Merry Christmas from Pyeongtaek, South Korea!!

To really enjoy a "Merry Christmas" I think one must have a "Right Christmas!"  I am one of those that believe Christmas and Easter should be celebrated every day.  I must clarify; not celebrated by going out and shopping and buying and getting all frantic and stressed out with all of the activities and purchases.  It is hard to have a right Christmas.  Often we are so busy trying to make a merry Christmas that when it is all over, we know we missed out on something.  I hope that you and I this year will enjoy a Right Christmas!

A Right Christmas is first of all focused on a person.  Christmas marks the time in history when God entered our world to redeem us by sending His only son, Jesus!  Jesus won salvation for us by coming to earth, living a perfect life, and dying on the cross to take our punishment for sin.  He rose from the tomb and reigns in heaven today.  Jesus made the first Christmas the Right Christmas.  I hope that you will enjoy a Right Christmas this year.  Please enjoy a very meaningful time of celebration with your family and friends!

Another picture from the ICS-P Staff Christmas Party last Saturday.  Wishing you a very Merry Christmas....and a Right Christmas!!

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On Friday, students at ICS-Pyeongtaek finished Quarter Two and left for a three-week Christmas Break.  I know that MS and HS students were ready for the Break after completing three half days of Mid-term Final Exams!  And I am pretty sure that all of the teachers were ready for a much-needed time of refreshment and restoration.  Students had only half days Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday while teachers were at school all day grading exams, preparing grades for Quarter Two and Semester grades, and preparing lesson plans for the first week of school after the Break.

On Friday, our leadership team met with all staff in the morning for devotions and announcements and then headed to the home of our Business Manager, Mrs. Haselman.  She and her husband hosted our day of Planning.  We were only able to get through some of the items on the agenda, so we will be meeting at least one more extended period of time to complete items that need attention for the 2017-18 school year.  I would value your prayers as we revise handbooks, prepare the school calendar, examine areas of strengths and areas that need to be improved, discuss personnel placements for the remainder of this year as well as 2017-18, and more.  Friday was a good time together and good progress was made on the 2017-18 School Calendar as well as the Parent-Student Handbook.

  The Haselmans' home was very nicely decorated

                           for Christmas!

The scene surrounding the fireplace in the  Haselmans'

home!                                  

We had some yummy refreshments in the morning at the Haselmans' home and then went to Puffin Restaurant to enjoy some very delicious lunches and great fellowship.  Clockwise beginning on the far left: Helen Lee, Ben Coyner, Tony Kuhn, Jon Greener, Charlie Mooney, April Mooney, and Mylene Haselman.  I was taking the photo. :-)

             Helen enjoyed the Barbequed Chicken Risotto!

Mylene shared some of her Gorgonzola Pizza with a honey dipping sauce!

Quite a few of us enjoyed Puffin's Lasagna!                 

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On Monday, the Student Council concluded its "Secret Santa" project with the staff and students. Any student or staff member could sign up to be a "Secret Santa."  All those who signed up by the deadline then purchased a gift from $5 - $15 to give to a person the Student Council assigned to each "Secret Santa."  (Girls were matched with girls, boys with boys, and male staff with male staff, and female staff with another female staff.) After purchasing the gift, the "Secret Santa" was to wrap the gift and put the name of the person who was assigned to them.  They were not to put on the gift who the gift was from.  On Monday, the Student Council distributed the gifts to each person.  It was a lot of fun!  Below is the gift bag of goodies I received from my "Secret Santa."  I still have no idea who my Santa was! :-)

All sorts of goodies in my gift bag from my "Secret Santa."

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ES and MS students and staff were encouraged to dress in Christmasy red and green clothing on Thursday.  It was fun to see the students and staff in their Christmasy outfits.  I was able to get only a few pictures from the day.  I did capture our IT teacher, Mr. Richards, wearing his Santa outfit and enjoying surprising some of our students.

       Santa Richards with his little Elf Boy!

Santa Richards with our HS Math guru, Ms. Gaul!

Mr. Kuhn celebrating in his Christmas Hawaiian

shirt with one of the Middle School boys!      

Santa Richard with two of his reindeer: Ms. Dather, Grade 2 teacher and undefeated Girls' Basketball coach, and Ms. Lee, T.A. for Grade 1 and Korean Culture class.

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On Thursday, I also had the privilege of traveling to the main office of the Pyeongtaek International Exchange Foundation (PIEF)!  This is the group that provided at no cost three excellent field trips for many of our students on December 5, 6, and 7.  I had written an email thanking them for giving ICS-P this awesome opportunity - especially with our very tight budget.  I informed them that I had some "Thank You" notes from many of our students and wanted to deliver them in person.  They invited me to meet the General Manager, Mr. Lee, and his staff at their main office.  Our wonderful Mr. Song (facilities, driver, maintenance man, etc., etc.) drove me to the PIEF Office and I enjoyed a very profitable meeting with three of the key people at PIEF.  They loved the "Thank You" notes the kids had created.  They had big smiles when they unrolled the Kindergarten cherubs' "Thank You!" The General Manager and his two assistants want to meet in January with ICS-P's Leadership team and the entire staff of possible.  They are eager to continue to provide trips for students and teachers as well as have some exchange opportunities that would assist us and them.  I was also able to let them know about the education possibilities for families that would stop by the PIEF offices asking about international schools in the area.  Thank you for praying for the many opportunities that God has opened up to us through this organization.

Here I am with Mr. Lee, General Manager of the PIEF.  This is outside their main office complex!

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That's about it for this week.  I am looking forward to going to Seoul for a few days this next week.  I am hoping to meet some of my former Korean students at SYME as well as friends from YISS.  As you think about it, you can pray for the Christmas Eve service we will have at Dae Kwang Church.  I have been asked by Pastor Mike to share a Christmas message during the candlelight service.  The children will also be performing a few songs and a Christmas skit.  We are praying for a number of visitors who may not know about the real reason we celebrate Christmas.

*  I also wanted to give you a quick update on some of our staff.  Many of you have been praying for Ben Coyner and Jon Greener.  Ben continues to get radiation treatments and when he came to our Leadership Planning Day on Friday, I could tell that these treatments are having effects on Ben.  He didn't eat any of his food at the restaurant where we had lunch.  His sense of taste has been greatly affected and he is supposed to eat during these times of treatment but he doesn't have the desire.  On Monday, December 19 at 10:30 AM he is to have a Cat Scan.  Ben is hoping to get some more specific reports from the doctors following this scan.

*  Jon Greener continues to have tests, but they can't seem to find out anything except that there may be something wrong with a disc in his lower back.  I know he would appreciate your prayers.

* This past week Jonathan and Laura Edwards had to report before a judge in the Pyeongtaek area in order to see if they were officially given the final adoption papers for Little John, their adopted Korean son.  They have been going through all sorts of paperwork and meetings and sessions with Korean court officials for 2 years or more.  Each time they are told that they would need to come back.  BUT this time, they were granted officially the adoption of Little John!!  We were all excited at ICS-P!  Jonathan teaches in our Middle School.  Laura had been Lead Teacher in the Elementary School until they began the adoption process of Little John.  They are obviously thrilled with this most recent and final decision!

Here I am with Little John at the ICS-P Staff Christmas Party last Saturday.

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Thank you so much for your continued love, care, encouragement, notes, emails, packages, prayers, and support.  I trust that you, your family, and friends will enjoy a very meaningful Christmas.

Love,
Gregg

Christmas Break Coming; Quarter Two Finishing!

What a busy week!  Middle School and High School teachers were very busy preparing students for Quarter Final Exams, which will be on December 14, 15, and 16.  Elementary teachers were preparing final quarter grades as well as working on various Christmas projects and taking some special field trips! We welcomed a new staff member to our community.  Mrs. Ti Na Lee accepted our offer to become our Librarian in January 2017.  Mrs. Lee will replace our current Librarian, Mrs. April Mooney, who is scheduled to bring a precious new life into the Mooney family in January. Mrs. Lee will also be assisting with some of our elementary students with a few ELD classes.

We also interviewed a young man for the position of ELD Coordinator/Teacher on Monday.  We were delighted with his credentials and experience and his desire to begin with us in January.  We felt that this was the person God brought to us to assist us in this immediate need.  After indicating how excited he was to be in this position, he came to me on Thursday.  I was expecting that he would go with Mrs. Helen Lee, the administrative assistant who handles all of the visa paperwork for new staff.  However, he informed me that after talking with his wife + some of his family back in the USA, he believed that God was telling him that he should not take the position at this time.  It was a bit of a discouraging day for me and we are back to still needing an ELD Coordinator/Teacher as soon as possible.  We certainly would value your prayers.  If you know of anyone who would be interested, please contact me.  Thanks.

Several weeks ago, one of our parents had been to a meeting of PIEF (Pyeongtaek International Exchange Foundation).  While there, one of the directors discovered that her children go to ICS-Pyeongtaek.  He said that one of the things they do as a foundation is to provide opportunities for international families to learn more about Pyeongtaek and South Korea.  He did not know about our school and was very excited.  The parent came to the school and told me that PIEF would like to provide Field Trip opportunities for our students.  The administration, teachers, and I were very excited - especially since the group said they would provide transportation to and from the sites as well as entrance fees and a lunch for all of the students.  It was short notice for our teachers, but we were able to organize with PIEF three field trips that happened this past week.  On Monday, Grades 2, 3, and 4 traveled to the Korean Folk Village in Suwon and had a fantastic time learning about Korean culture.  On Tuesday (the field trip that I was able to go on), Kindergarten and grade 1 students traveled to the COEX Aquarium in Seoul.  We had a wonderful time at this large aquarium!  Then on Wednesday, students in Grade 5 as well as high school students, who are taking a History course, traveled to the Korean War Memorial Museum.  I have been there before and really like it.

Monday at the Korean Folk Village:

Here are the student in Grades 2, 3, and 4 at the Korean Folk Village with a silly pose!

Some of the cherubs playing some traditional Korean games!

              Students enjoyed the traditional Korean dances!

They brought out our Librarian, Mrs. Mooney, to take part in one of the dances! :-)

Here are some of the cherubs of Grade 3 enjoying a photo with some

of the dancers.                                       

The PIEF provided a very delicious Bulgogi (grilled marinated beef) for our cherubs and teachers and chaperones!  I heard it was quite good!

Tuesday at the COEX Aquarium:

Here we are at the COEX Aquarium!  These are cherubs in Kindergarten and Grade 1 with their teachers, teacher assistants, and parents!  Another great field trip experience provided by PIEF!

Love this picture of this Kinder cherub amazed at the fish!

Two first graders enjoying one of the many hands-on experiences

                 provided for them at COEX Aquarium!

This little man loved getting inside the mouth of this creature! :-)

You should have heard them squealing when they saw the penguins!

PIEF, once again, provided a Korean lunch for our cherubs and adults.  This one was Bibimbap!

      Mr. Kuhn and Ms. Hunter eating with one of our cherubs!

These three beautiful first grade cherubs were assigned to me for the day!  They are FULL OF LIFE AND ENERGY!!  :-)  I loved every minute of being with them!

Another favorite picture showing Ms. Hunter asking some of her first-grade angels about these sea creatures!  She had spent classroom time prior to the trip to prepare her students for the experience by studying about some of the life in the sea!

Telephone booth made into an aquarium! :-)

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The director of PIEF contacted ICS-P and said that he would like to speak with me after the Christmas Break to offer us additional trips in 2017!  We are excited!  He even said that it is possible to take a group of teachers from our school on a trip to see some sites!  We would love this - especially for new teachers and staff who come to the school.  It will help them to get acquainted with Korea!  These Field Trips are a real blessing to us since we have a very tight budget and can't offer as many learning experiences with Field Trips.  To be able to get trips such as the ones we experienced at NO cost is tremendous!  We are so grateful!

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I was also invited on Monday to observe Grade 5 students present their research projects on diseases that they have been studying in health and Science.  I was able to get there to hear two of the groups present their projects.  I thought they did a great job of research and then preparing excellent presentations using technology very well!  It was a great opportunity to have them also gain experience in presenting material orally to a group.  Here are two pictures of two presentations that I was able to hear.  Their wonderful teacher, Mrs. Sigler, is right beside them giving encouragement just by her smile.  She then led the class in a Q & A plus discussions of each presentation.

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Mr. Coyner has been working with our seniors on their applications for various colleges and universities.  Usually he has not been able to be present in the mornings at ICS-P because of his radiation treatments, but he will come around lunch and continue with meetings with seniors throughout the afternoon - even after most students have gone home.  He shared an exciting email with all of us this past Wednesday.  We had our first scholarship award for one of our seniors! Sara has been awarded a merit scholarship to the Duquesne University's School of Pharmacy in the amount of $18,000 plus a campus housing award of $4,000!

Just for you who are praying for Ben, he spoke with me last week concerning his radiation therapy. Recently he has noticed a loss of taste.  Most food has no taste for him.  He still has many treatments before they give tests to see if the tumor in the tongue has diminished sufficiently to avoid removal of part or all of the tongue.  He also is getting more tired of late.  Thank you for continuing to pray for Ben.

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Student Council's Christmas Door Decoration contest came to a close on Friday.  For about two weeks students in elementary school, middle school, and high school have been encouraged to decorate their homeroom door (MS or HS) or Family Group Mentor's classroom door for elementary students.  The theme that Ms. Gaul, Student Council Advisor, and her Student Council officers decided for this year was "The 12 Days of Christmas."  Each Family Group or MS/HS homeroom was given one of the days and they were to be creative and decorate their classroom door based on the theme, the day, and our school.  Most did a really great job!  I was asked to be one of the judges and I loved doing that.  I am going to post some of the pictures I took of some of the best doors! Enjoy! The students and teachers had fun!

  This door was the #1 door for the Elementary

  Family Groups!  Ms. Hunter is their mentor!

They even had a video presentation on the iPad

                 in the window of the door!

12 Drummers drumming!

The pipers were some of our teachers and some

administrators!                        

One of the HS doors.  I love the Turtle Doves!! :-)

      This was the #1 winner for the MS/HS

                           homerooms!

Mrs. Cho's classroom door was one of the Elementary Family Groups!

And 10 Ladies Dancing from Grade 5!      

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Our Girls' Basketball team coached by Ms. Dather and Mr. Edwards, continues his undefeated season!  They had an away game on Friday with Korea Kent Foreign School (KKFS) and came home with their sixth straight victory, leaving them still undefeated!  They are excited!  No pictures since I was not able to go to the away game.

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Saturday evening was a special event!  It was the ICS-P Staff Christmas Party!  Almost all of our staff were able to attend this festive evening with lots of great food and wonderful fellowship.  The oven was fighting with me on Saturday morning, but it finally gave in and allowed me to make some delicious Glazed Pecans for the event!  There were so many yummy taste treats!  I love the group of teachers and staff who serve together with me at ICS-P.  Thanks for your prayers for all of us!

Here are two "bad" girls, Ms. Hunter and Ms. Lee posing with one very "bad" boy at the ICS-P Staff Christmas Party! :-)

Ms. Hunter, Ms. Johnson, and Ms. Lee!

        GGG with a solo shot at the ICS-P Staff Christmas Party!

Tables looked so nice!

The Christmas Buffet - so many yummy treats!

                          Ham!

A new Chicken recipe that Mrs. Haselman is trying out.  I hope she makes it often!!

More delicious goodies on the Buffet Line!                 

And yes, some more!

Some of the staff are already eating and some are still filling plates!

This is my plate of scrumptious delights!

I even got to play Santa for all of the staff children!

This little guy came racing to the front as soon as his name was called!  He was soooo excited!

This is Lil Jon Edwards receiving his gift!  I love this picture!  I enjoyed playing Santa although I was sad that Mr. Richards was not able to come because of sickness.  He had a Santa outfit and a great beard!

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Here is an update from Mr. Jon Greener.  Many of you have been praying for him.  He traveled to Seoul this week to have an  MRI and then a reading by the doctors.  Here is his report that he shared with all of us at ICS-P this week:

"Praise: MRI was clear, so it officially wasn't a stroke or slipped disk!

Prayer request: my right hand is still partially numb & tingly as I type this (& my entire right side is still a bit off); the cause is officially a medical mystery & the neurologists & spine doctors are baffled as to why my tingles continue...

Happy to have two of the big, scary/painful causes off the board, but disconcerting to have half of your body feel "off" for a week & have its cause (& end) remain a mystery...

Thanks again for your prayers-- keep praying for Tina too, not knowing the cause or clear treatment for her hubby is driving her nuts.."

Thank you for continuing to pray for Jon.

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I trust that you and your family are preparing for a great Christmas!  Enjoy some great times remembering the birth of Lord Jesus Christ!  Thank you very much for your faithful encouragement, love, care, emails, regular mail, prayers, and support.  Your prayers are particularly appreciated for this busy last week before the Break.  Please be praying for an ELD Coordinator/teacher, too.  Thanks so much.

Love, Gregg