Preschool 2 children are ready for kindergarten.  They know all letter names and sounds, colors, numbers, shapes, compound words, ordinal numbers, and patterns.  They can identify and make many alliteration, onomatopoeia and rhyming words, and much more!  We have had so much fun learning and maturing this year.

Highlights:

• Kent built “ABC Patterns” with blocks.
• Amanda took Fanny Frog for a ride.
• “Miss Aquilah” taught the class.
• Happyness helped Kundwa prepare for a wedding.
• 5 Each child wrote a Fanny Frog Journal

~ Sue Bruce

Last week in social studies, the Kindergarten class was able to talk about perseverance. We were introduced to the topic by a story from Scottish tradition called Bruce and the Spider. It is a story all about how a spider had to try eight times in order to attach his web to the side of a cave, and Robert the Bruce learned to persevere in order to free his people from England. As a class we talked about what it meant to not give up. It was wonderful to see the way the students picked up on it. They saw that it related to their reading and writing, and they saw it in our Bible stories when we were talking about the early followers of Jesus. It was a lesson I hope the students will keep with them as they go on through their education and life.

~ Ms. Cassie Mock

At VVA, excellence, good character, and service to others is important to us.  But where can we find instructions to know how to do each of these things well and in a way that glorifies God?

From the beginning of the school year, each student learns how to find their way through the Bible when we are in our chapel times and Bible classes.  It’s been encouraging to see the older students help the younger students find verses in the Bible that we read and discuss together.  When we find the verse, we read it together several times.  Then we ask questions about what these verses tell us about God, about ourselves, and how we need to obey what we have just read-TODAY!  They laugh, ask new questions, and are amazed at what God’s Word tell us.  It’s been a blessing to see our students give confident answers from God’s Word to tough questions.  God has made His word accessible and understandable to curious minds and open hearts.

We always pray that our students will want to look to God’s Word for answers to every question that life gives them.  “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path”  (Psalm 119:105)

Thank you for entrusting your children to us.  We have been blessed to watch them grow in wisdom, and in stature, and in favor with God and man-just like Jesus!  (Luke 2:52)

With Thankfulness to God for your children,

~ Miss Andrea Miller

I would like to compare the beginning and now. I saw the progress of every child in all stages of development. Emotionally, they have learned not to cry when they stay at school. In playing and sharing, in the beginning, it was difficult for some. They did not interact much with others during the playing time. But now they play together. Cognitively, some of them now know counting and colors. They like to sing songs that help them remember concepts. They have learned many new words. Remember to help your child at home so they will not forget all that they have leaned in school.

~ Miss Claudette

On Saturday, May 21st, Virunga Valley Academy had a ceremony honoring its first High School Graduates as Abby Miller and Stephen Crowson completed their secondary education! This is a very exciting time for our whole school!

Abby and Stephen have set a wonderful example for our younger students, they inspire them and encourage them, and have invested personally in each student. They will be deeply missed by the student body and staff here at VVA, but we are so excited to support them and encourage them in this next phase of their life!

Abby Miller will be taking a gap year next year, spending some time with her family in America and then exploring Europe! After that she plans on studying Education. Stephen Crowson will be traveling this summer in Israel and Greece, and then will study Engineering at Harding University beginning in the fall.

~ Sarah Wheeler

Before starting preschool 1 many of my students didn’t like sharing the toys. Now they share with their friends and play together. Before they didn’t know how to wait their turn, now they raise their hand to speak and wait for others to finish talking. Before they only knew a few letters, now most know the whole alphabet and some can write their names. Before they cried if things didn’t go their way. Now they know how to use their big voices and cooperate with their friends. Before they didn’t understand English. Now they can follow directions, answer questions and speak in full sentences in English. I am so proud of the many ways my students have grown this year. I am excited to see all that they will accomplish next year in preschool 2. Congratulation for finishing preschool 1!

~ Miss Christine

The secondary students know the importance of setting goals for yourself and working smartly towards meeting those goals. The high schoolers set goals for how much they want to accomplish in each quarter (or 9 week period) so that they will finish all of their classes by the end of our school year. Then each week they plan what they need to do in order to meet that goal. During the last few weeks, we’ve been meeting to discuss their progress and to readjust their plans if necessary.

The 7th graders have learned to set specific goals in English class this month. They chose 3 goals that they wanted to focus on for a creative writing project. This helps to give them a direction in their writing, and to understand their own strengths and weaknesses.

Learning how to set goals, make plans, and readjust your plans based on your actual progress are skills that will help our students in university and in whatever endeavors they choose to pursue in life!

~ Ms. Sarah Wheeler

Kindergarten and First Grade has had a great semester this year. We have enjoyed learning all kinds of new things. The students especially love learning about how they are a part of God’s world around them. In social studies, we have been learning about the different communities that we are a part of. In this unit the students learned about the different things that a community needs, such as community workers, economics, and government. At the end of the unit, the students designed a city based on what they learned. It was a lot of fun, and the students were very creative in how they wanted their city to look!

~ Ms. Cassie Mock