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Welcome

September is here
And so is fall.
So welcome children
Welcome all.
I hope vacation
Was real fun.
And that you're glad
School has begun.

So I'm now on my 5th week of teaching. I really can't believe how fast time has flown by. Next week we distribute our first quarter progress reports. In 2 weeks we have our Fall Break. I think before I know it Christmas will be here!

So far school has been such a blessing. From students, to parents, to staff, to facilities and resources....I feel very full here at Bethany. This year I am still teaching Grade 4 (or as the Americans refer to it: 4th Grade), so although the curriculum is slightly different, the biggest change for me is that the school is a Christian school. Every morning I pray with my students, I sing praise songs with them, and we study the Bible (right now we are studying whether the Bible is True and how can we trust the Bible). Throughout the week we have Wednesday Chapel and I have a class meeting where I take the students' prayer requests so we can pray for them. It has been such a refreshing experience for me and I really feel I get to know the students better.

Our school has undergone many changes this year with a large turnover of staff as well as renovations and so things at are school have been quite hectic. But coming from a school in Toronto that has been equally hectic has trained me well. :) One of the most exciting thing about my current school is the technology that's available (i.e. SmartBoard, computer access, website, etc.). Come visit our school website to have a look! (Bethany Morrison Academy) If you click on the 4th grade button you'll get to my class and see my students. :)


Today we have our "typhoon day" so I actually have time to blog but I feel like I have so much to share about that I don't know where to start so I'll just list some fun tidbits about our life lately:

• My parents are coming to visit beginning of October. My mom is already packed to go! Can you believe it?
• Moon festival is coming up. I already got my first moon cake from a parent!
• When I was young and had a cough I enjoyed eating this sweet cough medicine called "peh pah goh" (Cantonese pronounciation), can you believe that they brew there own over here! I had a cough and one of my parents went and got me a homemade brew that she swears by to help me out. I don't know if it was a placebo but it worked!
• I've been having an ongoing fish situation. I bought some fish for our classroom the first day of school and within the week they all died. Apparently one of my fish was diseased. It was very distressing so I researched about owning fish and talked to the pet store and tried hard to make it work out again by buying some new fish. I made sure the water environment was right, but within a week again I've lost my fish! What is going on! I have an inkling that they die on the weekend because something in the room has changed but I can't figure it out yet. Stay tuned for the ongoing fish saga...
• We've been teaching some of the people in fellowship how to cook. One of the guys didn't even know how to fry an egg! That was quite unbelievable for me.
• I went tubing down a river with the Art teacher 2 weeks ago. I think it was great fun but so far many people think we're crazy for tubing down a polluted river. The locals swim in it...it must be okay right?
• We went to the mountains and had a lot of fun swimming in a very clean mountain river. Ray came along but chose to take pictures of us instead. It was great fun!
• This past weekend our school had a staff retreat at a beach resort! It was great! I think all schools should have staff retreats! :) Hee hee! Here are some pictures of our adventures.