Staff Blog
Last October we entered the Support Give-Away Contest for Resource Mate, the library automation program we use at Cebu Children of Hope School. It doesn't sound too glamorous, but we thought it would be worth it to submit the required essay to see if we could win a year of free tech support. The essay had to describe how Resource Mate helps impact our community. Well, we just found out we won the contest!!! Woo Hoo!!!
Here's the essay we submitted:
It’s library day and Eugene wants to check out the next book in the Ranger’s Apprentice series. He looks at the spine label and heads to the “Fla” part of the Fiction section. Juliet wants to check out a Clifford book. She read one in her class and is excited there are more books about Clifford. I help her look in the Easy section and we hunt for the spine labels that have “Bri.” Mary Grace is ready to tackle chapter books and wants to know where to look for ones for girls. I point her in the direction of the Fiction section of books with spine labels that read “Ame” for American Girl books. Maybe she’d like to try a Junie B. Jones book too. The Level B reading class is studying about camouflage. A bunch of the kids ask where to find books about animals that use camouflage. We brainstorm about how to do that and someone remembers that we should search on the Resource Mate computer using the keyword camouflage. The Reading Challenge contest is in full swing. Kids race into the library each day to return their books and check out a new stack to read at home. Teacher Amanda comes into the library looking for books on the theme of risks and consequences. She searches and finds a number of books she can check out and keep in the classroom for the kids to read while they are working on this topic. Teacher Alfie stops in right before leaving for the day to check out some books to read to his girls at home. Sounds like a pretty normal day in the life of a library.
But the library at Cebu Children of Hope School is anything but normal or typical in this city of 866,000 people with one public library. Our library serves the community of children who reside at Children’s Shelter of Cebu, an orphanage in Cebu City, Philippines and the staff who work with the children. All of the children who come to live at Children’s Shelter of Cebu are from the surrounding communities on the island of Cebu or neighboring islands. The vast majority of the children have either never attended school or have attended very little. When the children start attending school at Children of Hope School, they often do not know the letters of the alphabet much less how to read. Usually it is safe to say no one has ever had a book read to them. Needless to say, they have never seen a library.
The children are thrilled to learn what a
library is. No one has to convince them
how cool it is to browse the shelves of books and check out books to take home
to the shelter. Teachers have also often
never been inside a proper library. To
have an automated system and thousands of books at their fingertips is pretty
unbelievable. The children and teachers
are taught how to look for books in the library. They learn what spine labels and bar codes
are and how the books are organized on the shelves. They are taught how to search for books by
title, author, subject, or keyword. The
children hover around the Resource Mate computer in the library eager to have
their books scanned so they can start reading their selections.
Most of the children who come through the doors
of the shelter and school are adopted either locally or internationally. Currently the children have been adopted into
families in fourteen different countries around the world. The experience and knowledge gained at our
school and in our library goes with them to their new countries, communities,
and families.
On the surface, the little library at Cebu Children of Hope School seems pretty normal, but every day really is a little bit miraculous in our slice of the world on the tiny island of Cebu in the Pacific Ocean.
Conferences: Sharing about the Students
Twice every school year, the teachers meet with the house parents, child care team, and other staff members to share how each student is doing in school. The small class sizes and many hours spent together make the teachers experts about the children. The teachers know how to inspire the students. They know how to explain the lessons. They know how to meet the children where they are at.
Recently, the first teacher conferences of the year were held. It was great to hear about the strides the students are making. The teachers shared some anecdotes about the children, giving insight into the mind of each child.
- One teenage boy loves drawing and is good at it. However, sometimes he spends too much time on the drawings for an assignment and does not leave enough time for the writing part.
- A preschooler was described by his teacher as having "a lot of potential to learn a lot this year."
- One first grade student recommended a comic book to his teacher. "If you read this teacher, it is funny," he said.
- After a day of vacation, a student confessed to his teacher, "I don't like no class. It is boring to have no learning."
The teachers also shared some of the school work the children of have been doing. The drawings by the kindergarteners and first graders showed how much they have improved in just the first few months of the year. The more difficult books the upper elementary students have been reading show how much they comprehend. It is encouraging from preschool on up!
Here is one student's work "The Lion and the Worm" read by the author, Lerma.
| Show Comments | | | Leave a Comment | | | Category: | School News |
Morning Meeting: Animals
Animals fascinate people of all ages. Kids four, five, and six years old are no exception. Many times the third or fourth thing you learn about a kid that age is their favorite animal. Name, age and possibly favorite color come before their favorite animal.
Preschool and Level A were excited to lead morning meeting because it was all about animals. They had fun singing and performing a few songs about animals. They did well and stayed focused throughout. The Animal Game Show finished off the morning meeting. Several kids were asked about their favorite animals and gave cute answers.
Check out the highlights of the morning meeting here:
| Show Comments | | | Leave a Comment | | | Category: | School News |
Babies in God's Hands
When a new baby is being cradled lovingly in the arms of the person caring for him, we are given a glimpse of being held in the hands of God.
Two weeks ago, a two day old newborn boy came to CSC. This week, a little baby girl joined CSC at about one week old. They are both in good health, but still they need constant care, just like any newborn baby. They are fragile, demanding, beautiful, and completely dependent.
We are babies to God. We need constant care even when we are in the best place in our lives and doing the very best we can. With God’s hands to guide and protect us, we can do amazing things. Actually, God does amazing things through us.
It is humbling to care for a newborn baby. A baby's potential is vast and we can be a part of fulfilling that potential. God wants to use us to fulfill His plans.
| Show Comments | | | Leave a Comment | | | Category: | Shelter News |
National Teacher's Day!
Last Friday was National Teacher's Day! What a great day to be reminded of the many blessings we have in our talented faculty. It made me think of what makes a good teacher...well, good. All I had to do was watch our teachers in action and the answers are all there.
A good teacher...
gives their students a voice
prays over them
leads by example
strategizes with them
gives them the stage sometimes
lends a helping hand
motivates them to try
loves them
cheers them on
rewards their effort
and makes learning fun!
We have better than good teachers at Cebu Children of Hope School----we have phenomenal teachers! Please remember them in your prayers for CSC and I hope that you say an extra prayer for all teachers everywhere. Their job is a very tough, but oh so important one and they need God's strength in all that they do.
| Show Comments | | | Leave a Comment | | | Category: | School News |
ART ATTACK!
Art time is commonly one of the favorites of students around here. This is the time the students get to express themselves and release the inner artist. In art, there are open-ended and boundless creative possibilities.
Group 3A kids were eager and excited to have their art class, because they had missed it for three straight weeks due to scheduling conflicts. When I announced to the class what they were going to do, they were thrilled.
I set up the working area outdoors hoping they could connect with nature and get an inspiration while doing primary color painting. The frenzied students wanted to start right away each using a set of primary color paints with 3 brushes and 1 piece of white paper.
At first, some students were capricious and dubious of
what they were going to do or make. Were
they going to mix the colors to create new ones or work only with the primary
colors? But after a moment they were
overflowing with ideas.
It's so neat to see what they can do on their own. Each a work of art indeed!
- Jae Ann Labra, Level C Teacher
| Show Comments | | | Leave a Comment | | | Category: | School News |
