The VVA Student Council is a strong force for service. It organizes the monthly Movie Nights, Hospital Visits, and puppet shows that are put on at Muffin Chapel from time to time. Most recently, the Student Council has been working on building a shelter for pigs at a boys’ home near VVA, I.B.I.B. The Student Council’s Spiritual Director, Tresor, first had the idea to provide two pigs for the boys so that they would be able to make some money. From that idea, the Public Relations officer, Asher, designed the shelter in which the pigs would live. The President, Aidan, and the Secretary, Mollie, have been integral in organizing fundraisers and goals to meet in order to have enough resources and time to finish the project. The Vice President, Matthew, was vital in collecting the supplies and transporting them to the boys’ home.

The Student Council members have shown their strengths and diversity during this process. A few of the members demonstrated remarkable work ethic, whereas others displayed their organizational skills. The shelter itself took two mornings to complete, and on each of those days the boys living at the home present were more than willing to pitch in and help in the construction. The combined willingness and teamwork of each of the members of the Student Council made this project possible, and even more so efficient. It is incredible the amount of work and service that can get accomplished when a group of Christians decides to effect change. The Student Council is inspiring, and I look forward to seeing the many ways they contribute to their community as a group and as individuals in the future.

~ Matthew

One of our favorite topics to learn about in Kindergarten was our author studies. We got to really look at the way an author writes and illustrates. Two of their favorites were Mo Willems and Laura Numeroff. These two have to completely different styles of writing, but the students realized that they still enjoyed all of their books.

They loved learning about how authors are inspired, and how that inspiration gets put into a story. These kids loved seeing how God has made us to use our minds creatively, and how that creativity does not show itself in the same way, even when we are doing the same thing like writing a book. It has been really fun to really dig into the literature that we read in class every day, and try to replicate it.

This has been a wonderful year of learning in the Kindergarten class!  We have enjoyed discovering many things about a variety of topics, and now we are ready for graduation! The students are so excited to move on to another grade and another year full of adventure.

~ Cassie

I am very excited to talk about Nursery Class. We have seven children in our class, three boys and four girls. We always begin our class with a song and a prayer. We are learning about many things such as: school materials, clothing, kitchen items, food, drinks, domestic animals, wild animals, nature, and parts of the body.

We also recently introduced colors and shapes. Everyone also has developed some alphabetic and counting skills. I am very happy to see how the nursery class has courage to learn many things as they progress very quickly.

~ Esther

Two of our recent Social Studies units in 2nd grade have helped our students learn a very important lesson: Women can change the world! The first unit focused on people who changed the world, and several of the historical figures studied included strong women who made a big difference in the world, many of them during a time when women were not given equal opportunities. These included Florence Nightengale, who transformed the practice of nursing and Emelia Earhart, who was one of the pioneers of long-distance flight.

During our economics unity, our study of the economy of Musanze culminated with a visit to two local businesses, La Paillotte and Volcana Lounge, both popular local restaurants run by women (and VVA mommas Bela and Fanny)! The girls were excited and inspired to learn that women can start and manage businesses. It is our hope that seeds have been planted in their hearts that will help them to dream big and change the world in their own ways in the future!

~ Andrea

Back in February we had a fun afternoon celebrating 100 days in First Grade. With all the learning that goes on at V.V.A. we couldn’t help it, we were 100 days smarter!

In Math we have learnt new strategies to add and subtract; in reading we are using expressions and working out new words independently; we are becoming fluent writers and we have learnt a lot about the world around us- how things move, how different cultures celebrate and how animals survive.

It hasn’t all been about new information though.  We have also become smarter thinkers.  We have learnt to observe closely, compare others ideas with our own, make predictions based on the information we have and be creative problem solvers.  Great skills that we can use throughout the rest of our education and life!

Having a ‘smart heart’ is just as important – In Ephesians 4:32 it tells us to ‘be kind and loving to one another’.   What a great difference we can make in our community if we can think and act ‘Smarter’!

By the end of the year we will be close to 160 days smarter so look out 2nd Grade – here we come!

~ Heather

For the past two weeks in Preschool 1 we have been talking about how to be safe and healthy. We have covered topics like nutritious eating, hand washing, covering our cough and sneeze, and brushing our teeth. In one center, the students have enjoyed dressing like doctors and administering care to each other. In math we are working on identifying patterns. We have looked for patterns we can see and listened for patterns we can hear both in the classroom and outside in nature. We continue to work on letter recognition, syllables, shapes, colors and counting. I am proud of each of my student’s progress.

~ Christine

What does a good learner do?

Super Hero Learners (as we like to call them) are ready to learn, listen, ask questions, take a risk and don’t give up even when learning is tricky.

It is hard to believe that the first semester is nearly over for this school year.  As the newcomer to VVA I have loved this time of getting to know the children and the wider school family.

First Grade has lived up to their reputation of being a great bunch of children!  They love learning about anything and everything and can be heard talking and sharing with others, even over lunch eating!  “Did you know you’re eating a seed” says Jonathan after learning that corn and peas are seeds during our plant study.

The children enjoyed our Science focus on the Earth earlier this semester.  We learnt about different landforms and created fantastic paper models.  We also got to explore rocks, different types of soil and found out how and what effect there is when land changes through erosion and weathering.

One of the most important questions we have talked about in First Grade this semester is, ‘what does a good learner do?’  Super Hero Learners (as we like to call them) are ready to learn, listen, ask questions, take a risk and don’t give up even when learning is tricky.  We try really hard to put these into practice and what great character traits to learn now as we know we never stop learning!

~ Heather

During our “Community Helpers” study Dr. Franklin and Mama Frank explained doctor visit procedures, and allowed the children to listen to their heartbeats. It was not only educational, but it put the children at ease to understand what the doctor does and why.  They do not need to be afraid.

On a tour of the Kanimba Clinic the children especially enjoyed visiting the dental and eye doctor offices.  However, the highlight of the tour was sitting in an ambulance.

~ Sue

The Renaissance was a big subject in the 8th Grade’s study of history this semester. One of the most well-known artists during this time was Michelangelo.

Perhaps his most famous painting was of the Sistine Chapel. This impressive work of art spans the ceiling of the giant dome inside this structure.

If Michelangelo could do it, then so could the 8th Grade class at VVA. And so we “painted” the ceiling of our classroom.

The kids decided to depict a world in which each of them (and me) created his or her very own nation. We each carefully crafted large continents, adding special features that made the different lands individual. Across the world, you can see mountains, volcanoes, rivers, islands, farms, cities, castles, and even armies going to war. Not only was this a lesson in Renaissance painting, but also in geography!

This Michelangelo ceiling painting activity was a delight to watch as it developed over the course of about two weeks. I was able to see each student’s ideas and creativity come to life on the paper. I was also able to see how they worked together in some ways and in others were competitive in what they could accomplish in their nation.

Stories unfolded onto the paper as trade ships traveled to other nations, some trade cities were raided, and armies crossed the seas to wage wars on others.

Overall, the students seemed to be highly engaged in their work, and they will not forget the story of Michelangelo any time soon.

~ Matthew