Crazy Busy! So ends my third month in Beirut.
Friends Charlene, Barbara, and I just paid for a trip to Cyprus over Thanksgiving. We will leave Wednesday, next week, on a 45 minute hop to Larnaca, Cyprus, then a 45 minute bus ride to Nicosia for a night. We'll return to the seaside for the remaining days, taking excursions out from there. This is my plan for softening the family holiday yearnings. What do you think? Dad and Liz, James, Kate, and Erik, I'll be missing you!
No specific plans for Christmas yet...
School has been racing. As a newbie, I've had a lot to learn, and seem to fall into every pothole along the way; am reluctant to tell you about these here... Luckily my two 4th grade partners help me get back on my feet. We work closely together. Our goal is to be a team in the eyes of children, parents, and staff. History has proven that teamwork is essential for success at ACS. We share ideas, but bottom line is we are in "lock step". I know that doesn't sound pleasant, but it is what must be done. We are finishing a biology unit on organisms, from plant and animal cells, to organisms, to life cycles, adaptation, and now, interdependence. Our first quarter Science has been fascinating for me! Our classroom example is the sea turtle, so we've studied these creatures, and even writtten a class folktale about Why Sea Turtle Swims So Fast. Kids also wrote their own folk tales, publishing them on power point presentations to share.
On another note, logistics, I'm glad to tell you that I'm getting used to submitting my copying to the copy man, Fahdi. He will run off a last minute homework page for me, and thank goodness for that. I'm walking up / down 4 flights of stairs to and from my classroom every time I need to make copies, so planning ahead is a must. The school, for the very fact that everyone is spread out high and low, depends on the email system. There is no phone connection between classrooms. I do have an intercom line to the main office.
Parent Teacher conferences start tomorrow; 15 minute sessions over two afternoons. The office scheduled these for us. Nice! We just completed our first progress reports on line. It was another learning curve, but next time it will be easier. We do a formal report card using ABC grades in January. Preparing ahead will really help.
Had our first Parent Presentation, last Friday. Parents came to school to see the children's folk tales on power point, and their Science projects about animal life cycles and adaptations. The science projects turned out well, although next time we'll work on note-taking. (That internet is way too easy to use...just print and paste...) Our Presentation wrapped up with a song: "The Bear in Tennis Shoes". Kids and I had fun singing; we all LOVE to sing! I thought our presentation went well for the first 8 weeks of school (!); a personal record for me. Yes, all 4th grade classes had parent presentations on the same day. These take place at the end of every quarter. Imagine that!
I have met a lot of neat people, all ages. We've been thrown together in this adventure. Last week I swam in the staff vs students swim meet; what a riot! After I got over my fear of "competing", I had a good time. It was the 50 meter freestyle. As soon as I hit the water, my goggles went cockeyed... just pulled them down around my neck and kept going. Reminded me of the time James lost a shoe and finished his race barefooted!
More to come from Cyprus. Take care all!
Friends Charlene, Barbara, and I just paid for a trip to Cyprus over Thanksgiving. We will leave Wednesday, next week, on a 45 minute hop to Larnaca, Cyprus, then a 45 minute bus ride to Nicosia for a night. We'll return to the seaside for the remaining days, taking excursions out from there. This is my plan for softening the family holiday yearnings. What do you think? Dad and Liz, James, Kate, and Erik, I'll be missing you!
No specific plans for Christmas yet...
School has been racing. As a newbie, I've had a lot to learn, and seem to fall into every pothole along the way; am reluctant to tell you about these here... Luckily my two 4th grade partners help me get back on my feet. We work closely together. Our goal is to be a team in the eyes of children, parents, and staff. History has proven that teamwork is essential for success at ACS. We share ideas, but bottom line is we are in "lock step". I know that doesn't sound pleasant, but it is what must be done. We are finishing a biology unit on organisms, from plant and animal cells, to organisms, to life cycles, adaptation, and now, interdependence. Our first quarter Science has been fascinating for me! Our classroom example is the sea turtle, so we've studied these creatures, and even writtten a class folktale about Why Sea Turtle Swims So Fast. Kids also wrote their own folk tales, publishing them on power point presentations to share.
On another note, logistics, I'm glad to tell you that I'm getting used to submitting my copying to the copy man, Fahdi. He will run off a last minute homework page for me, and thank goodness for that. I'm walking up / down 4 flights of stairs to and from my classroom every time I need to make copies, so planning ahead is a must. The school, for the very fact that everyone is spread out high and low, depends on the email system. There is no phone connection between classrooms. I do have an intercom line to the main office.
Parent Teacher conferences start tomorrow; 15 minute sessions over two afternoons. The office scheduled these for us. Nice! We just completed our first progress reports on line. It was another learning curve, but next time it will be easier. We do a formal report card using ABC grades in January. Preparing ahead will really help.
Had our first Parent Presentation, last Friday. Parents came to school to see the children's folk tales on power point, and their Science projects about animal life cycles and adaptations. The science projects turned out well, although next time we'll work on note-taking. (That internet is way too easy to use...just print and paste...) Our Presentation wrapped up with a song: "The Bear in Tennis Shoes". Kids and I had fun singing; we all LOVE to sing! I thought our presentation went well for the first 8 weeks of school (!); a personal record for me. Yes, all 4th grade classes had parent presentations on the same day. These take place at the end of every quarter. Imagine that!
I have met a lot of neat people, all ages. We've been thrown together in this adventure. Last week I swam in the staff vs students swim meet; what a riot! After I got over my fear of "competing", I had a good time. It was the 50 meter freestyle. As soon as I hit the water, my goggles went cockeyed... just pulled them down around my neck and kept going. Reminded me of the time James lost a shoe and finished his race barefooted!
More to come from Cyprus. Take care all!
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