Staff Blog

Just as the kids are finishing up summer activities and heading into the last three weeks of their summer break, the school staff is getting geared back up to kick off the new school year.  Whew!  Summer went by so fast!  The staff reports back on Monday, June 8 for two weeks of planning and preparation.  Six new people will join our staff this year, so we have lots to do to get ready for the kids on June 22.  Five of the new members are from Cebu or someplace nearby.  Each will bring a fresh set of skills, one is an elementary major, another is a math major and yet another is a special education major.  The sixth new person, Amanda, is from the US, just having completed her studies in science education.  It’s been a couple of years since we have had a teacher from North America, so we are looking forward to having a native English speaker on the staff full time. 

Amanda

More news of fun and learning will follow from the school halls in the weeks and months to come, but as we get ready for the kids, think of us and pray especially for the six new teachers, Alfie, Micillent, Lyrah, Amanda, Ethel and Ivy, who have committed to teaching at CCHS this year. 

Today we had a few Staff  members  from the LOGOS HOPE ship visit us here at CSC. Their ship is docked here in Cebu City for the month of May. It was fun for our kids to interact with young Christians from all over the world,  We had people from Europe, from South America and one young lady from Florida.  It was good for our kids to hear the accents and to learn a few words of other languages, but most important it was good for our kids to see the light of the Lord shining it the eyes and beaming from the hearts of each of these young people. One of our kids was surprised to learn that someone from another country already knew about God....he thought that CSC was the only place that told people about God. That conversation that I overheard really brought home to me the staggering responsibility that we have, we are telling kids about THE GOD, the creator of the universe, their creator.  WOW, what a blessing and what a responsibility we have! All I could think of was the children's song;  "He's Got the Whole World in his Hands".  That HE does,  and I am thankful for that fact.  We all need to be reminded of these simple truths from time to time. Thank you to the amazing young people of the Logos Hope for helping to bring this simple truth home to me today!

Jerry Salgo is one of the many people behind the scene making everything go smoothly. He is in charge of the CSC facilities, along with the maintenance and security personnel. While classes have been out on break, his team has been working to repaint and restore the school so that it will look as good as new when the students return near the end of June.

One of the projects they were working on was removing a whirlpool from the therapy room. Cebu Children of Hope School acquired the whirlpool several years ago and it was a great asset, meeting some of the physical therapy needs of our kids. It has since worn out its welcome and is no longer being used. The decision was made to remove it and sell it if possible. Uncle Jerry, being the conscientious steward that he is, needed first to ensure that it was working properly. As a man of high integrity, no task is too small or too silly for him to oversee the details personally. It is one of the many reasons we appreciate his hard work.

Once the removal is complete a new project will begin. The therapists, Jinkee Reasoner and Marwin Abong, have begun developing plans for a sensory wall to be installed. This will provide different tactile stimulation and be part of the therapy treatment for kids at CSC.

Children of Hope School recently celebrated its graduation.

Three students graduated preschool and are ready to move on to kindergarten.

Five students graduated sixth grade and are ready to make the transition from elementary to high school.

It was a fun day to think back on all the hard work the students had put in over the past year.  Each student received an award from their teacher, highlighting their individual accomplishments.   Recognizing the hard work means a lot to each child.  The graduates enjoyed their big day and are excited for next school year. 

Every year CSC children, 10-year-old and above, look forward to summer activities. Summer activities schedule is in the month of May. This year before January was over, the children approached me with a list of activities they want to be in. I tell them to wait in February. I will have the list of names of the kids who will be in the summer activities. In the list they could also put down 3 activities they preferred by numbering them 1 to 3.  Kids were so excited. They continued to ask what activities were available to them. “Is there basketball?” Is there baseball?” “What about music?” “Will we have the same teacher for music as last year?” “Is swimming every day?” “Is it okay to have two activities to enroll in?” Even the 9-year-olds and below were curious to know when summer activities would be. The questions were usually “Is May after graduation?” “Is it far away?” “When will it start?” 

After the lists were out to the homes, the next questions asked were “Who is in basketball or soccer or music or etc.?” Another one was “May I change my activity?” “I like that activity, why is it not in the list?” “I would like to be with so-and-so, may I transfer to that one?” When confusion, agreements and activities were in place, thirty-six children were enrolled in various activities this year. There are 3 in soccer, 8 in basketball, 1 in table tennis, 7 in cooking, 9 in music, 1 in badminton, and 7 in swimming. 

The other day, I was the watcher for basketball. Early in the morning while I was up putting my bags at the child care office, one of the girls asked if we could leave earlier than the time we were to leave. When asked why, she said they did not want to be late. Their coach made them do push-ups according to how many minutes they were late. So we did and we made it! 

It was the first time I was watcher for basketball this year. I was pleasantly surprised at what happened before lessons were started. The head coach told the kids who were there to sit down, bow their heads and he prayed for them and for the morning ahead. After praying, he proceeded to talk to the kids about discipline, practice and preparing for things in the future. He told them Noah did not start building the ark when it started to rain. Noah was ready with the ark and he was safe, together with his family, when the rains came. He finished his talk and encouragement to the kids by telling them to always practice what they learned, to be prepared, to do everything they could to come early to basketball lessons. When they do that, the lessons they learned will help them face difficulties, or trials that would come to them later on. He reminded them not to forget God will always be there to help them if they ask.