The thoughts and opinions of this blog do not reflect that of the Peace Corps or the United States Government.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

ISS

Growing up I always wondered what it would be like to go to ISS or In School Suspension. I never tried to go because I knew that my parents would kill me. I am now getting the opportunity to experience what that would have been like. At the Primary School I have a group of about 5 boys that haven't been able to survive in a regular classroom. They constantly get in trouble and get kicked out of class. I mean, 3 out of 5 of them were suspended on Friday. It is interesting to say the least and quite challenging.
But it is oh so rewarding already! Since I wasn't at the school in the morning, one of the boys came to my home at lunch time to see why I wasn't there and to make sure I was coming for the afternoon. My one boy that is in grade 4 (the rest are in grade 6) is learning and finishing his work faster than the grade 6 students. And he's doing a great job. Plus he gets in less trouble when in my class.
We even got the same amount of work finished this afternoon as we did all day on Monday!
On Monday I had the students write 3 paragraphs about the Jounen Kweyol celebration. The first thing the did was look at me and ask what a paragraph was. Square one! This took most of the day. I then had them complete an addition math sheet.
This afternoon, I had them complete part of their grade 6 homework from this past weekend (which they of course did not do). We wrote a letter to a cousin about why they needed to continue to go to school! They then did a subtraction worksheet. Some of them had to take this home and correct for homework.
I know that at least one of them needs some serious help reading, which is why his wiring is so bad, but I'm trying to figure out a way to help him without the other boys being around to find out and tease him. Any suggestions!?!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Projects

These last couple months have been boring. "You live on a Caribbean island, how can that be boring?" you might ask. It's not where I live, but my work that has been boring. Trust me, I went to an awesome beach bonfire Saturday night! Since my projects at the primary school have been mostly stalled, that left my days open. For someone who likes to work and be productive, it's been a nightmare! So I've finally been able to find a couple of projects I'm excited about.
Project 1: This started today. During the day there are a couple kids that usually just get kicked out of class and walk around the school doing nothing. I get to work with them. Today we worked on Math. I found this really awesome website that makes worksheets for you. We did basic addition and subtraction and double digit of both as well. I got to see where the boys were struggling. We then made flash cards and played a game with them. They also got some time on the computer playing math games (their favorite part of the day).
Project 2: This is going to start next week. There are some kindergartners that are struggling and already a little behind. I'm going to go to the Infant school two mornings a week and help give them some extra 1-on-1 or 2-on-1 attention to help them get caught up.
I'm really excited about these. It should be fun, hopefully help the kids, and keep me busy too!

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Lately.

So I realize that lately I haven't been good at posting. I wish I could say things have been really busy and that's why I haven't, but I can't. I'm going to work at doing better.
The principal at the school retired the end of September. We didn't know who the next principal would be. I went to the states October 1-13, and had no clue who to tell at the school! When I got back, I found out that one of the teachers is the acting principal. In December we'll find out who the principal will be for the long term.
In the states I got to do some wedding planning! I tried on my dress (love it!), saw the place that the wedding is going to be (again love it!), and picked out some decorations. I didn't get to see everyone I wanted (I wanted to make a trip to Echo and see my friends there and also see my friend Clarence who lives not that far from my parents. In addition, I didn't get to see my relatives in Toledo). But I got to see my sisters and their kids which was fun! I can't believe how fast the kids are growing up.
When I got back I found the computer lab still not in order. I've been helping the acting principal with a new reading program that she is putting in place. Every week the students have to read a book and write a book report on it. This week in grading is was really obvious when students just copied from the back of the book (and there were a lot of them that did!).
This Sunday we're kicking off Boys and Girls Club for the term. Hopefully the kids will come up with fun activities that don't cost a lot of money. They usually come up with going to the mall (up north) and going to Pizza Pizza (the only place here that has a playground). It should be a fun rest of the term!