Our first day went well... for grade 1 & 2 it's really just a reminder of the rules, checking out the "new" things in the classroom (which includes a computer this term... we'll see how long that lasts) and getting to know each other again. It's only 1/2 a day of classes so we spent a lovely afternoon swimming, splashing and generally having fun at the pool and river. the water was freezing but the sun was so warm it felt rather refreshing.:) we ended the day by finishing up the movie "Milo and Otis" which the kids started on Tuesday night. Overall a good day.
Today however is when the real work begins. Right into class work and such this morning. We'll see how it goes having both grades in the classroom at all times...
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
laughter breaks the silence
The peaceful, relaxing silence has now been replaced with children's laughter and shouts and a sense of excitement. TOday the students are coming back to school and tomorrow begins our third and final term of the 2011 school year.
the past few days i've been busy desparately trying to get my classroom in order (i left it in a bit of a mess) and figuring out my schedule and what i'm teaching etc. of course i could have done that anytime over the past 6 weeks, but i am such a procrastinator that i always leave it till the last minute... praise the Lord it's done now. i'm not fully organized curriculm wise, but that will sort itself out over the next few days. it will be an interesting term in that i'll be teaching all the core classes to both grades. this means that i'll have both grades in the classroom when teaching math, language/phonics, and reading. usually we try to split them up at this time and have one teacher teaching math to one grade while the other grade is having language with another teacher. unfortunately we don't have the staff for that this term. I will be getting some help though as we have 3 more young ladies coming to help out for 6 wks. i've requested one as a TA. I'm not sure who it'll be yet as they don't arrive until Sept 15th. I guess i'll just have to wing-it until then. Another short termer who has come to help out wherever he's needed is Michael Geesey. He's a Sakeji alumni so it's nice that he could make it back for a visit.
Some prayer requests for this term:
1) That my students will work hard and finish the year strong
2) For those who are struggling to get the extra assistance they need
3) That we'll have a great term; that God will give the teacher's the patience and engergy they need and that Christ's love will shine abundantly in our school.
the past few days i've been busy desparately trying to get my classroom in order (i left it in a bit of a mess) and figuring out my schedule and what i'm teaching etc. of course i could have done that anytime over the past 6 weeks, but i am such a procrastinator that i always leave it till the last minute... praise the Lord it's done now. i'm not fully organized curriculm wise, but that will sort itself out over the next few days. it will be an interesting term in that i'll be teaching all the core classes to both grades. this means that i'll have both grades in the classroom when teaching math, language/phonics, and reading. usually we try to split them up at this time and have one teacher teaching math to one grade while the other grade is having language with another teacher. unfortunately we don't have the staff for that this term. I will be getting some help though as we have 3 more young ladies coming to help out for 6 wks. i've requested one as a TA. I'm not sure who it'll be yet as they don't arrive until Sept 15th. I guess i'll just have to wing-it until then. Another short termer who has come to help out wherever he's needed is Michael Geesey. He's a Sakeji alumni so it's nice that he could make it back for a visit.
Some prayer requests for this term:
1) That my students will work hard and finish the year strong
2) For those who are struggling to get the extra assistance they need
3) That we'll have a great term; that God will give the teacher's the patience and engergy they need and that Christ's love will shine abundantly in our school.
Friday, August 26, 2011
so busy relaxing i forgot to blog!
I have really been enjoying my holiday time this term break. It has been very laid back and relaxing. I have had the time (and energy) to get a lot of little things done that I’ve been wanting to do for awhile but haven’t been able to find the time. Lots of sewing and reading has been caught up on as well as gardening and other ‘pass times’.
The one, I’ll call it “black spot” on my holidays so far was the week I spent in Lunda lessons. Although the lessons were somewhat productive and I actually managed to learn some Lunda grammar and a few phrases; who wants to be taking classes on their holiday! Add to that that I’m “linguistically challenged” (languages do NOT come easily to me) and I was pretty miserable that week; that and the bumping around in the car for an hour each day on the way to and from Kalene. However, I keep telling myself that it was a good grounding and now I just need to keep practicing so that eventually, one Sunday I’ll go into church here and actually understand the sermon without a translator or I’ll be able to talk to my gardener in Lunda so he knows that weeding does not involve ripping out everything in the garden, just the weeds!
Speaking of gardens, I’m quite proud of how my little one is coming along. I even remember to water it a few times a week. This is mainly because I’m afraid of what my students would do if they found out that I let the pea plants that they planted die while they were away. (we studied plants last term). They will be so excited to see how much their little plants have grown…. Ok, I admit I’m kind of excited about it too. :)
Even more exciting then that though was when the container boxes arrived yesterday! Lina got her’s first so I went over to her house and oohhed and aaahhed as she opened hers. Then I went home and opened mine. For me it’s like Christmas and birthdays all wrapped up in dirty cardboard boxes. Pieces of home and love sent over in the form of t.p,, p.b and homemade preserves (among other things). Each missionary has their own method for the opening/sorting etc of boxes. Mine is: divide and conquer! I open all the boxes sorting/spreading the stuff all over the floor as I go; much like Christmas. Then once the excitement has died down do I start finding places to put everything. As this is not quite as exciting it can take me a few days to complete. Others are more “organized” in their approach and open and box and put the items all away before moving on to the next box. Although I see the “benefits” to this (mainly having space to move in the house) I just don’t find it exciting enough. It reminds me too much of my days in retail which I would rather forget.
Before I forget, I want to send out a huge “THANK YOU” to everyone who participated and donated to the getting these boxes to me. I don’t know how to thank you enough! Ok, a quick ‘favourites’ list and then I must get back to putting things away.
Favourite item: I think I’m gonna have to go with the wild mushroom mix, haven’t tried it yet but am so excited about it as I haven’t had mushrooms in ages!
Most useful item: well that’s gonna be a toss up between the printer and the bright yellow rain jacket; both will be used a LOT this term
Funniest item: the “singing” flag…not sure who put that in (I’m thinking one of my family members) but Lina and I had a good laugh. :)
Most ‘home-like’ item: mom’s preserves. Looking forward to that taste of home!
Well, that’s it for now. Must get the house back in order as next week I’m back in my classroom sorting that all out. Only a week and a bit left till the kids come back… I think I’m actually beginning to miss them…
The one, I’ll call it “black spot” on my holidays so far was the week I spent in Lunda lessons. Although the lessons were somewhat productive and I actually managed to learn some Lunda grammar and a few phrases; who wants to be taking classes on their holiday! Add to that that I’m “linguistically challenged” (languages do NOT come easily to me) and I was pretty miserable that week; that and the bumping around in the car for an hour each day on the way to and from Kalene. However, I keep telling myself that it was a good grounding and now I just need to keep practicing so that eventually, one Sunday I’ll go into church here and actually understand the sermon without a translator or I’ll be able to talk to my gardener in Lunda so he knows that weeding does not involve ripping out everything in the garden, just the weeds!
Speaking of gardens, I’m quite proud of how my little one is coming along. I even remember to water it a few times a week. This is mainly because I’m afraid of what my students would do if they found out that I let the pea plants that they planted die while they were away. (we studied plants last term). They will be so excited to see how much their little plants have grown…. Ok, I admit I’m kind of excited about it too. :)
Even more exciting then that though was when the container boxes arrived yesterday! Lina got her’s first so I went over to her house and oohhed and aaahhed as she opened hers. Then I went home and opened mine. For me it’s like Christmas and birthdays all wrapped up in dirty cardboard boxes. Pieces of home and love sent over in the form of t.p,, p.b and homemade preserves (among other things). Each missionary has their own method for the opening/sorting etc of boxes. Mine is: divide and conquer! I open all the boxes sorting/spreading the stuff all over the floor as I go; much like Christmas. Then once the excitement has died down do I start finding places to put everything. As this is not quite as exciting it can take me a few days to complete. Others are more “organized” in their approach and open and box and put the items all away before moving on to the next box. Although I see the “benefits” to this (mainly having space to move in the house) I just don’t find it exciting enough. It reminds me too much of my days in retail which I would rather forget.
Before I forget, I want to send out a huge “THANK YOU” to everyone who participated and donated to the getting these boxes to me. I don’t know how to thank you enough! Ok, a quick ‘favourites’ list and then I must get back to putting things away.
Favourite item: I think I’m gonna have to go with the wild mushroom mix, haven’t tried it yet but am so excited about it as I haven’t had mushrooms in ages!
Most useful item: well that’s gonna be a toss up between the printer and the bright yellow rain jacket; both will be used a LOT this term
Funniest item: the “singing” flag…not sure who put that in (I’m thinking one of my family members) but Lina and I had a good laugh. :)
Most ‘home-like’ item: mom’s preserves. Looking forward to that taste of home!
Well, that’s it for now. Must get the house back in order as next week I’m back in my classroom sorting that all out. Only a week and a bit left till the kids come back… I think I’m actually beginning to miss them…
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Birthday wanderings
I discovered last year that I share my birthdate with Pam Ronald, the nurse (among other jobs) here at Sakeji. So yesterday we had a joint birthday party at tea time with the Brass Tacks team and the skeletal staff left on station (the Ronalds and Lina). it was nice and low-key, just the way i like it. :) After the small party, Lina and I borrowed the school's truck and headed over to Kalene. Our mission was a shopping one; the market at (near) Kalene has different chitenge (material) than the one more local to Sakeji as the Kalene material usually comes from the Congo and the Ikelenge material comes up from Lusaka. Before we began our shopping we stopped on the side of the road for a little picnic. This caused great entertainment for the locals. Some of the women were actually (what I would consider) quite rude, standing right beside our truck, staring, laughing and pointing while we ate. They then had the audicity to sit and wait for a ride (which they didn't get, partly b/c we weren't going the direction they thought and partly b/c we were too annoyed). We looked in the various shops, checking out the materials and other goods. We were a little discouraged at first but then found what we were looking for. Success! :) Our next stop was supposed to be a quick stop at the dentist to make appointments for later; but who wants to visit the dentist on their birthday, so we skipped that stop.
We decided rather spontaneously to go see the Rapids, a spot my family often went camping at on term breaks while we were here. After a long 'off-roading'-type drive we arrived at the campsite and I was bombarded with happy memories. I was quite shocked to see the changes to the river, I knew when they put the power plant in they had diverted the river, but i guess i hadn't expected it would be so different. My brother Chris may be happy to know that the slightly dangerous, 'higher' rapids that left him with scars, is now no more. The river was quite low as it is the middle of the dry season, but there were still children sliding down the wet rocks as we did in 'days gone by'. It was so nice and peaceful there adn although we didn't have swimming gear, Lina and I waded a bit through the water, enjoying the cool water chilling our feet white the sun beat down tanning our ours and necks. We sat for awhile watching some dragonflies dart about. I named this one vibrant red one, Lushomo, after one of my over-active students. The thing wouldn't stop moving! Finally it settled long enough for some pictures. After a time we figured we should get back to 'reality' and headed for home.
We were both pretty tired (Lina's still fighting off bronchitis and i havn't been sleeping well) so we had a nap before supper. we then went up to join the kids (Ronalds and Kennedy's (brass tacks team)) for some games. I actually missed most of the games time as my wonderful brother called to wish me a happy birthday. After that a few of us 'younger' adults stayed up to watch a movie and enjoy some cholate-strawberry parfaits. the strawberries were from my own garden which made them that much yummier!
and that was my birthday. it may not seem glamourous and exciting, but it was a great day and i enjoyed every minute of it. :)
We decided rather spontaneously to go see the Rapids, a spot my family often went camping at on term breaks while we were here. After a long 'off-roading'-type drive we arrived at the campsite and I was bombarded with happy memories. I was quite shocked to see the changes to the river, I knew when they put the power plant in they had diverted the river, but i guess i hadn't expected it would be so different. My brother Chris may be happy to know that the slightly dangerous, 'higher' rapids that left him with scars, is now no more. The river was quite low as it is the middle of the dry season, but there were still children sliding down the wet rocks as we did in 'days gone by'. It was so nice and peaceful there adn although we didn't have swimming gear, Lina and I waded a bit through the water, enjoying the cool water chilling our feet white the sun beat down tanning our ours and necks. We sat for awhile watching some dragonflies dart about. I named this one vibrant red one, Lushomo, after one of my over-active students. The thing wouldn't stop moving! Finally it settled long enough for some pictures. After a time we figured we should get back to 'reality' and headed for home.
We were both pretty tired (Lina's still fighting off bronchitis and i havn't been sleeping well) so we had a nap before supper. we then went up to join the kids (Ronalds and Kennedy's (brass tacks team)) for some games. I actually missed most of the games time as my wonderful brother called to wish me a happy birthday. After that a few of us 'younger' adults stayed up to watch a movie and enjoy some cholate-strawberry parfaits. the strawberries were from my own garden which made them that much yummier!
and that was my birthday. it may not seem glamourous and exciting, but it was a great day and i enjoyed every minute of it. :)
Thursday, July 28, 2011
sorry for the silence
I've been wanting to post since school let out,but we haven't been allowed to use the internet as we went way over our limit last month.
i spent the first few days relaxing and trying to get caught up on my dishes etc. Now i've buckled down for the bigger tasks. Yesterday I cleaned out my pantry/storage closet which took 1/2 the day as the previous owner was a hoarder and left a bunch of stuff. Now i've finally got some space for storing my stuff. I've also been "doing down"some veggies for my freezer so I'll have veg during the term.
Lina and I are in charge of 'morning tea' for the brass tacks men so we've been taking turns baking various things.
other things i've been up to...we all (the staff who are left on station) went to the cottage (or what's left of it) for a bbq/picnic which was pretty fun. Lina and i had planned to have a 'christmas in july' that day but had to re-arrange our plans. we still listened to christmas music and made a fairly cool looking gingerbread house. that all came about b/c I had sent the kit to Lina for christmas but it didn't arrive until June. we were much to busy to do it then so we planned on a 'christmas in july' on July 25th.
i don't think anything else has happened.
oh wait! i forgot to write about the baptisms. on the last day of school 22 of our students were baptised down in our pool. it was very exciting and cool that the parents were able to join us for this wonderful event! earlier in the day they kids who got baptised shared their testimonies with the whole school; it was very moving.
end of term program also went very well. Jill and Lina worked hard with the students and it paid off. the theme was 'Heaven and HOme' with the kids singing various songs/hymns about Heaven with Bible verses quoted intermitently throughout. I tried to tape it but had some trouble with my camera (especially as i don't have my tripod - hope it went on the container mom!) the sound turned out ok but the picture quality is pretty bad. I'm going to see if i can fix it up as just a sound recording, then i'll try posting it. don't hold ur breath though!
right, well i better get offline before i get into trouble!
i spent the first few days relaxing and trying to get caught up on my dishes etc. Now i've buckled down for the bigger tasks. Yesterday I cleaned out my pantry/storage closet which took 1/2 the day as the previous owner was a hoarder and left a bunch of stuff. Now i've finally got some space for storing my stuff. I've also been "doing down"some veggies for my freezer so I'll have veg during the term.
Lina and I are in charge of 'morning tea' for the brass tacks men so we've been taking turns baking various things.
other things i've been up to...we all (the staff who are left on station) went to the cottage (or what's left of it) for a bbq/picnic which was pretty fun. Lina and i had planned to have a 'christmas in july' that day but had to re-arrange our plans. we still listened to christmas music and made a fairly cool looking gingerbread house. that all came about b/c I had sent the kit to Lina for christmas but it didn't arrive until June. we were much to busy to do it then so we planned on a 'christmas in july' on July 25th.
i don't think anything else has happened.
oh wait! i forgot to write about the baptisms. on the last day of school 22 of our students were baptised down in our pool. it was very exciting and cool that the parents were able to join us for this wonderful event! earlier in the day they kids who got baptised shared their testimonies with the whole school; it was very moving.
end of term program also went very well. Jill and Lina worked hard with the students and it paid off. the theme was 'Heaven and HOme' with the kids singing various songs/hymns about Heaven with Bible verses quoted intermitently throughout. I tried to tape it but had some trouble with my camera (especially as i don't have my tripod - hope it went on the container mom!) the sound turned out ok but the picture quality is pretty bad. I'm going to see if i can fix it up as just a sound recording, then i'll try posting it. don't hold ur breath though!
right, well i better get offline before i get into trouble!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
time to clean...
Just a few more days and then I can sleep in! I'm really looking forward to that! Today is the last 'full' day, tomorrow the parents come at 1:30 and then by THursday lunch the kids should be all gone. :)A lot of things still to happen between now and then but I'm not involved in it all so I have some time to relax and get my classroom (and house) in some order.
Tomorrow after the parents arrive we are having a baptism for about 12 of our senior students; it should be an exciting time. After that we have parent-teacher interviews which I've never enjoyed. I'm not as worried about it as last term, but there are some that I'm really not looking forward to! After that is the AGM (annual general meeting - i think). Basically it's a long boring meeting in which we update the parents on any changes and they can put forth any concerns etc. I've never been to one before as i skipped out early last year) but i'm not a huge fan of meetings and i've heard these ones can go quite long...
I'm still struggling with the fact that i'm not going home this break as I did last year. my brain keeps telling me that I need to start packing soon. It's weird because I don't want to leave, this is my home now, I think it's because I haven't stayed past 7 months before so my brain is freaking out a little. I'm sure I'll get used to it soon.
Well must get back to work. The kids are all practicing for their end of term show so I need to use the time 'wisely' and get my classroom presentable for parents!
Tomorrow after the parents arrive we are having a baptism for about 12 of our senior students; it should be an exciting time. After that we have parent-teacher interviews which I've never enjoyed. I'm not as worried about it as last term, but there are some that I'm really not looking forward to! After that is the AGM (annual general meeting - i think). Basically it's a long boring meeting in which we update the parents on any changes and they can put forth any concerns etc. I've never been to one before as i skipped out early last year) but i'm not a huge fan of meetings and i've heard these ones can go quite long...
I'm still struggling with the fact that i'm not going home this break as I did last year. my brain keeps telling me that I need to start packing soon. It's weird because I don't want to leave, this is my home now, I think it's because I haven't stayed past 7 months before so my brain is freaking out a little. I'm sure I'll get used to it soon.
Well must get back to work. The kids are all practicing for their end of term show so I need to use the time 'wisely' and get my classroom presentable for parents!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
time is running away again...
I have started writing a blog several times in the past few weeks but obviously it has gotten no where. today i am determined to get one 'out there'. so although i'm on 'yard duty' i've brought my laptop out and have one eye on it and one on the children. so if there are parts that don't make sense i appoligize, it's hard to type while sorting out grade school dramas...
In the last two weeks we had 2 'big' events at the school. The first was our term birthday party (i've written of these before). This term our theme was "Around the World". The students made some nice artwork for the dining hall, various staff and visiting ladies made our usual beautiful cakes and Miss Saunders (the cook) went out of her way to come up with an 'ethnic' menu. The food was great although the students had differing opinions; as kids will. Some of the staff did a great job with their costumes others just threw things together. i had mine planned out, but ran out of time before i got it all together! I was a Maasi warrior (Kenya & Tanzania). I don't have a good picture of me in costume, but i'll see if i can find one from the other staff member's cameras and post it later. The evening 'entertainment' wasn't too bad as far as kid's skits go. some of the senior girls wrote and sang some great songs.
the second event was Sports Day. some of you may remember last year how the night before sports day it was decided that Mr. Ronald was too sick to run it and i was sort of thrown in charge. This year i knew i was 'safe' from that as there are 3 men on station! :) Phil Towse took a lot of time to organize things to the point of complicating and then... proceeded to get sick. Ahh! He was a great sport though and came out anyhow and made sure things ran smoothly and well, which was good as the rest of us had no clue how he had it planned out. :)
things went well with the kids running, jumping their little hearts out. as we now have "house" teams the kids seemed more determined then ever to win and again points for their team. as the Fisher house mistress it was my duty to yell and cheer them to victory. at the end of the day it was announced that Fisher had won. sadly our victory was short lived when it was discovered that the their was a miscalculation of points and it was infact Poole that won and Fisher was a close 2nd. As our house has been dominating the points board for most of the term i convinced my team that we have to let others have SOME time in the spotlight. :) i got hundreds (literally) of photos taken as i was one of the photographers. i'll try and get some posted up soon; once i sort through them.
in other news we had to say goodbye to 4 of our students this week. one of my students went home early as he had broken his tooth off almost to the root and in order to save it needed to visit a dentist immediatly. yesterday a grade 3 student was suspended (for stealing) yesterday. please pray for her as we've had a varioius problems with her this term. Today 2 boys left early as both of their parents are going on furlough. Daniel will not be returning as he'll be finishing elementary in Canada and so when he returns to Zambia will be at a high school. Josh will be in the US for 1 year and then will come back Sakeji for a year or 2. Please pray for them both as furloughs can be rough times for MK's particularly when they're junior high age. Daniel is having a particularly rough time of it as he has been at Sakeji since grade 1 and has spent the majority of his life in Zambia so it is hard to say goodbye to what he's always known. 2 more of our students will be leaving us (probably for good) as they too are moving to Canada. Their mother has lived there for a number of years and they will be joining her there. They are Zambian and will most likely find the move to Toronto a HUGE culture shock! Ntsheneshi will most likely be going into grade 7 in the fall (a difficult age to 'break into' a new school/make friends) and Musani will be in either grade 4 or 5. he already has trouble making friends and has a low self esteem.
on a positive note; classes will be done a week today! hurray! unfortunately i have to survive report cards first. one of the reasons i'm writing my blog today is b/c i'm avoiding the dreaded report cards!i've got the grades in and have now simply need to enter the remarks/comments (the hardest part).
well i guess i should wrap this up for now. pictures to follow (either on facebook or here)
In the last two weeks we had 2 'big' events at the school. The first was our term birthday party (i've written of these before). This term our theme was "Around the World". The students made some nice artwork for the dining hall, various staff and visiting ladies made our usual beautiful cakes and Miss Saunders (the cook) went out of her way to come up with an 'ethnic' menu. The food was great although the students had differing opinions; as kids will. Some of the staff did a great job with their costumes others just threw things together. i had mine planned out, but ran out of time before i got it all together! I was a Maasi warrior (Kenya & Tanzania). I don't have a good picture of me in costume, but i'll see if i can find one from the other staff member's cameras and post it later. The evening 'entertainment' wasn't too bad as far as kid's skits go. some of the senior girls wrote and sang some great songs.
the second event was Sports Day. some of you may remember last year how the night before sports day it was decided that Mr. Ronald was too sick to run it and i was sort of thrown in charge. This year i knew i was 'safe' from that as there are 3 men on station! :) Phil Towse took a lot of time to organize things to the point of complicating and then... proceeded to get sick. Ahh! He was a great sport though and came out anyhow and made sure things ran smoothly and well, which was good as the rest of us had no clue how he had it planned out. :)
things went well with the kids running, jumping their little hearts out. as we now have "house" teams the kids seemed more determined then ever to win and again points for their team. as the Fisher house mistress it was my duty to yell and cheer them to victory. at the end of the day it was announced that Fisher had won. sadly our victory was short lived when it was discovered that the their was a miscalculation of points and it was infact Poole that won and Fisher was a close 2nd. As our house has been dominating the points board for most of the term i convinced my team that we have to let others have SOME time in the spotlight. :) i got hundreds (literally) of photos taken as i was one of the photographers. i'll try and get some posted up soon; once i sort through them.
in other news we had to say goodbye to 4 of our students this week. one of my students went home early as he had broken his tooth off almost to the root and in order to save it needed to visit a dentist immediatly. yesterday a grade 3 student was suspended (for stealing) yesterday. please pray for her as we've had a varioius problems with her this term. Today 2 boys left early as both of their parents are going on furlough. Daniel will not be returning as he'll be finishing elementary in Canada and so when he returns to Zambia will be at a high school. Josh will be in the US for 1 year and then will come back Sakeji for a year or 2. Please pray for them both as furloughs can be rough times for MK's particularly when they're junior high age. Daniel is having a particularly rough time of it as he has been at Sakeji since grade 1 and has spent the majority of his life in Zambia so it is hard to say goodbye to what he's always known. 2 more of our students will be leaving us (probably for good) as they too are moving to Canada. Their mother has lived there for a number of years and they will be joining her there. They are Zambian and will most likely find the move to Toronto a HUGE culture shock! Ntsheneshi will most likely be going into grade 7 in the fall (a difficult age to 'break into' a new school/make friends) and Musani will be in either grade 4 or 5. he already has trouble making friends and has a low self esteem.
on a positive note; classes will be done a week today! hurray! unfortunately i have to survive report cards first. one of the reasons i'm writing my blog today is b/c i'm avoiding the dreaded report cards!i've got the grades in and have now simply need to enter the remarks/comments (the hardest part).
well i guess i should wrap this up for now. pictures to follow (either on facebook or here)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)