Today’s Quisqueya News update will help you get to know a few faces commonly seen around Quisqueya’s campus.
Mrs. DeBlaeij teaches our littlest Quisqueya Eagles in PreK through 1st graders. She is from the Netherlands and speaks Dutch. She has five grandchildren in Canada and the Netherlands, and has served in Haiti for many years. She is a very talented baker- especially her delicious pies!
Mrs. Jean-Charles teaches 2nd-4th graders at Quisqueya. She loves spending time with her elementary-age daughter and teenage son.
Mrs. Heath teaches our 5th and 6th graders, preparing them for junior high coursework. Mrs. Heath works with CSI Ministries and loves her little dog, Levi.
Junior high and high school students attend Bible classes with Mr. Day. Mr Day is from Dallas, Texas and loves soccer. He also loves riding motorcycles.
Mr. Kulpa teaches 7th-12th graders in math and sciences. Mr. Kulpa has lived in Florida and Canada, has a cat named Peter, and is famous for his beard!
Mr. DeKoter is our Quisqueya principal. He is a proud Canadian! Mr. DeKoter has a long history of service in Haiti and in the field of education, and he is joined here in Port-au-Prince by his wife, Mary. He loves the television series Chuck.
Mr. Blesh is working hard to coordinate technology for both the school and the Quisqueya earthquake relief efforts. Mr. Blesh spent time in the US Navy, has five children with his wife Denise, and is a “Mac person”.
Mr. Steinhauer is the leader of all the earthquake relief work based at Quisqueya, including the coordination of the many mission teams of doctors staying at the school. Mr. Steinhauer grew up in Haiti and has very strong Kreyol skills. He just welcomed the arrival of his eighth grandchild two weeks ago!
Mr. Hersey is the director of Quisqueya Christian School. He loves spending time with his wife, Ruth, and their two kids. Mr. Hersey is an avid reader who enjoys cooking Japanese food- he grew up as a missionary kid in Japan.
Mrs. Vervloet is another QCS staff member from the Netherlands. She works hard coordinating many jobs including intake of new medical teams, registrar duties, and alumni relations. One of her lifelong dreams was to ride in a helicopter, and her wish was fulfilled yesterday when she got to assist in a helicopter delivery of medicines to a Haitian hospital in need.
We love our Quisqueya team!
Posted 1 year, 12 months ago at 5:26 pm. Add a comment
Here at the Quisqueya earthquake relief center, more doctors are arriving daily to assist with medical needs. We have welcomed new teams from Long Island, Mercyworks (Seattle), Christian Medical Network, Colorado Springs, One Heart Ministries (Kansas), University of Maryland, Catholic Relief Services, Aimer Haiti, Delta International (Oregon), Jesus in Haiti (Indiana), and Comprehensive Disaster Response Services. The 175 – 200 medical relief workers staying on our campus include firefighters, chaplains, paramedics, doctors, nurses, physical therapists, and midwives.
In the last few days, the medical relief effort has moved from a phase characterized by a high volume of critical surgeries and untreated earthquake injuries into a new phase of more post-operative care with a renewed emphasis on public health and infectious disease prevention. At our nightly meeting of all the medical teams’ leaders, the discussions are beginning to move from how to handle having too many surgeons and now enough operating rooms into the new area of general public health. We continue to coordinate patient transfer around Port-au-Prince and greater Haiti to get patients to the facility and specialists that best suit their needs. We continue to discover new operating medical facilities to add to our network of connected and communicating providers of care, including a just-established German Red Cross facility set up at a soccer stadium near Carrefour. We also continue to work to overcome challenges such as a lack of x-ray, ventilator, and CAT scan capabilities at many hospitals.
One of our earthquake relief center’s primary concerns is alleviating the future health problems associated with contaminated water due to rain and inadequate toilet facilities in many tent cities. Last night our doctors’ meeting featured a special speaker, Dr. Mary Deschamp from GESKIO, to share about how we can all work together to battle infectious diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and malaria in this season. We are so grateful to be able to offer a place of communication, teamwork, and coordination among the many doctors coming to Haiti to serve following the earthquake. Praise God for all the dedicated servants seeking to simply help people in need.
Meanwhile, our morning chapel service with the PreK through 12th graders enjoyed a great guest speaker. Former Quisqueya teacher Kim Hargrove and her fiance Johnny Gryglewicz came to Haiti to serve after the earthquake, and Johnny led our students on Monday in a fun game called “Beach Babe, Surfer Dude, Wave” before teaching on Jeremiah chapter 20.
Here, Johnny led two upper school girls in the championship round of the fun game.
Mr. Clay plays a game with senior students around lunchtime.
9th grade girls enjoy a lunch break.
Elementary boys join the lunch line.
Posted 2 years ago at 8:28 am. 1 comment
What a special day we had at Quisqueya yesterday – we celebrated the birth of a healthy little girl on our campus!
Quisqueya staff member Els Vervloet was alerted about 2 am by Roger, one of our Haitian staff members, that one of the Haitian family members staying on our campus was in labor. Els jumped into action, timing the contractions and locating a midwife who was staying in our Elementary Building with a medical mission team from Kansas City, Kansas. At 8:10 Friday morning, little Thalina was born to first-time mother Vanessa in the school’s music room! Mother and baby are doing well and are under the care of the doctors on our campus. In the midst of tragedy, a beautiful new life.
Even as we celebrated little Thalina’s new life, our students were beginning their third day back at school.
Our students sang “This Is the Day That the Lord Has Made” in a round in chapel.
Corrigan Clay continues meeting with our seniors, and is now working to implement some special electives like cooking.
The last hour of the day is dedicated for service activities and study hall. Several students learned to play the domino game “Chickenfoot” after their homework was finished.
Posted 2 years ago at 1:12 pm. Add a comment
Yesterday was our first day back to class following the January 12 earthquake. Our students began the morning with a chapel time of worship, prayer, and Scripture before heading off to begin their academic work. Director Hersey and Chaplain Dave Manley led that time. Many students expressed how excited they were to see their friends again and get back into a routine.
We had a wonderful first day with 66 students coming to resume course work. Classes were led in the chapel as well as special times of instruction outside. We are conducting instruction in Bible, English, history, math, and science. Lunch is being offered once again in the Snack Shop at the same prices as usual.
We ended the day with a time of announcements and devotions led by Principal Tony DeKoter. Our PreK-3rd grade students are being led by Mrs. Ackerman, and 4-6th grade are taught by Mrs. Jean-Charles. The 7-11th graders are being instructed in English by Mrs. Kilpatrick, math by Mr. Kulpa, Bible by Mr. Denny, and history by Mr. Kilpatrick. Our Quisqueya senior class is receiving instruction from Mr. Clay. The afternoons are designed to be a time where homework may be worked on so that students are relieved of the stress of taking home assignments. At all grade levels, classes are doing special activities related to helping students cope with the earthquake we all have experienced. Some examples of these activities include writing about their experiences, art therapy, class discussions, and reading Scripture. We will continue to care for students’ emotional and spiritual health as we move through our academic curriculum.
Posted 2 years ago at 7:56 pm. Add a comment
Thursday, January 28, 2010 A.D.
Dear Parents,
Our school is experiencing growing pains. The number of children back to school is beyond our expectation. If your child is out of Haiti, please enroll them in school there. We do not have space for more at the present time. If you wish to return next year, a spot will be held for you. We will not be accepting anymore enrollments at this time, but your name may be placed on a waiting list and we are reassessing space every day. The enrollment is closed at this time since we do not have the physical space available to us for classroom use.
We have taught the students in the past to serve in their communities. As a school community we are putting our talk into action – letting our light shine. That’s also a school focus at this time. It is expected that the number of medical teams we are serving will grow smaller in the days, weeks, months ahead, as will the number of our national workers living on the school campus. God has used and is using this school His wonders to perform. Praise Him!
School hours will be from 8 A.M. – 3 P.M. Please be punctual so that your children are in class on time and also are picked up on time at the end of the school day. No later than 3:30 P.M. Help us to do our task by being punctual.
School is on. The academic focus will continue to increase as well as learning to use the resources of the people on the QCS campus and have them tell the students their story – What brought them here? Why are they serving in Haiti? What type of education/schooling did they receive? What kind of doctor are they? What is their field of specialization?
Thank you for your support and encouragement during these difficult times. Together we go forward building and rebuilding, not only physical structures, but also the lives of the children entrusted to us. Please direct questions to tdekoter@quisqueya.org.
Serving Him,
Walking in His SonShine in Haiti
Posted 2 years ago at 6:07 pm. 2 comments
This morning Quisqueya held a parent meeting at 9 am in the Elementary Building. First of all, director Steve Hersey shared that our buildings have been evaluated by engineers multiple times, and have been labeled structurally sound. Because of Quisqueya’s desire to serve Haiti following the earthquake, we are allowing some areas of campus to be used as an operational command center of the US Army as well as a Quisqueya coordination center for incoming medical mission teams.
Director Steve Hersey expressed his excitement to begin educating students once again. He emphasized that as we return to classroom instruction, things will be different but quality and standards will not decrease. Mr. Hersey discussed the options now available to Quisqueya students in light of the earthquake. The administrative offices (including the desks of principal Tony Dekoter and director Steve Hersey) are now located in the Elementary Library, and transcripts or student documents may be requested for those students who are transferring to other schools. For those who are no longer in Haiti and are in 7th grade or higher, Sevenstar Academy is an accredited online school. At the beginning of January, over 20 Quisqueya students were already using Sevenstar for supplementary courses or main instruction.
For our students in Port-au-Prince, Quisqueya will open again for classes this Wednesday, January 27. We will be starting anew with a revised curriculum focusing on core courses (English, Bible, math, history, science). Mr. Hersey made a firm commitment that all returning seniors in good standing who were on track to graduate will receive a Quisqueya diploma. Quisqueya’s accrediting agency ACSI has created a team with experience in school administration following crises to advise our school.
Our academic standards will be high, but students’ emotional and spiritual health will be just as high a priority in light of the trauma of the earthquake. To that end, professional crisis counselors and a campus chaplain are here to listen to and love our students and staff. Dave Manley, a Creole-speaking former pastor of Quisqueya Chapel and longtime servant of Haiti, has flown in from Canada to serve as our campus chaplain and will be coordinating worship, prayer, and pastoral counseling. Mr. Hersey stressed that just as we would not hesitate to seek medical attention for a broken arm, we should not hesitate to care for our emotional and spiritual health following the earthquake. Seeking counseling is not a sign of weakness. Mr. Hersey shared that when students return to class on Wednesday, we will start at a reduced pace and give students time to complete assignments at school so the stress of homework doesn’t add to their burden at this time. Wednesday will be an orientation day. School hours will be remain the same, with new scheduling placing an emphasis on academics in the morning and a variety of activities including serving in earthquake relief efforts in the afternoon. Students are advised not to wear their uniforms for the present time.
One exciting new opportunity for serving local Haitians will be the creation of some basic classes on our campus for the children of our Haitian Quisqueya workers. Many of our guards, food service workers, janitors, and other staff are now homeless, and their families (including many children) are staying on campus. We commit to assist them as they get on their feet again, and one way will be educating their children in basic Bible, math, and English language skills.
Regarding finances, Mr. Hersey sadly reported that school income may be very low for some time, resulting in some regrettable teacher layoffs. The school desires to be sensitive to the financial hardships on our Quisqueya families following the earthquake, and plans to implement a sliding scale tuition system. The QCS Financial Committee is working on policies for the 2010-2011 school year. For details regarding what this means for your family for the rest of spring 2010, please speak to Mr. Tony Dekoter.
For students desiring to transfer to Quisqueya, the application process will be the same. Mr. Hersey has been in contact with other Port-au-Prince school leaders and seeks to assist them, but QCS is not merging with any school. Those interested in transferring should contact the school office.
Over 60 students’ parents attended the meeting this morning – what a great turnout! We are very excited to welcome back students again. Mr. Hersey recommended preparing returning students by sharing with them that the school campus will look different, their classroom may change, and that school will follow different routines than before. Students should know that all QCS teachers are safe, but that they may have a different teacher. Students should know the buildings are safe, and that they will be well loved as they return to class.
From this point forward we will make communication a high priority and will update this website very frequently.
Posted 2 years ago at 7:56 am. Add a comment
The Quisqueya campus has become a hive of activity. Our buildings are undamaged and cleared for use by both civilian and military structural engineers, so it is our desire to use this campus to bless the Haitian people. Here’s the latest:
Director Steve Hersey and the rest of our administrative team are now officing in the Elementary Library. We are looking forward to our Parent Meeting on Monday, January 25 at 9:00 am in the Elementary Building. Please enter at the Upper Gate.
We will be happy to accommodate your requests for transcripts, report cards, and any needed transfer paperwork. Please contact Mirna Beneche at mbeneche@quisqueya.org with your requests. We would love to account for every student and hear your family’s future education plans, so please be in touch with us at communication@quisqueya.org.
The Quisqueya Christian School Relief Coordination Center has hit the ground running. A collaboration between our school and Crisis Response International has received over a dozen mission teams from locations including Germany, Korea, Mississippi, Texas, and the Dominican Republic with more arriving each day. The Relief Coordination Center is collecting information on the needs of area hospitals and is deploying medical teams, water purification teams, engineers, and donated medical supplies to where they are most needed.
Our campus is also continuing to house the families of our Haitian staff whose homes were destroyed in the earthquake. In addition, Quisqueya has formed a partnership with the US Army whereby the Army is using some parts of our campus for command and control of their local operations.
Lastly, Steve Hersey recommends the following helpful articles on how to help children cope with the earthquake and its aftermath.
Children Coping with Earthquakes
NASP Responding to Natural Disasters
Please check back often for updates, as we will post new information to this site. God bless!
Posted 2 years ago at 9:46 pm. 2 comments
Middle and high school students play games and enjoy a snack during the morning break time.
Quisqueya freshman Maika shuffles cards between games. Pizza is the most common snack ordered from the Snack Shop during morning break time.
Middle school boys square off during a lunchtime game of Ping Pong while Principal DeKoter and other Quisqueya students look on.
Members of our youngest classroom listen closely while Mr. Day shares during chapel in the morning.
Mr. Day, who teaches Bible to 7th through 11th graders, shared in his devotional in morning chapel that because of God’s great love for us, we can know that “our future’s so bright, we’ve got to wear shades”. The whole school was invited to wear sunglasses to school the next day!
Junior high and high school students are deep in discussion with Mr. Kilpatrick during the study hall hour.
