First Day

Well this month saw the end of summer break and starting back to school again. It was a particularly special day on the 10th, as it was the first day of school ever for three of our kids! Angel, Romel and Ge-Ge had been waiting a long time for the day to arrive and they were very excited. Leading up to the big day saw the excitement of getting new books, bags and school supplies. Organising their things and seeing their own names on it all!

For me it was pretty exciting having home schooled them myself for the past 6 months for some of them. Seeing the smiles and hearing the excitement is part of the reward and fuels my passion for teaching. None of them had been to school before. Anel is 8, Romel 10 and G-Ge 7. All had made progress in home school and were ready to enter a mainstream classroom at Bethel Baptist Christian Academy where our other children had attended in the last school year.

Cedreck and Ariel both moved up into grade 2 and continue to do very well. Lurens and J - the kids of Rene and Bhing who work in the home - are in grade 6 and 3 and area also doing great. They are a great influence on the rest of the kids in the home and blessing to have with us!

Angel who is an incredibly talented bright girl who loves to learn, was able to start at grade 1. She is starting to read and constantly asks for help in practicing. At this particular school reading in grade 1 is a requirement. Her teacher is really happy with how she is going and she comes home smiling and happy, always keen to go back.

Romel and Ge-Ge have also done really well, but just taken a little longer to pick up things, have started in Kinder 2 which is just below grade 1, but if they do well in the first term they will be bumped up to grade 1. They are both loving school and settling into the rules and routines of the classroom, some things that are quite foreign to what they have come from in the past. Both making friends and enjoying learning and feeling like they are the same as other kids their age. While they are much older then their classmates, they are really well accepted, Bethel is a great school and thankfully they are both small for their age! :)

What a privilege and joy I feel seeing these kids, in their uniforms, with their school things and smiles. Remembering what they were like on their first day in our home, what they have come from, seeing the transformation God has done in their lives already and providing them with opportunities for the future. This is what its all about, praise God and glory to Him!

Felicity Taylor
Malaybalay Home Manager