March 17, 2006. It was Tin-tin s graduation day. Excited ang lahat, parents, students, teachers..as if nasa Pinas ang feeling. Yung mga 4th year medyo may iyakan kasi uuwi na sila sa Pinas, wala naman kasing college dito para sa mga OFW.

More or less ay nasa 60 students ang graduates sa elementary at around 45 students naman sa highschool. Marami na sila compared sa ibang Philippine School dito sa KSA. Unlike sa Pinas na halos maubos na yung alphabet sa dami ng sections. Kung nasa bandang huli naman yung family name mo eh malamang inaantok na yung mga tao bago ka matawag.

Kapag lumampas ng 30 students dito sa isang section eh hinahati na agad. Sa atin tanda ko pa eh nasa 50 yata kami sa isang section.

Here are some pictures during tin s graduation

Justin is already 7 years old, so bilang katoliko dapat na syang mag 1st comunyon(the correct word is blocked). Akala namin nung una eh wala dito sa place namin dahil nasa lugar kami na bawal mag practice ng sariling relihiyon.

Then , nalaman namin na meron din pala, patago nga lang. Pati yung pari eh di pwedeng magsuot ng damit ng isang pari talaga (sa picture taking lang naman). At nakakatuwa na may mga grupo dito na sinisikap maging malapit sa Diyos kahit nasa lugar na ipinagbabawal nga ang mga ganito.

Kaya kahit malayo kami sa Pilipinas ay nagagawa pa rin ang mga bagay na nakasanayan na ayon sa ating paniniwala tulad ng pagsisimba at iba pa. Hindi nga lang yata nagkakasal ang pari dito.

Some pictures taken during the ceremony.

Tin-tin celebrated their much-awaited GS Prom. Yes, it is GS and not the traditional and well-known JS Prom in highschool. GS stands for Grade School.

It was a night to remember for the grade six students of IPSA (International Philippine School in Al-Khobar).

Last year, we were in the Philippines for our annual vacation. My kids were asking on how we celebrate All Saint’s Day during November 1. We went to my father-in-law’s grave to show them what a cemetery or memorial park is?

Akala yata ni Joshua eh playground ang memorial park, di mapigilan sa pagtakbo. Nahinto lang nung ipaliwanag namin na may patay sa ilalim nun..hehehe..natakot yata. Lalong humaba ang paliwanagan, ano raw ba yung patay?

Here are some pictures…sorry po dun sa mga napaglaruan ni Josh.

Joshua’s teacher in pre-school uses smilies for the parents to know what is happening inside the classroom.(parang smilies sa tagboard)

When Tin-tin and Justin were in pre-school, they come home with this smiley. Hhhmmm..smart kids.

Now, it is Joshua s turn. We didn’t know that there were lots of smilies pala in school. Isa-isa silang ipinakilala sa amin ni Joshua.

First, he got this one…

This is tweety. You know tweety right? A very talkative birdie.

Second, he got this one…

This is a ghost. When you are not participating in the discussion as if you are not there, you are not visible, so you are a ghost.

Third, he got this one….

This is a scarecrow. The teacher is giving this when a child is playing rough. But Joshua said he was just playing with his classmates and he has no intention of hurting them while playing.

Joshua is only 5 years old , a big boy compared to his other classmates. So just imagine habang naglalaro sila eh mabangga nya yung kalaro eh di tumilapon este bumagsak. Syempre umiyak yung classmate kaya nagkaroon sya ng scarecrow.

Lately , he came home with this one.

This is a sad face.

Here is our conversation:

Me: Why you have sad face? What did you do in school?

Joshua: Mama, I do not know. I did not do anything.

Me: Ok. I will just call your teacher.

I talked to the teacher and she told me everything. Joshua was right. He did not do anything.

-He did not do his seatwork.
-He did not listen to the teacher.
-He did not solve his math problems.
-He did not do anything at all that day!