Staff Blog

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

Every Monday is P.E. day.  I like P.E. day beacuse I get to see the kids more.  In the mornings the kids have their core classes, those that focus on reading and writing, etc.  But on Monday afternoons, they have P.E. down at the shelter. 

All of the kids walk down to the shelter from the school at 11:30.  They eat lunch, some wash dishes, the rest play, study, or read until 12:30.  Those who do not have P.E. first, walk back up to school.  The remaining group eagerly awaits the arrival of their P.E. teacher.  From 12:30-3:30, the different grade levels practice a sport, hone new skills and most importanly, PLAY!  The current sport: SOCCER!  As you can see from the pictures below, the kids have a lot of fun!

And some of our kids' athletic abilities surprise us all!  Check out these skills!

My students (ten girls ages 11-15) were super excited!  They kept on asking me when our field trip would be.  Well, the time had come!  We went on a field trip last Friday to Archival’s Eco-House in Talamban, Cebu City.

Recently in science class, we have been learning about Ecology.  We learned about different environmental problems and solutions.  My students learned about how the 3R’s (reuse, reduce, recycle) and composting can help the environment.

The kids were so amazed with the tour at the Eco-House.  They kept saying, “Wow!” and “Chooya!” (That’s Cebuano for “wow”).   We walked through the organic vegetable garden, saw the filtration system for used water, learned about goat waste converted into methane gas, sat on used crates made into various furniture, looked at the solar panels used to generate energy from the sun, and marveled at the reused materials decorating the main house.

During the tour, we learned about the vermin worm or the African night crawler that helps decompose biodegradable materials.  While the tour guide was explaining, the students listened intently.  Then suddenly, the guide asked the girls, “Who can tell me again the name of the worm?”  No one answered. The guide jokingly said, “You can’t leave here if you can’t answer.”  The girls panicked and started blurting out different answers.  One student said, “Uhm, I remember it was Japanese, right?”  Another student said, “I think it’s vermus, yeah, it’s vermus.”  We all laughed about it and were thankful we did not have to stay with the worms.

It was an enjoyable and educational experience for the kids!

-Karen Faburada

Have you ever tried explaining something that is native and normal to your country, only to realize how strange it really is?  If you are an American, stop and think about, say, the way April Fool’s Day is celebrated. You get to pull tricks on people and get away with it all day! When you explain that to a foreigner, you would get a pretty confused reaction.  In American Studies class, I have the privilege of doing just that: introducing children who are about to be adopted by U.S. families to American culture!

Before we get too far, I need to introduce myself. My name is Katie Elliott, and I began teaching American Studies at Cebu Children of Hope School when Teacher Tammy returned to the states.  My husband and I moved to Cebu in January 2013 for his job at the business outsourcing office for his company and I have been volunteering at CSC since February of this year.  American Studies is a course designed for the school-aged children of CSC who have been matched for adoption to U.S. families.  In American Studies, we learn things like the pledge of allegiance, information about the state they’re moving to, national monuments, U.S. history, and American customs and norms.   My favorite unit was holidays and seasons.  It has been so funny to hear their reactions when I explain things like being pinched if they didn’t wear green on St. Patrick’s Day!  Or a leprechaun trying to steal a pot of gold from the end of a rainbow...especially when the holiday is celebrating Irish heritage, yet you're moving to America!  When we learned about winter, they were disappointed to hear that it might not snow every single day of winter, as they can't wait to build snowmen and go sledding.  Check out our adventures in making pumpkin pie when we studied Thanksgiving!