Springing Ahead

 Springing Forward

As the days slowly get longer we can see the light at the end of the tunnel brighten as the end of the school year grows nearer. We have had many events this spring including Staff retreat at a resort in Loučen, field trip to see butterflies, exploration of insects and all school field day.

Staff Retreat

Train ride adventures

One of our favourite games to play is like a version of hide and seek. We take a stroll in the woods and a caller calls for everyone to hide and everyone scatters to hide then the seeker names who they can see from the spot they are standing. We are quite the sight as we huddle together behind trees.

We stayed at a beautiful spa resort place in a small Czech town. It had a small palace and a large property with a variety of mazes to explore. It was a wonderful time to get away, spend some quality time with co-workers and find some time to rest in amongst the chaos of overseas teaching.

Teaching in the Spring

There are so many activities in the spring. Elementary spring concert, field trips and field day. 

Spirit Days

We have school spirit how 'bout you? These are fun days to take the dreary out of the day to day.

Anything but a backpack!

Rhyme with No Reason - Fox and Socks, rich witch, Santa Furtana

Crazy Hair Day - I dyed my hair red for this one!

Disney Day

Learning about Insects!

Field day was jam packed with fun activities. 12 teams and close to 150 children

I got to help lead the orange team. We were team 8 the Flaming Phoenix. They had a lot of heart and though we didn't win fun was had. 

Our school is growing! We are close to 160 students which is double the size when I started.

One-third of our school is made up of students from creative access countries such as India, Vietnam, and China. These countries do not always allow the Gospel to be freely shared, and we have the unique opportunity to reach these nations all in one place.

TeachBeyond Leadership Summit

In April I got to attend a leadership summit in the UK. Most of my time was spent in meetings (not something you really take pictures of.) However, we did go for an afternoon excursion to the Seven Sisters (often mistaken visually for the cliffs of Dover). Gorgeous weather! The summit was a wonderful time to connect with other team leaders. Hearing the stories of what God is doing throughout Europe in different schools and projects.

 

Outside the Classroom

As many will recall last spring I got the news that my landlord was selling my flat and so I moved in with a family who have a VERY large flat. They are currently back in the States for 6 months and I have been holding down the forte with a group of girls. The blessing of having such a large place is the opportunity to host various events and parties. Easter dinners, birthdays and team meetings.

What do you do for fun?

Prague is full of activities and things to do. Operas, hockey games and walks in the park.

One of my TeachBeyond teammates plays on a local league for fun and they set up a tournament against 6 different countries. Canada took a beating we cheered them on!

Got the chance to join a group of ladies to see Phantom of the Opera. Great performance and beautiful evening.

The flowers are now all in bloom and often I will borrow the neighbour's dog and take her for a stroll in the park. She is a bird dog and it is hilarious to watch her stalk the pigeons.

What is Next?

We have 4 weeks left of school! Some major praises to the Lord is that our elementary team is fully staffed already for next year! A miracle that I am very thankful for! Our TeachBeyond team continues to grow and we will be welcoming another 4 new members this fall. 

During the first week of June my mom will be coming to visit; as I will be packing up to return to Canada for 6 months for tax related reasons and she is going to help me get things packed up.

School ends with graduation on June 13th.
On June 15th I hop on a plane - Mom goes back to Canada with my suitcases and I take a detour to Chicago to attend our TeachBeyond new staff orientation. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet our new team members and get a refresher course on all our mission's policies. It has been 14 years since I started this journey and lots changes in 14 years!

I return to Canada on June 21 and will be around until first week of January. I will be taking a 3 month sabbatical to rest and renew and then doing some travel to visit people and prepare for returning to the field.

What will you be doing when you go back?

Life is in limbo at the moment. My teaching position is filled for the unseeable future and so that opens doors for other opportunities. Right now what those are is unknown. Praying to see what God has in store!

My TeachBeyond Family - I am so thankful for this amazing group of people I get to walk along side with on this amazing journey of serving here in the CZ.

Winter Wanderings

Time Stands Still

Sometimes it feels like time rushes us by and it is all we can do to hold on to the glimpses and other times it stands still and seems like it hasn't passed at all. Three years ago I had a student teacher join us from Germany, Miss Rose. She was the infusion of joy that my weary soul needed and the Lord brought her to us when I needed to see the joy in teaching again. Through God's orchestration she has joined our teaching team.

This week our students were learning about air and we were watching how air can move bubbles.  She joined us for this activity again and it was as if time stood still.

We are thankful to have her join us. For the first time in a very long time we have a fully staffed elementary team with certified trained teachers and no split classes. 

I welcomed a new student teacher this January. It is a pleasure watching the next generation of teachers prepare for their teaching careers and it is an honour to be part of it.

Happy 100th Day of School

We celebrated our 100th day of school last week. It is always a joy to celebrate this day with the kids as we count diligently each day. There is something amazing about 100. It seems so big when you are so small and attaining it is something special. 

Planting Seeds and Sharing Truth

As a primary school teacher I may never know how God will use my teachings and I get the joy of planting the seeds though I most likely will never see the harvest. One of the challenges we face is the delicate balance of teaching children whose parents teach one belief and we teach another. Nothing is more conflicting than having to wrestle with who do you believe is saying what is true. Many of our students come from blended religious beliefs. Their parents are okay with them learning about Christianity as they see Jesus is one of the many gods. We watch these children as they learn the truth of a God who loves them and gave himself for them. One of my past students recently drew a picture in class that perfectly illustrates the sentiment of this tug-o-war for truth.

Catching up to the new year

Why do we Celebrate?

There are many things and many ways we celebrate. One of the many things I celebrated this year was the Lord's goodness and his prefect timing. I have learned time and again that my ways are not his ways. If I had my way our grade 3 teacher would have been here in September. The Lord had us wait and we celebrated her arrival in December with many cheers and parties

What do we Celebrate?

When I started teaching grade 1 at CISP I had to develop a Social Studies curriculum. There was a very barebones outline so I decided that a celebrations unit would be a great way to explore the different cultures in the classroom. So I found a Celebrations unit on TpT (teachersbyteachers which is the best teacher resource website ever created) and went from there. Now it is tradition for my kids to learn about Remembrance Day, Thanksgiving, Diwali, Hanukkah and Christmas celebrations from different countries around the world. 

 

My favourite part of this unit is when we have our celebrations day and our kids dress up in traditional clothes from their culture, we share foods and traditions. It is a great way to end our semester. I make them Christmas stockings and stuff them with treats. We retell the Christmas story with flannel graph figures and make Christmas crafts and play games. 

Who do we Celebrate?

This year we have been learning about serving our community. Our elementary kids get to find ways to serve our grade 12 seniors. We decided for exam week we would make them an exam survival kit. The kids had fun writing our senior little notes and sharing their package with her.

How do we Celebrate?

Traditions

Christmas time is full of traditions and memories.

We started off the year with a German traditions as my German flatmate filled our boots with treats on Saint Nicholas day.

It would not be Christmas without grade one reciting Luke 2 at the elementary Christmas concert.

I had one little guy that was obsessed with learning the verses. He looked forward to our reciting every day and was sure to remind me if we hadn't done it. "Miss Robinsonmam, what about In those days?"

Christmas Markets

Every year I take the kids to the local Christmas markets.  

 

I also join a group of friends to venture out to the Christmas markets in Germany. This year we branched out and went to Leipzig. We also stopped in a lovely little Christmas town that makes wooden toys. I haven't been there since my second year here and it was great to go back.

I bought my own tree this year but I had the family I am living with help me pick it out and carry it home. The kids even helped me decorate it.

Merry Christmas

Christmas with Family

This Christmas I had the blessing of having my Aunt and Uncle join me. They had to make a trip over to Poland and popped by for a week to rest in between their many travels. I had plans to visit them but life threw a few curve balls and it worked out for them to come see me instead. We did some touristy stuff, enjoyed some good visits and celebrated with a handful of friends who popped in and out throughout the week. There is something special about being around family at Christmas.

Happy New Year

I brought the new year in with a group of gals I work with and when they braved the below 0C temperatures to go watch fireworks I went upstairs to join another family to watch it from the safety of our warm apartment building.

When do we Celebrate?

Everyday! We are commanded to rejoice and give thanks continually. To essentially at all times celebrate life and the one who has given it. I look forward to another year full of celebration. There are many changes ahead and many unknowns. God is good and faithful and we celebrate all that he has done and continues to do and we give him the glory!