Parent Teacher Meetings

Today, I had my first ever parent teacher meetings.  The second marking period ended yesterday.  The first  marking period parent teacher meetings were in October while I was in the United States.  So, I was very excited to meet some of the parents that I have never seen before.

After lunch, the parents came into the classroom one by one.  I was able to tell each and every parent that I have seen their child improve from the first marking period to the second...Praise God!  It was very encouraging for me to hear some of the feedback from the parents.  Several of them told me that their children talk about me at home and that they say they love me.  One parent said, "My daughter practices her English when she gets home.  She tells me that she loves you very much and you are her mama."

The only concerns that some of the parents raised were concerning English.  Because none of the parents speak English, and many of them cannot even write their own name, they wanted to be reassured that their children are in fact doing a good job and learning.  One parent said, "my daughter can count really well in English but when she counts in Creole she gets stuck on some of the numbers."  So, I explained that once the students get to 2nd grade, they will start having French class each day.  I also reminded parents that they can practice counting in Creole at home with their kids.  It is an understandable concern.  If my child was going to a Chinese speaking school, how would I know if they were actually learning or not?  Miss Katiana was with me for the conferences, so I think that most parents felt reassured of their child's progress by the time they left.

A few of the students came along in with their parents and it was adorable to see their sheepish grins as I told their parents how smart they are and how well they are doing.  I could tell by their beaming smiles that the students were very proud to have me meet their parents.  It brought back lots of memories of my own parent teacher conferences and elementary school open house.

Please continue to pray for our electricity situation.  The power has been off for over 24 hours again, and neither the generator nor the inverter are fixed yet.  I had to throw out some of my food today.  I am going to have to start grocery shopping one day at a time.   I am currently at Dorothy's house with my laptop so that I could check my e-mail and post this blog.  I pray that you all have a safe and blessed weekend!