4+3+2+1= 4 Quarters, 3 Teachers, 2 Sides, 1 Week.

Who knew that so much could happen in one week and yet, so much could still need to be done.



Making Bilateral Symmetry Insects!



4: We have already flown through ¼ of our school year! It is crazy to think about how much has happened and yet how fast it has gone. From the topics that we have covered to memories we have made, I wish that at times I could slow down the movie or go back to enjoy the parts even further. Still this year there have also been a lot of challenges. So as the Lord knows best I guess, we continue to flow through life with everything flashing past us, growing and learning as we go.



We designed half of the insect on one side
and then painted that half, folding and squishing
to make the symmetrical side!



3: We have now reached the week where Mr. Bloom, our (Jenn and my) student teacher is teaching all of the subjects. He will continue with this until for two more weeks and then we will start taking the classes back. This whole time has certainly been a learning experience for all three of us. Our students are learning to adapt and switch between each teacher, their style, and their differences. While we have tried to remain as consistent as possible with our expectations, and routines, it always takes some adjustment for the student teacher, etc.

2: Last Friday I went and judged my first debate tournament! It was certainly different than the debates in the states, as the program is new and growing, but it is definitely a great learning experience for all involved. The ACA students did really well. For all of the debates that they have participated in during the last 2 years (since it started), ACA has won most of the debates with a superiority in their English and persuasive arguments. Last Friday was the initial debates with no eliminations and tomorrow the students will compete again with single elimination brackets for the 6 teams. The debate topic is whether or not Paraguay should amend their constitution to allow for presidents to be re-elected after their 5 year term. In the past, Paraguay has had dictators that are ruthless and a very corrupt government which still carries over to present. Yet Paraguay has made improvements recently. This debate competition promises to remain interesting and exciting as the finals progress tomorrow!

God is the Ultimate Super Hero!

1: All of the above is just a glimpse of part of my last week. I am also busy planning for our camp coming up which I am directing, leading our subcommittee for re-accreditation of ACSI, taking the MAT this Saturday, etc.

He is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient!

Prayer Request:

1. Please pray for the new teachers coming in, and the teachers switching out

2. Please pray for our overnight elementary camp that will be Oct. 24th – 27th

3. Please pray for our classes and students as they go through transitions and what comes next.

Firsts:

- First time judging a debate tournament!

Our creations!

El Equipo de Naranja: The Orange Team

From fingers to toes in orange (flowers
and ribbons in hair, with facepaint and orange
nail polish)

Have you ever tried to blow up 40+ water balloons? To say the least it is harder than you would think. They are so small and these Paraguayan ones taste terrible! I never knew that the muscles in my mouth could hurt so much. Nonetheless the balloons were successfully blown up to then be popped over the next few hours. Why was this done you may ask? It was done for el equipo de naranja! Family Adventure Night (our PTA picnic) was this last Friday night and we were able to raise lots of money for our school at all of our booths, food, and entrance fees! While the exact numbers have not been announced I know that at least several thousand dollars were raised from the game tickets alone.

All for one and one for the carrots (hey
they are orange and my boys loved them.)

Like last year, 4th grade was teamed up with the 10th graders. Yet instead of being purple like last year, we were given the color ORANGE!!! Head to toe in orange we came to the picnic ready to compete and try to get the most people to play at our games. Our two games at our booth were a ring toss around bottles and a balloon game with numbers inside (balloons with numbers (related to corresponding prizes) are blown around by a fan in a cage. A contestant grabs a balloon, and receives the prize for the number inside). Hence the reason for lots of water balloons being blown up.

Go Orange Team!

Praise the Lord the weather stayed nice and the storm held off to the next morning! The families and students had a great time and it was a wonderful time to improve connections between parents and teachers!

How many licks does it take to get the center of a Paraguayan Lollypop? 1106

Looking for homes and things we miss
everyday!

My crazy whirlwind of a two week class, has come and gone, and I must say that this was by far my favorite master’s class so far! It was all about Secondary Language Acquisition; and I found it to be exciting, challenging, and applicable. It was truly great to be able to learn more strategies and methods to provide better instruction for my students. As well the class helped me to better understand the process and necessary foundations. In fact, I am starting to think more about further study in Bilingual Education. Praise the Lord for this blessing!

Examing nature and the making
connections to the biogeochemical
cycles!

During the midst of my master’s class, when I was not working on my 4th and 5th grade work, I have been working on some of my responsibilities as the chair of the Safety, Health, and Nutrition committee (for our ACSI accreditation). I have been busy setting up new emergency evacuation procedures, folders, protocols, etc. Our school has been under code for years in all of these areas, and it is definitely taking a while to get things back together. We already have one fire drill down and another one this week. Thankfully we are working hard to improve and provide a better and safer environment for our students.

Fresh cut flowers that some of my students
brought in for me!
 (including orchids and
hibiscus)

The Joy of the Lord. During this crazy and busy time it has been the joy from the peace of the Lord that has given me the strength and support that I need. This joy is such a blessing and it is great to see it in my children as well. You also can’t help but smile from the innocence and joy in my students with their comments, actions, and determination. For instance, the Tootsie Roll Pop sales movement about “How many likes does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?” came up in a discussion and I mentioned it to my students. What happens next, but one of my 5th graders licks a Paraguayan lollypop 1106 times to get to the center!

Licks to center: 1106

Master’s Class Take Three!

Our internet has been having problems in our apartments so I apologize that this was written and ready for Tuesday, but did not post!

All right, day 1 down in my third master’s class and in a couple of hours I will be off to my second night. Sorry if this blog post is a little short, but with full-time school (6:40am- 3:00pm) and then master’s class M-F (6-9pm) and Sat. (8-1pm) for two weeks things are definitely crazy. Still in all the craziness, I feel so blessed with this class. I am currently taking “Teaching English as a Second Language”. Out of the three classes I truly think that I will enjoy this class the most. The teacher has had a lot of experience in the area, as a student, elementary teacher, parent, and master’s level professor. She seems to have really thought through the material, and the assignments seem applicable and clear. It is such reliefs after the last few classes have been a little all over the place and crazy. This teacher has recently moved to Paraguay with her family and I hope that she will teach more classes to come!

Here are some pictures from some of the class activities that we have done this week!

Prayer Requests:

1. Please pray for strength, endurance and wisdom while I take my master's class

2. Please pray for the sicknesses that have been going around the school!

3. Praise the Lord we have a new junior high teacher! She should be coming soon!

4. Praise the Lord, several of our teachers and staff are expecting! Please pray for a smooth pregnacy and for the new replacements that need to be found as some are leaving and others will take a leave of absence.

Firsts:

1. First time hearing that the Nina, Pinta, and the Santa Maria are "the famous sisters" and that Leif Erikson "was the fastest man on earth". One of my students put this on a social studies test for my co-teacher! He did admit that he didn't study and hadn't done the homework. : )