The “Q”
GDQ International Christian School, Tirana, Albania
Issue 2 / 2011-2012
100
is a lot
100 dogs, 100 cats,
100 heads for 100 hats.
100 women, 100 men,
100's more than 5 or 10.
100 buttons, 100 coats,
100 sails for 100 boats.
100 cookies, 100 cakes,
100 kids with bellyaches!
100 shoes, 100 socks,
100 keys for 100 locks.
100 puddles mighty dirty,
100's even more than 30.
100 daughters, 100 sons,
100 franks on 100 buns.
100 trees, 100 plants,
100 picnics, 100 ants!
100 is a lot to count,
100 is a large amount!
100 kisses, 100 hugs,
100 bats, 100 bugs.
100 bees, 100 birds,
Our poem has 100 words.
Inside The ‘Q’
2 — Events
3 — People
4 — Sports
“That’s quite a lot of school”
“We have gone 100 days; that’s quite a lot of school.” Beginning the day with
some lyrical fun, we celebrated our 100th day of school on Monday, 20
February. Mr. Pearce, director of GDQ, strummed his guitar and led our
students in a few original choruses.
Sprinkles of creativity filtered through the day as teachers crafted various
activities involving the number 100. Our grade four class wrote stories using
100 words. They wrote 100 different math problems each equaling 100. Did
you know that the sum of the first nine prime numbers equals 100? They also
investigated the various patterns created as they wrote their names
repeatedly until they used 100 letters. Our grade seven and eight PE class
tested their fitness with a 100-count endurance sit against the wall.
A number of our K-8 students took up the challenge to participate in two
school-wide contests. For the price of 100 leke, students could enjoy setting
aside their GDQ uniforms for a day of dress-up fun. They adorned
themselves with 100 items or dressed up in clothing from 100 years in the
past or 100 years into the future.
Using their artistic skills, wit, and imagination, students entered projects into
a creative art contest. Projects fit into subject-specific categories (literacy,
history, Bible, maths, and science) and in some way needed to revolve
around the number 100. Students’ entries included a pi cake with pi written
to 100 digits, a snowman made of 100 grams of marshmallows, hello written
in 100 languages, a snake 100 marshmallows long, and 100 words describing
God.
Page 2
The “Q”
Events
Looking at the Evidence
In January Dr. Terry Mortenson,
with Answers in Genesis
(www.answersingenesis.org),
visited Albania. He spent time with
three separate groups of students at
GDQ. What did our grade 6
students come away with?

I learned that evolutionists believe in the Tree of Life
and that creationists believe in the Forest of Life.
Evolutionists believe that every living thing is related to
bacteria. Creationists believe in the variation of one
kind of animal. — Miriam

I learned that there aren’t as many proofs about
evolution, but there are more proofs about creation and
Noah’s ark. — Luigi

I learned about the 7 Cs. Creation, corruption,
catastrophe, confusion, Christ, cross, and
consummation. These are the Christian periods of time
or biblical periods of time. These 7 Cs are the way to
look at science. — Katherine
Theatre Review
K-5 Core Value
Recipients
Kindness —
The quality of being friendly,
generous, and considerate.
Resourcefulness —
Able to act effectively or
imaginatively, especially in difficult
situations.
Compassion —
A deep awareness of the suffering of
another, coupled with the wish to
relieve it.
Tomas
Michael
Hannah
Elia
Nicola
Hope
Anna
Jonathan
Edi
Morgan
Shurun
Rea
Drayton
John
Sol
Christina
Lira
Karin
Joshua
Emilia
Llani
Samuel
Jonathan
Tyler
Pride and Prejudice
The MK Theatre group put on a wonderful performance
of Pride and Prejudice. The audience raved about the
cast and enjoyed a touch of comic relief on a cold Tirana
evening. Micah Watanabe (top row, far left) directed
the play. Micah is an MK himself and works several days
a week at GDQ. He is modest and will only say, “The kids
worked hard, and I am very proud of them.” Thank you,
MK Theatre Group. We look forward to your next
production!
Looking for a library book?
Start your search via the GDQ website —
www.gdqschool.org/library.
You now have the ability to browse online
for a book in the GDQ library.
You can search for a book by subject,
author, and/or title.
Study tips
Go through loose papers daily. Put papers
you want to keep in an appropriate subject
folder. Throw away papers you no longer
need. Avoid letting loose papers clutter
your locker or cubby.
If you have homework over the weekend,
take the time to do your homework over
the entire weekend, not just Sunday night.
Nutrition Tip
Your lunch needs to take you through the
afternoon. Pack plenty and include some
carbohydrates for energy.
Page 3
The “Q”
People
GDQ K-8 Student Council
Meet Claire — President
Claire is GDQ’s K-8 student council president. Her goal
while serving on student council is to make a difference
at GDQ.
Claire is from the state of California, the city of Calimesa.
She is 13 years old. Her hobbies are volleyball, soccer,
and singing. She would like to be a writer when she is
older.
This is Claire’s second year in Albania. She really enjoys
the people in Albania. "They are so close and help each
other." She has also noticed that the drivers are
unpredictable and a little scary.
Join Us in Prayer

Pray for the staff needed for the
upcoming 2012-2013 school year.

Pray for the ACSI accreditation
process.
Meet Erik — Vice President

Erik is the vice president of the GDQ K-8 student council.
He likes being a part of student council, but he says it is a
lot of responsibility.
Pray that GDQ students will grow
as Christians.

Pray that GDQ will serve as an
example to other schools
throughout Tirana.

Pray for wisdom for those in GDQ
leadership positions.

Pray for the health of our
students and staff.
Claire is enjoying her time at GDQ. She sees that the
students are eager to help one another become
acquainted with Albania. She adds that her classmates
are more of a family than a group of friends.
Erik is 13 years old. He stays busy with homework and
music lessons. When he is older, he wants to do
something in the world of music.
When asked, “What is the best thing about GDQ?” Erik
replied, "Meeting all the other MK's." He also notes that
he receives a lot of teacher attention that he wouldn't
have in a larger school. He appreciates all of his teachers
this year and enjoys all of his classes.
Meet the Bealls
Ms. Mary Lou Beall came to GDQ from Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia, where she
taught Public Speaking, Business Communications, and other communication related
courses. She was born in Seattle, Washington, grew up in California, went to college in the
Northwest, and has worked internationally. When Ms. Beall retired from the university, she
felt God call her to return to the mission field. She had worked in Colombia, South America,
and Morocco, Africa.
Ms. Beall did not come alone. Her daughter Megan also came to serve at GDQ. She is
teaching grade 6 Bible, grade 9 English, and SAT Prep. She also helps our middle school
maths students and loves leading our K-8 assemblies. Miss Beall was born and raised in
Bogota, Colombia. She completed her undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate in Atlanta,
Georgia, where she also taught at Mercer University and Georgia State University. Miss
Beall has a second doctorate in practical theology. The Bealls are grateful for all the support
and love they have felt from GDQ.
Page 4
The “Q”
Sports
“One Word: ‘Rematch’”
Lower, middle and high school students have enthusiastically embraced the opportunity to participate in an
after-school sports program. In February, our grade 3-6
students put their practice skills to the test with a game
against Memorial International. It was a rousing
afternoon for this group of third, fourth, fifth and sixth
graders.
 Participating in soccer practice gave me a chance to
learn how to play soccer and taught me to laugh at
myself when I didn’t block a ball or missed a ball when
someone passed it to me. — Anita, grade 3
 I enjoyed getting better at soccer like learning how to
dribble the ball and learning how to pass and catch.
— Morgan, grade 3
 It was super-dooper awesome and fun. — John,
grade 4
 It was so exciting when one team went up with the
ball. Then, the defenders, the mid-field players, and
the goalie would kick the ball back to their allies.
— Samuel, grade 4
 When the ball got really near the goals, we were like,
'Is it going to be a goal?!’ — Gabriela, grade 4
 One word: ‘Rematch!' — Tomas, grade 5
At the high school level, GDQ students and several of
Tirana’s home-schoolers have united to form a boys’ and
a girls’ team. Both teams enjoyed a series of volleyball
games with three international schools in Tirana. At a
four-school tournament in early March, GDQ’s boys
captured second place with the girls taking third. Our
girls noted , “It was a great experience, and we enjoyed
working together as a team. We especially liked the
purple gloves!"
Practice for our high school teams will start again
following our spring break. This time the sport of choice
will be basketball.
Upcoming Game Schedule
Grade 3-6 soccer rematch
Grade 6-8 soccer
Grade 5-8 basketball
GDQ vs. Memorial
End of March
GDQ vs. TIS
Mid-April
GDQ vs. TIS vs. Memorial
Mid-April
Grade 9-12 basketball
GDQ vs. TIS vs. Memorial vs. EK
A series of games will begin the end of April