Greetings!
I know...don't faint or anything because I'm writing again so soon! I can't believe it is Wednesday evening here already...at tomorrow is not only Valentine's Day here, but it will mark the halfway point in February. Wow, where did the first part of the month go? It really is flying by!
Things were a little crazy today, at least near the end of the day. I found 2 students cheating on a test. One was my new student...the other was a friend that has been helping her to adjust. Apparently, the student that has been here actually wrote down all the answers from the test and then gave the paper to the new student. When I noticed it, I went over to her. She claimed she was writing it down...to help her remember. I said there was no reason at all to be copying down the answers...could be cheating or how would I know she wasn't going to be giving it to someone. I decided to compare the two tests without them realizing it. And between the quizzes that they took this morning, the written paper, and the tests it was pretty obvious that they did this. We only had about 30 minutes or so until the end of the day. After school I asked her some of the questions from the test, but her answer, "I forgot...that is why I was writing it down." After she left the room, I talked to one other student sitting behind them. He confirmed that they had passed a paper between them. Talked to Mrs. Buck...went to get them to talk to her. They pretty much admitted to her right off that they did it. Parents were called. This culture is very non-confrontational. Which pretty much means they don't want to cause any trouble...if someone asks something of them--answers to a test--or anything--they will say yes because they don't want to say and cause strife. Well, the new student did stay for tutoring, but she was required to retake the test during that time. Then we did some tutoring.
Well, it is time for me to run...church time.
Have a great night!
Sarah
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Monday, February 11, 2013
Greetings!
Just a quick update to let you know how things are going.
This Friday we are having something called the Friendship Banquet. It is for 9-12 grade students. It is a time for them to get all dressed up, and we rent a place for them to go. The faculty and staff of the school serve the students. Plus we come up with the order of events. I'm on the committee for it. The committee met today at a restaurant after school. Crazy, but I guess a ship hasn't come in for a bit...I first ordered a chicken breast, well they were out of chicken breasts. So, I went for the bacon cheeseburger. Guess what? They were out of ground beef for the burger. So, I went with a chicken sandwich with cheese. Third time was a charm, like they say. :) So, we finalized the order of program. I volunteered to work on games. So, here is what I was thinking...a Bible trivia game. They will be set up at different tables...about 6 students at each table. I think I'm gonna have each table pick a "runner". After I give a question, the runners will wait for their table to decide on an answer and then come tell me. The first runner to tell me the correct answer gets a point. After 8-11 questions, we will get a winner. Another funny game will be to get one person from each table to come up front and form a circle. I will pick a person to start. The first person will have to "snort" to the person next to them...then that person has to try and snort without laughing to the person next to them. If they laugh before they get the snort out, they are out. Tell me what you guys think about those 2 games. After we planned the order of events, Bertha--one of the staff on the committee--took me to look at fabric.Bertha's mother-in-law offered to make me an island dress for the banquet. She is the one that made me the first one--blues/greens/yellows. They call it yards here because you measure it in yards. Anyway, we went to one place, and I didn't find anything. Looking for purple/silver which is the colors of the banquet this year. So, we went to another place that sold material. I found something I liked, so I got it. I was like, ok, I will take it. Well, then we went to one other place...and I found THE MATERIAL! It practically jumped off the shelf at me! Love it! So, I got it. Her mother-in-law is going to make another dress out of the first material I got. Also, at this last place, I saw some other material I would love to have a dress made out of, but it wasn't purple, so I will wait on that one. Well, that was my afternoon.
A few weeks ago, I lost a student. She decided she wanted to go to a different school, so her mom didn't make her go to any school...no idea if she even tried to register somewhere else or not. So, in her place, I got a new student last Monday. Please pray for her and me. She is way behind for our curriculum in 6th grade. Anyone familiar with the A Beka curriculum can understand how it is advanced compared to the public school curriculum even in the states. However, she was going to a public school. But the standard in a public school here are much lower than the academic standards in place at the school I'm at..and much lower than even public schools in the states. So, even though her grades are really good coming from the other school, she is behind, and her grades will not be where they were at the other school. Our academic standards are high...and there are waiting lists for just about every grade. Parents want the academics and know that we teach in English. There are many students that are Marshallese, but they do not speak Marshallese but speak English instead. So, please just keep the new student and myself in your prayers as I begin to try to help her get caught up with the class.
I can't believe in a few days February will be half over! Wow! It is flying by!
Blessings!
Sarah
Just a quick update to let you know how things are going.
This Friday we are having something called the Friendship Banquet. It is for 9-12 grade students. It is a time for them to get all dressed up, and we rent a place for them to go. The faculty and staff of the school serve the students. Plus we come up with the order of events. I'm on the committee for it. The committee met today at a restaurant after school. Crazy, but I guess a ship hasn't come in for a bit...I first ordered a chicken breast, well they were out of chicken breasts. So, I went for the bacon cheeseburger. Guess what? They were out of ground beef for the burger. So, I went with a chicken sandwich with cheese. Third time was a charm, like they say. :) So, we finalized the order of program. I volunteered to work on games. So, here is what I was thinking...a Bible trivia game. They will be set up at different tables...about 6 students at each table. I think I'm gonna have each table pick a "runner". After I give a question, the runners will wait for their table to decide on an answer and then come tell me. The first runner to tell me the correct answer gets a point. After 8-11 questions, we will get a winner. Another funny game will be to get one person from each table to come up front and form a circle. I will pick a person to start. The first person will have to "snort" to the person next to them...then that person has to try and snort without laughing to the person next to them. If they laugh before they get the snort out, they are out. Tell me what you guys think about those 2 games. After we planned the order of events, Bertha--one of the staff on the committee--took me to look at fabric.Bertha's mother-in-law offered to make me an island dress for the banquet. She is the one that made me the first one--blues/greens/yellows. They call it yards here because you measure it in yards. Anyway, we went to one place, and I didn't find anything. Looking for purple/silver which is the colors of the banquet this year. So, we went to another place that sold material. I found something I liked, so I got it. I was like, ok, I will take it. Well, then we went to one other place...and I found THE MATERIAL! It practically jumped off the shelf at me! Love it! So, I got it. Her mother-in-law is going to make another dress out of the first material I got. Also, at this last place, I saw some other material I would love to have a dress made out of, but it wasn't purple, so I will wait on that one. Well, that was my afternoon.
A few weeks ago, I lost a student. She decided she wanted to go to a different school, so her mom didn't make her go to any school...no idea if she even tried to register somewhere else or not. So, in her place, I got a new student last Monday. Please pray for her and me. She is way behind for our curriculum in 6th grade. Anyone familiar with the A Beka curriculum can understand how it is advanced compared to the public school curriculum even in the states. However, she was going to a public school. But the standard in a public school here are much lower than the academic standards in place at the school I'm at..and much lower than even public schools in the states. So, even though her grades are really good coming from the other school, she is behind, and her grades will not be where they were at the other school. Our academic standards are high...and there are waiting lists for just about every grade. Parents want the academics and know that we teach in English. There are many students that are Marshallese, but they do not speak Marshallese but speak English instead. So, please just keep the new student and myself in your prayers as I begin to try to help her get caught up with the class.
I can't believe in a few days February will be half over! Wow! It is flying by!
Blessings!
Sarah
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