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School & Teaching

    Cheering for Basketball

    I have 11 elementary girls on my cheerleading squad this year. We started practicing in October and they cheered at their first basketball game last week. They were so excited to support the teams!

     

    Cheer girls

     

    My mom brought some sparkly yellow ribbon when she visited for their hair:

     

    Everybody yell Oasis!

     

    The crowd was very sweet and supportive. Some of the high school kids learned a few of the chants and cheered right along with them:

     

    Girls cheerleading

     

    Basketball freethrow

     

    Both the boys and the girls basketball teams won. The girls can’t wait to cheer at the next game!

     

    Cheer team

     

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    Christmas Concert

    Last Friday our school hosted their annual Christmas concert.

    There were several performance groups: the junior high band, concert band, brass band, junior choir, secondary choir, and teacher choir. David performed with the teachers. Our school atrium serves many purposes. It makes a fun performance hall.

     

    Children's choir

     

    Concert Band

     

    Director

     

    This student was the narrator. She shared the reason for Christmas:

     

    Narrator

     

    Teacher Choir

     

    Teacher Choir

     

    Choir singing

     

    Choir finale

     

    The seniors have been raising money for their end-of-the-year trip. They sold treats and hot drinks at the event:

     

    Senior fundraiser

     

    The performance groups did a fantastic job! It was a fun night.

     

    Leah and David by Christmas tree

     

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    Fall Carnival 2014

    Our school hosted its annual Fall Carnival last month. Each grade creates a game and there’s tickets and candy prizes. It’s a fun time for our students, their families, and the community.

     

    Fishing game

     

    Gladiators

     

    Pin the nose on the pumpkin

     

    Many kids wore Halloween costumes:

     

    Pumpkin decorating

     

    David’s sixth grade class ran the Toilet Toss again this year:

     

    David's class

     

    Toilet toss

     

    And Fall Carnival wouldn’t be complete without stopping by the international cafe for some treats:

     

    International Cafe

     

    I am a senior class sponsor this year. It’s tradition for the seniors to create a Spooky House. With only six seniors, they had to get creative… and they did a fantastic job! Their theme was “Let Me Out” and was centered around an abandoned insane asylum. They had cardboard tunnels for people to crawl through:

     

    Cardboard tunnel

     

    They made some creepy decorations. During the Carnival, they kept the room mostly dark with a few soft lights.

     

    Seniors decorating

     

    We tore up pages of discarded books from the library and scattered them around:

     

    Spooky house floor

     

    They also found this dirty old toy and stuck a child-sized skeleton on it. They called him Kevin:

     

    Frankie skeleton

     

    There was also Barbra, the winged lady. Her bottom half sat around another part of the room.

     

    Seniors

     

    The Spooky House was a hit and several students went through it multiple times. It was a fun night!

     

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    Volleyball Spirit Week & Games

    Our high school volleyball teams competed in their season tournament in the middle of October. We had three spirit days and a short pep assembly to support the teams.

    Wednesday was Superhero Day. Teachers and students dressed as their favorite heroes from movies, books, history, and real life. As you can imagine, the lower elementary kids LOVED this day. Capes, masks, and ninja moves galore!

     

    Superhero Day

     

    Supergirls

     

    David reused his Mr. Incredible costume from last year’s Character Day. One of his former students was an Incredible, too!

     

    Incredibles

     

    This was one of my favorite costumes from the day:

     

    Rosie the Riveter

     

    Superhero teacher

     

    Thursday was Tourist Day. Some kids wore shirts from places they’ve traveled, and others wore typical tourist attire (think hats and sunglasses):

     

    Tourist with map

     

    This guy was so proud of his homemade camera:

     

    Tourist Day

     

    Boy with binoculars

     

    Tourist Day

     

    Friday was School Colors Day and we had a quick pep assembly with a silly pass-the-hula-hoop game:

     

    Pep assembly

     

    The tournament took place over Friday and Saturday.

     

    Volleyball serve

     

    David helped coach the men’s volleyball team this fall:

     

    David coaching

     

    Volleyball tip

     

    Volleyball team

     

    The teams played hard and the guys placed third in the tournament. Two of the guys were named to the All-Tournament team, and one of our girls was named the MVP of the girls tournament.

     

    Life Lately

    Here’s a quick look at the past two weeks.

    David has been co-coaching the boys volleyball team again this fall. Last weekend was their first tournament on the base. They lost their Friday match, but won their Saturday match. It was fun cheering on the kids and getting some American treats from the Base Exchange.

     

    Volleyball huddle

     

    Volleyball game

     

    I discovered our local grocery store now occasionally carries my favorite Turkish pastry called çikolatalı kesme. It’s has something best described as a chocolate cinnamon roll filling:

     

    Çikolata kesme

     

    David decided to be like Grandpa and make fridge pickles:

     

    David making pickles

     

    Look! I’m propagating succulents! I’m kind of obsessed with them now. I purchased another one for my desk at work. They’re such cute, happy plants.

     

    Plant Propagating

     

    David helped organize the first annual Staff Olympics that was this Saturday. It was like field day, but for adults with a few of the staff kids. There was a pass the hula hoop game, tug of war, a field hockey relay, a frisbee toss, and a handball tournament.

     

    Staff Olypmics Tug of War

     

    There was even a trophy:

     

    Staff Olypmics Trophy

     

    I was on Team Awesome. We placed second:

     

    Staff Olypmics

     

    David placed third with Team Staff Infection:

     

    Staff Olypmics

     

    Happy Sunday!

     

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    Students Say the Funniest Things: Part 4

    Our international school has approximately 230 preschool through 12th grade students. I see all of the elementary classes once a week for library and some high school students for an elective. David has his sixth grade class and also sees many of the elementary kids for Bible, Character, and PE. Here are some quotes from the past few months.

     

    Mismatched kids

     


     

    In the Korea, I will miss you forever.” — Preschool student at the end of last year. Her family moved back to Korea. 🙁

     


     

    Preschooler: “I want to go to the Japan because the mother is in the Japan.”
    Me: “I think I’ve seen your mom recently. Do you mean your grandmother?”
    Preschooler: “Yes, the mother.”

     


     

    Mrs. B, we like informational books. Do you have any informational books?” — Kindergarteners last year. The boys especially loved science books!

     


     

    Before school, a preschooler was singing along to himself.
    Me: “What are you singing?”
    Preschooler: “The uh oh snail.”
    Me: “Is that from a movie or TV show?”
    Preschooler: “My brother taught it to me. The uh oh snail! The uh oh snail!”

     


     

    First grader: “If I had another piece of paper I’d use it in this hand to fly [down the stairs]… But I think you need feathers for that.”
    Me: “Probably. But it’d still be fun.”
    First grader: “Yeah, SO fun!”

     


     

    I had the kindergartners for library. I asked them what letter they learned about that day, and they told me the letter B. I said, “Hey! Like me! Mrs. Benedict! Mrs. B!”
    K5: “Oh yeah! Miss B!”
    Me: “And Mr. B, too.”
    K5 girl: “Are you married?”
    Me: “Yes, I am.”
    K5 girl: “PPPPPPFFFF! You can’t be married.”
    Me: “Oh no? Why not?”
    K5 girl: “Cause you’re a library girl. Library girls don’t get married.”

     


     

    David had the first and second graders for character class. He was using toothpaste as an illustration. He showed the tube to them and asked the kids what it was.
    Kids: “Toothpaste!”
    First Grader: “I like to EAT that stuff!”
    The student continued to say how they wanted to eat the toothpaste throughout the lesson.

     


     

    Preschooler: “I have to look down to watch my feet so I can practice my walking. When I’m five, I don’t have to practice any more.”

     


     

    There is a preschooler who’s first language is Turkish. She is in the process of learning English this year. She heard the other kids calling David “Mista B” and started referring to him as ağabi (pronounced ahh-bee), which is a respectful term meaning “older brother.” So cute!

     


     

    » Read Students Say the Funniest Things: Part 1
    » Read Students Say the Funniest Things: Part 2
    » Read Students Say the Funniest Things: Part 3

     

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