contaminada

I began last week with a positive attitude because the previous week had ended on a high note.  Edwin got the highest grade in the class on his vocabulary test—proving that all along he was able to do so but lacked the commitment to studying.  All week long he repeated that this was a new year, and he was trying to make a new start.

He had appeared to turn a corner.  But just when he started making wise choices…just when he got his first A on a vocabulary test and had been doing most of his homework…just when I had told him how proud I am of him…he decided to bring alcohol to school in his water bottle.  

I saw him take the bottle into the bathroom twice to drink from it.  Then, as I unscrewed the top to take a whiff, I hoped my suspicions weren’t accurate…but they were.  Fittingly, two of our vocabulary words from last week summed up the findings:  That water was not pure; in fact someone had contaminated it!  

Needless to say, this event made for an interesting week—one with many interruptions to normalcy, but we survived.  Thanks to the creative and insightful intervention by our principal and a trusted friend, Edwin may have even learned some life lessons.

It also served as a wakeup call to Edwin’s family—for whom we have been praying for a while.  For the first time since we’ve known them, they all came to church with us—Praise the Lord!

Please pray for peace in the lives and families of our students.

risas

The newest addition to my blog is...video!

Here are my students (and Saul) performing a play.  See if you can figure out which story it is.  Forgive the shaky videography; I was laughing a little.  I hope you do too!

bienvenido de nuevo

Happy New Year!

Last Tuesday began our first week back at school.  I was so prepared—I had spent the previous five days hard at work in my classroom.  All of the little boxes in my lesson plan book were full, papers were copied, books were selected, PowerPoints were made, and science experiments were set up. 

But, of course, I barely had a full class of students.  Between family emergencies, students waking up late, and parental disinvolvement—the whole school felt a bit empty this week.  So I didn’t follow any of my tediously made plans.  The good news is, all I have to do is change the date in my plan book, and I’m ready for next week!

Although student attendance was lacking, the ESD staff was out in full force.  Last week we welcomed our snow birds.  Norm and Earlene Benson have joined us from upstate New York for another year.  They have been faithfully serving with us during the winter months for the past 14 years.  Norm is a farmer, and he fixes things around the school for us.  Earlene is a retired English teacher and helps us in our classrooms.  This year, they brought their daughter Fran with them.  Fran is a college professor.  She is our Wonder Woman—she will do anything we ask of her…with a smile!  Additionally, we welcomed our faithful volunteer, Margaret Upperman from snowy New Jersey.  She has been serving here for many, many (I don’t know exactly how many) years by cutting, sorting, counting, and redeeming our Box Tops for Education and Campbell’s Soup Labels.  Thanks to the commitment of countless people who send us box tops and soup labels, we have enough work to keep Margaret busy for months!

For anyone who keeps up with this sort of thing, Kate and I have decided to give up high fructose corn syrup this year.  I’m sharing this because you’d be surprised what you find it in.  I thought I was eating healthy granola bars, whole wheat breads, crackers, and other good foods…but I had to clean out my fridge and cabinets this new year.  So check your ingredients.  I’ve found that high fructose corn syrup is found in more “healthy” foods than junk foods that I’ve looked in.  Thankfully, I found a little health food store where I can do my shopping from now on!