School
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Emily and Sarah have started school this week in the Duncanville School District. Emily is in grade 11 at Duncanville High School which boasts the second largest high school campus in the United States! The large school is a bit intimidating in some ways, but she is really excited about the classes they offer.
Emily applied to and was accepted into the "Ready, Set, Teach" program which is designed for kids who want to become teachers. She has classes for a double block and later in the year will have an opportunity as part of the program to visit local elementary schools, work in classrooms and even get to practice teaching. A graduation requirement is two years of foreign language. Emily is taking American Sign Language which is something she was interested in learning anyway. There are advantages to bigger schools!
On Sarah's first day, she quickly became friends with a girl who 'happens' to share the same class schedule all day. Around lunchtime they realized that they are both Wycliffe MK's (missionary kids)! What a wonderful way to start a new school.
We are thankful for the girls good start to school. Thanks so much for those of you who have been praying for them.
posted by Martha @ 11:35 AM
Duncanville HIgh School
Thursday, June 25, 2009
On Tuesday Emily and went to Duncanville High School - the school she will attend beginning in August. Duncanville boasts the second largest high school campus in the United States and a student body of nearly 4000 students. Wow! That's a big school!
We met with the counselors to determine how many credits they would give her for schooling she received elsewhere and we were happy to find out that she has more than enough credits for going into 11th grade. One of the requirements she needs to fulfill is 2 years of a foreign language. We are happy that they have ASL (American Sign Language) which Emily was interested in learning anyway!
Although the size of the school is a bit daunting, they offer a wide selection of classes and we are thankful for that.
Labels: Emily
posted by Martha @ 2:16 PM
A New Chapter in Emily's LIfe
Thursday, January 10, 2008
I honestly never thought we would go back to homeschooling Emily, but here we are again. In December Emily graduated from grade 9 at the international school here. Grade 9 is as high as this school goes, so we had to make some decisions in regard to Emily's schooling. In this photo, Emily is performing a science experiment in our kitchen.
Emily is now enrolled in NorthStar Academy - a Christian online high school program designed to accomodate MK's (missionary kids) like Emily. Emily's classmates are literally all around the world. So far she is enjoying it. We are thankful for an educational solution that works for Emily and allows us to continue to minister here.
We are VERY thankful to a friend who teaches at NorthStar who is donating her salary toward scholarships for MK's like Emily. In fact, all of Emily's tuition has been met! God's people using their gifts and talents to help get God's Word out to those who don't have it in their own language. How cool is that?
posted by Martha @ 12:55 PM
By Popular Demand
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
You can now watch Emily giving her speech at the 65th Anniversary of the Landing of the US Marines at Guadalcanal.
Or you can view it on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td8eW9Kyi0g
Labels: Emily, World War II History
posted by Martha @ 12:28 AM
Not just a pretty face...
Thursday, August 2, 2007
This week at the girls' school they are celebrating 'Cultural Week'. The kids are learning about the Solomon Islands, local crafts, foods and generally celebrating the rich diversity in this country.
In the senior school (high school) the kids worked on projects in groups. Emily gave the speech for her group on 'Unity'. She did an awesome job and got lots of compliments!
Labels: Emily
posted by Martha @ 4:51 PM
The Sound of Music
A month or so ago, Emily joined a local Christian singing group called, "Salvation Echoes". This is the third generation of singers, most of whom are from the Wala Language/cultural group.
The group has wanted to learn more about singing techniques and were excited to learn that Tim could lend them some help in that area. This week the group met at our house so Tim could coach them. It was a fun time and the group enjoyed learning some new things from Tim.
On December 9, 2007, the Wala New Testament will be launched. Emily plans to tour with the Salvation Echoes group throughout the Wala area ministering in song and with testimony as they encourage people to purchase the Wala New Testament and read it!
Labels: Emily
posted by Martha @ 10:50 AM
Kids and the Village
Thursday, April 19, 2007
If Emily has any regrets about growing up in the Solomon Islands, it is probably that she didn’t get to live in a village for a long enough to learn a local language. She envies her MK (missionary kid) friends who spent many years living in a village because their parents are Bible translators. Emily has enjoyed the opportunity to hang out in a village this week.
Kids here have a lot of freedom in the village. They can run and play outside all day, jump in the sea for a swim or take a ride in a canoe. If someone is cooking, it’s not unusual for someone to offer the kids a bit to eat – villagers are so pleased when the MK’s like the local food!
The other day someone came to the house with a few sticks of sugar cane for the kids. The Emily and Grant quickly grabbed a machete and headed outside to cut the cane in pieces and share them around. After the outer skin is cut off, big bites of the cane are broken off and chewed to release the sugary sweet juice inside. When the juice is all gone, the tasteless bits of cane are spit out on the ground.
Last night Emily and Tim went to the evening prayer service and afterward Emily and Grant (one of the other MK’s) hung out with the village kids. They strolled around the village and the kids were telling Emily the names for different things in the Zabana Language. Later they sat around and the kids told Emily some of their traditional stories. She had a wonderful time hanging out with the kids.
Village life is not perfect, but there are some really nice advantages. We always know that when the kids are wandering around the village, they will be watched and cared for by the whole community. It’s a nice feeling.
Labels: Emily, Village Life
posted by Martha @ 1:48 PM
Youth Group
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Emily was very happy to come back to the Solomons and get involved in the church youth group here. She is enjoying Bible studies every other Wednesday afternoon, Sunday School and gatherings on Friday nights.
This past Friday we hosted the youth group at our house for a games night. In typical Solomon Islands style, the shoes were left at the door. You can see here the most popular shoe style!
Most of the kids got to our house on the back of a flat bed truck driven by one of the youth group leaders. There were about 50-60 youth present and the evening started with a time of worship. Solomon Islanders love music and singing!
Tim shared a devotional and then we played some group games. It was a lot of fun to host the youth group and we hope we can do it again. We are thankful for our roomy living room we were able to add to the house a couple of years ago which makes entertaining so much easier.
Here a group of kids was thinking up a short skit they could present using all the props we gave them in the box. They came up with some very creative skits!
posted by Martha @ 10:06 PM
