Staff Blog

Well, this was the day I had been waiting for, the first all-school activity I was in charge of (along with Teacher Cora) in my new job as a teacher at CCHS.  Teacher Cora and I were the facilitators of the Reading Challenge Kick-off, a contest that runs for six weeks to see how much everyone can read.  The activity started with a prayer followed by a video presentation. Next was a short skit that really made me nervous. It was not easy to talk in front of the students since it was my first time to be in charge. 

As the skit started, the students were wondering where I was going because I was carrying a bag.  I pretended I had come from the library after borrowing books.  Teacher Cora asked questions about the books I had “borrowed.”  Some of the kids were laughing and cheering.  I was still pretty nervous.  Then all the teachers started singing a rehearsed song, “I Love Reading.”  The students joined in dancing and singing the song. 

Following the skit, each reading teacher announced the reading goals for the different classes.  The students were mostly excited and a bit nervous themselves about meeting the goals.  Games of “What’s the Word?” and “What’s Missing?” topped off the activities.  The kids had to think hard and work together.

The event ended with lots of smiles on the kids’ faces.  They showed their willingness to learn, read, discover and broaden their imagination through reading. They were ready to dive into reading good books!  Reading more will help in shaping their futures.

If you read Peter Arneson’s past blog about the Therapy Department, you will remember that we were in the process of taking out the Jacuzzi inside the therapy room.  Uncle Jerry was taking a warm dip in the picture in the blog.

Well, we have removed the Jacuzzi and replaced it with more shelves.  We also have new carpeting!  During the process of remodeling, I contemplated putting in a sensory wall and a climbing wall for the benefit of most of the kids we service.  With the help of Uncle Jerry’s team, we were able to put up a climbing wall and a sensory wall.  The sensory wall consists of four panels: textures, gadgets, magnets and falling objects.

Some of the kids are already enjoying the new digs! Take a look at our new therapy room.

Kind of a weird title for a blog I know, but it is something that I have been thinking about lately. 

We had one of our CSC KIDS return for a visit last week.  He is now 19 years old; he left CSC when he was about 19 months old.  When we told his house parents and his caretakers that he was coming back to visit they all were excited to see him of course…no one is forgotten at CSC.  One of the first things they talked about was his birthmark; he had a birthmark on one of his legs below the knee.  They remembered him of course, but his birthmark was something that was special to him. 

When he arrived we were all excited to see him, we recognized his smile and could see that little baby face that we remembered in the face of the young man with a mustache before us.  We all glanced at his leg and did not see the birthmark we remembered so well…was this really our little guy?  Finally, someone could not hold it in any longer; they asked him where his birthmark was.  I wondered how he would handle that question; but he stood up, put his foot up on the chair, and pointed out a barely discernible scar right where we knew his birth mark should be.  He explained that he had his birthmark removed when he was young because he did not like that people always noticed it.  He thought it was wonderful that we remembered though, it brought a big smile to his face that we remembered something that was specific and individual to him.  It gave him something positive out of something that he thought was negative.  He almost seemed proud to show us the scar, he knew it was part of his identity, and the fact that we remembered proved to him that we DID remember him as an individual.  

This little event made me think  about  the” birthmark”  that many of us  have, one  that should be obvious for one and all to see.  Do we let people see the “birthmark” that we have from our second birth; our birth into God’s family?  This “birthmark” would be visible in our actions, our words, even our thoughts.  I wonder if some of us would like to hide it and remove it.  I wonder if some of us are embarrassed about it.  I am sure that I have thought of doing all those things at different points in my life.  Nevertheless, in the end, we know that this “birthmark” is the best thing we have ever been given.  We can be proud of it and we need to show it to the world.  I love birthmarks.  

Being a teacher implies that when I am inside the classroom, I possess various roles.  I may be a model, a facilitator, a motivator, a surrogate-parent and so on.  Being a teacher at CCHS is a fulfilling job for me because I know every student has some specific learning need.  I may not be able to totally fulfill all their needs, but I can help each child attain more. 

Young kids always love to play and be imaginative.  Recently one day in Civics class was a particularly good day of fun and learning for me and my students.  Our topic on that day was studying about the various beautiful, historical, and well-known places in the Philippines.

I told the kids we were going on a trip.  I started our class with, “Kids I want you to close your eyes.  Pretend we are going to ride an airplane to Manila. We’ll start in Cebu and go visit the beautiful places in Luzon.”  Then the kids opened their eyes and looked at the pictures of different places in Luzon.  We “visited” Rizal Park, Fort Santiago, the Rice Terraces, and a lot more.

I was amazed at the interaction during the lesson.  The students asked a lot of questions and were curious about each place.  They wanted to know more about different places in our country, the Philippines.

And as I finished the class that day, I knew the kids had learned a lot and I felt fulfilled as their Civics teacher.

We are constantly working at CSC to do things like a regular family. It’s impossible to get that exactly right with 90-95 children, but we work hard at it.

One of the wisest decisions we’ve made is to schedule enough childcare workers so that our “aunties” have time to connect with the children in our care. All of us run the risk of moving from task to task in our jobs, and we hope to prevent that at CSC when it comes to the care of our children. Time for bonding is critically important to a child's development so there are consistent aunties around, assigned to each home, at low enough ratios that connections can develop.

The picture below portrays the kind of thing we witness each day in Cebu. A child is stepping out on his own, but he’s not alone. There nearby is a loving auntie ready to catch him if he falls. Some aunties take time to push our kids in a wheelchair, others push little ones on a swing. Sometimes they stand under a basketball hoop to rebound balls, other times they stand behind tentative little steps. We believe there are times the most important work an auntie can do is simply to play, come alongside or listen and let a child know they are worthy of time and attention. They and the House Parents are the frontline family to the children so many of us care about at CSC.