Last bell...

This was the last week of school for the kids. Josie had a "cv-ya-toe" which means festive celebration in honor of completing first class. It was a time for reciting verses and singing songs for the parents. Although it was cute to see each kid dressed up to the max and saying verses in Ukrainian, after an hour we got a little antsy. Josie did well with her lines. We were very proud parents!

After the festivities, the kids went to eat lunch and the parents were left to decide what to do to remodel the classroom. I guess this is normal for all classes at the end of the year. All of the parents are expected to help pitch in money and labor. It was a little intimidating for us because the parents all seemed to have different opinions and suggestions and they made them known in loud voices all at the same time. We have no idea what they decided but we are sure we will get a call soon to inform us of the decision.






Then on Saturday morning, there was the "last bell" celebration with all the classes getting together, performing, handing out flowers to teachers, and a graduation ceremony for the seniors. Serogia, from our church, graduated this year and it was great to celebrate with him.







The decision to put our kids in school was a difficult one, but we felt that God was leading us to do so. We are glad that we made that decision and have seen the Lord's hand in it. They have learned so much this year and have started to make friendships and speak the language. We pray that our family would reflect God's love to the other children, parents and teachers in our community!