RIA First Day of School

Warning! This blog entry contains cute kid pictures that may bring a smile to your face. If you need to stay in a grumpy mood, do not read any further - it may ruin your day...

Whew! What a week! Today (Sunday) broke blue and clear; the sun bathing every tree and flower in striking glory. It wants to make one thank God for the beauty of the world around us. I hope it feels that way to you too! After Morning Worship in Basel, our friend Jon offered us a lift home as his wife was away visiting her folks near Stuttgart. Since it was such a relaxing afternoon (and the shops are all closed) we strolled over to a local café for lunch. They serve Turkish, Italian and German food for a reasonable price and it is very close to our apartment. It is kinda funny in most restaurants here that they bring the food when it is ready, not when the whole table's order is done. Jon got a salad when Delynn's plate and my pizza came. We tucked into our meals, Jon of course finishing his salad first. We then waited for Jon's main course to arrive, and waited..., and waited... It finally arrived after what had been been a miss-communication with the kitchen, so we all finished our meal together, filled with the warmth of good company and spicy Turkish kabap.

Delynn and I have finished up our first full week of school. What a wonderful experience it is to reconnect with our returning students and begin to build relationships with the new students. As I have mentioned before, a significant number of student families were relocated over the last school year and this year we find ourselves with more new students from around the globe. Several new students are coming into an english-speaking environment for the first time which adds new challenges to our teachers on how to bring the students up to grade level and teach them all they need to know.

I have to say however that we have some of the cutest kids on the planet. Now, I'm sure that every teacher feels this way - I wish that I could combine these pictures with insight into their unique personalities, to convey the memories that flood our hearts with each face, but I cannot. You will just need to take our word for it that these are some precious children. God makes each one so different from the others - and we are so glad for that. Imagine how boring life would be without the beautiful hues of personalities, the fragrance of different smiles, the resonance of a myriad voices.

Not to say that everything is peaches and cream. Everyone who teaches understands the tears that go with the job. The first week can be hard for the children - especially those that have never been in a school before. It can be trebly hard if the childs first language is not English or German (or Swiss for that matter.) Imagine walking into a new environment where you parents leave you and go away; the people are all speaking gibberish and they expect you to follow new rules that have no context (Why are we always lining up to go to the potty?). God however has been so gracious to us. We have so many students that are proficient in multiple languages (some speak three or four different languages, switching seamlessly as the need arises) that they can ease the transitions for our new students as they learn the English language - and believe me, they learn quickly!

Okay, final warning! Here they come...

Doesn't this young kindergartener look excited to start school!

Delynn gets a laugh as this young student shows off her new backpack!
This returning student is sporting the latest in 2nd grade fashion - two missing teeth!

Finally, these two 1st graders are part of our transition team - they help the Spanish and German EAL (English as an Additional Language) students understand what is going on in the classroom.

A word about EAL. It used to be called English as a Second Language (ESL) but then for many students, English is their 3rd or 4th language, so it was called English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Now I thought this was a fine name, but apparently, the teaching profession likes to change names every few years just to keep people guessing, so this year EAL came into vogue. Maybe by 2010 it will just be EL (English as a Language)... Who knows. It keeps the letterhead from getting old.

For our praying friends, thank you for your faithfulness. Please, as you think of us, keep our students in mind, those just starting, those learning English for the first time, for our message of God's love for them - and for the whole world.

Peace