Our team survived the first week of school! On Monday everyone showed up in their fancy dress (the traditional outfit here) or a dress shirt and tie. We were ready to welcome the students to the new campus! I was so ready to have students, they are the reason we are here!
The foreign staff ready to tackle the first day!
This year I am teaching 3rd grade (home room, English, science, and library) and 1st grade (English and science). I am super excited about this year! It is going to be so much fun! My 3rd graders are the advanced and can have full conversations with me in English. It is so cool to see what our 1st graders will be able to do one day :). My 1st graders are beginners, so they are still learning their alphabet and lots of vocabulary.
This week has been long, but I am so thankful that we are open! We have been praying for this week for months! There were many times I thought we wouldn't be able to open by the 22nd, but God can do amazing things. We were at school for 12 hours getting things moved in and ready, but it was all worth it! The moment students arrived to my class, it was all made worth it. These are the kids God has given me to educate about His love! Yes they will learn English, but they will know they are loved and are beautifully and wonderfully made!
Some things that happened this week:
- my housemate and I were usually the first ones at school and the last to leave (about 13 hour work days)
- on Wednesday the Board decided to add a 4th grade class (AHHH)
- one of our co-workers was bumped up to full time to help with 4th grade (answer to prayer)
- Thursday was my housemate's birthday! (25 on the 25th - Golden Birthday!)
- Friday night was Back to School night (all the parents came to see the school and talk to the teachers)
It was a good week. Looking back it was good, going through it was exhausting. So thankful to be doing what God has called me to do! Please continue to pray for the school, the staff (foreign and national), pray for me as there are some transitions for me coming soon, and pray for me as I have been feeling very homesick (missing the familiar and comfort of home).