It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's the most wonderful time of the year...Report Card Time!  Did I just say that?  I'm kidding really but I do enjoy report card time because it's when I discover these awesome little writing treasures in my student's writing folders.

First here are some of my little writers being very serious about the business of writing.

 

 

Now for the treasures!

The back story for this one is that one day my electrician (designated student to turn the lights on and off) went into our second classroom where he was to turn the lights on.  Sitting right below the light switch  was a big black spider.  He screeched and immediately went to the other side of the room where he turned on the lights.  Meanwhile, I killed the spider and teased him that one day he was going to have to be brave enough to kill spiders for his wife.  A day or so after this incident, we went into the room again and he crossed to the other side of the room to turn the lights on.  He didn't want anything to do with the scary spider light switch!  So after all of that I found this little gem in his writing folder. 

Telling it like it is, I would say!  I'm convinced there's a brave guy in there somewhere.

This second one just makes me laugh because of his plans for the terrible creature of which he writes...not to mention the way the incorrect spelling of "like" changes everything. :)

"Why I don't like cockroaches they are ugly."  And the little guy says, "Down the toilet!"

No argument here, little guy.  You've definitely got the right idea!

Sahel Academy Spirit Week 2015

Every year before the annual NUTS softball tournament here in Niamey, Sahel Academy celebrates spirit week.  We break out our nuttiest costumes and our most amazing cheers.  Here's a peek into 2015's Sahel Academy Spirit Week.

Monday was Sweets Day.  I loved this little guy's fruit salad and then there is the most refreshing sweet of all - Coca-Cola!

I thought the bottle opener was an awesome touch.

Tuesday was Fanatic Day so the kids all dressed to show what/who they cheer for.  Here's a picture of my whole class minus one student.

Wednesday was class theme day.  We chose to be Minions. I made myself into GRU and even had a bald head.  What!!!!


Better than that though was the Benji Minion pictured beside me in this photo.  His costume was awesome.  He had a bit of a hard time seeing through it which provided some very entertaining moments as he stumbled here and there and tipped from side to side.  It was great fun!

Before school started that morning, I could hear my students all the way down the sidewalk and into my classroom yelling, "Banana! Banana! Banana!"  You know you're in for it when....

And here's the whole bunch of Minions together.

Thursday was Futuristic Day.  For all you saggy pants haters out there - this one cracked me up!

Friday was Sahel Spirit Day and that, of course is when all the fun goes down.  For example, First Grade won an ice cream party for being the best dressed elementary class for class theme day.  They were over the moon excited!

Then there were the cheers/dances.  These guys had been practicing a dance choreographed by one of our seniors for over a month.

And this year the girl's kept the Sahel Academy Haka alive.  Go girls!  You were awesome!

Breaking Ground

Exciting news!  On October 2nd Sahel Academy broke ground on a new elementary wing.  We have been talking about this building for the last year and a half so it's exciting to see the work beginning.  In our current elementary wing, we have four large classrooms.  In our old elementary wing there are two small classrooms which my class is currently occupying.  These two classrooms are fine when classes are small but they are inadequate when classes are over 10-12 students.  For that very reason, our kindergarten has, until very recently, occupied one of the original buildings which is set far back into the corner of our campus away from all of the other classrooms.  This new building will allow all the classes to have their own large space.  We will be together and no one will have to move from year to year. Yippee!  Because it will be a two story building there will be space for an elementary computer lab down the road and more classroom space for middle school as it is needed. 

Pictured above from left to right is our SIM Niger construction manager, our SIM Niger director, our youngest Sahel student and our new Sahel Academy School Director.