Kvarta Movie Nights

My 4.1 class is awesome. Really. You should know them.

It's quite possible that this class drives some teachers mad, but for me, they have just the right blend of desire to learn, desire to talk, and desire to express themselves individually that they have quickly become a favorite class of mine. No doubt part of it is also their desire to get to know me, too, which is really exciting and clearly evident each class session and when my students pass me in the halls. I normally end up chatting it up with some of the boys as we wait in the lunch line, and sometimes I go sit with some of the girls in the cafeteria because they're just that much fun (and because, let's face it, they know more English than most of the teachers in the teacher's dining room).

There are about 16 girls in this class of 30, and they are a blast and a half! From the beginning, several of the girls were keeping me in class after the bell so they could chat for fun. And, unlike some students, these girls aren't shy when we happen to be riding the same tram, and we strike up an easy conversation. While chatting with two really stellar students, Veronika and Judy, at the end of November, I suggested a movie day sometime at my flat. They were stoked about the idea, so we set the date.

At 4pm on December 12, eleven Kvarta girls arrived at my flat for an evening of movies. They were so excited to be in the school (remember, that's where my flat is) when it was closed, so excited to watch Christmas movies, and so excited to hang out with each other and ME! I really felt to loved and appreciated. I made cookies and ordered pizza, and I also learned a lot about Czech hospitality -- EVERY student brought food to eat and then left all leftovers at my place at the end of the night! It was a great night. We crowded around my computer to watch THREE movies -- Home Alone, While You Were Sleeping, and Christmas Vacation (keep in mind these movies where in English with English subtitles only, so the girls did really well understanding!) -- took ten bazillion photos after they found my camera, and had some pretty good discussions. There are about a million books at my flat thanks to ESI teachers just leaving their collections here over the years, so several of the girls were browsing the titles and asking me about my favorite books. Veronika, who is a Christian, saw my copy of Bible 21 and asked me why I had it, knowing I myself can't yet read Czech. I was able to tell her plainly that it's there in case anybody ever wants a copy.

At the end of the night, the girls were all talking about the next movie night. So....hopefully I will be able to host a couple more movie nights for this awesome class in 2010, too!

Veronika, Terka, and Ilooking through the bookshelves.

The girls crowding around some pictures of my family and friends.

Katie, Adela, Judy, and Majda watching the movie.

Sally and Saly!

Terka, Alca, and Veronika enjoy the tasty pizza (thanks Pizza West!)

So far this year, though, I haven't had any girls over to my flat but have been to the movie theater with three of them. This past Thursday we headed over to the Village Cinemas to check out the remake of FAME! I felt just like these 14- and 15-year-old girls, heading to the theater to see the latest Step Up-like movie, filled with teen heart-throbs and awesome dance moves. (In truth, I think Step Up is a little bit better, and now I really am kicking myself for not watching the original Fame first, but anyway...) We had a great time sharing a bucket of popcorn and singing the songs afterward, and I'm pretty sure the girls didn't think it was too awkward that they went to a movie with their teacher ;) Actually, we might have to make the next movie marathon "performing arts"-themed, now that they know my love for that type of movie.