Staff Blog

Everybody is excited when the schoolyear is about to begin. CSC kids love school!

On the fifteenth day of this month, school was officially opened to all the students of CCHS. The students walked to school with big smiles that told everyone how happy they were to be back at school and how ready they were to learn new things. They were accompanied by their house parents, aunties, and some members of the staff. The adults, too, were so glad to see all of the students march to school with cheer.

Upon arriving at school, the students were welcomed with wide open arms by their loving teachers. The teachers had thoughtfully prepared everything to give the students a great kick off for the schoolyear 2019-2020. True enough, the first day went really well. The teachers and students worked together to begin creating a positive community in which to learn.

At the end of the day the students went home feeling loved and excited again for the next day of school.

The Cebu Children of Hope School is an important part of the larger CSC ministry. Students not only gain academic skills but, with the help of their dedicated teachers, also learn equally valuable lessons like responsibility, problem-solving, cooperation, and self-control.

Thank you supporters for enabling us to impact these great kids to be the people God made them to be!

   This week, my Level A2 students finished the topic about the natural sceneries of the Philippines. One of the natural sceneries talked about really amazed everyone: the Underground River in Palawan. During the discussion the students asked many great questions.

     Here are some of them:
1.) Is it scary inside?
2.) Are there lights around?
3.) What animals can be found inside?
4.) What if an earthquake happens, will the cave collapse?
5.) Is there a ghost inside?
6.) How did the water enter the cave?
7.) Can we go inside the cave just by swimming?
8.) How many bats are there in the cave?
9.) If the boat we are riding in turns upside down, what will happen?
10.) Is it okay to make noise inside the cave?

     After the questions were answered, I asked them to raise their hand if they wanted to visit the underground river soon. Out of five, four raised their hands and one was undecided. The other students tried to convince her to raise her hand but she didn't. I then asked her why. This was her reply: I'm scared to go in the river!

     The class was then given a culminating activity which was to draw a picture of an underground river. At first I thought the students would find it hard to do but I was wrong. All of them couldn't wait to start drawing their picture!

     The United Nations Day celebration is one of the exciting activities at CCHS. It is always fun and informative. Children and teachers look forward to this event every year.
     The day before the event, all the teachers put in great effort to prepare lots of things for the kids. Everyone stayed late that night just to make their country booth really captivating. There was the sharing of minds on what to display and how to arrange things in the booth.

     The celebration started with the singing of the Philippine national anthem at the shelter followed by a parade heading to school. After the parade the children visited the the different countries: Belgium, Norway, Italy, and the Netherlands. Each group was given twenty-five minutes to stay at each booth and learn about the country. There was important information shared by the teachers, crafts to do, and food to eat.
     After the country tour was the jeopardy game. Questions were asked to each group to test how well they remembered the things that were shared earlier. It was really fun to hear the students help each other think of the correct answers.

     The event ended with a surprise thank you program for the teachers prepared by Teacher Eunice. It was indeed one great afternoon at CCHS!

Morning meeting is a great day opener at CCHS!

Each day begins with a group gathering for ten to fifteen minutes. Children say greetings to each other, do some movements, share ideas, and listen to the teacher's message for the day. It is something that children look forward to!

One morning meeting, I raised this question to my class for sharing time, "If you were to ride in a rocket and bring someone with you, who would it be?" I gave my students one minute to think of an answer. Everyone was so quiet and serious except for one boy who kept smiling the whole time.

After the time given, each of my student happily shared their answers. Most of them wanted to bring a friend. One thought of bringing his brother. When I asked the student who was smiling, he didn't answer right away. After a few seconds he said, "Tarzan!" Everyone in class laughed out loud (which was the reaction he was hoping for). Before our morning meeting ended I asked him his reason for wanting Tarzan with him. He didn't give me an answer, just a sweet smile on his face.

     Bible trivia at CCHS has helped a lot in cultivating more love for God's Word in the hearts of the students. It was something we started in school so everyone can know more of our great God. Every week each level is given one question to answer and one verse to memorize. And every Monday is Bible Trivia Day. Names of students who answered and those who will say the verse are picked. The latter one is quite challenging especially for the bigger students since they are given longer verses to memorize but the teachers are doing a great job of encouraging them to master their bible verses. Praise the Lord for the hardworking teachers who inspire the students to learn more about God's Word!

      Bible trivia made a great impact on one of my boys in class. Recently, I noticed something really cool about him. Before, he chose books with colorful pictures to check out from the library but for the past three weeks he has also checked out a Bible. During free time he used to copy and draw pictures but now he chooses to copy verses from the Bible (below is a picture of some verses he copied). There are times that he would also prefer to read the Bible rather than play games with others during free choice time. At first I found it really unusual. In my mind I was thinking, "Why does this boy choose to spend time in God's Word instead of doing other fun things?" One day I got the chance to ask him about it. He answered me with these four words, "I love the Bible."
      What a wonderful answer! What a wonderful boy!