A Day at School - by Mair

 Kylee and I realized that we had not really put too many posts specifically about school so we spent a day trying to document our school routines.  Below is the result. You will see that I am wearing the same dress in most pics, because we took the pictures on one day. My wardrobe is limited here, but not that limited.  We have added in some additional pictures for fun. Enjoy! 

We get up at 5:35 and leave at 6:35 am each day.  Here Carla, Ellen and I are heading down the hill from our home to catch a ride with our friend Isidro.

Here we all are in the FX.... the beautiful, blue clunker belonging to the ministry. 

Our drive to school, along Bolabog Beach Road. This is where the kite surfers hang out.

Along the side road leading to the main road.

Along the main road and across the island.

Ellen and Carla buying a bun at Julie's Bakery... a Filipino bakery chain.  Each item is five pesos (12 cents).  Each time I find one I like, they stop selling it.  I liked the Puto (a Filipino rice cake thing), they got rid of it.  I like the sugar doughnut thing... they got rid of it. So.. now Julie's is just not worth the calories for me. I think God is trying to keep me from gaining weight. ;)

Me crossing the street to the school.  The store on the right is where I buy my daily banana snack. Every one of these little stores is named after the owner.  This one is David Store.  Not David's Store.  David Store.  I thought a David Store was a type of store.  But then I saw an Annie Store and a Jing Jing Store and a Mary Store.  And me, being the observant woman I am, figured it out.

The banana purchase in action.  Note all the individually wrapped items on the top, making it possible to buy just enough for tonight's dinner with the money currently available.  Buying in bulk does not seem to be an option for most people in the Philippines.

Kylee walking up the path to our school. Our school is on the left. If you keep going up the hill you will come upon a what the locals call the Muslim Village where many of our students live.

This is the roof of our school building.  We are hoping to build two more floors in the future, including one with a gym.  A gym will be so wonderful as the children currently have no gym and no playground.  Anyone who teaches elementary school can tell you that if children do not have a place to run around and play freely... we all suffer. ;)

When the children come in in the morning, they have learned to sit quietly and wait for school to begin. (We are very proud of this achievement!)  It is funny however, that they divide themselves into boys and girls.  They make me smile.  School uniforms in the Philippines are the accepted norm, even in the public schools.  School uniforms prevent the negative implication of some students having money for fancy clothes and some not.  They are not the status symbol that they can sometimes can be at home.

On Fridays our girls and Malcolm lead a chapel service.  They do skits, lead songs and pray with the children.  They do an awesome job.

Every Monday morning we have the weekly flag ceremony where we sing the Filipino National Anthem, make the national pledge (both in the Filipino national language), say a morning prayer and sing our school song. (A catchy little number that I wrote!  Yes, I am SO talented!  The students like it because I included two opportunities to shout "Yeah!".  And who doesn't enjoy a good fist-punching "Yeah!" in a school song?)  I have tried to  attach video of several of these exercises.  But no go. Bummer.  We will just have to have a night of home movies when we return to Canada so you can get the full experience.

After the flag ceremony we work on our bell work in my Grade Two class.  Siann, or Tesha or Kylee help prepare the board for me in the morning, as I run around and try to do my principal duties before teaching time.  One of the wonderful accomplishments for these students this year has been a marked increase in their willingness to take risks and try.  At the beginning of the school year many of them would never come to the board and try to sound out an English word.  The concept of invented spelling or sounding words out phonetically was overwhelming to them.  They wanted all their writing to be copied from the board so it could be perfect. They have now learned that the only time I will become frustrated with them is if they refuse to try.  They have all learned to chime in when I say "You must.....TRY!!'  I am amazed at these wonderful children on a daily basis.

After bell work, we move to the carpet and do our shared reading and writing time.  Sometimes the students share their work at the carpet. Here one of my students is sharing her journal entry with the class.  One of the wonderful characteristics of my Filipino students is how supportive they are of one another.  When a child shows his/her art work, the students will inevitably encourage the child with a chorus of "Wow!"  "Ahh!!"  It is simply delightful to witness.

After carpet time we do centre time.  The children are divided into groups of three or four to work on different activities.  I have a Filipino co-teacher who always takes a group and one of my own children takes a group.  It is a great set up!  The extra support in the classroom helps me concentrate on my guided reading time with my students with few interruptions.  I am very lucky!  Note my buddy to my left who is squatting.  My students can sit like this for extended periods of time without complaining about tired legs or tipping over!  This form of sitting is one technique the children use to keep their clothes clean.  Being clean and tidy is very important to most of the Filipino people. No matter how challenging their living conditions, my students arrive at school freshly bathed every morning and smelling sweet! (They often use a big basin and a scoop to have a Filipino shower.) They even sell baby cologne here.  I, on the other hand, willingly sit on floor getting dusty and dirty, while I sweat profusely... stinking to high heaven I am sure.  They still accept me and are willing to sit nearby, thankfully.

Kylee, Siann and Tesha are my special helpers.  (The Filipino staff call Kylee "Little Principal".) They take groups of students during centre time.  They also help one on one with students who require extra support.  I would be lost without my girls! 

My teaching partner, Hya, is an amazing young woman.  She was sponsored through  "Compassion Child" (which is like World Vision) when she was growing up.  This program allowed her to continue on with her schooling and get a higher education.  She has graduated university as a teacher and is currently working on her Master's Degree in Education.  She impresses me every day with her inquisitiveness, intelligence and compassion.  I am blessed to know her. I also find it very encouraging to see first hand these type of sponsor programs making a real difference. 

These are some of my friends teaching in the Grade One classrooms.  

Me and Hya. 

My students. (I adore these children!) When I asked them about where they were last year before the school opened, most of them told me that they were in a public school for Grade One.  When I asked about the class size they told they had 87 in their class.  I am still shocked by this answer, however, this answer makes me so proud of what we are providing at Agape.   I'm not sure about the hand signs that the boys are doing... but they all do it.  Without fail.  It is not irritating at all.  Not at all.  ;)

See????

Malcolm is responsible for homeschooling our kids this year.  So his co-principal duties are mostly administrative in nature, so that he can complete them with a flexible schedule. He is managing finances, completing paper work, scheduling and training administrative staff.  He has played a critical role in helping the school be successful this year. The laptop he is using is his own.  We are so grateful for the donations of older laptops we have received, however, we are still in need of laptops at the school.

This is the office space that is used as a teacher planning room, the book keeping office, the principals office, the cashier's space, the meeting room, the library and the storage area. (Note the ever present bottles of water.... it is so HOT!) On the high shelves are baskets of items donated to the school.  Many of you reading this blog had a hand in making our school happen.  It is amazing to think about how many of our school books or materials sat in our living room at home, having been collected through friends, family, students and colleagues... and now they have traveled across the world and are being used every day by our students and staff at Agape.  Thank you, thank you, thank you. 

Our school picture.... it was the day of a typhoon, so it is dark. It was taken with a small camera, so it is dark.  There are very few lights in the school, so it is dark.  The good news is, we have taken another this week and it is so much better. The bad news is, I don't have a digital copy yet.  So... it is dark.

Every day we walk home... picking up our groceries etc on the way. One of the grocery stores we frequent is right across the street in this picture.  Yup... it is there.

On our walk home, along with busy streets full of trikes, bikes and noise, there is a long strip of walking along Bolabog Beach.  During this current season there is a steady wind which attracts kite surfers from all over the world.  It is so much fun to just sit and watch.

Okay, so this would never happen on a week night.  And I really have only been sailing maybe three times  ( I really love sailing, we get soaked!)  .... but I just love the picture.  It emphasizes the amazing balance between hard work and fun we have on this island.  This is a balance I long to achieve when I return home.  You can pray for me on that one.

Beautiful ending to a great day.

My Senses by Kylee

On the Beach during the Day:

I see the beautiful blue beach, super white sand, palm trees many people bustling about, vendors selling the same five items hats, sunglasses, sailing, pearls, or massage and many, many fancy hotels and restaurants.
I smell salt water (It is very hard to describe. Maybe it is like it is calling you into the water.), seafood restaurants with giant live lobster and fish, barbecues with hotdogs called tender juicy (the commercial is hilarous! Here is the link: Tender Juicy Commercial.), and other barbecue with chicken and fat. I really like the smell. It smokes up and the smoke smells like chicken and barbecue sause. Masarap!

I feel soft, fine sand under my shoes, cool breeze that makes me feel a little less sweaty, and just really fortunate that I get to live in a place like this.

I hear vendors calling out at me "Massage 'mam sir!" and many different languages that people are talking to each other in. 

 

On the Beach during the Night:
I see lights flashing all around me, tons of people bustling around,  and vendors selling light things that make green dots show up and tops with Angry Birds on them.
I smell the gross odor of seafood, delicious smell of other restaurants, and again the salty smell of the water.
I feel wind pressing against me and cooling me down and people brushing my shoulder as I get by the large tour groups (we have started saying "3,2,1 deak around! Deak around!" as we bend and run around the groups to get to where we aren't claustrophobic)
I hear "Happy hour drink!" or "Dinner?" as I pass by a buffet or restaurant and myself replying "Hindi, Salamet po!" (No thank you) and loud music.

On the Main Road:
I see sari, sari stores with little individual candies, shampoos, juice powder, etc., trikes passing by me, Internet cafes (this is where the kids go to play on the computer or check their facebook), and print shops.
I smell more barbeques and the smoke coming from the trikes and motorcycles.

I feel myself pressing against vacant trikes that are parked on the sidewalk so I only have a little space to walk on, on the side walk and the little bit of wind that comes from the trikes passing me.

I hear the roar of the motorcycles and the "hi's" from the people we know as we pass.

At the Feedings:
I see beautiful children in need of education, concrete houses, and spiritual food.
I smell yet another barbeque and the food that we are giving them.
I feel kids touching me, trying to get picked up. I am sure that I am getting stronger because of my lifting of small children! ;-)
I hear roosters!!!!!!!!!!! They are so loud and contrary to popular belief, they crow all day and night! :-)

Overall:
I see the water beautiful blue ocean, vendors, the beautiful moutains on Panay, huge resorts, and poverty.
I smell smoke everywhere because they use fires to cook, barbeques, beautiful salt water, and tons of need.
I feel so blessed that I get to live here. God has blessed us with so much and so we can do this. And this is a great place to do mission work in!
I hear a bunch of people in need. I hear God talking to me through scripture, Bible studies, and prayer.

Thank you for reading this post!
-Kylee B-)