May 25, 2010

The realization that our days here numbered---only three teaching days left---was brought home to us last night when Dorota distributed the combined Global Volunteers Assignment and Team Rating sheets, along with the IRS certification forms and the summary sheets for the log books. We’ve started working on them, although the summary log sheets most likely will not be finished until the last day of classes.

At 5:00, our invited guests, principals, teaching colleagues and adult students arrived for our celebratory farewells. A weekday evening works out better than a Friday night, for our Polish colleagues and for those of us who must depart for the airport at 6:00 a.m. Saturday.

And now, the day’s activities, as reported by the volunteers:

Mary Martin---Mother Nature is playing tricks on us. A cold front moved in during the night, bring chilly temperatures along with partly cloudy skies. Mary Martin’s ride to Strzala arrived shortly after eight o’clock, taking that back county road which passes through several tiny villages. The four morning class periods passed quickly. Grade 5 students presented their poster work to one another. Grades Four and Two practiced songs for the Family Day presentation tomorrow afternoon.

The “older” students (I’m guessing ages 15 – 16) explored the topic of Idioms which makes English more colorful, more visual, and for the foreign language learner, often more opaque.

Once a lead student caught fire, the rest of the thirteen students became active, participating in sentences which built a dialog around the theme of whether or not to tell parents about their boyfriends. They decided in favor of their teacher, Miss Kate, whom they adore. My driver for the return trip to Reymontowka efficiently whisked me home through green fields and leafy trees swaying under strong winds out of the northwest.”

Jim had breakfast with his mates preceded the measured driving of Roman – off to Spoleczna to face the energies of the students there – and the day can be deemed successful by Jim even with several students absent. The lessons remaining for the week were introduced and a full week of classroom work and homework assignments were forecasted. These include writing and reading aloud “Disaster Stories”, performing a “Restaurant Skit”, and reviewing the students ideas of what items were to be deposited in a “100 year Time Capsule”. In addition to the above, parts of sessions would be devoted to the “Rumors” activity and the “Complete the Story” project. “Search Word” puzzles would supplement whatever time was left in each session.

Audrey had a very good morning in Cisie. The kids—grades 2, 3 and 6—were spontaneous and enthusiastic, quite focused. They asked questions , we did word lists on the board, practiced the words, and made sentences. We also worked with clocks and made sentences, for example, “I get up at ________________.” Grade 3 loves to sing, so we began and ended with a song.

At 7:00 we moved to the big tent for a special children’s performance of traditional games and dances, as well as a concert by a local women’s group, both dancers and singers being accompanied by three local musicians on fiddle, accordion and drums. The encore involved us! Several rollicking dances with performers, volunteers, colleagues and students at the invitation of the real performers.

We then trudged up the stairs and to our rooms, ready for sleep.