Spring into Summer

May ... Blink.... July!

How the time flies and it is all I can do to hang on. Seems that June passes in a blink of an eye and I have also realised I didn't post any pictures of my quick jaunt to Paris in the Spring. SO here is recap time of school happenings and I hope to put Paris explorations in another post soon.

Swim Camp

For a week in May we took the kids to a local swim park for lessons and water park fun. It was an all inclusive package including licensed instructors, lunch and water park fun. I love the water and enjoyed spending this time with the kids.
It was the first time we have done a whole week of swimming and though we had some very tired campers by the end of the week we had many smiling faces. I look forward to doing this again next year!

 

Do you trust me? For some of our students swimming was a terrifying ordeal. We had one student who was in tears almost every day as she feared drowning. Swim camp gave those teachable moments of what it means to trust. To trust that someone is there to catch you when you jump into the deep. That God has us, He cares for us and gives us people to hold onto, especially when we are scared.  

Field Day Fun!

I believe all elementary teachers have a love/hate relationship with field day. It is a joy and fun for the kids but oh so exhausting to plan and execute. But so worth the time, sweat and tears. Though being an organizer for this event this year I did not get to taking as many pictures of the fun and games... here are just a few.

Human Tunnel Relay

Tic-tac-toe relay

50 m Dash

Rohlik relay - we don't have batons so we use a skinny dinner roll called a rohlik

This picture is a favourite from that day. Martina is now in 6th grade and was in my first grade one class I taught at CISP in 2011. She is piggy backing one of my grade ones from this year. Hard to believe that my first class are now going into grade 7!

Annual Trip to the ZOO!

Once again I found myself caught up too much in the fun and didn't take very many pictures. The zoo is always a memorable trip that the kids look forward to each year.

Last Day of School!

Fun traditions of cleaning the desk tops with shaving cream, following the graduates to chapel and having our end of the year picnic in the park. It was a great year that zoomed by quickly. Enjoyed my small group of smarties and am looking forward to teaching them again next year in grade two! I will have around 16 students in grade one/two. Looking forward to a very active year!

Tearful goodbyes. Saying goodbye is never an easy thing and for our students goodbyes are a constant part of life. Please pray for our students that are moving on to different schools and countries and for those that remain behind and will miss them dearly.

Class Selfie! Goodbye and see you Next Year!

Traditions

We always finish the last day of school with a picnic. A wonderful time spent with our students' families and get in all those last minute goodbyes.

Then when all is said and done we take a last paddle on the river. 

Before parting ways for the summer.

Summer Adventures

This summer I am doing a quick trip to Canada. I left June 21st to head back to the OK for 3 weeks, before heading to Northern Alberta to see my younger brother and sister-in-law, nephew and new baby expected to arrive sometime during the first week of July.
On July 21st I head down to Edmonton for a few days before jetting off to Minnesota to be bridesmaid to one of my good friends. I will be departing the States on August 2nd and be back in Prague August 3rd to begin gearing up for the Fall. Looking forward to seeing what God has in store for us next!

Stay tuned for pictures of my summer adventures as well as past excursions to Paris.

Field Trips

"Fire Fighters are as Fast as Lightening"

This was one of the statements that one of my students made after we visited the local fire station. We have been learning about community helpers and for the first time I became brave enough to contact the fire station and the police department about doing a tour. Tours of emergency services are not as common for International schools but both departments were extremely welcoming and it was quite an experience for all of us. Our guide took us to the garage with all the trucks and he showed us each one explaining what each truck is used for. 

Although we knew an emergency could happen at any time I thought it highly unlikely they would get a call during our visit there. Well near the end of our tour we left the big hanger with the large trucks and were looking at the vans they use for smaller calls, when the alarm sounded and we got to see the fire fighters in action. I don't think I have ever seen people move that fast in my life. During our tour our guide said that they had to be down and out of the station in under two minutes. Down the poles, out the doors, into their gear and out the door in mere seconds. Our guide told my Czech translator that we should wait in the corner and someone would come for us, as he threw on his gear and hopped on the truck. Then we waved goodbye to the trucks as they headed out. It was an amazing thing to witness and to contemplate what it all meant. As we were walking back to the school it struck the girls that the firemen leaving meant someone was in trouble and there was a fire. We prayed for the people in trouble and for safety of fire fighters.

Braving Butterflies

To go along with our unit on plants and the grade 2/3's learning about insects we took the kids to the Botanical Gardens during their butterfly exhibit. The green houses have a bountiful collection of many different plants and who doesn't love butterflies? Well not all my students loved the butterflies. One of my girls was simply terrified of them. I believe they were MUCH larger than she thought they should be and the chances that one could land on her at any given moment resulted in tears. However she powered through and we had a lovely time exploring the different butterfly species and seeing the variety of plants that God has created.

At some point I will get a chance to post pictures from my Spring Break trip to Paris but that will have to wait for another day off. Stay tuned for our next adventures of Swim camp and field day!