3rd year in China!!

     I can't believe that I have begun my 3rd year of teaching!!  We have now been back in school for 3 weeks.  I'm getting back into the swing of things, and really enjoying this year.  I've got 14 students that speak four different languages:  English, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese.  My students' ability levels range from native English speaker with really high reading level to kids that speak a smattering of English.    I have really enjoyed getting to know my students and look forward to seeing what all they will accomplish this year.  
     Last year we were given folders and instructions on what to do if we needed to evacuate.  I never thought that this event would be possible.  But after today...you can never know what to expect.  When I was coming back in to the building after dismissal, I saw a large thick black cloud.  At first, I thought it was a normal cloud, and went to my meeting.  However, we soon realized that something nearby was on fire.  The smoke was really thick and quite fast.  We were soon told that there had been an explosion at a nearby factory.  Our meeting ended then and there, and we were told to go home as fast as we could because the smoke was potentially toxic.  We found out about an hour later that school had been cancelled tomorrow.  There is still the possibility that we may have to evacuate, but we're hoping it won't come to that.  We have suitcases packed anyway, just in case we are told that we have to leave.   There are no updates right now on how many people are dead, injured, or missing.  A lot of the students at our school have dads that work at this factory.  We're hoping that all of their dads are OK and have not been affected by this tragedy.  Please continue to lift up our area in this time of great tragedy and loss.