Recap of events to date.
Arrived in Prague on August 2 @ 6pm
Gained possession of our new flat on August 3
Slowly started to move my belongings from Chodska flat to our Vinohradska flat
August 5 - joined two fellow TeachBeyond team-mates and hopped on a SwissAir plane to Basal Switzerland... to attend the TeachBeyond Summer Institute
August 11 Return back to Prague
August 12 - 26 - Finish moving my flat, my classroom (moving across the hall) and moving in new families and teachers. (This is the first time in our school's history that all of our staff are here before school begins!
August 27-31 - CISP Staff Orientation
September 5 FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
Being in Several Places at Once
From August 5-11 I had the wonderful pleasure of joining 40 or so other TeachBeyond members at the summer institute in Kandern Germany. Sort of like a conference to recap the year and gear up for a new one. It was a time of renewal, preparation, education and fun. We participated in different topical sessions including: spiritual formation, Biblical integration and Cultural Intelligence. It was a great time to connect with different teachers as well as many others who are involved in the ministry of education overseas, including dorm parents, IT technicians, school planters and fellow educators.
It was a time to reflect on my past year and look towards the year to come. I am blessed to be apart of an amazing team of people who are committed to providing Transformational education for children and adults around the world.
Our time in Germany was short though we did manage to take a few outings including a trip to where Switzerland, Germany and France meet. I got to be in three countries at once!
Home Sweet Home
This year I am sharing a flat with two of my friends that work with me at CISP. It is a lovely 3 bedroom apartment that overlooks a small park and is just down the street from the metro, my church and a quick 10 minute walk to the school.
Pictures are of my room and the view from my room.
First Days of School
September has come and gone so quickly that I can scarcely believe it! Things that are new this year.
I have a new classroom! I am now teaching grades one and two which gave cause for moving to a bigger space across the hall.
Teaching a split class is usually not on a teacher's list of favourite things but I am excited to have some of my students from last year and to invest some more in their lives. This year I have 8 students representing 5 different nationalities. I also have a few families in my class who are serving in different ministries in Prague and the Czech Republic.
Please continue to pray for our school as we pursue a new building. We are in the process of negotiating a lease contract for a building that will be able to accommodate our entire student body. Currently our high school classes are being held in two apartments down the street and we share all the facilities in our current building with a Czech school and preschool. If we get the building we will be set to move this coming June. Lots needs to happen including a little cosmetic work of painting and fixing flooring; along with raising the funds for classroom equipment: desks, chairs, whiteboards etcetera. We are excited for this new step in our school growth.
So far on the front of recognition with the Czech Ministry of Education we are playing the waiting game. Our last application was denied by the Ministry of Education, shortly followed by a change in the local magistrates decision who chose to finally give approval for our school. So now we are waiting to see if we can make an appeal of the ministry's decision of our last application.
8 Wonderful Reasons
I Get Up Every Monday Morning
I am excited for our year ahead and can't believe we only have 9 months left together!
