Dana's School Halloween Party

On the 20th of October, Dana had her first school Halloween Party.  I was worried when they announced it and notified parents via letter because it only meant that more expenses will have to be set aside to accommodate the budget for her costume.  Trust me, when you're in dire straits when it comes to finances, like we have been for the past months, you really begin to question all these school parties hehehe

But I'm very lucky that my HS friend, Gicel, was able to lend me her daughter's Princess Jasmine costume for Dana to wear :)  Thanks a lot, Gicel! :)

So here she is, together with Dylan who just put on his Spiderman clothes and mask :))



They had a costume contest and as you can see Dana was #60! all the kids who came in costume registered for the contest so that took a while to judge.  It was funny because there were a lot of witches which I thought would be banned haha but even the parents were wearing costumes!! She liked the one like 3D art in the last row of pictures :)   Her teacher was dressed like Jang-Geum of a Koreanovela :D

Dylan's Kindergarten Field Trip

Sept. 14, 2011 - It's that time once again when Dylan sets off on another field trip.  This time they're heading to Lucky Me (the noodle factory), Paradizoo (an animal farm/zoo) and Tagaytay Picnic Grove (for rest and relaxation).  As you can see, Dylan is excited to be on their way.  

Their first stop was the Lucky Me Noodle Factory but we weren't allowed to take pictures because of security reasons.  This part of the trip would have been more interesting if we had more time to really listen to the tour.  Instead, the tour went by so fast it was like the staff were more interested in just breezing through with their spiels and such.  The kids couldn't really pay attention and they can't really see over the windows in the factory.  I had to really focus to hear the tour guide explain the process of making the noodles and packing them and such.  In turn, it was I who had to explain to Dylan.  I guess there were a lot of schools scheduled too so they had to hurry us up.  This was the only photo allowed, taken by their staff after a quick run through of the factory.  

After the Lucky Me Factory, we went to Paradizoo Ranch in Mendez, Cavite.  There were a lot of chances for taking pictures because there were a number of different animals that Dylan went a little crazy going after them :)  There was a white carabao, a black carabao, a camel, horses, foreign goats and sheep, butterflies and bees.  Here are some pictures. It was raining hard some of the time which was hard for the kids but it was otherwise a fun trip.  

The last stop was the Tagaytay Picnic Grove.  This was where we had our lunch overlooking Taal Volcano. The kids breezed through their lunch and just ran around in the grass.  Dylan was also fortunate to have been able to ride a horse.  One of his classmates who originally bought the ticket became scared of the horse so he backed out.  Dylan was given the ticket instead :)  Thanks! :D

 Needless to say, all the kids were tired and pooped out during the drive home :)

Teacher Dory died so suddenly

We were faced with a mighty blow when we found out that Teacher Dory was dead.  We found out only on the morning of Dylan's exams.  We were walking on the way to school when Dylan's classmate's mom called out to us from their house.  Apparently, classes were suspended because Teacher Dory died.  This was such a shock to learn because we didn't even know she was sick or having any medical problems.

I was just in shock because it was such a loss, to Dylan, to me and of course, to the school.  You see, Teacher Dory reminds me of my mom.  They were both exemplary teachers really living the vocation of teaching.  When I say vocation, I really mean it because they really epitomized what teaching was all about.  It's about helping students learn.  It's about expending all your energy to make sure that your students are improving and that you'll waste no time in getting them to stay on their course.  It's about putting aside your own financial troubles and physical problems aside to take on students whom you believe need your help more.

Dylan blossomed under Teacher Dory's care.  Of course, the other teachers in the school helped out a lot but Teacher Dory was the driving force.  She knew how to motivate the kids.  She knew how to scold parents.  She knew how to inspire her teachers.  She's a light to everyone.

To Teacher Dory, you will surely be missed but your influence over my son will not be forgotten.  I salute you for your love of teaching.  I wish there more of you to go around :)