School's Out!

School finished up for Carter and Grace this past Friday at Hillcrest International School, and needless to say, they are happy to have a break!  It was a big adjustment for them to go from homeschooling to a "real" school setting.  For the most part, they have done quite well.  Here are a few pictures from this past semester.

The school truly is international, with students and teachers from the U.S., Canada, Korea, Australia, PNG, and Holland, and probably a few others I don't know about.

                                              

Mount Cyclops looms up behind the school property, which is situated on a hill above the city of Sentani.

Grace and some of her classmates work on a geometry project.

Luke is involved in a homeschool art club that meets weekly, and this is one of his projects.

This has been Zoe's big accomplishment of the semester - reading!  For over a year she's been working at it, and able to read simple books.  But just a few weeks ago something clicked for her and she took off!  Teaching each of the kids to read has been one of the most satisfying things I've done as a mom. (David wants me to point out that this is not Zoe's normal bed  - though she would very much love it to be.  She just happened to be sleeping in our room one night when I took this picture.)

Zoe flies at the Field Day obstacle course.

Luke nailed the bean bag toss.

Grace takes aim at her math teacher in the Dunk Tank.

Grace's sixth-grade class got to participate in a cool project, assisting Bible translators with proofreading over a new translation for printing errors (like ink smudges or blank pages).

There is a long-standing tradition at HIS for the eighth-graders to be whisked away for a day of fun near the end of school for what is known as the "Eighth-Grade Sneak".  It comes as a total surprise to the students - they don't know when it will happen or where they will go.  Carter was very much looking forward to this event.  This year their teacher took them to Base G, one of the local beaches, then to Pizza Hut for dinner, and the school for a movie.

The boys slept in hammocks at school property.  Lookin' pretty cozy, Carter!

Another tradition for the eighth-graders is a banquet to recognize their completion of middle school.  Everyone got dressed up, even us moms and dads, and we were served a lovely meal by the seventh-grade class.  Each of the parents had the opportunity to share some words of wisdom and encouragement to our kids as they look forward to entering a new phase of life - high school!

I can't believe it, really.  One, that I am old enough to be the mother of a high schooler, and two, that said high-schooler is old enough to be in high school.  We are looking forward to our summer with the kids.  No big plans - hopefully just lots of time for trips to the beach, hikes, reading, and hanging out together.