Caterpillar our Butterfly….?

“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly.”  By Richard Bach 

NOW...this is the final week of school at the Learning Center. Beginning next week, the students will start their summer and will return to school in February 2016. But, this has been another fantastic year for us all and the great news continues.

First, Lisa Baldwin, is our all-star teacher in Virginia who last year introduced her 5th graders at

High Point Elementary School in Bristol, Virginia to the Learning Center students by exchanging Pen Pal letters. Lisa has taken on a new role in education as the traveling music teacher for three elementary schools. One school is located in a very small town, Sugar Grove, Virginia. The town is just a little larger than Copey with a population around 700. See the Pen Pal letter below that has been sent to the Learning Center. Similar to the K-Kids in Washington State, this is another wonderful opportunity for young students to get to know each other and share learning experiences. We now have kids on the west side and the east side of the country getting involved and becoming special “Friends”.  

Thank you Ms. “B”!

The K-Kids tried to connect via Skype with the Learning Center students last Tuesday but the connection would not work. We have worked out the bugs now but we have to wait until school resumes in February before we can get all of the students together again to do a Skype session. We are very disappointed over the lost opportunity but also very excited about the next opportunity.

The K-Kids did receive a special video message from the Learning Center in spite of the lost Skype opportunity. It is “precious” and we are trying to get the video set up as a “UTube” video for your viewing as well. Check in on the  next Post.

REMEMBER our great news last week?  It is real….we are planning to send one or two students from Copey to Emory & Henry College in June 2016 for a couple of weeks of on-campus classes and touring beautiful southwest, Virginia. The students from Copey will have to go through a selection process since several students are showing a very strong interest in traveling to the US. Angela along with her staff will have the challenging decision to select the best students for this very unique travel experience.  Angela has also been invited to join the the students on their trip to the college. If she travels, she is expected to have the opportunity to meet with faculty and staff to discuss the education in Costa Rica and build bridges of understanding. “Friends” keep an eye on this developing project as it will become a very significant achievement in time.

So…we have another surprise involving the college. But, you have to stay tuned to hear the details. We are still putting this together.This is a very busy time and several people are going the extra mile to do some phenomenal things under the banner of “Friends”.

In the next few Posts, I will share photos of the graduation at the Learning Center, share some of the best comments I have received from “Friends” this school year, and continue bringing you updates on some really important developments. Thank you for being “Friends”.

NASCAR UPDATE

What a year of racing for Jeff Gordon! The final championship race is coming up Sunday and Jeff Gordon is one of the four drivers eligible to win the championship. This is amazing! Whether you are a NASCAR fan or not, tune in and watch the possibility of history being made. Jeff, driving his final race could be crowned Sprint Cup Champion for the 5th time on his way to retirement. One last time…Go #24!