Summer Time is Ending and School is Beginning

Go, Go, Go, No Time to Stop!

Summer is definitely a different pace and finding time to sit down and write has been quite difficult.
So brief run through of what summer is like for this Missionary Teacher:

School finished June 18th
During that time I packed up my apartment and moved everything to a friend's apartment that I will be living in until January.
June 21st-24th I flew to Vancouver and visited with friends and family on the coast. Got to go to Vancouver Island and visit with people I hadn't seen for years!

I spent more time visiting and making memories than I did taking pictures this year so less pictures to show.

For June and July I spent most of my time in the Okanagan and Sushswap, visiting and taking care of all the paperwork and appointments that are easier to do when you are in your home country: renewing passports, driver's licenses and dental appointments. Oh and of course shopping! I was able to pick up a hefty amount of books and supplies for school and filled a suitcase and a carry-on with books :)

The Robinson Clan Vernon Branch

While in Canada I got to celebrate birthdays, visit family and got to go up to Northern Alberta for the first time in 8 years to see some good old friends and visit my brother and his little family.

Top right hand corner of the red square is where Kyle & Cathy live!

Teta Kelly: The word for Aunt in Czech is Teta and it is much easier to say than Aunty when you are a year and a half so I am Teta Kelly. It was a short time but a wonderful time to get to know this little guy. I think one of the hardest parts of being overseas is being apart from family. I am thankful for skype and how it makes communication a little easier. Up until my visit I was just Teta in a box. Teta lived in the i-pad. Now for my nephew I am associated with planes ... any aeroplane spotted --> TETA?  Teta plane?

After my trip up north I flew back to Calgary and met up with my parents and some more friends before heading back home to Prague on August 2nd.

For the first time my mom joined me on her own. We left Dad to to work at Davisons and go visit Grandpa in Winnipeg. Mom did her own little trip to visit Aunt B in Poland and distant relatives in Germany before she joined me for 10 days in Prague. I was very thankful to have her extra pair of hands to help with classroom set up.  We were able to bring a suitcase full of books and supplies. 

We did take a day to go up to the northern part of Czech  Republic to see Czech Switzerland and do some hiking in the woods.

Many thanks to all who helped to contribute items and financial support, it is such a huge blessing to be able to get the things I need to make for a fun learning environment for the kids. 

I have been back working at school and getting things ready for the school year since the first week of August. This year \I will be wearing a number of new hats including Department head for the Elementary department, representative for elementary on our decision making team, as well as interm Member Care for TeachBeyond (until Ben returns from the States in January). 

It has been a very busy start to our new school year. Many new faces and many new kids! This fall I will be starting my  class with 9 kids in grade one! To say I am excited to have this many in a solid grade is an understatement! I was looking back at last years posts and my sorrow of an empty room;  that sorrow is no more! Our elementary numbers almost have tripled from last year with a current count of 31 students in grades one to five! Now this is still very small but for a school with less than 90 students this is great! We did end up putting kindergarten on hold for this year as we are still in need of a teacher. Please pray with us as we continue to pray for more teachers to come and serve.

God is faithful and I am blessed with the team I have this year and the fun that is ahead of us.

First day of school

First day of school was today and although it was only a half day it was a busy one. I had all 9 of my new recruits and I am very excited for this group of bright shining stars!

Still waiting on paperwork before I can post class photos. Please be praying for us as we start our new school year. It will be very different going back to teaching grade one and having twice as many students as I have become accustom to. The balance between English Language Learners and native English speakers is quite good, with only 4 out of the 9 being ELL. I do have one student with VERY little English. Please pray for Steven as he learns to communicate with his classmates and adjusts to being in an English speaking environment. Looking forward to our new school year and all that is in store for us!

Spring to Summer

Field Trips, Field Days, and Finishing Well

End of May and June are a whirlwind of activities as the year begins to wind up and we squeeze in as many fun activities as possible. At the end of May we said an early goodbye to one of our classmates as her family returned to the Netherlands for 2 months to raise support; AND said hello to one of our new families from the UK who would be joining us for the last 3 weeks of school! Change is constant in our community and we say just as many goodbyes as we say hello. So at the end of May a year long prayer for another boy in our class was finally answered! Just in time for field day and our elementary field trip to IQ park (a hands-on science centre in a nearby town).

Field Day

Our annual field day actually took place on a field this year! We had colour teams, flags and pennants for prizes; students participated in a variety of events. Fun was had by all!

 

IQ Park

At the end of May we took the elementary grades 1-6 to a science centre called IQ Park in Liberec. A small town about an hour away from Prague. There were multiple floors with different things to explore including a model of the sinking Titanic, a mirror maze and various stations focusing on balance and motion,

 

 

 Spring Concert

We were missing a few students since it is the end of the school year and few families had already left but this is our elementary kids singing Amazing Grace. So proud of our ELI girls (the little ones in the front) who started learning English in January and memorized all 3 verses!

Finishing Well




























We finished our last week with a few tests, some fun songs and an insect themed part complete    with insect snacks :) We finished our year with a whole different batch of faces than what we started with. Overall we had a great year and I look forward to the fun that is in store for us next year!

Worship time during our final elementary chapel.

Family Picnic

We finish the school year with our annual school picnic. It is a great time to wrap up the year and say goodbye to those who are leaving.

Some of my students for next years class!

After a long day of picnic-ing a few of us took a paddle-boat ride on the river. Perfect thing to do on a hot spring day!

Saying Goodbye



Goodbyes are never easy and in the expat/international community they happen all too often. Some lament that we were never designed to have to say goodbye and I long for the day when goodbyes will be no more. I had to say a number of goodbyes this year as so many of our staff are transitioning on to new paths in their life journeys. Both my flatmates are headed back to the States meaning I had to say goodbye to my friends and my flat of 3 years.

  Change is constant and even more so when you are a missionary teacher working with Third Culture Kids (TCKs). These kids who shudder at the question: "Where are you from?" Who ask every June "Are you leaving too?" Whose friends come and go as often as the seasons change. It is this world that I work in. The revolving door of people coming and going. There is a richness in the people I get to meet and the many lives I get to touch during the year. The heartaches when you have to say yet another goodbye and the desire to harden your heart towards making any new friends, with the knowledge that your time with them is short, is tempting. Yet I have been blessed by the many I have come to know even in those fleeting moments of 3 months, 6 months, 10 months, 2 years.

Though through all the change we know one who never changes. It is him I cling to. The understanding that though the seasons change and things will pass away God is eternal and unchanging and one day the goodbyes will end and the hellos will be eternal.