Such a Busy, Yet Fun Week at YISS!!

Quarter Two began with so many events throughout the week!  There were many long days for all of us as Quarter One grades were finalized and posted, busy preparations for Parent-Teacher Conferences on Friday, Quarter Two online registration for After School Activities, Kinder Publishing Parties, Grade 4's Market Day, Mo Willems' surprise reading to Kinder cherubs, and the invasion of international schools from the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea for the ACSC (Asia Christian Schools Conference) Soccer Tournament from October 21 - 25! It was a very special week!  But I am very grateful for the weekend to catch up after 12 - 13 hour days this past week.  I think I am going to let the pictures do most of my talking this week.

Monday was a very busy day completing Quarter One Comments and Grades so that they could emailed to parents.  In addition, I was working on last minute preparations for the online registration for Quarter Two After School Activities.  It began on Tuesday morning at 8:00 AM and within four minutes, five classes had already gone over their capacity!  It was a very unusual morning of registration, but we made it through.  Registration closed on Wednesday afternoon and then the fun began of preparing Excel documents for the Business Office for each of the activities so that a GIRO Payment Slip could be processed.  In Korea almost all bills are paid electronically through GIRO slips.  I have been blessed this past quarter with a helper, Abby Williamson.  Abby became the wife of our 5A teacher, Ross Williamson over the summer and she is certified as a Ballet instructor and working on her certification for teaching in our ELL (English Language Learners) program.  She will be teaching Ballet as an After School Activity as well as assisting me with all of the organizational stuff that has to happen in order for the activities to become a reality.  Wednesday through Friday we were very busy organizing over 400 participants in 27 activities for Quarter Two.

My awesome assistant, Abby Williamson, helping

me in my office with all of the ASA organization!

You can only see my desk; there are more piles behind

me.  Sorting over 400 GIRO slips for students enrolled

in Quarter Two After School Activities!            

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Tuesday was also the beginning of the ACSC Tournament hosted this year by YISS.  Soccer teams from six countries descended upon YISS beginning on Tuesday evening and began playing on Wednesday.  Most of the players stayed at YISS and on a couple days the teams went on service trips in and around Seoul. It was so great to have them on our campus and it was a great time for everyone!  And what was really special is that the YISS Varsity Soccer team won the championship on Saturday afternoon!  The weather was gorgeous and after falling behind 1-0 to Grace International School from Thailand, the guys continued to be aggressive and scored three unanswered goals to win 3 - 1!  Our goalie, Jordan, played an amazing game in goal!  He made some really fantastic saves and I think was the MVP of the game in my book!  Way to go Guardians!!  Our Elementary P.E. teacher, Mr. Resende is the High School Coach and he has done a tremendous job with these young men!

The banner that greeted the athletes from all over Asia as they arrived at the YISS gymnasium and soccer field!

When the buzzer sounded, YISS had won the championship 3 - 1!

           Victory celebration right after the buzzer sounded!

The YISS Soccer team right after winning the championship.  The MAN, Jordan, is in the center of the kneeling men!

Both teams (Grace and YISS) came together for prayer

right after the championship game ended!         

Here is the 2014 YISS Soccer team - Champions!!!

After the championship game all six teams in the tournament gathered for a group photo on the YISS Soccer Field!

The scoreboard on the Soccer Field tells the story at the close of the game!

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Wednesday was a very busy day with ASA registrations plus two Kindergarten Publishing Parties and a special surprise reading of a Mo Willems' book in Kindergarten by GGG.  The Publishing Parties are culminations of the kinder cherubs working hard on a writing unit to become better authors and illustrators.  They had written, rewritten, and edited personal narratives and were finally ready to share their finished books!  Parents were invited to have the authors read their books to them and sign autographs!  It was so much fun!

Here are three of authors who autographed their pictures for me!!

KC teacher, Ms. Wheat, writing a note to this up and

                               coming author!

Lydia had just read her book to me!  I loved her illustrations and her great expressions as she read her delightful story!

Seth just finished reading his book to me and I took  

advantage of the photo op to get one with this great  

author from KC!                        

Two mothers being read to.  I love the one where Mother is holding the little brother of the author!

                    Mother and son reading time!!

Mother and daughter enjoying this time together!

I had such a great time with Ashton!  He is an excellent

author and reads with such great expression!!       

Some of the children with some of the parents and teachers who attended this Publishing Party!

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In addition, Ms. Regnier, KA's teacher, invited me to come and surprise the kindergarten children with a reading of a Mo Willems' book.  They have been studying Mo Willems' books since he is both an author and illustrator.  He is one of my favorite authors for young children - or old children like me - and it was a delight to read to them.  I brought four of my 30+ Willems' books and had them decide which they wanted me to read.  They chose My New Friend Is So Fun!  They and I were having so much fun reading interactively with them!

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Periodically Grade 4 teachers have a Market Day for their students.  They have been earning money by following the Guardian Honor Code and doing what is expected of them throughout the quarter. Then the students are encouraged to bring in handmade items or some candies or toys to "sell" to other students and teachers.  The profit is used to help some needy group throughout the world such as International Justice Mission.  I love how they are able to utilize what they are learning about math, economy, communication, and creativity during these Market Days.  The highlight for me was finding one business owner who had whipped cream!! I purchased a cup of whipped cream and then came back for a spoonful on my Dark Hershey Kiss.  Katie couldn't believe I would pay for just whipped cream! :-)

Grade 4C teacher, Ms. Greaves, preparing her fourth graders for Market Day!

This business lady had a Stuffed Animal

                          Raffle!  

This young lady is quite the sales lady! She had great communication skills!

My buddy Ian's little store had a variety of many treats!

Grace is quite the sales lady, too!  Many little toys that kids love up for sale!

   Benjamin and Aidan selling candy of various sorts!

Homemade creative decorative and practical boxes by this young saleslady!

Homemade and yummy dark chocolate in 

various shapes!  VERY tasty!!        

My highlight was purchasing whipped cream from Katie!  I love the look on her face as I eat some very tasty whipped cream!  

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Friday was a day off for students as parents came to YISS and engaged in Parent-teacher conferences. It was a very busy day for teachers!  It was so much fun to walk around and see our elementary teachers engaged in very profitable discussions with parents!  The elementary administrators decided to purchase Caribou Coffee (Americano and Latte) to take around on a cart to the elementary classrooms early in the morning to share with our wonderful staff.  What a joy it was to serve them coffee and Mrs. Birmingham's homemade peanut butter cookies and brownies!  It was a great day of conferences, but I know that teachers went home exhausted! :-)  A long day!

The Coffee Cart with cookies and brownies for our great elementary teachers on Parent-Teacher Conference morning!  Here I am with Principal Beverly Birmingham and Assistant Principal Krista Roll making our deliveries door-to-door!  So much fun!!            

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Thanks, once again, for continuing to pray for me, to send me emails of encouragement, to love me, and to support me!  Enjoy a great week!

Love, Gregg

A FunFestful Friday Ending to Quarter One!!!

Yeppers, Friday was the final day of Quarter One already!  The day was highlighted by many of our elementary students and staff coming to school dressed in outfits related to the PTO's FunFest theme for this year: "Blast Off to the Future!" We also enjoyed a time of sorting over 423 kg of 100 Won coins during the OASIS Assembly, and then the actual FunFest event which brought out around 2,000 guests to enjoy fun, food, and fellowship for the entire family!  Friday was a long and exhausting day, but a "good" exhaustion!  The old man was still tired with many muscles aching after helping to take down and stack over 30 tables and many more chairs following the close of FunFest! My days of setting up and taking down numerous tables and chairs at Camp Joy-El keep paying off! :-)

Last Sunday was a special weekend event in Itaewon.  It was the annual Itaewon Global Village International Festival.  This year the part of the main street in Itaewon was shut down and the street was packed with people. The gorgeous weekend weather brought out MANY people to enjoy the fun, food, festivities, etc.  I was able to enjoy a bit of the fun on Sunday afternoon, but it was so packed that I didn't stay too long. :-)

The many people in the main street of Itaewon for the

  Festival.  This was only a small part of the crowd!

I stopped at the booth for The Philippines and decided to purchase some yummy coconut juice!

Here I am enjoying some very tasty coconut juice!!  

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All week teachers were busy preparing Report Comments and Grades for Quarter One.  Several meetings were held to get teachers ready for the Parent-Teacher Conferences that will happen on Friday, October 24.  In addition, many teachers were helping the PTO prepare for a major annual event, FunFest 2014!  It is a massive undertaking and always enjoyed by many.  It does take a lot of work before, during, and after.

One of the fun things leading up to the actual FunFest was a dress down day on Friday where students and teachers were encouraged to dress in an outfit that matched the PTO's theme for this year's FunFest - "Blast Off to the Future!"  Many students and teachers came dressed accordingly on Friday!  Such fun!  Enjoy some of the pictures.

Two Kinder boys in their "Blast Off" outfits!

Another Kinder cherub in a space suit!

Two third grade teachers, Ms. Corbett and Ms. Everett

made these robot costumes to the delight of students!   

Our Elementary Librarian, Ms. Henspeter, with a sister and brother combo - all homemade outfits!

            KA teacher, Ms. Regnier, with two astronauts!!

One of my fifth grade buddies, Johnny, in his homemade outfit!

A Star Wars cherub preparing to zap me! 

This is one special young man!  His name is Ronan. He is in Grades 3B.  Friday was his last day at YISS.  He needs to move to another location. :-(  He wore this astronaut suit on his last day!  He is a tremendous example of our Guardian Honor Code!  Ronan is going to be missed!

I am not sure who this delightful alien is!

           But she was having fun!

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On Friday during the OASIS Assembly, Mrs. Franck, our Elementary Chaplain, had students in Grades 1 through 5 sorting over 423 kg of coins that had been delivered in socks by students last Friday for our Walk-A-Sock-A-Thon.  The kids loved being able to be the ones to assist our local bank in sorting through so many coins.  Their mission was to take out any coins that were not 100 Won coins.  The bank's coin counting machine gets clogged if their our coins other than 100 Won coins in the massive amount we send over to them.  We all had a fun time sorting.  Hopefully in a week or two we will be able to have a complete report on the actual amount of money the students brought in for our Walk this year.

  Mrs. Roll, Elementary Assistant Principal, assisting

     some of the students as they begin to sort coins!

More students having fun sorting 100 Won coins!!    

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Friday evening at 4:30 was the start of the FunFest!  We had beautiful weather for this annual event and many parents, students, and visitors came out to enjoy the festivities!  Some of our school music groups provided live music!  Many vendors from our local community set up tents to provide yummy food.  There were also groups of parents who got together to sell food that is distinctive to their home culture.  Many of the middle school and high school clubs set up game booths and refreshment booths to raise money for various causes!  There were different games and fun activities for students of all ages!  Many of the elementary school and middle school teachers offered prizes that were included in the Teacher Raffles.  The kids LOVE these and purchase tickets to enter the raffles!  Many of our teachers also volunteered for a half hour or an hour at one of the MANY stations that needed an adult helping.  Such a great time!  Enjoy some of the pictures from Friday evening's FunFest!

My buddy, Oliver, with his Mom on his right!  I love this little guy!

He always makes me smile!  He loves when I bark and make funny

                                                noises! :-)

What a nice surprise!  I was greeted almost immediately as I entered the FunFest entrance by a student from last year's Grade 5 who had to go to another school for his special needs.  It was soooo wonderful to see my buddy, Heemin!

Here I am assisting at the PTO booth selling tickets for

the FunFest.  I am teasing my friend in MS, Ankit!   

This is my good friend ever since Grade 2! Ian is now in Middle School but always comes to find me!

This is my very yummy Kimchi Pancake!  Oh, so good!!

Evening has arrived and many families are enjoying the tasty food in the Courtyard!

Many kids found the games and activities on the Soccer Field!    

And MANY of the kids found the Teacher Raffle bags on the Soccer Field, too.  So many want to win these special items that teachers have offered for the winner of the raffle!

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Saturday was the first Saturday in a long time that I wasn't really busy with a wedding or something at YISS.  It was another beautiful Autumn day.  In the morning I went to Starbucks to work on this post and to catch up on some emails.  Then I went to Tartine's for my favorite French Toast and Sage Sausage breakfast.  After enjoying the late breakfast while reading a new book Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend - which I am enjoying very much - I walked to Mr. Lee's Frame Shop to pick up my two new paintings by Rob Joseph!  They are now in my office at YISS waiting to be placed on the wall!  The pictures below don't do them justice, but they are the best at the moment.  Rob Joseph was a student at Mercer Christian Academy when I was there as Headmaster.  God has gifted him in the area of art and these are two of my favorites: Sunrise on the Water and Judah.

                       Sunrise on the Water by Rob Joseph!

Judah by Rob Joseph!!                                  

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On my way to Mr. Lee's Frame Shop I was stopped by two Korean university students. This is a normal happening for me on Saturdays.  And once again, when I asked them why they stopped me for the interview, the response was, "You looked so kind and very handsome."  I am convinced that Korean university students have impaired vision! :-)  The young man who interviewed me guessed my age at 45!  I hugged him and told him I loved him! :-)  When I told him that I am 65, he would not believe it.  He said, "My Dad is 61 and he looks much older than you, and he is not as lively either." :-)  We had a nice interview and I went on my way to Mr. Lee's.

Here I am in Itaewon with my Korean university student interviewer!

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After getting a haircut, I went searching for a new coffee shop some of the teachers told me about.  It is called "Sweet East" and it has what Starbucks in Korea does NOT have: Pumpkin Spice Latte!  I found it after searching the back narrow streets!  I also discovered they have yummy cheese cake.  I almost forgot to get a picture of it.  Here it is!

My yummy cheese cake (what's left of it) at "Sweet East" in Itaewon!  I had a Pumpkin Spice Latte, too!! :-)

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As always, thank you very much for continuing to pray for me, love me, encourage me, and support me.  You are very special to me.  I would value your prayers this next week as we have online registration on Tuesday and Wednesday for Quarter Two After School Activities - always a very hectic time!

Love, Gregg