Christmas is Coming

October Becomes November and Slips into December

It has been a very busy semester for me as I am wearing many hats this year. Those hats included planning this years staff retreat, elementary reading day as well as our school Christmas program.
So blogs and updates have been slim this year so far. So quick review of October, November and December.

Fall Break
This year I had another stay-cation where I explored the Czech Republic with one of my travel buddies. It was a relaxing time of exploring our city as well as some beautiful places in this country.

One of those places is the lovely little town of Olomouc located south-east of Prague.

We also visited Karlštejn Castle in Karlštejn. I've been there before in the summer and got to enjoy it in the fall with all the colours. It is one of those castles out of a fairytale that I love going to see.

Reading Day

In November we had our annual reading day with many reading activities, dressing as favourite book characters and listening to stories read by parents and teachers. Due to having so much going on I relied on an old costume and was Robert Munsch's Paper Bag Princess. It is a beloved story of mine and I love sharing it with the children. This year I gave more attention to my partner in crime's costume and made a dragon head. It was my fall break project and it turned out better than I had hoped. What one can do with a few juice cartons, newspaper, flour, water, and paint!

 

 

Staff Retreat
This year I was team leader for planning staff retreat. This is a blessed time where we get to leave Prague for a weekend and spend some time getting to know and encourage our co-workers. Teaching can be some what of an isolated profession. Each classroom can feel like your own little island and sometimes you only see your co-workers briefly in the hallways as we run to make photocopies or grab a bite to eat before heading to our next class. Staff retreat allows for a little relaxation and mandatory fun :)




After staff retreat we zoomed through Thanksgiving and right into December.
In December I teach about celebrations and we learn about how people celebrate in different ways.
As we learned about Christmas we took the kids to the Christmas markets. It was a fun little adventure.

We also made latkes to celebrate Hanukkah

Christmas Time Has Come!

For the first half of the school year our music teacher is on her totalization 6 month leave where she has to be out of the CZ for 6 months. Having no music teacher during Christmas time makes for a creative Christmas concert. I found myself heading up yet another committee and putting together another Christmas production.
As in years past I had my students recite Luke 2:1-18. This year's group is an enthusiastic one and I would find them reciting their Bible verses as they walked down the hallway to the bathroom or as they lined up to go out for recess. Indeed these words have been hidden in their hearts and will stay with them for a long time to come. They are so excited anytime they hear the passage being read or part of it being recited with the acknowledgement that "I KNOW THAT STORY!"

This video is a lot longer but has snippets from the entire concert. Big thanks to all who helped and participated.

We had lots of celebrations in our class and we also had some goodbyes. From October - December we had the lovely help and company of our student teacher from California. So we said goodbye to Miss Lee and also to one of our students who's family is moving to Germany.

We LOVE Mrs. Gregory!

Our elementary grades 1-5 My how we've grown! Last year we had 13 this year we have 28!

Outside the Classroom

My flatmates and I bought our own tree this year. No need to take a tram this time, we were able to carry it home.

No Christmas is complete without a quick trip to Old Town to see the tree. Pictures never do it justice.

Staff Christmas Party

Although I did not plan the party this year I did get to host it. Was a lot of fun and our planning team was very creative with fun games and a photo booth!

Christmas Plans

For Christmas I will be going to Poland to be with my Aunt B, Uncle D and cousin E. They live in Warsaw and I look forward to being with family this Christmas season.

Fall 2015

Time keeps rolling on and so here are a few snipets from the Fall happenings

School kicked off with a Bang. We have over 80 kids starting this Fall with more on the way in the Winter. We had a lovely first all school chapel on the first day of school and a wonderful family school picnic on the first weekend in September.

 Took some of our new staff for a paddleboat ride on the river.

All in God's Timing

Two years ago I started praying for more students. We gained recognition with the Czech government, we got a new building and I had a large classroom that needed filling. I joked with our enrolment liaison that if we got three sets of twins I would have a class! Well two years later I have 10 students,  and our grade 2/3 teacher is looking to have 2 sets of twins start in her class in the next month! When we order materials we order enough for 10 students in each grade. This year we already have 10 in grade one and 10 in grade 5! Ten doesn't seem like many but it is more than I have every had in solid grades at our school and it is such a blessing to have more students.
 Last year in grades 1-5 we started the year with 13 students. This year we are starting with 25! Praise the Lord!

Outside the Classroom

Of course it wouldn't be Fall without Canadian Thanksgiving! I celebrated my 5th Canadian Thanksgiving in Prague. I was able to have 25 people come and fill my home. It was a wonderful time sharing my Canadian Culture. Many laughs teaching them Canadian speech, cultural tips and overall a wonderful time.

 Last weekend my TeachBeyond Family celebrated our Thanksgiving in between the Canadian and American Thanksgiving. Basically a time to give thanks and eat some amazing food.
We are very thankful for the Lord's abundant blessing for our team!