Teacher conferences about the students are different at the shelter. The teachers meet with the house parents and child development team to talk about the academic progress of the children. I like hearing about the progress and growth of all the children. The teachers have great insights into the children. And of course they also have some funny and heartwarming stories to share. Here are a few for you.
This girl asks the teacher each morning, “What are the things we need to do this morning?”
She is a little teacher, helping explain the lessons to her other classmates.
The teacher says this boy “brings happiness into the class.” His house father gave him a math word problem on day, “I give you one banana and one mango. How many fruits to you have now?” He answers without missing a beat, “Fruit salad!”
Five students are in the pre-kindergarten class, getting ready to move into kindergarten next year. They are learning about animals and their babies. Dogs have puppies. Cats have kittens. Pigs babies are piglets. One of the kids asked the teacher, “What are baby fish called?” This boy answered the other student, “Fishlets!”
This student remembers previous topics and connects them to current topics, sometimes interrupting the teacher. He tries spelling out new words to himself as the teacher is explaining the meaning. He is enthusiastic about learning and knowing things.
She does not like holidays because she likes school.
The teacher says, “Her presence makes class enjoyable and challenges other students.”
He is kind-hearted and caring toward his classmates.
She is eager to share her ideas and answers, sometimes before the question is read. It is hard to answer correctly when the question is not known.
Many days he can be heard offering help to a classmate, “Let me help you.”
“Her interest in everything in school helps her tackle difficulties.”
The reading challenge just finished and this girl did not win. Her teacher overheard her say, “The winner, she reads so fast. I will win next year.” She is striving to improve.
Science class started learning about natural resources. This student raised her hand concerned, “What are we going to do when they run out?” She knows the right question to ask from the beginning.
Here is some of the students' work from the first quarter. Enjoy!
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!
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.
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.
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