Navajo Lutheran Mission Feb 2014 Newsletter
The latest Navajo Lutheran Mission newsletter can be found at this link. Thanks to Deb Jones for sharing with us.
Navajo Mission
Navajo Lutheran Ministry Newsletter November
Advent Group Spend Week at the
|
| Suzanne and Alison helped out at the mission school while Barbara and Kathleen helped out at the Hozho Café and planned the Health Fair. Suzanne worked with Mr. Chee in the 4th-6th grade classroom while Alison assisted Mrs. Wagon in grades 1-3. Hans was on hand to lead morning fitness routines as well as present health and fitness lectures to the students of the school. Kathy and Barbara organized and ran a Health Fair with the great assistance of Navajo nurse aide Marina Elliott for the Navajo Community which was attended by students and adults. Blood pressure and blood sugar screenings / tests were given and people were encouraged to ask questions and take literature. We also organized a Field Day for the children featuring several different games of skill and hand/eye coordination. The persistent wind of the area made some of the games a challenge but the children soon figured out a way to make things work! The children were each given a bag of prizes to take home, which also included books donated by members of Advent and literature about healthy eating brought by Kathy. Kathy prepared several recipes based on typically eaten foods which were well received by community and school members. |
|
During the week-long stay, the members of the delegation were also able to explore the outlying grounds of the mission and other parts of the reservation. Led by Pastors Lynn and Deborah Hubbard, all five members of Advent hiked Canyon de Chelly. The group also visited Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, and saw the historic Goulding Trading Post and Museum. During the week, the weather ranged from windy to rainy and the group was able to get a feel for how vast and arid much of the Navajo Reservation is. The group asked for the Navajo word for “team”, and were given the translation of Ahxil Na’anish, which means “working together.”
|
||||
|
The delegation left the mission on October 12, feeling that it indeed was not enough time, but grateful for the experience and wanting to return. There is talk of a Navajo Sunday at Advent Lutheran Church in the spring of 2013. The members of the delegation are hoping to bring more awareness to the mission and specifically, to the children who are the last ones at the mission school in need of sponsors. Note: This article was written by Suzanne Chadwick, who thanked us for a life changing experience, and was prior to Super Storm Sandy hitting New York City! We are happy to report that the group is all fine, and Advent Lutheran Church is assisting in the relief efforts. |
Navajo Lutheran Ministry Newsletter
Back to School!
On August 15th, 47 kids showed up at our Mission School ready for the challenge of another academic year! Our new principal Clarence Begay and teachers Pauline Wagon, Betty Tsosie and Michael Chee were there to greet our eager youngsters, while Executive Director Lynn Hubbard took pictures of the kids getting their new backpacks. Thanks to Pastor Larry Kassebaum of Victory Lutheran Church in Mesa, especially Lori Wick of God’s Girls, these backpacks were filled with school supplies, and the children’s faces lit up in delight when they opened them.
We were also blessed to have some excellent training for our teachers. Melody Simmons with Saxon Math was here for training on August 14th, and the first week of August Roene Cammack (Sedona Lutheran Church) and her niece Andrea Guillaume (expert in curriculum development and training) traveled to our school to update the teachers on the state core standards. They practiced developing a plan; infusing a lesson with the Common Core; deconstructing standards; checking for the rigor of learning in lesson plans (taxonomy level); putting generalities into daily activities; developing a mind-set for Bell2Bell learning, etc.
Roene and Andrea explained how there are 3 taxonomies to check the cognition level of skills; how digital learning is part of each lesson; how education has moved through the No Child Left Behind focus on math and reading skills, back to an incorporation of using arts to promote teaching and learning basic skills, and how there is a greater focus on reading non-fiction material.
Comparing their time together to a beautiful Navajo rug, Clarence said everyone contributed to what was woven together in beauty. The teachers said they were encouraged and inspired to take the basics of Core Knowledge from previous years, and enhance the new Common Core curriculum that focuses on critical thinking. Always the competitor, Clarence wants to be ahead of other schools on the Navajo Nation, and lead the way to excellence in elementary education!
Roene said the teachers were creative and focused on planning toward developing higher-level thinking students. She was impressed with our new “team”, and said she had always dreamed of teaching with the Navajo people. Being able to work with her niece as well was “an unexpected dream come true”, she said. They left being followed by rainbows…so thanks Roene, Andrea, and all our Mission Partners who helped make the beginning of our school year so full of hope! 