I woke up on Tuesday morning at 6:18 AM just as the sun was beginning to rise. I managed to beat the roosters to the punch with my alarm. The “Yap Coalition of Catholic Volunteers” (we don’t actually have an official name yet, we are accepting any and all suggestions) decided to cook a full breakfast complete with pancakes, omelettes, and oatmeal for our big day. We were all a blend of emotions ranging from eagerness, to terror, to pure giddiness (ok… maybe I was most of the pure giddiness…). Our first day went almost flawlessly – which is shocking considering we were figuring out the details of the schedule while it was occurring.
The students are all so excited to be back in school. I begin my day with the freshmen homeroom and have patiently been drawing them out of their shells. They were all so nervous, and shy, and quiet – so I may have given them one of my Communications lessons from Camp Minsi on how to project your voice. I also have the freshmen class for religion, which is a terrifying notion. Someone thought it was a good idea to entrust the religious education of their children to Mr. Michael J. Wiencek. Let’s just say I hope God is hearing their prayers and watching over them as we go through this most interesting adventure.
The sophomores are a much more rambunctious group. The are much more comfortable with eachother and love to see how far they can push you. I can’t help but smile when I watch them interact with the teachers because I know exactly what games they are playing – the first time they tried to pull one of these on me I turned around, smiled, and told them that we can play these games if they want – but they should know that I have been playing on the varsity team since 6th grade. I was met with shocked stares before we all burst out into laughter. Laughter is a huge part of our classroom experience at YCHS. Everyone likes to learn, and to do their best, and to work hard – but we certainly have a fun time while doing it. My Geometry class is going to be quite challenging as the basic math skills of the students are not very strong – but the students have such personalities that I know it is going to be awesome.
My chemistry class with the juniors is just downright FUN. The class only has 8 students, and they have absolutely zero science background. In four days, I think they have learned more about the world and how it works then they have in their entire lifetime – and most of that learning is happening when I get distracted on a tangent – which has now become an official part of our class because Chemistry just can involve so many different areas. On Friday, I successfully pulled off the first Chem Lab Day at YCHS (maybe even the whole island!). I went through boxes and boxes of donations to find what equipment was useable and practical – then I had to adjust the lab to fit our conditions – let’s just say teaching lab safety on an island where you go barefoot half the time is quite an interesting conversation. We did a simple experiment, but everyone wanted to be involved in some way and I think it was something that they never thought they would experience. I had a blast pulling it all together – and I think the juniors are truly having a great time while learning.
There are so many stories already that I want to share, and I will try to get some pictures posted as well – but I will work on picking out a few of those to post later this week. So far, I am loving being in the classroom. It feels great to be doing what I am here to do. To be able to see how much goodness there is in every single one of the students is the most inspiring thing I have ever encountered. I can honestly say that I am falling in love with this place.
“Love consists of sharing what one has and what one is with those one loves. Love ought to show itself in deeds more than in words.”
-St. Ignatius of Loyola
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