Meet my students!

I wanted to show off all my students, so here they are!  I’ve gotten to know some more quickly than others, but I’ll share what I can.  Also, the reason they’re all so dressed up was because I took this on the day of a big school-wide program.  They did so well!

Meet Choloe, Justine, and Teressa!

Choloe (pronounced like Chloe) is a little genius in the class and almost never needs help with her work.  She’s good about staying in her seat and not being too talkative!  She still has plenty of little kid instinct in her, though, and has fun giggling with Eden.  Give her free rain, and she’ll be all over the room with everyone else!

Justine is also a smartie and is so fun to watch.  Whenever we do things in class where the kids are reciting or reading something together, she moves her lips dramatically as if she is enunciating everything super well.  She sits next to BJ, and has learned the art of ignoring his distracting antics!

I’m still getting to know Teressa, but she seems like a sweetheart!  She loves having fun with the other kids!

Luke, Aivic, and Mark

Rusty (a nickname) and Kristin Russell are here for at least a year serving as missionaries.  They have ten kids altogether, and eight or nine are here on the island.  I’m still working on learning all their names (and knowing how many are here)!  This is Luke.  He is so well-behaved in class!  I can imagine how difficult it can be to go to school here and hear so much Tagalog.  Now that I’m teaching more, I can reverse that thought and imagine it might be somewhat difficult for the Filipino kids to understand my teaching, but at least they all know English decently well and have Jhing to translate.  Luke is such a great kid and gives me a smile every time I make eye contact with him.  I’m happy to have him in class!

Aivic and Mark are two more kids I’m still getting to know.  Aivic seems to be absent fairly often!  Mark usually needs some extra guidance with his work, but he’s overall a pretty good kid!

Isn’t Mathew just so stinkin’ cute!?  But he has his moments when he wants to steal the show and be in the spotlight!  He’s probably one of the smarter boys, though.

Kiane is on the right.  My first day in the classroom, I pegged him right away as being the one who would need to be separated from the others at times!  He was in the mood to hop out of his seat, do a little jig, and sit back down.  It seemed like he had ants in his pants and just didn’t want to sit still!  However, he hasn’t been so extreme since then.  In fact, none of the kids are really that bad all the time.  But most of the kids are crazy sometimes.

Aina Rose is another I’m trying to get to know better, but it sure looks like she just got out of glamour shots!  She’s a good kid.

Lynnie, what to say about Lynnie!?  As a whole, it’s all the BOYS that get themselves into trouble, of course! ;)  But Lynnie is the one girl who stands out to be difficult at times.  She’s a little diva and will priss around the room, or not want to finish her work, etc.  However, she is also the most openly loving.  She likes to come give me hugs or just be near me!

Eden (front) is a pretty well-behaved, smart girl who is Choloe’s best friend.  She does well in class!  Pictured here, Jhing is my co-teacher.  She's so nice and funny and makes me feel well-appreciated!

Von Sandrix (front) is overall a very good kid, but struggles more than probably any other kid in the class.  I wonder if he might have dyslexia or something because he is very behind in his writing ability and in speaking English.  I love having him, though, because he does try his hardest and he doesn’t cheat, which is actually a pretty big problem in this class!

Jamal does well when he’s awake, but has something going on that often makes him sleep through class until snack time.  Jhing has told me before that his parents say he doesn’t sleep well at night, and I’m not sure why that is.  If you try to wake him up, he literally doesn’t open his eyes and will drop his head right back down.  Jhing just lets it go, but that doesn’t seem acceptable to me!  I’ll have to ask our new principal about what to do, I guess.  He’s a pretty smart kid and is usually well-behaved…when he’s awake.

BJ is the big guy growing out of his desk!  In the U.S., I’d probably get him tested for ADD or something (although I know that’s probably overdiagnosed).  He’s not usually a bad kid, but will just stare off into space or tries to distract Justine next to him, and has to constantly be reminded to pay attention.  He’s a leader, though, and all the kids like him!  As I was leaving school today, he came up and gave me a hug, but it was more of a chest bump at my side, ha!

Lance, at the microphone, is just the cutest kid ever!  He likes to get his way and gets the saddest look if he doesn’t, or just keeps trying!  Pretty difficult at times, but he has the most toothy, happy grin.  Sorry I don't have a closer picture, but you can click on it to make it bigger!