Saturday, September 20, 2014

A Delightful Week of ASAs, Special Visits, Classroom Presentations, & a Memorial!

The week of September 15 was another busy and great week at YISS!  I was able to get to many of our After School Activities to capture more pictures of our cherubs enjoying the activities.  We also had some more September College Visits to our High School as well as a special College Admissions Breakfast for college counselors.  It was a week where I was able to get into several classrooms to observe our wonderful teachers doing what they do so well - teach!!  On Thursday morning we had a special Memorial Dedication in our Courtyard for Irene Bang, our little second grader who recently went home to heaven.  And I had a very special visit from my dear friend, Jungmin Kim (Chris), a former SYME student and great Korean friend!  I will try to keep this brief and use pictures to share the special week!

Our After School Activities program continues to operate in full force each day after school!  About 300 of our cherubs in Kinder through Grade 5 participate in out 22+ activities each day.  It is so much fun to go around to each of the locations and capture some of the neat things that are happening.  This week I will share a few pictures from four more of our activities.

Some of the 27 children from K-3 enjoying learning soccer skills
                            in the IFE Soccer activity!

Another group of IFE Soccer cherubs from K-3 learning soccer with some great fun activities!

And one more of the IFE Soccer (K-3) groups learning about control
of the soccer ball through a fun relay!  They had so much fun!    

One of our Ceramics classes.  Matthew is quite intense as he works on his ceramics project.

It was so exciting to see the students learning how to use the potter's
                                                wheel!

Another of our cherubs learning the skills of the potter's wheel!  She loved it!

Master Kim, our wonderful Taekwondo instructor, with his class of
elementary students and some middle school students last week.  He
was presenting Max Park with his special certificate for earning his 
black belt!  Max has been involved with Taekwondo ASA since he
was in Kindergarten.  He was sooo excited and so proud!        

Our Arts & Crafts After School Activity!  These kids always enjoy the projects they work on each week!

Another pic of some of our Arts & Crafts cherubs working on their
                                  project last week!
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September is a busy month for visits from many colleges and universities!  Our high school students take advantage of these visits to discuss possible options upon graduation from YISS.  The YISS High School Guidance department also hosted a College Admissions Breakfast on Friday for college counselors.

Colleges and Universities that have visited, or will
      visit, YISS during the month of September.

Banner welcoming college counselors to the College
Admissions Breakfast on Friday at YISS.         
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During this past week I began my visits to various classrooms to observe teachers teaching.  I always love these times of encouragement and supervision with our teachers.  YISS has been blessed with a great group of educators, and I especially love our family of teachers in the elementary school.  It is so exciting to visit and observe as they seek to encourage students to think and interact!  I will share several pictures from my visits to Grade 4C and 2A.  I was also in Grade 3C and failed to take my camera, but Ms. Everett was doing a super job with her eager students.

Grade 4C students involved in a hands-on and interactive lesson
during their study of desertification.  They were having so much
                                         fun learning!

4C students in their various learning groups working on their learning of desertification!  I was so impressed with their thinking skills!

This was the finished product of an assembly line production in   
Grade 2A.  They were studying the character quality of enthusiasm.
Ms. Gronski, teacher, had set an assembly line production and gave
each student at job on the line.  Students made these "cars" after    
studying about Henry Ford and his assembly line.  Great discussion
throughout on how one can show enthusiasm in a job that is routine
and repetitive.  Again, I was impressed with students understanding
and thinking concerning this.                     
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Thursday morning was a special morning for us.  YISS decided to plant a tree in our one courtyard in memory of our dear second grader, Irene Bang.  We had a brief memorial service where Mrs. Franck did a superb job of sharing about Irene and the meaning of planting the tree in memory of this young girl and how she taught all of us to love and care and protect.  All of the second grade students came to the dedication along with Irene's parents and relatives.  I was so happy that Irene's grandparents could attend. Mr. Adams, Grade 1C teacher, led all of us in singing Irene's favorite song, God is so Good!  At the close of the dedication each of the children had a cup of water and passed by the newly planted tree to add their cup of water to the tree.

At the completion of the dedication ceremony Mr. and Mrs. Bang stopped to have a picture taken with their two boys and the father's parents in front of the tree that had just been planted in memory of Irene. The tree is right behind the two brothers.  The grandparents were so impressed that YISS would do something like this for Irene.  (Please read the letter in my email this week from Irene's mother.)
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On Tuesday evening I was finally able to have a dinner with my former SYME student and dear friend, Jungmin Kim (Chris)!  Some of you had the privilege of meeting Jungmin when he came to America with me over the Christmas break in 2008.  Our friendship has grown and I love our times together.  Please continue to pray for this wonderful young man as he seeks what God wants him to do. He has been discouraged lately with all of the exams he has been taking and is now seeking which direction he should go as he seeks to serve God.  Thank you for praying for Jungmin!

 Both Jungmin and I enjoyed a Baja Burrito at one of 
            our favorite restaurants, Los Amigos!

Here I am with my wonderful friend, Jungmin, at Los Amigos!
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I want to leave you with information about our Walk-A-Sock-A-Thon! The elementary students have raised over 35,000,000 Won during our previous 5 Walk-A-Sock-A-Thons! This is 35,000 USD from elementary students bringing in their 100 Won coins in socks to assist various organizations throughout the world.  Children can only collect 100 Won coins.  Each coin is worth about 10 cents in US currency.  It always amazes me how those 100 Won coins add up.  The kids are always so excited about bringing in their socks and then walking.  Last year students brought in socks filled with coins that totaled just over 9,100,000 KRW (about $9,000)!  That went to International Justice Mission to help free children from slavery.  The Walk-A-Sock-A-Thon will be held on Friday, October 10.  You can be praying as children save their 100 Won coins and then as we walk on October 10.  This year we will be donating the money raised to our High School clubs that have been started over the years by students to help organizations in Korea as well as outside of Korea.  Thanks so much for your prayers for this special event!

Thanks, always, for your emails, your notes, your encouragement, your love, your prayers, and your support.  Please enjoy a great week!

Love, Gregg


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