My Students

      All 8 of my fifth grade students are officially at school! One student has been enrolled, but didn't come until a week ago due to flight issues and Venezuelan schools not starting until the middle of September. In my fifth grade class, I have 4 students who were in my class last year and 4 students who are new to our school. My students are from China, Venezuela, and Nigeria. They range in age from 10 to 12. It's exciting to watch the class learn and grow together. Even in the 7 weeks we have been in school, I have seen kids learning, growing, asking better questions, and being better friends. The whole class is beginning to bond together really well, which is such a huge blessing. They are very funny and crazy kids, and I love having them in class!

My mom sent me letters for a bulletin board.
It was a puzzle trying to figure out what it said.

     This year, I am teaching fifth grade for language arts, Bible, and math. The fourth graders join us for science and social studies. When I have both fourth and fifth grade, there are 19 kids. That's a lot for the size of my room. I have to have kids sitting in the "teacher's" chairs in order to fit everyone. Teaching that many students can be tricky at ICS, especially because one third of those students are new English Language Learners. Even the rest of the students are still developing their proficiency in English. We had to begin our science unit back at the basics of what is a star and what is a planet. Despite the difficulties some days, I love having the fourth graders join us. They are very curious and inquisitive, not just about the subject matter, but also how it relates to God. Please pray for the fourth graders as some of them are really searching to know who God is and making decisions if they really want to follow him or not. This week is Spiritual Emphasis Week; please pray that students are challenged during this time.

The whole class acted extra goofy during a class party.

Working hard on group projects in social studies.

It's a tight squeeze in my room with 19 students.

Praises and Prayer Requests
-Praise that all 8 of my students are at school!
-Praise that my class has been becoming better friends and are caring more for each other.
-Pray for salvation for the students, especially for fourth graders who are trying to make hard decisions.
-Pray for Spiritual Emphasis Week. This week is Spiritual Emphasis Week. Starting Wednesday, the middle school and high school are heading to a camp to bond and learn more about God. In elementary school, we will be having a VBS on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Our theme is the hope we have in God.
-Continue to pray for health. This is still a huge concern.
-Pray for bug issues. The mosquitoes have been bad for two months now, and other bugs are becoming problematic in some of our houses. I found a cockroach on our clean silverware last night, and I have friends who are getting mysterious bites at night (we suspect spiders).
-Pray for transition and homesickness. This is the time of the year when we begin feeling homesick or missing fall. This is especially hard for new teachers, who have lived here two months now, which may be longer than they've been away from family/friends before.