subjects in the other language. They are also usually accredited internationally.

Which is why a bilingual school is so expensive. Lincoln is an example of a bilingual school. With the price and uncertainty of Colegio Aletheia being bilingual, I'm betting it's not, but I don't know that because I don't know the school and didn't look it over. But usually one would know if the school was under the category bilingual if it was.

 

[ElQueso]

Another thing - good, expensive bilingual schools can be tough to get into. A big waiting list. We looked at getting my sister-in-law into Lincoln some five years ago and the fact that she was starting late and didn't speak English would have made it almost impossible for her to get in. The fact that your son is 4 is a different story as far as the langauge goes, though, if he doesn't speak Spanish. That may be young enough to not be a problem.

 

[fifs2]

I should also add---if anyone else has recommendations on a school they love (small/bilingual/warm and friendly) I would so appreciate any advice. My son is 4 years old and pretty shy. We plan to settle in Palermo or Belgrano as both neighborhoods are fairly close to my husband's office.

Thanks so much!

Kulamama, our son attended Newland College in Caballito until we left Bsas last year and was in its kinder section and school for 4 years total. It's fully bilingual with half the days classes in English and the other in Spanish. We really loved it and stopped by to visit earlier this year and couldn't have received a warmer welcome. It's not in Palermo or Belgrano as requested but maybe you would consider Caballito to live as it has lots of nice houses with gardens and is very well served with transport links etc. It is not a prestigious school in Bsas and has no waiting list but the quality of the education meets UK Cambridge exam standards and we had no complaint. Prices run at approx. 3000 pesos per month. To us it was and is like family.
FYI see my earlier post re schools in Belgrano as we had considered a move there at one point. I really loved the kinder/primary section of Sworn college so if youre headking for Belgrano Id really recommend looking into that. Its a bigger more expensive school than the one we chose but location closer to town was what decided for us as we wanted to avoid long commutes for us and the kids.

 

[ElQueso]

Kulamama, our son attended Newland College in Caballito...Prices run at approx. 3000 pesos per month.

Not a bad price.

As a comparison for private school prices between bilingual and "regular", a full-day (morning and afternoon session) private catholic school (where my sister-in-law goes) for kinders is around 1200 pesos a month. It's not a bilingual school, although they teach English as a second language (don't know if they start in kinder or not). This is downtown, so it's a bit more expensive than the same school would be in Belgrano or Caballito for example. So a big difference between bilingual and regular schools in pricing.

Caballito is indeed close enough to Belgrano and Palermo (other side of the street, depending on where you live) that going to a school in Caballito should be as easy as any other school. People often send their kids halfway across town for school. One of my sister-in-law's classmates lives in Vicente Lopez (outside the city limits, just) and her mother takes her and picks her up every day. Caballito would be a short run.

 

[fifs2]

Not a bad price.

As a comparison for private school prices between bilingual and "regular", a full-day (morning and afternoon session) private catholic school (where my sister-in-law goes) for kinders is around 1200 pesos a month. It's not a bilingual school, although they teach English as a second language (don't know if they start in kinder or not). This is downtown, so it's a bit more expensive than the same school would be in Belgrano or Caballito for example. So a big difference between bilingual and regular schools in pricing.

Caballito is indeed close enough to Belgrano and Palermo (other side of the street, depending on where you live) that going to a school in Caballito should be as easy as any other school. People often send their kids halfway across town for school. One of my sister-in-law's classmates lives in Vicente Lopez (outside the city limits, just) and her mother takes her and picks her up every day. Caballito would be a short run.

Now you mention it elqueso the kinder section of Newland isnt bilingual only primary. Really depends on the op child birthday if he/ she will be in kinder or preescolar. Thx for bringing this to mind!

 

[JenyP]

Not a bad price.

As a comparison for private school prices between bilingual and "regular", a full-day (morning and afternoon session) private catholic school (where my sister-in-law goes) for kinders is around 1200 pesos a month. It's not a bilingual school, although they teach English as a second language (don't know if they start in kinder or not). This is downtown, so it's a bit more expensive than the same school would be in Belgrano or Caballito for example. So a big difference between bilingual and regular schools in pricing.

Caballito is indeed close enough to Belgrano and Palermo (other side of the street, depending on where you live) that going to a school in Caballito should be as easy as any other school. People often send their kids halfway across town for school. One of my sister-in-law's classmates lives in Vicente Lopez (outside the city limits, just) and her mother takes her and picks her up every day. Caballito would be a short run.

Hi El Queso!

I will be moving with my 2 children and husband to Bahia Blanca by the end of the month. So, we will be looking for a school, preferrably bilingual. My daughter (7) is currently in 2nd grade in the USA, and my boy (5) is in kindergarten.

Also, I am trying to reach out to other expats with kids in Bahia Blanca in the same situation as we are. My kids are fully bilingual (English/Spanish), and I also teach them a bit of Italian. My main concern is that once they begin school there, they would not want to speak English anymore as it happens in the United States when kids do not want to speak Spanish. That's the reason why I would like them to go to a bilingual school and have them socialize with other expat kids. Any tips on this subject will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

JenyP