Father’s Day and finals


Happy Father's Day 
Father’s Day. Another day to remind me to miss my children and grandchildren, family and friends, as if I needed one. I do feel bad at times that I’m not a normal father and grandfather. On the other hand, with the cards I was dealt “normal” left the station without me. Happy Father’s day to all those normal and not so normal fathers out there.

We are still in school for a few more weeks, so on Friday afternoon the students were able to make Father’s Day cards. I even got one from the staff, which was very much appreciated.



Before the Father’s Day cards the students had an exam in the morning. We also had the island wide reading day, involving an assembly, skits, and reading activities.

I'm having to hold up my small speaker so the kids can better hear
The students have been working hard. We have a few more days of finals this week. The second part of my math final is on Tuesday. Most of the students are in pretty good shape after the first math test, although I’m worried about one who should have done better. The exams end of Wednesday.

The shortest student in class likes to clean the board
Well preK may not be completely focused on the video
We have Thursday off for Ascension so another short week. The following week will be Graduation for the 6th grade and pre-KG classes. We also have to close the grades, finish paperwork, and report cards for everyone else. The last week of school has a number of events including a school outing and a staff social. School is finished on July 5th.

It is possible that moving into the new school will also be squeezed in sometime, but I don’t know for certain. Patience and flexibility.

I also have the ever popular Volunteer Reporting Form – VRF due by the middle of next month. I guess this is sort of like my final exam. The report is completed using an offline application. It is the same report mechanism used around the world. The software has been upgraded since I used it in Ghana when it frequently crashed.


The report is used for metric collection – how many children have shown improvement, how many teachers are using new methods and such. The metrics available in the activities are customized to the program in the country. I’ve started to complete the report but I’m having trouble finding the proper metrics for some activities that are not normally performed – such as teaching math in addition to literacy, computer training for teachers, and agriculture projects.

One of the smaller puppies I've seen.  Sorry, Sam - it already has an owner
Next month my daughter is planning a visit which will be great, and around the time of my birthday. So looking forward to the visit and relaxing on the beach.

On of the beaches we plan on visiting
 But first I’ll have some time to give the house a good cleaning. Hopefully the water will stay on now that the rains are starting. (My water has still be more off than on these last few weeks.) However, when the rains are heavy the water is sometimes dirty – so the filter remains important.

Later in July I might also be going on a 30 day leave back to the states. This leave is provided for those who extend a full year. A few weeks ago I asked to take it early so I wouldn’t miss the start of the school term. I’m still waiting for final approval, but I expect to hear something soon. Peace Corps, and many things in life – patience and flexibility.

Love always,
John

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