"Civil Unrest" days

So, in the US, we have snow days. Here in Quito, we get “civil unrest” days! For example, Wednesday was a half day just for professional development purposes…we had trainings to attend, etc. Fine, normal.

Yesterday, I get an email at the end of the day saying that today, Friday we will also have a half day. But this time because the director wants everyone home (students and staff) before 2PM when marches and protests are planned. Apparently, a year ago there was an attempted coups against President Correa. Could it happen again a year later? Anything’s possible here! I, for one, am not complaining about starting my weekend just a few hours earlier J

Photos of Posada del Arte

Hostal Posada del Arte in Banos

Dining Room

Posada del Arte Common Room

Feeling Blessed in Banos

It seems like awhile since I’ve posted, so let me catch you up…

School is going wonderfully! I’ve got 11 beautiful children, a full time assistant and parents who come in and help. A teacher’s dream J. We had back to school night last Thursday. I was a little nervous to meet the parents, but all were very complimentary and supportive. I’m looking forward to working with them this year.

Yoga is something new I’m trying this year. A fellow teacher gives classes after school. What a wonderful way to stretch and bring more awareness. I really enjoy these hour long sessions. With this same woman who teaches yoga, I’ve been doing some long runs because we’re running the Half Marathon Mitad del Mundo. We run from Quito to the equator line. This comes up later in November…we will be very proud of ourselves for running so long at altitude! Our long runs are in Parque Metropolitano a wooded park with lots of dirt trails, trees and hills. Beautiful for long runs.

        I haven’t forgotten my former students. I’ve written them each postcards and even got some back. That was wonderful! Thank you J

This weekend, I took some new friends to one of my favorite places, Banos. Staying at Posada Del Arte which is a hostel filled with brightly painted walls and art EVERYWHERE. As I’m writing this post, I’m sitting in the cute little dining room surrounded by candles, there’s a fire in the fireplace, the waterfall outside the window is audible with some relaxing music playing in the background. It’s almost too good to be true! Just finished the banana nut pancakes with fruit salad and deep rich coffee. Later on, we’ll hike up to Bella Vista to see the whole town of Banos and perhaps go to the volcanic hot baths.  In back of the hotal are beautiful gardens with hammocks…so you can lay in the hammocks and you’re surrounded by the lush Andes. Right now it’s a bit overcast and rainy, but the fire is warm. A good relaxing in front of the fire, catching up on reading type day. By the time I arrive in Quito later tonight, I’ll be completely recharged and ready for another week with the 2^nd graders J

Some Photos

Hand Made Weather Stations
They can record wind, temperature and rainfall.

Earthquake Drills and Danny Glover...kind of random, huh?

So…in the US, we practice code red, code blue in case of a school shooting. Guess what we practice here in Ecuador? Earthquake drills! Yes, that’s right. We had one for the first time a few days ago. The kids were in their first recess of the day and we hear the siren, warning us that it’s an earthquake drill. Of course, when it’s just practice, the kids think it’s fun. We had to crouch down in the middle of the soccer field. I think that’s the safest place to be if the buildings start to fall. Now, if we were in the classroom, we’d have to get down under the desks and hold on. I hope it doesn’t happen, but if it does, the kids in Ms. Rachel’s room will be prepared! Another difference is HATS. Since we’re right on the equator at high altitude the sun’s UV index is extreme (26 the last time I checked). So, in addition to wearing 50 SPF sunscreen the kids are required to wear hats every time we leave the classroom. (The way the school is laid out, it’s all outside hallways). That’s something that I’m always forgetting but the kids remind me, “Ms. Rachel, what about our hats!”

On a non-work note, Yesterday was just what I needed after two weeks of school! Two girl friends and I took the bus to Papallacta, a spa town about an hour east of Quito, heading towards the jungle. I soaked in the volcanic hot springs (with my obligatory bathing cap!), had a wonderful (and I mean WONDERFUL) massage to work out all my kinks. While I was relaxing in my massage, two of my friends were sharing a tub with Danny Glover. They said to me after my massage to look outside and yes, there’s no mistaking him, especially when he speaks…turns out he was at Papallacta with his family on vacation. Kind of random, huh?

Owl Moon Read-Aloud

Story Time (Owl Moon!) and Math Lesson

Teaching's going great! The students are fun and curious and it makes my job as a teacher really interesting-each day's different :-)

If you'd like to know what I'm doing in the classroom, you are welcome to follow my class blog at: msrachelcotopaxi.blogspot.com

Enjoy the change of seasons! (That's something I miss about the US-life on the equator has it's benefits, but we don't have the changing of the leaves...)

Take care,
Rachel

Week 1 is Done!

Whew, week 1 is done! It always seems like the LONGEST week of my life...we do this thing on the calendar...OK, my friends, how many days have we been in school? When they say "2" it's like, "really???, I"ve only known you for two days????"

So now I've got 11 students, a good mix of boys and girls, native and non-native speakers, and different types of personalities. I had the kids do an assignment where they gathered items into a "Personality Bag" at home and then brought it into the classroom to share. It was really fun to see the kids reveal each item one by one and then call on their classmates to guess.

We've also been doing a lot of independent writing. I put on tranquil music, turn down the lights and let the kids choose a comfy place in the classroom to settle down and get their thoughts on paper. It's a favorite time for 2nd graders.

Something that makes me smile each day is UNIFORMS. It's very cultural here in Ecuador that everyone wears a uniform. Now, in the public schools, this is enforced. But here at Academia Cotopaxi, as long as the kid has on a polo shirt with the Academia Cotopaxi logo on it, everything else is his or her choice. So I've got my little fashionista girls coming in with striped leggings, cute little jean skirts, fancy sandals, a sparkly long sleaved shirt and of course their uniform on top of this...the point of uniforms is to level the "clothing field"...or I've got this one kid, big, burly, lots of personality who reminds me of a man in a boy's body. You know the type. He wears his work jeans, shiny white sneakers and red suspenders every day (and of course the school shirt). In a way, I'm kind of glad the strict uniform policy isn't really enforced. For me, at least, clothing is a way to express how I'm feeling on a certain day, I think kids should be able to express that too!

I know you're eager for photos...they are coming soon, I promise!

This weekend will be for relaxing and recharging! Maybe a massage is in order...these 7 year olds are wearing me out! (But in a good way :-))

Love,
Rachel

A Joy to Teach

So, it's the third day of school...we're still in the honeymoon stage.

I have 10 beautiful children as students, very well behaved, studious, curious. It's really a joy to teach them :-). We've been reading stories together, getting to know each other, doing some math and getting the routines down. So far, so good!

Will post photos soon!

Whew, the first day of school was great! But I'm wiped out...
I'm supposed to have 12 students, but 3 were absent yesterday. I've got a good mix of boys and girls (6 each) from many countries around the world! Ecuador, Venezuela, Argentina, Spain, US, Korea and Iran. (Most of my kids do not speak English as their first language, so they say funny things or mix up the order of their sentences). In this respect they are not so different from my Gaithersburg students! However, these kids are very wealthy, so their parents have the economic resources to support them. Yesterday, I found them all to be kind, caring (if not a bit chatty! I suppose it's catching up with friends they haven't seen all summer)

My students all wear uniforms, although they are a bit more informal than a typical Ecuadorian public school where kids would probably wear blouses and jumpers or dress shirts and slacks. At my school, kids wear polo shirts with the Academia Cotopaxi logo and then jeans, pants or if they want, skirts. WHere they express their individuality is in their shoes! Lots of cute 2nd grade girls in new pink sneakers and boys in their new sneakers too! (I gave lots of shoe compliments yesterday)

The first week of school is all about getting to know each other and getting classroom routines down. These are SO key to a well functioning classroom...yesterday we spent 30 minutes alone going over how students will come in in the mornings, put away their things, do their morning jobs, settle down to their desks. We practiced 5 times. I'm sure today will be more of the same. Once we've got the rountines down, they we can start the academic learning! I'll let you know how it goes :-)

Happy First Day of School!

Happy New Year! The pencils are sharpened, the binders are ready, the lessons are planned...now I just need the students! (I'll meet them today :-)) I've got a great international mix...the US, Ecuador, Iran, Spain, Korea, Argentina...Once I meet them, I'll write more. Keep me posted on how you're doing.
Love,
Rachel

PS-I'll probably update every week or so...not as much as in the beginning because I'm very busy with school. My apologies!