Staff Blog

As students engage in putting projects together, creating crafts, and using familiar materials in new ways, they are constructing meaning. These are particular times of learning when students are stimulated to learn as much as possible. In our school, we support the many varied opportunities available to our children.

In one of my respective science classes, we were learning about ears and sounds. I decided to culminate the lesson with making drums out of recycled cans and wooden sticks. As the children worked, I took time to stand in a corner, totally captivated watching the kids paying careful attention to their craft. It was a wonderful sight. My little kids were like a different group of children in an instant. They were working happily with their busy hands and thinking out loud with their creative minds. It was amazing.

This is Group 2A Science Class applying their favorite paint and adding designs to their drums.

Here they were putting on the finishing touches before turning in the project.

Finally, after all the hard work, we had a parade around the backyard of our small school. Of course, we played our drums!

On a separate occasion with my SRA Reading class, we were reading the story Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran. It is a story about an imaginary town children created to play in. My students got excited and asked me if they could have their own Roxaboxen. Why! Yes, absolutely! Although I was not sure if it would be fun for the boys in class, it was actually adorable and exciting to watch them all work together. After all was said and done, my doubts disappeared. For one entire day, our classroom became a totally different, special place.

Here in our special place, the children were busy creating their rules and regulations – currency, industry, and a little bit with government. Two children helped manage a fine restaurant.

There were two stalls at the rear end of the town, a bookstore and their own version of Toy Kingdom with all the toys, games, and puzzles one could want.

Since it’s fun to have a lot of people in town, we invited some friends to visit our place. We had so much fun!

Again in the corner where I stood, I thoughtfully watched my kids. I could see the children thinking differently and in creative ways. It was not only fun, but practical and would benefit them in the long run. I positively, absolutely believe my kids are heading toward bright futures.

Our school is a place where the hands, the heart, and the mind are collectively regarded as one. In days that turn into weeks and months that turn into years, in school our children are learning more than paper and pencil. They are learning hands-on as they grow.

Just a glimpse of one of our exciting days at school…

-Zel Templa, Level B Teacher

Quarterly Examinations! When kids hear these words, they have different reactions… some are happy…. some are scared… but for CCHS students, it’s anticipation!

As part of the education process, quarterly examinations are a means of measuring the students’ performance in school. The students prepare a lot for them. They take their studies seriously. They go through sleepless nights studying and hoping for very good scores in the end. The exams not only serve as encouragement for the students to work hard and aim for good grades, but also unite students to study together and strengthen, if not build, new friendships. For teachers, they make sure their tests reflect what has transpired during the quarter and show the true learning of their students. 

Quarterly examinations always bring excitement to every child at Cebu Children of Hope School. “For me, quarterly examinations are fun. It keeps you alert and makes you feel nervous at the same time,” a student from Level C said.  “It excites me because it tells me how far I’ve learned from my teacher. It also reminds me to always listen to her during class discussions because I know that quarterly examinations will soon come,” said another.

For teachers, quarterly examinations are a way of measuring how much the students learn from their lessons.  The tests give the teachers a sense of fulfillment especially when their students get good scores.  The exams also remind teachers about how important their role is, in shaping the minds of the young children. “My students’ scores do not really matter to me, although, it would be a great feeling if they’d get good scores. What matters most is, how they would use that gained knowledge in their personal lives and how they’re going to live their lives soon after,” one teacher said.

No matter how different people view quarterly examinations, one thing remains certain.  The exams are given to help the kids and remind them to always study hard and use that knowledge in shaping their bright futures.

One of the very special holiday seasons is here again! It’s the season when we remember Christ’s birth, the time when we sing Christmas carols, give and receive gifts, and be with our family and good friends.

Here at Cebu Children of Hope School, the children also take part in this joyous celebration. Every December, the teachers and students prepare a Christmas musical presentation. This year our school will perform “Candy Cane Lane” created and written by Celeste Clydesdale. Every class level has their role to play. Everyone is excited, though some are nervous too.

The message of this Christmas musical play is Jesus. The candy cane reminds us of Jesus and not just a candy treat!

-Charis Adlawan, Level A Teacher

Hi, I’m Marwin, a member of CSC’s therapy team. The therapy team is made up of me and fellow co-therapist, Martin. In a normal work setting, we would work only as physical therapists, treating different types of rehabilitative conditions such as stroke. However, at CSC, it’s different. Martin and I not only use our physical therapy training, but we have also learned speech and occupational therapy skills. It’s nice that we are able to expand on our previous training.

Another unique part of our job is doing the Toddler Activity/Program. Twice a week, Martin and I bring the older toddlers (3 years olds) to school. We use this time to help prepare them for preschool. We work on identifying animals, letters, colors, shapes and body parts. It is so cute how some of the kids say the names of the animals like octokosh (octopus), piguin (penguin) and er- er fly (butterfly). We end each session with a short video. They are quick to laugh, sing and dance to the music!  

Here is some of their work.

And these are the todders.

- Marwin Abong

More than anything else in the world, in relation to her work, a teacher cares most about what her students have actually learned. She always wonders if she’s getting through to her students every day. I know I do. It pleases me and gives me a sense of achievement whenever I see proof that my students are understanding the lessons. Imagine how God must feel every time we show him just how much we need to learn from him.

A week ago we were practicing our morning meeting, a 30-minute presentation done by each level to showcase what they have learned in class. There are four levels of classes: Pre-K, A, B, and C. I teach one of the Level B classes. Our reading curriculum is organized with lessons based around different themes. Recently Level B classes have been reading stories based on the themes of Kindness and City Wildlife. To make sure that our kids really understood the concepts we were working on, I found a video about kindness showing a Pay-It-Forward kind of concept with people helping one another in a chain reaction. As a preview for the presentation, the Level B students watched the video.  They enjoyed the video, but didn’t seem to give it any kind of special thought. I was a bit disappointed. 

One of the things that we train our kids to do at school is to be disciplined. Every morning as they change from their tennis shoes to their classroom slippers, we remind them they should arrange their shoes neatly along the wall. One morning this week I saw some pairs of shoes were not neatly arranged. I called the attention of the owners of the shoes to arrange them correctly. What happened next touched me and surprised me as well!

One owner was about to go to his shoes to fix them when the person standing next to the shoes immediately arranged them. The owner smiled in gratitude and was about to line up when he heard me call another of the students to fix her shoes. As the girl was about to go and fix her shoes, the boy who was helped first ran to her shoes to fix them himself. Then he looked at me, smiled, and said, “Like in the movie, teacher. He helped me. I’m going to help her too.” After saying that, he went back to his line and went to his room.

The day passed, I was done teaching my lessons and I finally sat down in my classroom. I pondered about the one seemingly insignificant situation that had taken place that morning.

They were all Level B students. They were the ones we showed the video to first. They were the ones we taught about kindness. I thought the unit didn’t impress them much. I was absolutely wrong. They had learned. And when they saw an opportunity to apply the lesson, they did it as if they had done it many times in their lives.  It was amazing! Another realization hit me. Unlike adults, kids don’t tend to be so dramatic and touchy about movies they see that teach them a wonderful lesson. But it doesn’t mean they don’t care. They are internalizing the idea, waiting for an opportunity to apply exactly what they gained from that lesson.

What a precious treasure!

-Ann Sabio