Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Year One Complete

Hello  All!  I know it's been awhile, but you should know me by now 😉.  The school year ended almost three weeks ago on Thursday, June 22nd.  Since then I've returned home to New Jersey and I'm enjoying my time with family and friends.  I'm elated to say that my first year abroad was a success and I'm looking forward to year #2.

I"m truly grateful to my Creator who carried me through this journey.  I was always told that when you pray for things/situations, you need to be specific.  When I decided to accept my position, I prayed for each and every situation that I would encounter.  My God never failed me and he answered and supplied all my needs!  

I can't say enough about my students and their parents.  I truly had THEE BEST KG1 students and families.  When I think of how much they've grown over those 10 months, I'm simply amazed.  The last week of school, we had Memory Day and I was brought to tears when I begin speaking about one student in particular.  This student started the school year with little to no English.  I think of how scary that had to be for him, he had no one he could communicate with.  All of the students spoke English and majority of the students can speak Arabic as well.  This student could not speak either of those languages.  However, he found a way to communicate with others.  I would explain to my students often that it wasn't easy for him and that we all needed to help him.  And helped they did!  I had some of the most caring, and compassionate kids ever!  I gave this student the award of Most Improved, he definitely deserved it.  And by the way, not only did this student learn English but Arabic as well!

I'm truly going to miss my kids and their parents but I will still get the chance to see them daily.  Especially since I'm moving up to KG2!!!!! 🙌  As of now I will have 5 of my former students again for the 2017-2018 school year.  I would love to have my entire class again but it's out of my hands.  But I'm excited to move up to kindergarten next year.    

I'm praying that year 2 will be just as awesome as year 1.  We will have a new principal that I'm excited to get to know and work with.  Starting a brand new school isn't easy but I do believe the staff at my school did an awesome job with everything we encountered over the year.  We're survivors!  Lol!  But the school is off to a great start and I'm excited to see what it will look like a few years from now.  Oh yeah, I'm 98% sure I'll remain in the UAE for the next two years.  Not sure if I'll remain with my school or transfer.  But I'm pretty sure the UAE is where I'll be.

Well until next time!