Staff Blog
The other day the children presented a Christmas play for the Children of Hope School
morning meeting. There were angels, wise men, shepherds and the other traditional manger scene personalities. As I watched the students deliver their songs and lines I was impressed with one performance more than any other. Grace was the number one star of the show in my opinion.
Grace was assigned to assist with Wilmar, a 12 year-old boy who is full of life and enthusiasm. Wilmar has autism. He always sings loudly and enthusicastically, but not always when he is supposed to sing. He needs lots of instruction and encouragement to keep quiet when others are talking or singing, and to remain in his place when it is so much more fun to wander around the stage area. Often, we have an aide or one of our therapists assigned to help Wilmar, but that can be very distracting and take away from the childrens' performance. On this day, Grace had the job and she was spectacular. She led Wilmar when he needed leading, corrected him when he sang or spoke out of turn, and gave encouraging words and even a few stern glances. She had to worry about her own lines and movements as well as Wilmar's, and she never faltered once during the whole show.
Grace understands what we all do at Children of Hope School. She knows that, if 
we are going to have students like Wilmar in our school, or in the Shelter, it is takes extra efforts from caregivers, teachers, therapists and the other children in the home and at school. We all have a role to play in helping them with navigation, and, often, with behavioral issues that might make it otherwise difficult or impossible for them to participate in activities. Inclusion is something we pride ourselves on at CSC and CHS. And everyone is needed to make it work. Grace did it so well the other day, and I was so proud of her and the teachers who model the compassion, compromise and commitment needed to let Wilmar, and Grace, and all the other students shine in our school.
The Sun
Every day at Cebu Children of Hope School (CCHS) we start our day with something called Morning Meeting. This is a "soft landing" time for our children which enables them to calm their bodies, practice social skills, and prepare for a great day of learning. Part of every Morning Meeting is a time for kids to share. Sometimes the question is about what they did over the weekend, sometimes the question is related to the day's lessons.
Teacher Chery and Teacher Mae lead the Morning Meeting for Level A1, our four energetic kindergarteners. Here is a conversation they recently had in their classroom, with the question relating to the day's science lesson.
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Teacher Mae asked, "Where do you think the sun will go during the night?"
Student 1: The sun goes under the sea at night because it goes under the line (he means the horizon).
Student 2: The sun is on the ground teacher.
Student 3: Hmmmmmm... the sun will go to bed and sleep.
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Even with their young minds, these children have great ideas that even surprise us adults at times. Each child at CCHS is surrounded by great teachers who have dedicated their lives to help enlighten and empower their students so they can understand everything from where the sun goes at night to understanding how the God who made the sun loves them unconditionally. Thank you for supporting the work that is happening every day at CCHS!
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Pag Ibig Award
Recently CSC received an award from the Pag-IBIG Fund, the Philippine government financial agency that is handling the mortgages for our 60 employees who are receiving Habitat for Humanity homes. The award recognizes the role of CSC in this project on behalf of our employees, who are all automatically members of Pag-Ibig.
This award is a testimony to the work of Paul Reasoner, who raised funds to help alieviate the financial burden for our workers and make their mortgages more affordable for them. We are an organization that values our employees and we have been concerned that they have decent housing. Many have lived in sub-standard houses prior to this project, and would not have had even the hope of having their own house and lot without the cooperative efforts of CSC, Pag-IBIG Fund and Habitat for Humanity. This award reflects that concern of CSC, and the partnership of the agencies who are all dedicated to getting deserving people into safe and affordable housing.
Pastor Fred Verdeflor, who is the husband of our CSC nurse Arlyn and President of the CSC Happy Homes homeowners association, went to Manila to accept the award on behalf of CSC.
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Life Cycles
All living things undergo different stages during their life. Some living things start as a seed, pollen, or spore. Other organisms such as animals start as a live young or an egg that sometimes needs to undergo the process of metamorphosis which completely changes their appearance.
In my Level B2 science class the students were able to witness the process of metamorphosis. We started in the caterpillar stage where the students saw how many leaves the caterpillar consumed. After several weeks it became a pupa. The students were very eager to look at the changes every day though it stunk when they opened the lid of the box. The day finally arrived when the caterpillar became a moth! We all went outside and set the moth free. The students were so excited to be a part of this process!
The whole activity took a lot of time and dedication but the result was very fulfilling. The students were able to learn not just how metamorphosis works but also about patience, perseverance, and having a love for nature.
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2018 Highlights
CSC Higlights of 2018
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Christmas 2018
Click to see pics of the different activities at CSC this Christmas. Our generous donors allow us to give lots of fun times to the children. God bless you all.
Junel's Box 2018 - Inayawan, Cebu City
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