Dear friends,
Yi-ling (Janice), my new co-teacher, taught some of our fourth graders how to sing the "Hello, Goodbye" song by the Beatles. If you're inclined to learn the lyrics and sing-along with our fourth graders, scroll down. Enjoy!

Some of the lyrics:
You say yes, I say no
You say stop and I say go, go, go
Oh, no
You say goodbye and I say hello
Hello, Hello
I don't know why you say goodbye
I say hello
Hello, Hello
I don't know why you say goodbye
I say hello

I say high, you say low,
You say why, and I say I don't know
Oh, no
You say goodbye and I say hello
Hello, hello
I don't know why you say goodbye
I say hello
Hello, hello
I don't know why you say goodbye
I say hello

You can also find a link to this video here.

Dear friends,
Since school started again, I have not updated as frequently as I did last semester. Don't worry, though, as soon as everything gets rolling again, you will see weekly posts. I'm adjusting back to school life and I've been very busy these past few weeks.

Chia-Ling, my old co-teacher, has received a position at Keelung University (North of Taipei) to teach Curriculum and Instruction in the Education department. Congratulations, Chia-Ling! I am now teaching with a new co-teacher, Yi-Ling (or Janice). Yi-Ling has previously taught English at cram school (buxiban), or schools that teach a subject intensively for two hours or more in the evening after regular day school. So, she is pretty experienced in teaching English. She is very nice and I look forward to spending more time getting to know her.

Here is a picture of Yi-Ling (Janice) and me:

And here is  a picture of me with all my co-teachers, past and present, at Hua Shan Elementary School's English Village classroom:

Pictured above (from left): Me, Ashley, Chia-Ling, and Yi-Ling.

I co-teach with Ashley all the 5th graders at Hua Shan Elementary School. Yi-Ling (Janice) has taken over all of Chia-Ling's old classes so I still co-teach the 4th graders, the 6th graders, and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders have their own special English time for half an hour each week. The 4th, 5th, and 6th graders have two periods of Enlish a week.

I look forward to a great semester with my fabulous co-teachers.

Dear friends,
I'm back from my trip to mainland China and Hong Kong. School started last Wednesday, February 11, but I had to go in one day earlier because I had teacher meetings.

Before I left for China, I was given very special gifts from the Counseling Director of Hua Shan Elementary School. Her two daughters, Lily (whose previous name was "Toyota") and Mazda, bought me a special gift from Penghu, an island off of Taiwan that is known for their beautiful minerals and rocks. They gave me a seashell wind charm, which is just gorgeous (See picture to the left). I'm not too sure how I'm going to get it back to the United States, but I'm sure I'll figure something out. The entire wind charm is made of special seashells found in that area of Penghu.

The Counseling Director's family also gave me my own stamp made out of the special rocks in Penghu. The rock has my name engraved on the bottom and it's fairly big (See picture below).

My students love receiving stamps in class and now they can receive one with their teacher's name on it! Although the stamp is a bit huge, I think the students will like it.

Here is what the inside of the lid says:

I'd like to say "Thank you" to Lily, Mazda, my Counseling Director, and her family! What beautiful and memorable gifts! Thank you so much =D