Staff Blog
Heart, a new girl, came to the shelter the other day and I was immediately struck by her name. It’s different. And it seems like there might be a story behind the name. I wonder what it is.
There is often a reason behind why a name is chosen for a child. Maybe you know the story behind your name. Sometimes parents just liked the name. Sometimes it was chosen to remember a family member or carry on a tradition. Other times a name is picked for its meaning.
Of course, most of the kids at CSC have names already when they arrive at the shelter. The variety of the names is kind of fascinating. There are plenty of “normal” names like Grace, Cris, Mark, Carlo, Hannah, Raphael, and Juliet. There are also names that are a bit more unusual or less common like Chosar, Trexie, Jemarie, and Lerma. Many families in the Philippines seem to like to name children using alliteration, so there have been lots of sibling groups with names all starting with the same first letter like seven kids with all “M” names, six kids with all “J” names. Then there is the fairly common practice of naming twins with the same or very similar first names and different second names like Nina Kylie and Nina Kaye or Marky and Marty with the accent on the second syllable.
Some of the babies are named after arriving at the shelter because they do not have a name yet. Sometimes, if a child has been abandoned, we do not know the full name and are unsuccessful in finding out the child’s name. Princess Apple got her name because she was found on a boat bearing that name. One little boy knew his first name, but not his last name and efforts to find out proved unsuccessful, so he was given the last name of Maxilom for the street where he was found. One girl told me she liked her name a lot because it was a combination of her birth parents’ first names.
Names have stories behind them, reasons why a name was chosen for a child. Our names make us unique. I wonder what the story is behind Heart’s name.
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.
--------
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.
--------
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!
| Show Comments | | | Leave a Comment | | | Category: | School News |
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.
| Show Comments | | | Leave a Comment | | | Category: | Shelter News |
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.
| Show Comments | | | Leave a Comment | | | Category: | School News |
2018 Highlights
CSC Higlights of 2018
| Show Comments | | | Leave a Comment | | | Category: | General News |
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
| Show Comments | | | Leave a Comment | | | Category: | General News |
