My insurance has "incentives" for both Bob and I to wear our Fitbits, so each year I tend to wear my Fitbit down here to both be able to tell the time as well as for it to count the number of steps I have each day (to report back to the insurance company for the "incentives"). In 2022, my Fitbit wristband broke from being in the house with the toddlers and them playing with it all day long...pulling on it, constantly turning it on and grabbing at it. This year, I came prepared. I ordered extra wristbands to pack just in case this were to happen again. My wristband has not broken yet. However, I did notice last night that my end-of-the-day sync from my Fitbit watch to the Fitbit app on my phone was not working. I didn't think much of it, just went to bed and figured I would sync in the morning. Well, this morning the watch didn't want to sync with the app either. So I googled what to do if my model of watch wouldn't sync with the app. The first suggestion in my Google search didn't work. Neither did the second, third or fourth suggestion. The fifth suggestion has a sequence of instructions that looked like it was going to take a long time, as well as 2 links embedded within the instructions of processes that I would need to do. After over an hour of working through each Google suggestion on how to sync my Fitbit watch to my Fitbit app on my phone, it was this 5th suggestion and it's extremely long process that finally worked. So my Fitbit is now back in business. Thank God!
I used the rest of the morning to wrap up the 9th grade lesson on geometry polygons (types, interior angles and their sums, exterior angle measurements, central angle measurements) before heading to the school to teach that class that began at 8:20am. I was surprised to see there were only 6 students in this class! What a small class, but definitely more one-on-one attention for them. They said that although there were a lot of notes to take, they thought I made the lesson really easy for them! YAY!
After the 9th grade geometry class, the students were released for recess. I went over to ask Profe Jorge when the tests were and he said that all high school students would be taking their test this Thursday and Friday. So then I asked him whether the 10th graders needed more review with trigonometry or with vectors because with only one class left before the test, I would only be able to review one of those concepts as BOTH got quite in depth. Trigonometry covered all 6 trig functions from in introduction to trigonometry through degrees and radians. Vectors covered an introduction to vectors through working with vectors using polar coordinates (something I haven't done in over 20 years). Profe Jorge said to review the trigonometry since that was the oldest.
While chatting with Profe Jorge, one of the 10th graders came up to me to ask if I could bring him a calculator. I had brought 5 scientific calculators down here that I had picked up at either garage sales or thrift stores over the past years for nickels on the dollar, for students in the upper grades that did not have their own. So I told him I would run (not literally) up to the house and grab one for him in order for him to be able to more efficiently do his homework. I brought the others down as well for the 2 other students who said they didn't have their own and let them choose which they preferred, as there were 4 different makes/models of calculators that I had.
When I got back to the Girls Volunteer House, I used the rest of the morning to prep for the Trigonometry that I would be reviewing tomorrow. After about an hour of prep time, my mind needed a break to sort out a logical route to review from where I had left off, so I used that time to sweep the kitchen, dining room, and living room areas here in the Girls Volunteer House. The areas are all open concept and it is a LARGE room. Back when I first started coming, there would be over 20 girls sharing this 4 bedroom house, and often they would have to turn the front room (which was used sort of as just an extra room) into a 5th bedroom just to house all of the volunteers that would come. Now, it is just Anna, Olivia, me and Nora. Anna and Olivia leave on Monday, and Nora was told by Danielle that she will be the last volunteer of the summer. I pray that Emmanuel can get back to those huge numbers of volunteers that came years ago, to help alleviate some of the staff members from the burden of responsibilities they must now have due to an extremely low number of volunteers in these most recent years. If you feel led to come down here and volunteer, if even just for a week, please do get in contact with me and I will get you all of the information you need!
As I walked to the Comedor for lunch, a boy came up to me to tell me that Brithany had misbehaved in school and that she wouldn't be able to go to the store today. I let the boy know that I wasn't planning on taking her to the store today anyway, but thanked him for letting me know. As I entered the Comedor, another girl came up to me to let me know that Brithany was "naughty" in school today. It is amazing how fast word travels here at the orphanage...definitely as fast as gossip passes in middle schools in the United States, if not moreso! I decided not to head over to the toddler section to chat with Brithany or to offer her my flavored water today (like I have done every day since I've been here) because of her behavior in school. Perhaps my absence from that area would set something off in her to remember to behave a little better for the teacher in school tomorrow.
By the afternoon, I had finished the trigonometry review and began working on the 8th grade lessons, wrapping up with multiplying binomials. The book teaches special rules, however I am just going to stick with the FOIL method so that the students can become as proficient in that as possible.
We were served beans, rice, cheese and tortillas for supper and in the Comedor Noah let me know that Danielle was trying to get a hold of me because some of the older girls in the Baby House that she is in charge of needed help reviewing for their math tests. So after supper, I headed to the Baby House to check in with them and set up a day/time that would work for me to go there to work with them. By the time I got to the Team House, Danielle was driving past and stopped to let me know that she had girls that needed help...so I told her I was just headed that way to check in on a good day/time to help them. She offered a ride and since it had been raining most of the day, I took it (although that meant I would have to make up the steps for my Fitbit some other way). The girls and I settled on meeting tomorrow after lunch when the babies would be napping.
After arranging the tutoring session, I walked over to the Toddler House which is just across the "street" from the Baby House and I spent a little time with Brithany before heading back to the Girls Volunteer House. When she saw me, she came running to tell me she had behaved badly in school, and I let her know I had already heard and that it was important that she listened to the teacher and did what the teacher wanted her to do in class each day. She was one of the only children who had not yet finished supper, so I took her back over by Dunia who was feeding her. Some team members came over to the Toddler House to do activities with the children, so when Brithany's name was called, then I decided it would be time to head back to the Girls Volunteer House for the night.
I had a great chat with Nora before heading to bed, while Olivia and Anna headed to the church to practice the music that would be played in church tomorrow after supper.
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