It will be another week before the summer holidays start in our province. A period that for many students is all about finishing and saying goodbye to your teacher and your school friends for six weeks. For the students of the primary school in De Kiel it is a final farewell, because the school will no longer open after the summer holidays.
At the moment there are still seventeen students at the school in the village, but eight of them will go to secondary school after this school year. That leaves nine children. And that is too little.
The school has tried to keep it up as long as possible, but with this low number of students, they still had to make the decision, says director Petricia Hepping. “It was difficult to put an end to it, but for the children it is an opportunity to get more social contacts. So that is nice.”
It was no surprise to the students, because the school has always kept a close eye on things. Still, the students are going to miss school. “It’s nice that there are few children at school. And the quarrels are quickly resolved here,” says Lisanne.
Esmée will also miss the small group. “We have a nice group and we do a lot of fun things together. In addition, I can concentrate well and the teacher can help us quickly.”
To end the school year and school time well, the last week before the holidays is all about celebration. “It feels very strange, because you leave behind a nice school with a friendly atmosphere. But on the last day of school we throw a prom and we are also doing a musical for the first time this year. Not only with the children who leave school, but with all students. To end the last week on a good note,” Hepping laughs.
And after the summer holidays, the students and most of the teachers go to the primary school in a nearby village. In Schoonoord, CBS de Slagkrooi is ready to receive the students.
RTV Drenthe visited the school in De Kiel and made the video below: