Wednesday, June 4, 2014

The Airbus

Here we go! After a bit of waiting for transportation to fall into to place I finally walked into Sullivan Primary School. This is the school I will be volunteering in for the next month. As I walked in there was a principal’s office and a secretary’s office. We were introduced to both of these individuals. I felt very appreciated because both of which were extremely thankful that we decided to volunteer here. They said we have a lot for us (volunteers) to do and we are able to come to him with any ideas to improve the school in any way. For example, a volunteer that was located at this school previously set up a school website for the school. He was encouraging us to go out of our comfort zone and experience as much as we possibly can. I then was assigned to a 3rd grade classroom where I will be spending a lot of my time.

With a gulp of nervousness, I headed to room 3b. I knocked on the door. (Apparently that is protocol, for anyone that would like to enter, to knock on the teachers door and she will make her way to the door to answer it) I was happy that the teacher was informed I was coming earlier in the day…so I was not a complete surprise. As I entered, I introduced my self as Katelyn. Mrs. Blau (the teacher) said, “Class this is “Teacher Katelyn.”” Without hesitation, the class responded in perfect unison, “Good Morning Teacher Katelyn, God bless you on this morning.” I was immediately impressed. The first thing that I noticed was that there were 42 students in my class and the classroom was less than half the size of any classroom I have every seen in my life! The students were literally crawling on top of each other.

I continued to introduce myself and explain where I was from. When I told the students I was from the United States they squirmed with excitement. The classroom had a map so I was able to point to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They were astonished and asked me how I crossed the ocean to get here. I told them I took an airplane. The teacher indicated that I would have to explain what an airplane was. I tried my best to describe it…I even attempted to draw a picture on the chalkboard. The teacher finally chimed in and told the students it is like an “airbus.”  I guess that is one way of putting it… But the students were amazed that a bus could fly in the sky that far. Just seeing them connect the dots was an amazing moment for me.

Each of the kids seems to have so much life and personality! It is great to see them so happy to be at school.  



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