So the time has come around quickly and the past few months have seen a flurry of activity surrounding the registration of those born in 2009 for ecole maternelle in our village. Firstly the Midi Libre local newspaper published a request for all parents to visit their Mairie and register their enfants. Not being in France full time at the moment this process has been reported to me by my loyal neighbour who cut out the article and handed it to me back in November last year.
I wandered up to the Mairie armed with a bundle of passports, extrait de naissance, UK marriage certificate edf bill, taxe d'habitation...you name it I took it. All were photocopied and stamped & Jasmine was entered into a special book, handwritten in perfect french script.
February - a further notice to register which I missed. Ooops
March - phone call from assistant in Mairie to apply for certificat d'inscription next time I'm around and apparently I need to see La Directrice de l'ecole.
April - we arrive home at 7am having driven 13 hours overnight from London to Herault. My neighbour is in a panic and rushes me off to the Mairie at 11.30am quick before it closes and its too late - last date for inscription part II apparently. I run to the Mairie, again armed with my pile of officialdom to be told not to worry, the assistant will sort it out next week as she needs to hand out flyers for the village cinema screening this afternoon! It's the first time I've run in years and I look like I've just run the marathon (having had no sleep for almost 36 hours either!)
So I leave it with her & assume it will all be ok.
Tuesday I'm in the pharmacy and my neighbour hands me an envelope with the certificat d'inscription, it has our daughter's full names and our names and address. Seems a fairly uninteresting piece of paper except for the colourful blue & red stamp from our Mairie which I just love - it always makes me smile - I don'tknow why but it all seems so quaint in today's world of industrial anonymity.
So that is that? What happens next? Do I have to see La Directrice? Do we get a tour of the school? With/Without Jasmine? /can you give me a heads up so I don't end up having to meet the teacher when I look like I've not washed, slept or eaten properly for a few days!