Staff Blog

Last week was Conferences at the Children of Hope School.  So on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, from 12:30-4:30, our hardworking teachers presented on their students to the staff and house parents.

It is so nice to be able to learn how each child is doing in their class, what their strengths are, what their favorite subjects are, what they like to write about or talk about most.  Our kids are funny!  And creative!  And inspiring!  It was a great time to hear from each teacher how we can encourage, support and praise our kids for the unique skills, talents and challenges they have.

What also stood out to me so vividly is the dedication with which our teachers approach their class and the unique students they have in it.  We are blessed to have small class sizes at our school and most children are working at the level that best fits them.  When children come to us they have had little to no schooling, certainly none of which was at all consistent.  The gaps are significant.  Our teachers make countless accomodations and modifications so that each of the children in their class is being challenged, but not overwhelmed.  It is no small feat.

Check out some of their work below.  I am sure you will find the short stories entertaining and the letters heart-warming!

Plastic basins are used for all kinds of things in Cebu City. They are used for flowers, food, fish and bread, or for washing. They are everywhere in the city.

Of course, we have some pretty cool uses for basins at CSC, too. Basins make great bath tubs and swimming pools for our precious children!

I was going through some pictures the other day and I found these shots that were taken at the CCHS graduation last week. Although this is not the first blog post about graduation, I thought these pictures of our little ones at the graduation ceremony were still share-worthy. :) What a fun day!

Yesterday at Children of Hope School, we proudly celebrated the graduation of three teenagers, who will go on to high school next year, and five pre-schoolers who will advance to pre-K.  It was a special day for sure.  The three oldest graduates have faced a lot challenges and have accomplished much in their years at our school.  One of the graduates gave a speech.  I thought he might discuss all of the academic challenges he had faced.  While he mentioned those briefly, the larger message he shared was that of gratitude.  He was thankful for his teachers and all of the time they had invested in him.  He was thankful to the staff for their encouragement.  He was thankful to his house parents for their guidance and leadership.  He was appreciative of the support from the Aunties and Uncles in his life.  And he was even thankful for challenges as he was so proud of what he had learned from them.

Waiting in anticipation...

The proud graduates!

I was impressed with his words and touched by his message.  CSC is often described as a place of refuge for the kids that come here.  Many have left violent homes, chaotic living situations or have had no home to speak of.  We are proud to be able to offer our kids the basic things: food, shelter, clothing, a safe place to rest their head.  But we are blessed to be able to give our kids even more.  We have a beautiful school and a talented body of teachers who are willing to meet the individual needs of our kids.  Our teachers go the extra mile every day and our kids benefit greatly from their tireless effort.

Our talented teachers!

Praise the Lord for how he has blessed CSC!  Thanks be to God for how He brought each of these teachers to our school---for we are surely better for it!  :)

Friction, motion, and static electricity are just a few of the topics we've been learning about lately in science!  It is EXTREMELY difficult to teach about static electricity in Cebu's very humid climate.  There are no flannel sheets to show off sparks, rubbing your feet on the carpet doesn't do anything, and even rubbing balloons in your hair doesn't always produce the desired effect.  But along with the help of the air conditioned library, we have been attempting to see or feel a little bit of static electricity.  The kids were extremely excited on Friday when the balloons finally "worked".  

Friction and motion are easier topics to tackle!  After discussing them for a week, we had some fun with the "tablecloth" pull.  We started simple with just a small piece of paper and a marker.  Soon we moved up to using a large piece of paper and several dishes, bowls of water, pencil boxes, and other things.  The kids loved it, but I had to make sure to tell them NOT to try it at home!!