Term 2, 2017 is OVER!

Sorry I missed a week; it’s been rather intense this last week of school. I spent most of last weekend marking and working on report cards, and as I expected normal school assignments from my kids right up to after prep on Thursday, I’ve had my hands pretty full. So, here’s the highlights!

• I had 10 interviews with my student’s parents

• I got to watch four of my grade 6 students obey the Lord in baptism

• I caught the second half of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and was relieved that something that has been troubling me all term was addressed

• I helped serve chicken to the parents and siblings at supper

• I squeezed all the papers due me out of my students; whether it was complete or not is another story that I’m just finding out…

• We had a small leavers party for my 6th grade twins; they will be moving to a new school next term. We’re going to miss those smiles!

• Supervised the glorious task of clearing out the desks and straightening the classroom for the holiday

And of course there were countless ends to tie up and fire to put out as we worked through the details of ending a school term. Now, I’m really looking forward to taking a few good naps! I will be traveling next week for a shopping/get off station trip, so I’m looking forward to having some time away. I’m also looking forward to having some time to work in my house, rest, and regroup for third term. It’s such a treat to have the time to do my own dishes and make my own meals.

Parting shot: When you realize that these ARE your monkeys…and it is your circus!

Last Weekend on...

Whew—only two more weeks left of term 2! This is exam week in my classroom, and it will be interesting to see how the grade 6’s handle their first Miss B exams… I will also be writing report cards this week, but the good news is that they were greatly streamlined for first and second term, so it shouldn’t be quite the herculean labor that it has been in years past.

This was my last weekend on, and it was a busy one as I was in charge of Sunday lunch since the cook headed out for a quick furlough last week. So, that meant that I measured out the dry ingredients for pancakes for super (66 cups of flour), and made a large batch of peanut butter cookies for staff teas (8 cups of flour). I helped finish up Sunday morning dishes, and then I sliced up four large roasts for Sunday dinner. I helped serve up the kids plates and supervised seconds and thirds. After making sure everything was being put away and cleared up, I headed home to finish getting ready for Sunday school. The four grade 9 students were teaching, but I had the singing and a few things to put out for them. Thankfully they were well prepared, because I was called back to the kitchen to get something out that was forgotten while I was there. Then I had a chance to take a walk on the airstrip and have a little time to myself before supper. I had been worrying about it a bit all week, so I was very thankful that things went so smoothly! Yet another new experience to add to my life skills list… Also, the kitchen guys are doing an outstanding job of stepping up and getting things done while the cook is away.

They have been re-thatching one of our chalets this past week, and I have enjoyed watching the process. I find it fascinating to see how they make such great roofs with bark rope and dry grass. Here is a picture of the old thatch and the mat they put over the frame, and then the first layer of thatch going on.

As I go into this week, prayers for stamina would be appreciated. There is a lot to accomplish between now and next Tuesday night when reports are due, and a nasty cold is spreading through the school like…a cold at a boarding school. Also, this past week my shoulder has been acting up more, and all that meat cutting yesterday doesn’t seem to have helped. I’m not in agony, but having a constant discomfort does have an effect on your day.

Short Week

One of the nice things about this last week was that Monday and Tuesday were half-term, so it was a shorter week; and I missed my regular Tuesday—one of my longest days. Ruthie and I did tee-shirt crafts with the grade 5-6 girls—scarves and tee-shirt painting—which was a big hit.

We got to enjoy the fresh fruit Amano brought up with them—apples are a big deal when they are not readily available!

I had a nice weekend off in which I not only got some lovely sleep, fixed a minor plumbing issue, made a very good (and totally seat-of-my-pants) alfredoey lasagna, and got to enjoy some knitting, but I also did quite a bit of marking. Amazing how it continues to pile up… Three more weeks of term!

Sports Day and the second Half-Term

It’s been a busy weekend—here are the highlights!

Sports Day was this Saturday. As the house mistress of Fisher House, I spent most of the day being the official scorer of points, but I was able to cheer my team on in the tug o’ war, and to enjoy some of the fun relays like the wheelbarrow and the sack race at the end. It was a tiring day—being out on the field for several hours, but it was a good day.

The Fisher house mistress, team captain, and vice captain.

Also this weekend, Amano Christian School from Chingola was visiting, so thing were quite busy as we planned activities, did the extra dishes, and enjoyed getting to know some new people. This morning started with me making a gallon of hot chocolate and accidentally breaking one of my ancient thermoses (the vacuum sealed glass kind) for early morning swim. Here they are lined up to take the plunge,

And here they are huddled pathetically around the fire in the chota.

In their defense, it was about 10 degrees Celsius this morning—that’s 50 in Fahrenheit, and the water is heart-stoppingly cold. I’ve been working on catching up on the mountain of marking that accumulated over the weekend, chasing down some delinquent children, and getting a bit of rest after the busy weekend. Tomorrow is our second day of half-term, and then tomorrow is my teach 7 periods to ‘hungover’ students. Ah well, I got to skip my regular crazy Tuesday schedule, so I can’t complain too much!

Parting shot: The path down to the school garden worn by the gardeners going past my house. Now I want to sit under those bougainvillea—maybe on the holiday I’ll have the time!