Our New Home

How Things Change

In helping to update the school website I was given the task of taking pictures of what our building looks like now compared to before we moved in. This prompted me to create before and after shots. These are just a few pics of the transformation our school has gone through.

School Office

Elementary Hallway

High school Hallway

Chapel

Library

My Classroom

It is amazing to see how far our little school has come in 10 years!

Please continue to pray for growth. We now have room to grow and our prayer is to fill our building with students and families; that we may continue to share the love of Christ and make Him known among the nations.

February Come and Gone

February Happenings

Seems like I blinked on February 1st and when I opened my eyes it was March 1st! Here is what has happened during that blink!

Winter Banquet

A fun time for our Middle School and High School students and there families. Good food and dancing fun. Our students learn a dancing unit in PE and winter banquet is a time where they get to show off their newly learned dancing skills. A good excuse to dress up and go out!

Elementary Ladies :)

Our Gorgeous Grade 9 Girls

100th Day of School!

 Reaching 100 of anything is an accomplishment and so to celebrate we participated in various activities. We made a snack with 100 pieces. Did 100 exercises. Some students even dressed up to look like they were 100!

 

 

 

 

Olympics!

It was really neat to celebrate and watch the Olympics living in another country. Especially fun cheering on the Canadian hockey players in a room full of Americans :)
Prague even set up an Olympic park to watch the games and participate in some of the winter sport activities. Despite the lack of snow this winter they managed to set up a curling rink, two ice arenas a small snowboard slope and a cross country ski track. Along with big screens to watch the events.

   

Proud Teacher Moment

Writer's Workshop

I love reading my students' writing and going through the process with them of getting their ideas on to paper. It can be challenging for young children to convey their thoughts in writing and even more challenging for English Language Learners to express their thoughts clearly and concisely. So it is quite exciting when they produce not only their own story but that they have done it with little coaching or help from the teacher.

People ask where their ideas come from and how much I help them. The surprising thing is that they come up with these ideas all on their own. I do help with grammatical errors and give direction for spelling but the stories and ideas are all theirs. Can't help but be a little proud of them considering when they started in September they had very little conversational English.

  

 

  

 

 

Welcoming a New Face

Internet, Email and Skype Oh My!

Exciting news... I am an Aunt! On January 17, Benjamin David entered the world weighing 8 pounds one ounce. News spread quickly as my parents sent me notes on Skype and my brother sent out facebook and text messages.

As I read the emails from my parents and saw the snapshots from my brother of the new addition to our family I began to ponder how missionaries handled being away from family before the invention of the internet, face-time and Skype. At one time overseas missionaries said goodbye to their families with a slim chance of being able to see them again any time soon. So I count myself blessed.

I really enjoy how much  the internet seemingly makes family and friends closer; yet, there is this slight sadness inside of me to know how far away they are actually. This really hasn't hit hard until now that there is a small bundle that I long to hold and just can't. Being able to instantly see my family and friends with the click of a few buttons is comforting, however, it can also be heartbreaking. SO close and yet SO far away.

 

Through all this I can relate to my students who are also far away from their extended family. Many don't get to see their grandparents for years at a time. Relationships are built and maintained through electronic devices. In many ways our staff and students become our extended family. We become the wacky Aunts and Uncles for our staff kids. The adopted grandparents and brothers and sisters. It gives me a new perspective on what it means to be a part of a bigger family, God's family. Though I do miss my family and friends I am comforted in knowing that this is the calling God has brought me to do: to share the love of God and to extend the invitation to be a part of God's ever-growing family.

Prague New Year's Eve ~ Silvestr

Šťastný Nový Rok ~ Happy New Year!

This year we decided to avoid the crowds and enjoy the Prague fireworks display from a safe distance and went to a friend's place located on the 10th floor of an apartment building outside the city centre.
Since fireworks are available to anyone in your local grocery store there is no limit to when and where you will see fireworks in Prague, especially on Silvestr (New Year's Eve).

The booming can begin even before the sun has a chance to go down and will continue throughout the night. The most spectacular sight being just after midnight as the city looks like it is on fire!

Looking forward to what God has in store for us in 2014.