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Yesterday at Children of Hope School, we proudly celebrated the graduation of three teenagers, who will go on to high school next year, and five pre-schoolers who will advance to pre-K.  It was a special day for sure.  The three oldest graduates have faced a lot challenges and have accomplished much in their years at our school.  One of the graduates gave a speech.  I thought he might discuss all of the academic challenges he had faced.  While he mentioned those briefly, the larger message he shared was that of gratitude.  He was thankful for his teachers and all of the time they had invested in him.  He was thankful to the staff for their encouragement.  He was thankful to his house parents for their guidance and leadership.  He was appreciative of the support from the Aunties and Uncles in his life.  And he was even thankful for challenges as he was so proud of what he had learned from them.

 

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Waiting in anticipation...

 

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The proud graduates!

 

I was impressed with his words and touched by his message.  CSC is often described as a place of refuge for the kids that come here.  Many have left violent homes, chaotic living situations or have had no home to speak of.  We are proud to be able to offer our kids the basic things: food, shelter, clothing, a safe place to rest their head.  But we are blessed to be able to give our kids even more.  We have a beautiful school and a talented body of teachers who are willing to meet the individual needs of our kids.  Our teachers go the extra mile every day and our kids benefit greatly from their tireless effort.

 

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Our talented teachers!

 

Praise the Lord for how he has blessed CSC!  Thanks be to God for how He brought each of these teachers to our school---for we are surely better for it!  :)

 

Cooks Return to the Kitchen

Apr. 11, 2015By: Joel Reasoner

Over the past three months, the afternoon cooks in both Cherne and Duterte homes have been recovering from surgery.  Auntie Mayflor and Auntie Sonia each had an operation which required lots of rest and recovery.  In their absence, other child care workers jumped in to cover the afternoon cook duties.   Of course no meals were missed and tasty food was always on the tables.

Last week Auntie Sonia returned to work!  

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This week Auntie Mayflor also returned to work! It is good to have them back in their respective kitchens.

As Auntie Mayflor enter the shelter gate the children from the Cherne home were walking up to school.  When they saw Auntie Mayflor, the line they were walking in suddenly morphed into a mob.  The children ran shouting “Auntie Mayflor!” racing to hug her. 

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The aunties’ impact in the lives was on full display in the moment of Auntie Mayflor’s welcome back from the children.

Keep the all CSC employees in your prayers.  They do everything for the children and their good health is essential. 

Confessions of a Messy Eater

Apr. 10, 2015By: Jinkee Reasoner

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I like to eat.

I nibble on my feet.

I pray before I eat.

 

I don’t know how to feed myself yet,

So I depend on my auntie’s hand.

I open my mouth wide

And welcome my tasty food.

 

Blended, pureed, squashed,

Smashed and crushed.

The way I like it.

The way I want it.

 

I don’t usually look like this,

I know.

There’s something on my face.

 

I know food goes to my mouth,

Not on my cheeks or forehead or ears.

What’s the use of a bib

If I eat like this?

 

At the end of my meal time,

Burp says this tummy of mine.

Aah…

What a treat!

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Volcanoes, Mountains, and Valleys

For the past few weeks, the preschool class has been learning about landforms.  They now know how to identify mountains, valleys, hills, volcanoes, isthmuses, and islands. 

They even sang a song during their morning meeting about landforms!

They topped off the unit by making their own models using play dough.  Fun stuff! 

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He is risen, He is risen indeed!

Apr. 3, 2015By: Lindsay Hoeft

It is Holy Week.  This week is a meaningful time for Christians everywhere.  In the Philippines, most stores and restaurants are closed on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday and schools are not in session on those days either.  Therefore, our school, Cebu Children of Hope, held it's Easter celebration on Wednesday.  The event started with a reading of Scripture - recounting the events of Jesus' last days on Earth.  Then there were games, crafts and praise and worship.  

I was moved during the praise and worship, and as you can see below, I was not the only one!  How blessed are we to be children of the Most High God!  That He, being without blemish, laid His life down for ours when we needed it most, but were also the most undeserving.  

May you and your families be blessed this Easter and remember God's goodness and Jesus' sacrifice.

 

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Praise the Lord!  He is risen!  He is risen indeed!

Have Fun with Math and Science!

Science and Math Day is always fun for everyone at CCHS.  It is a whole day affair full of interesting activities.

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Recently, everyone had a lot of fun during the science and math culminating activity.  In the morning, there was a math quiz bowl with the students grouped into teams.  The students took turns answering math questions categorized by levels of difficulty:  easy, average, and difficult.  It was so cool to see the students think and analyze. 

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The afternoon events focused on topics the students had been learning about in their science classes.  Different presentations were given by each of the science classes.  The highlight was the demonstration from the Group 4 class about static electricity.   Examples of static electricity were shown using balloons.  The students were amazed with what they saw and discovered.  It was super fun for everyone!

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