Catch you on the flip side

With the new school year comes a new blog...so jump on over to one7academy.wordpress.com and see what's new at One7 Academy. We look forward to seeing you there!

Some more pictures of the girls

Field Trip Update-Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens

The trip to the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens was AWESOME! The girls recognized many of the flowers in the garden from their native countries. We planned the timing of our visit so that the girls could view "Something's-a-flutter"-the butterfly exibit. It was one to remember, as they were able to witness a hatching butterfly and it's first flight. It was breathtaking...although I am not sure which made the bigger impact. The butterflies or the jumping fountain...I think the video (below) speaks for itself.

A month of firsts...

SO, the past few weeks have been crazy busy and flown by. The academy girls are making HUGE 'gains', as one of our teachers quoted this week. They received their first report cards and for the first time ever all received A's!!! They were beside themselves!
We also had our first parent teacher conferences...Jacki, our teacher underwent some real ordeals to meet in each of the girls homes to share about how the girls are doing, more information about their schooling, learn more about their families, and see first hand what goes on inside their homes. It was a real eye opener for her. Pray for these girls! There are severe issues going on that need addressing.
And, on to a lighter note, we had our first annual visit by the state to inspect and certify our school. What that means...for starters, we are even more official than before, and second, we are in great-standing as a new private school in Charlotte. Yeah!!
Also, Our girls are starting to make headlines, literally! They were featured in the Asian Herald, the Asian periodical circulating in and around Charlotte. This was especially cool when I took one of the girls into an Asian market to shop and pulled the paper from the stand and showed both the clerk and her the article and picture. She felt like a little celebrity! It was great.
There are many more weeks and months of firsts to come...these are just a few!

We take the bull by the horns roun' here!

Of course, we had to make sure that the first field trip of the year was a big one. And, since we talk all the time about how we are going to reshape this generation of girls, make a mark in there present that watermarks their futures, and so on...we all "put our big girl pants on' and went whitewater rafting. This was, as you may imagine, a HUGE deal for the academy girls.
We went with Wahoos Adventures (http://www.wahoosadventures.com) in Boone, NC and they took us to Elizabethton, TN on the Watauga river. The girls got to see the local hydro-electric dam release the water for us (Quite the site, I must say. A first, for me), see blue heron, beavers, ducks, hummingbirds, honey bee hives along a cliff, all in their natural habitats in and on one of TN's most gorgeous rivers.
So, educationally, it was great. Now, to the fun stuff.
Each of us, chaperones included, took turns at 'riding the bull'.(Known roun' Wahoo's as riding on the bow (very front) of the boat holding on only with a small rope, feels and looks just like riding a bull, except for the not on a bull and being on the water thing, but you get the idea) Riding the bull is good with a little experience, and great with a lot, however we were about forty seconds from hitting the largest whitewater 'knuckles' of the trip, called the Anaconda, when our guide asked who wanted to "ride the bull first?". Naive or just plain crazy, First two up, the field trip chaperones, of course (GG and MC) So, we embraced our first field trip, by the horns. After tons of laughter, gallons of water in our boat, mascara running and serious bonding, the first field trip goes on the books. It was really special for the girls to hae such an amazing opportunity to do such am awesome adventure sport. Wahooooooooo!!!!!

Define, fail... Now, we will re-define it!

Brick by Brick...

At the academy, this was a great week. Bonds are forming. Cultures that normally have no contact or if any, is negative, have deepened in understanding and relationship. One of the girls is a Somalian refugee and muslim, and another a Vietnamese montagnard refugee. Earlier in the week, they were required to assist one another with reading. One of a higher level and the other considerably below. It was during this time that they were able to truly connect. You see, it is impossible to hide in our small classroom of five girls. You cannot get looked over when you do not understand or feel like participating. You get zeroed in on. And these two, when paired together, forgot the things that frustrated them and kept them distant from one another, and developed a closer friendship that carried over into lunch and after school, and beyond. (What I need to tell you as background info, is that for the past few weeks we have really struggled with these two. They 'put up a fight' about uniforms, language, participation in PE, etc. The work was hard, they were struggling academically, mentally and socially. They were the two hardest in the room.) It was to all of our delight, when Jacki, our teacher said that they connected. Truly connected! This was the TRUE turn around in the classroom! Walls are being broken down, and lives are being changed!