Partials and Chapel!

Oh man, last week filled up with review sheets, test writing, grading, and recording in preparation for the end of the 2nd Partial (aka Quarter). Thankfully, this time around, it's much easier now that I know what I'm doing!

And now..... Partials week!

Oh, I've been looking forward to Partials test week. Each morning the students and teachers show up for 3 class periods. And then it's over. After giving my two Math tests this morning, I was free at 8:30! Of course, I had to do an awful lot of grading and recording, but I still managed to finish my To Do list for the day before the seven of us took off to buy baleadas for lunch! (Baleadas are like quesadillas, but with beans and Honduran cheese. SO GOOD!)

(By the way, it was so cold this morning I could see my breath on the walk to school! Last night I bundled up in as many layers as possible and almost froze, but by noon today the sun pronounced its presence and scorched us as usual. Weird!)

Also, last week I figured out my new favorite system for Friday chapels. In theory, each grade is supposed to be responsible for one chapel (the chapels are divided by grades, and I attend the chapel for 4th--6th grades). However, since I teach 4th and 5th grade Bible classes I am responsible for chapel every 2 out of 3 times! In general, I love chapel because we get sing camp songs for about 30 minutes! These kids know everything thanks to the missionaries from previous years---I Like Bananas, Deep and Wide, Making Melodies--and I've added a few of my favorites--I Am a C, Let There Be Light, and the "shoo-bee-doo-wop" version of I Like Bananas. :D

So I let my 5A kids spend their Bible class period writing "dramas" to answer the question, "How does God help us every day?" Group 1 answered with, "God helps us every day by giving us a family." Group 2 said, " God helps us learn in school." And Group 3 decided that.....drumroll please..... "God helps us every day by giving us food." Haha! Oh, they were so proud of themselves! They loved performing and I didn't have to tell a story, for once! Good deal. :D

Student Files: Emilia

Possibly the shyest creature you've ever encountered in your life.

I love Emilia! Every once in a while she overcomes her shyness enough to tease her teacher. This only happens when the other girls have been teasing me for a while before I see a little mischievious light gleam behind her normally placid eyes. Oh--what a dear!

First partial, poor Emilia had an awful time in Math. She didn't understand and she was too shy to ask for help! When I looked at her grades, I realized she wouldn't pass this Partial (aka Quarter) without some tutoring help.

One day in Math I called Emilia to my desk and told her what I'd found. I told her that I could tutor her after school, she just needed to talk to her parents and then tell me what they decided. I ended my little talk with, ''I know you're smart Emilia and I know you can do well!''

She'd stood at the corner of my desk, big doe-eyes as wide as possible, biting her lower lip and looking incredibly pitiful. When I finished my speech I assumed she'd head back to her seat. But unexpectedly two tiny arms flung around my neck and her little frame held on to me. I hugged her back and realized again how precious this little girl is!

Of course, we never set up a tutoring appointment, but Emilia is improving in Math this Partial!

Student Files: Diana

This girl is drama, but usually in a good way.

Between every class she stands by the door to usher in the new teacher, carrying their books or just giving them the customary (between women anyway) kiss on the right cheek.

Last Friday 5A presented for Chapel (4th-6th grades assemble in the church each Friday). We'd practiced skits all week long in answer to the question ''How does God take care of us every day?'' Diana was the ''spokesperson'' for her group so she took the microphone when I called up Group 1.

Her classmates performed their skit, complete with embarrassed looks and an incredible amount of giggling, while Diana said things like, ''God helps us by giving us a mom to take care of us.'' At the very end Diana turned to me. Her hands waved violently and she whispered in panic, ''Miss, they're not doing what they're supposed to do!!!'' Diana looked back and forth from her confused classmates on stage to her teacher, who was trying desperately not to laugh. Finally she threw up her hands, put her hand on her hip, and basically gave up. In confusion, the group finally sat down.

Diana practically ran back to her seat, holding on to the other girls, almost dead with embarrassment--at least, that's what she told me. Haha!

Vacation Recap

Happy New Year! Feliz año!I'm in Honduras, starting our first week back at school. I'm so excited to be back, but vacation sure did rock. A few highlights include:

--hiking the rainforest.
--swimming in the warm waves at Tela!
--3 days on the island of Utila (my first REAL island experience)
--scuba diving the reef off Utila!
--landing in the Houston airport (i bought myself an Odwalla, first thing. haha!)
--waking up my siblings at 1:00 am the night I arrived and openingChristmas presents with my family until 3:00 am. (that's one uniqueChristmas).
--watching Amye's Pohnpei video slideshow she sent us for Christmas:now I have an idea of what her life's like!
--being home with the family.
--reuniting with fellow SMs back in Comayagua.
--getting my AMAZING WW Student Missions Christmas packages!!!!!Totally made my day yesterday!

It's hard to believe that we're two days into the school week already! We looked forward to Christmas for so long and now it's over. Allthat's left is the long journey til.....June! Wow. Good thing my kids have a little too much energy--it'll keep me busy. :D

Here we go again!