Volleyball and Novgorod

Hello! It's been a while and quite a few things have happened since our last update!

One such thing was the students vs. parents/teachers volleyball matches. Matt and I came since we could not be there for the official teacher game and one of my 7th grade girls told me I had to come since I was the class's mom. :-P

warming up!
Matt spiking on the high schoolers. He's actually pretty good!
setting
The junior high team.

A nice picture one of the high school guys took for us. You can see me in the top corner.

Another event was the 10/11th grade field trip to Novgorod. We just drove out there, spent the day, and headed back.

The high schoolers below:

Above and below is a statue of various leaders in Russian history who were connected with Novgorod. The city itself was founded in 859 AD so there is a lot of history there.

This coat just made me giggle. Definitely one of our students. :-)

A bell from Novgorod. Belltowers and churches are a long part of the city's history.

Old doors to the church in the fortress at Novgorod.
A tower at the monastery outside of the city.
The monastery from a distance in the sun.
An old wooden church. There is a park there that has a lot of old wooden houses and churches that have been imported from all over the country and preserved there.

Some of the other girls and I were proud because we did not have to duck going into the buildings!
And our last event was at this church. Our tour guide told us if you run around this church as fast as you can three times you will be married within the year.

So one of our 10th graders and one of our 11th graders did just that! They came back asking where "she" was. Apparently they believed this to be instant. :-)

Coming soon: post about our time at my friend Sveta's village!

If you could all keep my grandfather in your prayers. He had a stroke about a week ago and is stabilizing but can't swallow or talk. Prayers would be much appreciated!

International Day

Hello again one and all!

The first quarter is now officially over for us. Tomorrow we will have parent-teacher conferences and then will enjoy a day off on Friday before beginning the new quarter next week. This quarter has been a busy one full of challenges, but after a few weeks of struggling to adjust to our new classes we managed to settle in and have a good quarter.

To end the quarter, IA held its first International Day this year. Instead of the usual harvest festival that has been held in past years, the school decided this year to instead focus on celebrating the different nationalities and cultures of our students and their families. Students were encouraged to wear the national dress of their country (or another country if they felt like it). We had a special chapel service, an international lunch prepared by some of the mothers of students, and a band concert in the afternoon for all of the families. It was a great time and a good chance to appreciate the tremendous diversity that our school has. This year, we have students from Korea, the U.S., Japan, Australia, Sweden, Britain, and Portugal.

This next quarter is shaping up to be a good one as well. Next week, Matt is taking his 10/11th grade World History class to the city of Novgorod, one of the oldest cities in Russia. Also, for this coming quarter, both of us will be teaching extra curricular classes. A need has been expressed by a number of our families for classes to help prepare our students for important tests. Starting next week, Amanda will be teaching a class on the TOEFL exam (Test of English as a Foreign Language), and I will be teaching a test on preparing to take the SAT.

These are tests that are important for many of our Korean students who will be expected to demonstrate proficiency in the language that they have studied in in order to be accepted into a Korean university. It will be a new challenge for us, but hopefully a good opportunity to better prepare our students for life after they leave IA. Please pray for these classes and pray for wisdom for us as a school as we seek to find new ways to better meet the needs of our students and their families, especially as they look towards returning to their passport countries.

Here are some pictures from today's international festivities:


Matt in his classroom with the 7th graders.


The most beautiful couple at IA.


One of our high school girls in traditional Korean dress.


The 2nd and 3rd graders learn to hoe down!


Students in costume at chapel.


Preparing to present the Korean flag for the band concert. The band played the national anthems of every country represented in our school, during which a student presented the flags of the different countries.


Unfortunately, we didn't have a large Swedish flag, but we still love Sweden!


The middle school band in action.


The high school band.


Grades K-2nd watch the band play with rapt attention.


The elementary school sings their hearts out:-)

Thanks for reading!

-Matt